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COVID-19: Potential impact on Surge in the Adoption of Neuroscience to Fuel the Growth of the Neuroscience Market Through the Assessment…

April 27, 2020 medical

In this report, the global Neuroscience market is valued at USD XX million in 2019 and is projected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% during the period 2019 to 2025.

Persistence Market Research recently published a market study that sheds light on the growth prospects of the global Neuroscience market during the forecast period (20XX-20XX). In addition, the report also includes a detailed analysis of the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the future prospects of the Neuroscience market. The report provides a thorough evaluation of the latest trends, market drivers, opportunities, and challenges within the global Neuroscience market to assist our clients arrive at beneficial business decisions.

The Neuroscience market report firstly introduced the basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the Neuroscience market report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

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Resourceful insights enclosed in the report:

The major players profiled in this Neuroscience market report include:

Company Profiles

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The market report addresses the following queries related to the Neuroscience market:

The study objectives of Neuroscience Market Report are:

To analyze and research the Neuroscience market status and future forecast in United States, European Union and China, involving sales, value (revenue), growth rate (CAGR), market share, historical and forecast.

To present the Neuroscience manufacturers, presenting the sales, revenue, market share, and recent development for key players.

To split the breakdown data by regions, type, companies and applications

To analyze the global and key regions Neuroscience market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

To identify significant trends, drivers, influence factors in global and regions

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the Neuroscience market.

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COVID-19: Potential impact on Surge in the Adoption of Neuroscience to Fuel the Growth of the Neuroscience Market Through the Assessment...

Neuroscience

Starr elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences – Claremont Courier

April 27, 2020 medical

by Steven Felschundneff steven@claremont-courier.com

Pomona College President G. Gabrielle Starr has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, according to a news release from the college. Ms. Starr joins two former Pomona College presidents who were previously elected to the 240-year-old academy.

Ms. Starr is one of 276 inductees announced on Thursday by the Cambridge Massachusetts based academy. Other new members include singer Joan C. Baez, former Attorney GeneralEric H. Holder Jr., author Ann Patchett, and former Pomona College professor, poet Claudia Rankine.

The academy is led by Pomona College President Emeritus David Oxtoby who was inducted into the academy in 2012 and was named its presidentin 2018. He served as president of Pomona College from 2003 until 2017. David Alexander, who served as president of Pomona from 1969 to 1991, was inducted into the academy in 2006.

The members of the class of 2020 have excelled in laboratories and lecture halls, they have amazed on concert stages and in surgical suites, and they have led in board rooms and courtrooms, Mr. Oxtoby said in a statement announcing the inductees. With todays election announcement, thesenew members are united by a place in history and by an opportunity to shape the future through the Academys work to advance the public good.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent research center that is committed to multidisciplinary, nonpartisan research that engages experts in various fields and professions. The research carried out includes six areas of work: arts and humanities; democracy and justice; energy and environment; science and technology; education, and global affairs. Academy members are elected on the basis of their leadership in academics, the arts, business, or public affairs.

To join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as part of this impressive 2020 class of new members is an honor that renders me profoundly grateful. The Academy is a venerable institution whose members are some of the individuals I most admire. It is truly a great gift to join the ranks, Ms. Starr said to Pomona Colleges office of communications.

Starr is a scholar of English literature whose work reaches into neuroscience and the arts. Her research looks closely at the brain, through the use of fMRI, to help get to the heart of how people respond to paintings, music and other forms of art.

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Starr elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences - Claremont Courier

Neuroscience

University study shows faulty cell cleanup in the brain may lead to long lasting neurological issues – University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

April 27, 2020 medical

The process of neurodevelopment is responsible for creating neurological pathways in the brain that are responsible for controlling our movements, body functions and helping us retain memories. According to the Brighton Center for Pediatric Neurodevelopment, neurodevelopment sets a person up for the rest of their life and is a critical function. During this process, over half of the neurons die, a process called cell cleanup or dieback, in order to ensure the strongest neurological connections. A group of University neuroscientists and researchers discovered the importance of the AIM2 cell cleanup pathway as it relates to faulty cell cleanup and possible reactivation later in life.

Dr. John Lukens, assistant professor of medicine and principal investigator, notes the importance of neurodevelopment.

If there's any kind of perturbations or changes in the kinetics, it can have long lasting issues that lead to things like neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and schizophrenia, Lukens said.

There are a variety of issues that lead to too much or little cell cleanup. According to Lukens, early infections soon after birth, exposure to neurotoxic chemicals, oxygen levels in the brain and other infections such as Zika virus can all have negative impacts on the development.

If you have a neuron that has issues straight out of the gate, it has all these errors in the DNA that's basically going to have a result in a faulty neuronal connection being in the brain from a very early time point, Lukens said.

The John Lukens Lab, where the research project took place, is part of the neuroscience department at the University and focuses on immunological pathways and the development of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, mental and behavioral disorders.

The research team consisting of neuroscience graduate student Catherine Lammert, postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Frost, undergraduate lab researcher Calli Bellinger, neuroscience graduate student Ashley Bolte, Washington University neuroscience graduate student Celia McKee, data science graduate student Mariah Hurt, cognitive sciences undergraduate student Matt Paysour, neuroscience graduate student Hannah Ennerfelt and Lukens discovered a pathway that helps to control DNA damage and ensure proper neurodevelopment. Their discovery was somewhat of a chance discovery stemming from unexpected results from their initial focus on traumatic brain injury.

Before moving forward with the initial trauma experiment, they tested mice to measure their motor coordination and discovered that mice and other animals lacking a specific cell cleanup pathway, AIM2 inflammasome, performed very poorly. The molecular pathway detects neurons that are faulty in order to ensure dangerous neurons do not get incorporated to the brain.

The team found that a lot of people with mutations or those that lack the AIM2 inflammasome have neurodevelopmental disorders amongst other diseases.

Manipulating this pathway to help the developing nervous system to eliminate those cells could potentially provide at least biomarkers or therapeutic targets to treat neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Lukens said.

The use of the pathway could potentially be useful later in life as well as earlier in life.

As people grow older, the pathways that repair DNA become less effective. According to Lukens, it is thought that the acquisition of DNA damage overtime causes the degenerating of our organs, or atrophy.

As there are currently no treatments that treat the underlying causes of neurological diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Alzheimers, the possibility of reactivating the pathway later in life could potentially hold back neurodegeneration.

Lukens also emphasized the pathway can get inadvertently reactivated in old age due to DNA damage and if not controlled, can have negative consequences.

Lammert, who worked on the project for just under five years, thinks that treatments are far away but notes that many papers have shown inflammasomes to be important.

I think that the main really cool thing about this finding is that inflammasomes, which usually are activated in response to an infection or some kind of exogenous danger signal actually respond in the brain just at baseline and not responding to any disease or damage, Lammert said. In terms of treatment for things, it's just maybe shedding light on a new pathway that could be targeted.

The teams discovery is the tip of the iceberg in regard to possible neurological disease treatment and prevention. The pathway could be a possible target to combat neurological diseases such as ALS or alzheimers.

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University study shows faulty cell cleanup in the brain may lead to long lasting neurological issues - University of Virginia The Cavalier Daily

Neuroscience

WATCH: A Brigham and Women’s bedside nurse shares reality of patient care – Boston.com

April 27, 2020 medical

Coronavirus is affecting everyday life even for those who have not been infected. We aresharing storiesof its impact on local people. To share your own, please submitthis formor email us atcommunity@boston.com.

This story was submitted by Melissa Coughlin, a registered nurse in the neuroscience unit at Brigham and Womens Hospital.

I am a mother, wife, daughter, substitute school nurse, camp nurse, graduate advanced practice nurse (APN) student, member of my towns Board of Health, and a 20-year bedside nurse at the Brigham and Womens Hospitals neuroscience unit, but not a writer, never a writer.

I saw the opportunity to submit a personal account of our experience on the front lines and I must write. I must write to share what our patients cannot tell you. I must write to share what my colleagues have seen and are doing what you must know.

Almost twenty years ago, September 11, 2001, I biked to work from my apartment in Watertown knowing that this day would change my life forever. It was my first day as a nurse. Around 9 a.m. my life really did change forever; all our lives changed. The first tower came down. I watched from my first-ever patients room. Life as a nurse became real. So real. I learned most of it was not taught in the classroom. Empathy, compassion, handholding, getting to know my patients, who they are, who they were, what they need, how they feel, their fears, and dreams.

In the past twenty years, I have held hands with patients who are dying, who are getting news about new brain tumors, new strokes, new diagnoses of MS; the list is endless. I have held hands with family members while their loved ones are being diagnosed with horrible life-changing diseases.

This is different; worse, so much worse. We are scared. We are holding down the fort. We are gowned and gloved and covered. We cannot hold hands with the family members. We cannot hug them. We deny them the rights to be at their loved ones sides. We tell them, No. When we tell their wife, son, daughter, husband, mother, or father that their beloved relative will likely not make it through the weekend, we do it over FaceTime.

COVID-19 has stripped our humanity.

I do not work on a COVID-19 unit. I am not deployed. I am on our step-down unit and will stay to care for our population of extremely sick neuro patients. We have COVID-19 patients under investigation, we have recovering COVID-19 patients, and we have lots of enhanced respiratory precaution patients. We have sick patients. Patients who are alert enough to be scared, lonely and who know they are sick enough to have to be there.

Nurses are stretched beyond anything we have ever dreamed of. We are the family members, we are the eyes for the doctors, we are the therapists, we go into the room. When we have a critical event, we gown up and go into the room. We do not social distance. We cant.

Yet, despite the daily unknowns, we show up. We actually climb the stairs and show up. Yes, the elevators only allow four riders. So we walk up the stairs with masks on to get to work. My unit is on the tenth and twelfth floors. We climb literally and metaphorically to work every day.

We do not need praise. I promise you this is not why we do this. We do not consider ourselves heroes. We all just want this to be over. I assure you this is not media hype. This is very real. We want our patients to get the care and love they deserve. We want to feel safe.

We want our humanity back.

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WATCH: A Brigham and Women's bedside nurse shares reality of patient care - Boston.com

Neuroscience

Stress physically alters communication in the brain – Medical News Today

April 27, 2020 medical

Astrocytes, which are brain cells that regulate neuronal communication, show long-term degradation from stress.

The experience of traumatic events can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and drug addiction, says Dr. Si-Qiong June Liu of LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine.

Dr. Liu is the lead author of a new study on mice that reveals at least one way in which stress physiologically changes the way a brain operates

The journal for neuroscience JNeurosci has published the study.

In research with mice, Lius study finds that even a single stressful event can quickly cause long-lasting changes to an astrocyte.

When experiencing stress, the astrocytes shrink away from synapses resulting in disruption of neural communication. Synapses are structures that allow information to pass from one cell to another via neurotransmitters.

Researchers will need to carry out further studies to see whether the effect of stress on mice is the same as it is on humans. Liu notes, however, that there is a good chance that the molecular pathways involved in her research also exist in humans.

Stress alters brain function and produces lasting changes in human behavior and physiology. Investigation of the neurobiology of stress can reveal how stress affects neuronal connections and hence brain function. This knowledge is necessary for developing strategies to prevent or treat these common stress-related neurological disorders.

Si-Qiong June Liu

Not all the cells in the brain are neurons. Between 33% and 66% of them, are glial cells. The name comes from the Greek word gla, which means glue. Scientists gave them this name because they initially believed that glial cells simply held the brains neurons together.

Subsequent research suggests that they do far more than that. Scientists have identified four major types of glial cells: microglia, oligodendrocytes, NG2-glia, and astrocytes.

Astrocytes are the most abundant type of glial cell and are critical for the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections. These star-shaped cells have limbs, or fine processes, that extend outward from the cells center.

A brains neurons form connections, or synapses, through which they chemically exchange information. The upstream, or presynaptic, neuron releases neurotransmitters that bind with receptors on a downstream, or postsynaptic, second neuron.

However, astrocytes are the third partner in the process. Research shows that when astrocytes are unavailable to neurons, the neurons degrade and eventually die.

The astrocytes involvement in communication between two neurons is so important, scientists describe the connection as a tripartite synapse.

Scientists are still investigating the full role of astrocytes in synaptic connections, though they are aware of some of their contributions.

When astrocytes extend their fine processes outward to touch their synaptic neuron partners, they regulate synaptic transmission by interacting with neurons excitatory and inhibitory chemicals.

They also clear away buildup of no-longer-needed neurotransmitters after they have delivered their message.

Astrocytes also provide nutrients to neurons and help them retain plasticity, as well as helping maintain the blood-brain barrier.

Lius team saw that when they exposed the mice to the odor of a predator even one time, the stress produced a long-lasting change to their astrocytes.

In response to the stress, the mice secreted the stress hormone norepinephrine, which, in turn, suppressed a molecular pathway that produces a protein called GluA1. GluA1 controls the shaping and plasticity of the astrocytes. In particular, it controls the extension of the astrocytes fine process.

Lius team observed that the astrocytes fine processes retracted in response to stress and pulled away from contact and communication with neurons and synapses. This made synaptic connections more difficult or impossible.

Stress affects the structure and function of both neurons and astrocytes, Liu says.

Because astrocytes can directly modulate synaptic transmission and are critically involved in stress-related behavior, preventing or reversing the stress-induced change in astrocytes is a potential way to treat stress-related neurological disorders. We identified a molecular pathway that controls GluA1 synthesis and thereby astrocyte remodeling during stress.

Liu is hopeful that her teams identification of the interplay between stress, norepinephrine, and GluA1 can provide a new therapeutic avenue to explore, saying, This suggests new pharmacological targets for possible prevention or reversal of stress-induced changes.

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Stress physically alters communication in the brain - Medical News Today

Embryology

The suspension of fertility treatment is a tragedy for many couples – The Guardian

April 27, 2020 medical

Dont we owe it to those desperate for IVF treatment not to fall for the persistent spoilt/demanding female infertility narrative? Along with myriad NHS procedures, fertility treatment has been deemed non-essential during the pandemic. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority announced that it was suspended until further notice affecting not just new patients but those in the middle of treatment.

In response, IVF patients talked about their distress at the decision. The years trying to conceive and of waiting for treatment. Painful injections. Hormonal rollercoasters. Failed attempts. The physical, psychological and emotional toll. Anxiety that funding could be withdrawn. For some, the hopelessness about time running out, particularly for women over 40. As harrowing as the accounts were, they were also instructive: contrary to certain stereotypes peddled over the years, there was nothing entitled or presumptuous about these women.

Everyone understands the terrible impact that coronavirus is having on the NHS, including for cancer patients. However, this shouldnt cancel our sympathy for those devastated by the suspension of IVF, some of whom may be feeling that theyre at the fertility last-chance saloon. Is it possible for the rest of us to understand what theyre going through? Perhaps not. Those whove never experienced such problems may find the world of the non-fertile too dark and confusing to comprehend.

It doesnt help that, for decades, unshakeable narratives implanted themselves in the collective psyche: the central casting career bitch who put professional ambition first; the flaky party girl too busy having fun to heed the ticking of her biological clock; women who, for years, for whatever reason, squandered their fertility, but who now, like an IVF-themed Veruca Salt, stamp spoilt feet and demand that science sorts everything out: Ive had the big jobs, the flashy lifestyle, the fun and I want babies NOW!

Ive long doubted that such women exist. Anyone Ive come across with fertility problems seems to be everything from exhausted, embarrassed and wistful to sad, resigned and broke, sometimes all these things. And thats just the women. Indeed, as much as the cliches about infertile woman are cruel and sexist, theyre also inaccurate and simplistic. There are many causes of infertility its not always about the woman leaving it too late; its not even always about the woman. Yet still, women are usually the ones who bear the brunt of societal censure, who, on some primal level, are deemed to be righteously punished (by mother nature, no less!) for presumed insubordination.

What medieval phooey! Whatever happens next, in these uncertain times, however long it takes for fertility treatments to get back up and running, lets finally dispense with the creaking narrative that women wanting babies automatically equates with spoilt women demanding them. Lets try having a little sympathy for those for whom fertility treatment is anything but non-essential.

Have modern Britons really become so hypersensitive that they recoil from interruptions when watching or listening to political interviews? Richard Frediani, editor of BBC Breakfast, says internal research showed that people have tired of the aggressive Gotcha! type interview popularised by the likes of Jeremy Paxman and John Humphrys. Now Emily Maitlis is top of the interruption league (on average every 28 seconds), with Mishal Husain in second place (every 46 seconds). Still, isnt this often the nature of the game?

I understand how softer interviews sometimes reveal more about character, but lets not turn this into a valid reason for, say, Boris Johnsons post-election boycott of Radio 4s Today programme. Or, indeed, Johnsons infamous dodging of Andrew Neil in the run-up to the election.

However, its not just Johnson. As a breed, political interviewees are skilled and determined time wasters, who often have a highly rehearsed spiel designed to deflect and repel serious investigation of shortcomings. Its the job nay, the duty of the interviewer to crack through that, not to be aggressive, but to stop them waffling through their own buzzword-strewn agenda.

If this is irritating and jarring for listeners or viewers, it should be acknowledged that its at least 50% the stonewalling interviewees fault. It may come as news to some, but politicians arent always desperately trying to deliver facts and truth - theyre often desperately trying not to. Add time constraints and theres your explanation for more aggressive interviews.

Even in the celebrity arena, the journalist often has to cajole interviewees away from charming but deadly dull chat about wonderful co-stars or dazzling film locations into more interesting territory. For political interrogators on television and radio, the stakes are higher and time even shorter. As far as Im concerned, they can interrupt all they like.

How concerned should Britain be about voter fraud worried enough to bring in new measures that prevent groups of people from actually voting? Community activist Neil Coughlan continues to appeal against the high courts rejection of his claim that pilot schemes requiring voters to produce photo ID at polling stations are undemocratic and unlawful. Coughlans local authority, Braintree in Essex, was one of the areas where the photo ID scheme was trialled in last Mays local elections. However, some people dont possess photo ID or may not be able to find it in time to vote. Moreover, apart from Northern Ireland, voter fraud is extremely rare in the UK: in one survey, 99% of polling station officials had no suspicions of anyone impersonating another person to steal their vote.

As Coughlan says, the Windrush scandal showed that many legitimate British citizens dont possess official documentation, while 3.5 million people dont have photo ID. To my mind, its sensible to be wary of anything that obstructs specific groups from voting for instance (just off the top of my head), poorer people who might not vote Conservative. Then again, what possible justification could there be for obstructing any group? There would appear to be more than one form of electoral fraud.

Barbara Ellen is an Observer columnist

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The suspension of fertility treatment is a tragedy for many couples - The Guardian

Embryology

Time is precious in IVF: the women who fear they have lost their chance to have children – The Guardian

April 27, 2020 medical

Her fertility medication had arrived and Ellen Rayment was waiting for the first day of her period so she could begin taking it. Rayment, a 40-year-old health professional from East Sussex, had been trying to conceive with her wife Debby for three years. It had been costly and emotionally draining. The Rayments were declined treatment on the NHS because they were using donor genetic material, so they had spent in excess of 20,000 on private IVF.

In November 2019, Rayment had miscarried twins at 22 weeks. After taking some time to both physically recover and grieve, Rayments doctor gave her the go-ahead to proceed with egg implantation using the final frozen embryo from their second round of IVF in March. She was waiting for her period to start before taking the medication to thicken her uterine wall, ahead of embryo implantation. But when that came it was on the same day Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus. All non-urgent medical procedures, including IVF, would be postponed. Her clinic called her to confirm the bad news.

With each month that Britain spends under lockdown, Rayment can feel her dreams of motherhood slipping away. My biological clock is ticking louder and louder, she says. Rayment is aware that, after 40, it is difficult to conceive through IVF. It just feels horrific, to be honest, she says.

Rayment is one of a number of women whose IVF treatments have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although many IVF clinics decided to suspend treatment after Johnsons 23 March announcement, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which oversees all NHS IVF clinics, did not officially stop all fertility treatments until 15 April. Exceptions are being made only when women are undergoing fertility-preservation treatment ahead of radiotherapy or chemotherapy for serious diseases.

We will do all we can to lift this restriction as soon as possible but we cannot give a date when this will happen given the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK our aim is for the UK fertility sector to restart as soon as possible and we are keeping the situation under regular review, says an HFEA spokesperson. Whereas the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish authorities have confirmed that fertility patients will not be disadvantaged by coronavirus when clinics reopen, meaning that clinics will pick up where they left off with patients receiving the same treatment according to the same criteria that they would have been entitled to before the pandemic England has not made the same promise. There are fears that IVF provision in England which has already been squeezed by national cuts, with some hospital trusts selling or considering closing their IVF clinics, or offering a reduced number of IVF cycles could be further cut after the coronavirus pandemic, to help rebalance the NHS funding black hole.

For women who had already started fertility treatment and were on a cocktail of fertility-boosting drugs when the pandemic hit, the IVF ban was a bitter blow. That was the hardest bit, says Kara*, a 34-year-old social worker from Sheffield. Taking all those drugs that affect you so much, for nothing. After Kara found out her NHS IVF treatment was cancelled in March, she had to continue taking oral and injectable oestrogen and progesterone for a further two weeks, to complete her monthly cycle. Kara and her husband have been trying to conceive for five years; she has miscarried five times.

IVF is a long road, littered with obstacles; now the coronavirus pandemic is one more thing thats out of your control

Being full of pregnancy-inducing hormones without being pregnant, in the midst of a global pandemic, did not do much for Karas physical or mental health. I was devastated, she says. All those hormones make you really emotional and the injectable progesterone makes your stomach sore, and you get so tired. You dont mind that when youre building up to an IVF cycle. But when it gets taken away from you youre like: Now what? Gwenda Burns of Fertility Network UK urges any women feeling distressed or overwhelmed to call the networks support line, or join one of its regional online support groups. We believe no question is too trivial or worry too small, Burns says.

IVF is, by definition, a time-sensitive endeavour: any delay diminishes the likelihood of a woman successfully conceiving, as her egg reserves drop month-on-month. Time is so precious in IVF, says Rayment. A month can make such a difference. If you have already spent years on a waiting list for NHS IVF, any further delay is agonising.

We went through a shocking number of delays until we finally got our NHS approval letter through, says Polly Towler, a 38-year-old audio typist from Bristol. Towler was due to commence her first round of NHS IVF this April, nearly four years after she first visited her GP about her fertility issues. I am very worried about my egg reserves, Towler says. I will be 39 at the end of this year. The decline will be steep from now on.

A lack of clarity from the government about when the lockdown will end adds to many womens anxiety and sense of powerlessness. So much of IVF is beyond your control, says Seetal Savla, a 38-year-old PR manager from London. Its a long road thats littered with obstacles, and now the coronavirus pandemic is one more thing thats out of your control. After her first round of NHS IVF failed in 2017, Savla and her husband Neil turned to private clinics. Savla has low egg reserves, meaning that her chances of becoming a mother are already low. If the government would say that in two or three months, IVF can start again, that would be something to count down towards, she says. Its the uncertainty thats difficult to accept.

An exit strategy for the fertility sector is needed, says Dr Geeta Nargund, a fertility expert at St Georges NHS Trust. We need a proactive approach to restarting these services, detailing which social distancing measures and safety approaches will be required, and what protective equipment will be made available for staff, she says. When the lockdown is lifted, Nargund wants priority to be given to women with low egg reserves, or those who are older. Time is of the essence for them, she explains.

All the women understand the pressures on the NHS. I get that we have to protect the NHS, says Kara. I understand why theyve cancelled all the treatments. But Im still allowed to have some personal grief about it. Even before her IVF was cancelled, Rayment felt uneasy, because her history of miscarriage and age made any pregnancy high-risk. I felt dubious, because I knew that by carrying on I could be a burden to the NHS, she says. But then I thought: no one else is being told not to procreate. It didnt seem fair that I should be told to stop whilst everyone else was carrying on regardless.

The naturally fertile aren't being asked not to try to have children, only infertile, single women and same-sex couples

Nargund argues that the IVF ban exacerbates existing healthcare inequalities. Those who are naturally fertile are not being asked not to try to have children, she says. Its only the infertile, single women and same-sex couples that are being delayed access to fertility treatment is an issue of equality, whether its a couple who delayed parenthood due to financial insecurity, or a lesbian couple. Denying them their fundamental right to parenthood exacerbates societal inequalities.

Meanwhile, for the women whose dreams of motherhood are on indefinite hold, lockdown conversations can be painful. Having to hear people make baby-boom jokes or people complaining about having kids at home is really hard, says Savla. I would love to be in the situation of having kids at home to complain about.

Many of the women I spoke to believe that coronavirus has cost them their chance of having biological children. I just feel like its not going to happen now, says Towler. I am preparing myself for the possibility of not having children. Rayment is taking things day by day, but is similarly dejected. The media is saying that we wont come out of full lockdown until we have a vaccine, says Rayment. That could take a year. I could be too old for IVF by then all my chances of having a family would be lost.

Savla has gone some way towards making peace with this. With every day that goes by I do feel my chances are shrinking of having a biological child, says Savla. But theres nothing I can do about it, so Ive come to a state of acceptance. She has started looking into surrogacy and adoption. Having been through the emotional rollercoaster that is IVF, I do feel more resilient and able to deal with coronavirus, she says. But that doesnt mean Im not hurting.

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Time is precious in IVF: the women who fear they have lost their chance to have children - The Guardian

Genetics

Coronavirus was widespread in UK at very start of pandemic, says genetics expert – Sky News

April 27, 2020 medical

One of the world's leading human genetics experts has told Sky News that coronavirus was widespread in the UK at the very start of the pandemic and a lack of vigilance allowed the virus to take hold.

Dr Kari Stefansson is overseeing a massive project in Iceland to genetically sequence every positive case of COVID-19 in the country to find out how it mutates and spreads.

He spoke to Sky News at the headquarters of his company deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, which houses a massive database of more than half the Icelandic population's genetic material.

Founded almost a quarter of a century ago, the samples are used to look into the genetic components of diseases. Now he's looking into COVID-19.

He says sequencing tells them where the cases come from.

"So the virus now has basically a barcode for every part of the world," he said.

"There is a collection of mutation that is relatively characteristic for Austria, another for Italy as well as Great Britain and for the west coast of the United States etc."

Prof Stefansson said that in the beginning, almost all of the cases came into Iceland from the Alps, from people who had been skiing in Austria and Italy.

The authorities responded by trying to contain the spread of infection from those high risk countries.

He added: "But as they were doing this, the virus was actually sneaking into the country with people from all kinds of other countries.

"And the most notable there is Great Britain. So it looks like the virus had a fairly wide spread in Great Britain very, very early in this epidemic."

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Prof Stefansson said the UK - and the USA - weren't vigilant enough from the start, pointing to Iceland's policy of mass testing.

Iceland has now tested a higher percentage of the population than any other nation. 45,000 tests have been carried out in a population of 460,000.

deCODE is working alongside the health service to take samples from as many people as possible - the sick as well as the seemingly healthy.

Dr Stefansson says that is the only way to discover the true spread of the disease in the community.

The policy has allowed Iceland to identify cases quickly and isolate carriers.

After it was suggested that it is easier for a small nation to test and bring the virus under control, he replied: "Yes, there may be fewer of us but countries like the United Kingdom and the United States have much, much more resources than we do.

"It is all just a question of using what you have. They weren't vigilant enough. They didn't react to this early enough.

"You know, the countries that taught us the methods that we are using, in doing this in a place like Iceland, they didn't use it themselves. And that is tragic."

As well as testing for COVID-19, deCODE is also taking blood from volunteers to test for antibodies to fight the virus.

And the company is examining whether there is a genetic component to coronavirus.

Dr Stefansson says it is curious how different people respond to the virus.

"There are those who describe this as a mild cold," he said.

"There are those who end up in the intensive care unit on a respirator. And there is everything in between.

"We know that women have less tendency to get infected than men. And if they get infected, they don't get as sick as men. What is it that generates this clinical diversity?"

That is the big question that needs answering, he says, and deCODE has already begun sharing its findings in the hope of finding an answer.

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Coronavirus was widespread in UK at very start of pandemic, says genetics expert - Sky News

Genetics

Medical Information of 233,000 Individuals Exposed after Genetic Testing Lab Hack – Security Boulevard

April 27, 2020 medical

As the tab for security incidents in 2020 remains open, cybercriminals are diligently looking for new ways to attack and capitalize on valuable healthcare information. More than 143 security incidents have been added to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Breach Reporting Tool since the beginning of the year, and bad actors are not showing signs of halting their disruptive actions any time soon.

Last months showstopper is Ambry Genetics, a California-based genetic testing laboratory that revealed a security incident potentially exposing the personal health information (PHI) of 233,000 customers, including:

Customer names Medical information Information related to customers use of the genetic laboratorys services Limited amount of Social Security numbers

In accordance with HIPPA Breach Notification Rule, the company has published a notice on its official page, detailing the events. Between 22 and 24 January, Ambrys security team noticed unauthorized access to one of their employee accounts and started investigating the incident. Although the company found no clear signs of misuse, it does not rule out the exposure of customer personal information.

The investigation was unable to determine whether there was unauthorized access to, or acquisition of, any particular information from the email account, and we are not aware of any misuse of any personal information. Nevertheless, we are notifying our customers because customer personal information may have been impacted, reads the Substitute Notice.

As a preventive measure, Ambry Genetics is now offering customers free identity monitoring services to affected individuals and reassures customers that they have taken the necessary steps to avoid any future incidents.

The high number of potentially exposed medical records put customers at risk of falling victim to medical identity theft and fraud. Using the stolen information, cyber thieves can make fake medical claims and steal a victims insurance, and even send out extortion emails that demand payment for not revealing any sensitive information.

Its important for potential victims to be wary of any unsolicited emails they might find in the Inbox, keep an eye on their medical bills, and review their medical records for any suspicious entries.

Algorithm Developed to Predict the Evolution of Genetic Mutations – SciTechDaily

April 27, 2020 medical

The algorithm called minimum epistasis interpolation results in a visualization of how a protein could evolve to either become highly effective or not effective at all. They compared the functionality of thousands of versions of the protein, finding patterns in how mutations cause the protein to evolve from one functional form to another. Credit: McCandlish lab/CSHL, 2020

Quantitative biologists David McCandlish and Juannan Zhou at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have developed an algorithm with predictive power, giving scientists the ability to see how specific genetic mutations can combine to make critical proteins change over the course of a species evolution.

Described in Nature Communications, the algorithm called minimum epistasis interpolation results in a visualization of how a protein could evolve to either become highly effective or not effective at all. They compared the functionality of thousands of versions of the protein, finding patterns in how mutations cause the protein to evolve from one functional form to another.

Epistasis describes any interaction between genetic mutations in which the effect of one gene is dependent upon the presence of another. In many cases, scientists assume that when reality does not align with their predictive models, these interactions between genes are at play. With this in mind, McCandlish created this new algorithm with the assumption that every mutation matters. The term Interpolation describes the act of predicting the evolutionary path of mutations a species might undergo to achieve optimal protein function.

The researchers created the algorithm by testing the effects of specific mutations occurring in the genes that make streptococcal GB1 protein. They chose the GB1 protein because of its complex structure, which would generate enormous numbers of possible mutations that could be combined in an enormous number of possible ways.

Because of this complexity, visualization of this data set became so important, says McCandlish. We wanted to turn the numbers into a picture so that we can understand better what [the data] is telling us.

The visualization is like a topological map. Height and color correlate with the level of protein activity and distance between points on the map represents how long it takes for the mutations to evolve to that level of activity.

The GB1 protein begins in nature with a modest level of protein activity, but may evolve to a level of higher protein activity through a series of mutations that occur in several different places.

A photo of David McCandlish in his office. He is pointing to a visualization of what he calls the protein GB1s evolutionary space. Credit: CSHL, 2020

McCandlish likens the evolutionary path of the protein to hiking, where the protein is a hiker trying to get to the highest or best mountain peaks most efficiently. Genes evolve in the same manner: with a mutation seeking the path of least resistance and increased efficiency.

To get to the next best high peak in the mountain range, the hiker is more likely to travel along the ridgeline than hike all the way back down to the valley. Going along the ridgeline efficiently avoids another potentially tough ascent. In the visualization, the valley is the blue area, where combinations of mutations result in the lowest levels of protein activity.

The algorithm shows how optimal each possible mutant sequence is and how long it will take for one genetic sequence to mutate into any of many other possible sequences. The predictive power of the tool could prove particularly valuable in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers need to know how a virus is evolving in order to know where and when to intercept it before it reaches its most dangerous form.

McCandlish explains that the algorithm can also help understand the genetic routes that a virus might take as it evolves to evade the immune system or gain drug resistance. If we can understand the likely routes, then maybe we can design therapies that can prevent the evolution of resistance or immune evasion.

There are additional potential applications for such a predictive genetic algorithm, including drug development and agriculture.

You know, at the very beginning of genetics there was all this interesting speculation as to what these genetic spaces would look like if you could actually look at them, McCandlish added. Now were really doing it! Thats really cool.

Reference: Minimum epistasis interpolation for sequence-function relationships by Juannan Zhou and David M. McCandlish, 14 April 2020, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15512-5

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Algorithm Developed to Predict the Evolution of Genetic Mutations - SciTechDaily