Human Behavior

Keep the Faith: The pandemic is not Gods punishment – Worcester Mag

I was listening to the news on the radio the other day and there was a particular segment on opening churches and religious freedom that caught my attention. An enthusiastic proponent of opening churches was being interviewed and in the course of making his point he said something like: the Egyptians were visited by plagues and they didnt succumb, but toughed it out. I did a double take. (Can you do a double take if its a voice on the radio?) Regardless, I said to myself, hes misread the whole story. In fact, I wonder if he really knows the story at all.

Lets go to the Bible. For the sake of brevity, Im going to zip through big parts of the story in order to focus on what I think are the take-away points for us in this instance.

God uses the betrayal of Joseph by his brothers to bring him to Egypt. He has a plan for him. There, through Gods gift, he interprets for Pharaoh the dreams that had been disturbing him. Then Pharaoh entrusts Joseph with managing and preparing for both the seven years of plenty, and the seven years of famine, foretold in his dream.

In gratitude, Pharaoh invites Jacob, Josephs father, Joseph's brothers and their families, and the Israelites to settle in Egypt. They prosper and grow. Over time, the memory of Joseph fades. The Egyptians decide to exploit and then enslave the children of Israel. And so, God sends another deliverer: Moses.

Moses is sent to rescue his people from this slavery, and demands from Pharaoh that he allow them to leave Egypt. Pharaoh refuses, so God decides that he will persuade him, through Moses. His persuasion technique? The plagues.

God visits the plagues on Egypt, on Pharaoh, not to punish, but to alter their behavior, to get them to repent. Yes, they endured each of the plagues, one more terrible than the other, but after a brief repentance, they reverted to their original hard-heartedness. Even after the last terrible plague of the death of the first-born, they reverted and were determined to bring the Israelites back to Egypt, back to slavery. The Egyptians wanted their old life back again. And so, they pursued them even into the Sea turned dry land, and then God allowed the waters to cover them over.

No, the Egyptians did not overcome the plagues. No, they didnt really tough it out. They refused to accept what God was trying to teach them and suffered the consequences. It wasnt punishment, it was the obvious result of their unwillingness to learn. So, if one is going to take up lessons from the Bible, one might first need to read the Scriptures a little more carefully.

What any trial or crisis elicits is the hidden strengths or weaknesses in a person or community or nation. This particular crisis, this pandemic, is such a test, on steroids. We are seeing expressions of what is best in us in the sacrifice of countless people who are putting themselves, and often their loved-ones, at risk to help others. We are also seeing what is weak and even selfish in us by wanting our life back without yet fully appreciating what it was that got us here in the first place; by blaming others while ignoring what we ourselves need to do, in a word, repent. The pandemic is not Gods punishment, but perhaps he is using it to persuade us to change the way we treat one another and his creation.

The Exodus event has much to teach us. I would urge you to pick up your Bible and read it over from the second half of Genesis through the Book of Exodus and see how the children of Israel responded to their new-found freedom. Also, see the lessons God had for them as well. It turns out that the Egyptians are not the only ones afflicted with a prideful hard-heartedness.

I'd urge you to study the lessons in the Exodus. Like much of Scripture, it's replete with examples of human behavior and God's love that we can learn from. Christians see in this great story a precursor, a foreshadowing, of the salvation God would bring humanity in the coming of Jesus Christ. In most languages Christians call Easter: "Passover," (something we lose in English). The first Passover points to the second. In both Feasts we learn that true freedom, true liberation comes when we listen to God and strive to do his will.

The Rev. Nicholas Apostola is parish priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury

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Keep the Faith: The pandemic is not Gods punishment - Worcester Mag

Human Behavior

‘Married at First Sight’: Mindy Shiben Details How the Show Films and Vets Cast Members – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Do you ever watch some of todays reality television shows and wonder what goes on behind the scenes? How do those contestants get selected? What else is there more going on when the cameras stop rolling? Married at First Sight fans notoriously cringe at some of the goings-on and behaviors from their favorites on the show. Mindy Shiben is one such popular cast member, and she took to Reddit recently to answer some of the fans most burning questions. Considering how quickly her relationship unraveled in front of the world, there were tons of questions to which fans needed answers. Interestingly, she shed some light on some previously unknown details about her experience overall and how the producers vet cast members.

RELATED: Married at First Sight: Mindy Shiben Calls Fans Out For Cyberbullying Katie Conrad, Jokes About Zach Justices Insults

Lifetimes popular series Married at First Sight season 10 had fans tuned into life with newly wedded Zach Justice and Mindy Shiben. The couple fell apart nearly as quickly as the show put them together, and some say Justice soon became the shows most MIA husbands of all time. He refused to move in with Shiben and barely contacted her when the cameras werent filming. Adding insult to injury, there was speculation that Justice was engaging with Shibens friend. So when Mindy Shiben took to Reddit for an AMA session, fans were dying to connect with her about the whole process.

There were also rumors circulating that while Mindy Shiben had applied for the show, Zach Justice had not. In fact, some sources said he had instead been recruited to participate. When fans ask Shiben about it on Reddit, she confirmed both accounts. This gives fans a better look at how it is participants are selected.

Despite the failure of her experimental marriage, Mindy Shiben said the matchmaking process was intense and prolonged. Communication began with Skype interviews to uncover intentions and goals. There were then long, in-person days where contestants would meet and interview with the experts. Shiben also shared that there were lengthy psychological evaluations. But she also says science cant always predict human behavior.

Having spent a ton of time with so many of the shows various relationship and behavioral experts, fans were dying to know if Mindy Shiben had a favorite. She was hesitant to respond, citing she doesnt like to use the term favorite. All of them have been integral to my journey, she replied in the threads. But if she had to pick just one, she did say she felt most connected to Dr. Viviana.

When things fell apart, fans had to learn from Mindy Shiben if the experts ever consoled her for their failures. Shiben takes the high ground and reminds fans that this show is more a social experiment without promises or guarantees. She recognized the experts did their best, and while they did try to get Zach Justice to plug-in to the marriage, they couldnt force anything, according to InTouch Weekly.

When she was asked about what she would consider being some of the most challenging aspects of the show, Mindy Shiben hated not having music around and was bummed the couples weekend didnt offer an alone option. Other than that, she felt she adapted well to filming and participating in the show. Fans love her for her candid and honest perseverance. One commenter said, your perseverance throughout MAFS says so much about your strong character. It suggests that there are more than a few fans out there who think Zach Justice didnt deserve her in the end anyway.

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'Married at First Sight': Mindy Shiben Details How the Show Films and Vets Cast Members - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Human Behavior

How to deal with bears in the Chattanooga area as they arise from torpor – Chattanooga Times Free Press

This is the time of year that young black bears across the Chattanooga region look for food, mates, shelter and new territory, while mother bears and cubs are hungry after a winter-long nap.

That means humans' chances of encountering them will be much higher as spring leads into summer.

The best way to deal with bears the region's largest predator is to be anything but friendly and eliminate anything that attracts them to your home, campsite or hiking group. And wildlife officials in the region want everyone to remember what to do when humans and bears cross paths.

That usually happens where human and bear territories overlap, like in suburban areas near forests, and where humans enter bear habitat for recreation.

Black bears, particularly females with cubs, have spent the months since Thanksgiving in a state of dormancy, referred to as "torpor," according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. During this period of slumber, bears' normal processes like eating, drinking and other bodily functions are dramatically slowed to allow them to endure the cold.

"As you can imagine, bears are hungry and ready to find food when they leave those dens. This search for food can sometimes put them a little too close to people," said Adam Hammond, state bear biologist in Georgia. There are an estimated 4,100 black bears in Georgia.

Mix that with increased human activity and the chance for encounters is heightened, according to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokeswoman Mime Barnes. Tennessee's black bear population stands at about 4,000, according to 2018 state estimates.

In North Georgia, black bears are most common in the eastern mountainous counties in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but they show up all over the state, and their numbers are increasing. Georgia has an estimated 2,200 black bears.

Black bear numbers in Alabama are far fewer than in Tennessee and Georgia, and historically they have lived mostly in the southwest portion of the state around Mobile. Those bears appear to be a Florida subspecies of black bear, according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. But in recent years, black bears have steadily moved from Northwest Georgia into Northeast Alabama. These bears, the same ones that can be found in Tennessee and Georgia, are known as the American Black Bear. The two look very similar.

Bears can show up anywhere, as demonstrated in June 2014 when a large male black bear was struck and killed by an SUV on Dayton Boulevard, just two blocks from Red Bank City Hall. The bear weighed 200 to 250 pounds. Another bear was spotted in East Hamilton County in the Apison community in 2017, and another was spied by two hikers heading to Audubon Acres in July 2015, just a mile or so from busy Hamilton Place mall. Bears also have been frequently sighted in most surrounding counties in recent years.

While black bear attacks are exceedingly uncommon, it has happened in the Chattanooga region.

On June 6, 2015, a 16-year-old boy was dragged from his hammock and mauled as he slept at a campsite 4.5 miles from Fontana Lake in North Carolina's portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The boy sustained multiple injuries before his father managed to shoo the bear away.

On April 13, 2006, a 6-year-old Ohio girl was killed, and her mother and 2-year-old brother were injured in a black bear attack on Chilhowee Mountain in Polk County, Tennessee. Based on initial information on the attack, officials at the time said the attack came as the family enjoyed the water pooled at the base of Benton Falls at a popular recreation spot on Chilhowee Mountain. At the bottom of the falls, a large bear that might have been stalking the family burst from the woods and grabbed the little boy by the head while the mother and others tried to fend the bear off. The mother was then dragged off the trail as the people fought off the bear. In the chaos, the 6-year-old girl vanished and was found later by emergency officials with a bear hovering over the little girl's body.

In May 2000, a 50-year-old Cosby, Tenn., schoolteacher became the first person known to die from a bear attack in the history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to previously published reports.

All the more reason to avoid them and activities that get their attention.

*If you see a bear in your yard, look large and make a lot of noise, back slowly away

*Never approach or follow a bear to take photos

*Do not purposefully feed bears

*Remove all attractants from your yard including bird feeders, uneaten pet food and ripe fruits or garden vegetables

*Store grills in a garage or outbuilding

*Store trash and recycling in bear proof containers

*Do not feed birds between April and January when bears are most active

*Remove uneaten pet food from outside areas or feed pets indoors

*Do not add greasy foods to your compost piles or compost in bear-proof containers

*Keep cooking grills clean and stored indoors when not in use

Source: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Humans' springtime activities like gardening, hiking and grilling outdoors can be like a beacon to roaming bears, Barnes said, and sometimes people unknowingly put out the welcome mat.

"Attractants include bird feeders, trash, grills and pet food bowls with leftover food," she said.

Greasy grills, ripe vegetables in a garden, trash and bird feeders not only attract bears, but also provide effortless meals, she said, and a bear doesn't forget where its last easy meal came from.

That's where the adage "a fed bear is a dead bear" comes from, as TWRA officials put down dangerous bears that become used to populated areas. Purposely feeding bears is even worse.

"Relocating a conditioned, dangerous bear to another area just moves the problem, and this isn't an option," TWRA Region 3 big game biologist Ben Layton said. "Bears will travel impressive distances to return to an area where they easily found food."

"TWRA's goal is to help people understand their behavior often causes nuisance issues. If we change these behaviors, everyone is safe," Layton said.

Layton and Hammond urge folks to become "bear wise," referring to the nonprofit bear education program, bearwise.org, a website that educates the public and publicizes bear safety measures everyone should follow. The program was developed by bear biologists from each of the 15 state wildlife agencies that make up the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

*Black bears can be found across most of North America. Black bear habitat varies from the lowlands of Florida to the mountains, deserts and subarctic tundra. Black bears can be found in and adjacent to metropolitan areas.

*Colors: Black, brown, blond, rust, or cinnamon. Rare colors are white and blue

*Size: Adults measure about 3 feet at the shoulder and 5 to 6 feet when standing

*Weight: Adults weigh 125-425 pounds or more. Some Tennessee bears can weigh as much as 500 pounds

*Life Span: Approximately 20 years

*Eyesight: Similar to humans

*Sense of Smell: Excellent; can span miles

*Attributes: Very agile; climb trees well; good swimmers; and can run as fast as 35 mph

*A black bears diet can include acorns, berries, insects, vegetation, fish and other live prey, and carrion. They mate during May and early June. They hibernate between November and April when food is scarce, though this may vary. Healthy mothers produce one to three cubs.

Source: http://www.bebearaware.org

*Stay on established trails

*Hike in groups during daylight hours only

*Keep children close and in sight at all times

*Make your presence known call out

*Bears may be more aggressive during droughts, storms and forest fires

*Avoid carcasses. Report dead animals near a trail or campsite to a local wildlife officials

*If an animal approaches, back away to maintain a safe distance

*Taking pets on hiking trails is not advised they may attract bears or cougars

SUDDEN CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Dont panic! Calmly group together and pick up small children. Do not run, make sudden movements or direct aggressive eye contact, which may instinctively cause the bear to charge

If the black bear clacks its teeth, woofs, pants, growls or slaps its paws on the ground, it is warning you to back off. Give the bear a chance to identify you as a human, and not a threat. Let the bear calm down and retreat. Talk firmly in a low-pitched voice while backing away.

A bear that continues to follow or circle you, disappears and reappears or enters your camp site during the day or night is possibly exhibiting predatory behavior. If the bear continues to approach or becomes threatening, your group should become increasingly aggressive by shouting, throwing rocks or using bear spray.

BEAR ATTACK

If a black bear attacks you, fight back by hitting its nose and eyes with your fists, and by kicking. Your hiking companions can help you fight with walking sticks, pans, branches and rocks or their bear spray. Dont play dead with black bears.

Source: http://www.bebearaware.org

Tennessee: If bears present safety or property problems call the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in Southeast Tennessee at 800-262-6704 or in upper East Tennessee at 800-332-0900 or visit tn.gov/twra to find more information.

Georgia: Call the Georgia Department of Natural Resources 770-918-6401 or go to georgiawildlife.com to find information on how to deal with bears and other problem wildlife.

Alabama: Go to alabamablackbearalliance.org/bear-report or call 800-822-9453 to report a bear sighting.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton or at http://www.facebook.com/benbenton1.

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How to deal with bears in the Chattanooga area as they arise from torpor - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Cell Biology

Novel DNA analysis will help to identify food origin and counterfeit food in the future – Baltic Times

Estonian scientists are developing a DNA-based method of analysis that enables them to identify food components and specify the origin of a foodstuff.

Bioinformatics specialists at the University of Tartu, in cooperation with the Competence Centre on Health Technologies, have published a research paper in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science in which they indicated the possibility to identify components in thermally processed food using DNA analysis even if the quantities were very small. The scientists analysed thermally processed cookies that contained a small amount of lupin flour. The DNA analysis provided reliable identification of lupin even when the lupin flour content in the dough was just 0.02%.

Food always contains the DNA traces of the plants, animals and microorganisms that have been used or that the food or its raw materials have come into contact with in the production process. DNA analysis can provide valuable information on the content, origin, safety and health benefits of food and will make the identification of counterfeit foods and non-compliances in the ingredients specified on the packaging more reliable in the future. For example, certain cases gained attention last year in which the origin of honey and the authenticity of Estonian honey needed verification. The novel DNA analysis would make it possible to solve such issues.

According to Kairi Raime, the lead author of the article, Research Fellow of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and a doctoral student at the University of Tartu, their method is a major step forward in the development of DNA-based methods for food analysis. Our method helps to identify the actual biological contents and origins of food via DNA information and thus ensures the safety and authenticity of the food, she explained. Raime is planning to defend her PhD dissertation on the topic.

The DNA may be significantly degraded in processed food. Scientists extracted DNA from the cookies and analysed it using DNA sequencing technology. For the analysis of a single biscuit, approximately 20 million DNA sequences were obtained. Based on these, and by using bioinformatic analysis, it was possible to specify the DNA of the species found in the sample analysed. The main issue was the preparation of the DNA for sequencing, as the DNA is often degraded in food and even minute amounts of DNA molecules must be identified.

Kaarel Krjutkov, Head of the Precision Medicine Laboratory of the Competence Centre on Health Technologies and Senior Research Fellow of Molecular Medicine at the University of Tartu, whose laboratory was used to prepare the sequencing of the DNA extracted from the biscuits, noted that faking the DNA fingerprint of a food is complicated and expensive, and it is therefore cheaper to offer authentic food. People can see that in medicine, precise DNA analysis is already a reality, but in food industry and in the field of food safety, the golden age of DNA-based analysis is yet to come, Krjutkov remarked.

The research used a method based on short, unique DNA sequences (k-mers) for analysing genomic DNA data, which enables the scientists to quickly identify plant or bacterial DNA present in a food or an environmental sample. The Chair of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Tartu has been developing competence in the bioinformatics of k-mers and DNA analysis over the last five years. The software developed in the Chair of Bioinformatics has been used both in medicine and for providing food safety.

The article authors earlier cooperation resulted in the NIPTIFY foetal chromosomal disorder test, which helps to detect, with almost 100% accuracy, the DNA sequences causing foetal Down syndrome in the mothers blood sample as early as the tenth week of pregnancy. The genome analysis method developed in the Chair of Bioinformatics is used to identify pathogenic bacteria, specify their disease-causing capabilities and predict antibiotic resistance. This enabled Maido Remm, Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Tartu, and his working group to advise the management board of a production company contaminated with a dangerous strain and to help determine the spread of type ST1247 in the company during the listeria outbreak in autumn 2019.

According to Remm, the research article proves that DNA sequencing can also be used for identifying allergenic ingredients in processed food. DNA sequencing is a promising diagnostic method which makes it possible to quickly obtain precise information about food and the microbes around us, he said. The use of sequencing and k-mers makes it possible in a very short time to implement a diverse range of diagnostic tests that meet the needs of researchers and companies.

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Novel DNA analysis will help to identify food origin and counterfeit food in the future - Baltic Times

Cell Biology

Hyderabads CCMB develops Covid test that can handle up to 50,000 times more samples – ThePrint

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Hyderabad: A new Covid-19 test developed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) can test 20,000-50,000 Covid-19 samples daily a breakthrough that could significantly enhance Indias testing capacity, according to the institutes director Rakesh Mishra.

In an interview to ThePrint, Mishra said if all goes well, the new Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) kit will be operational in about four weeks. It will change the game, he said.

Presently, cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru are conducting about 1,000-2,000 tests every day, he said. In the last 24 hours, India conducted tests on 1.08 lakh samples.

According to Mishra, the new kit will offer diagnosis through sequencing of several pieces of the virus genetic material, and lessen the chances of inaccurate testing.

India is currently testing for Covid-19 through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. In the current method, nasal swabs are taken from a person in VTM (viral transport medium). The liquid is taken from this, RNA (ribonucleic acid) is extracted and RT-PCR test is conducted, said Mishra.

The isolation of RNA makes RT-PCR expensive and more time-consuming. The NGS technique will do away with that, he said.

A collection centre can collect thousand samples in one go, as more than that can be a logistical problem, and we will collect samples from 20 to 50 centres, said the CCMB chief. The test results would come in two days and at one-third the cost but with the same amount of efficiency, he added.

The new testing module will also help in surveillance of Covid-19 suspects, he said. The Next Generation Sequencing will help in diagnosis and surveying the disease at a much faster rate, Mishra told ThePrint.

The RT-PCR test works by sequencing and then testing with a fluorescent dye just one sample at a time. The NGS tests are done under a similar mechanism, but the difference between it and single DNA sequencing (called Sanger sequencing) is the volume. The NGS method allows for virologists and technicians to sequence hundreds of thousands of samples in parallel due to the improved design of sequencing machines, which can hold multiple samples instead of just one.

This is a high-throughput process that saves both time and cost. Additionally, the improved machines also come with improved sensitivity and are capable of detecting the virus RNA with fewer chances of a false negative.

The project is in collaboration with Syngene, a Bengaluru-based company. The process for the kits approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indias nodal Covid-19 testing body, is underway, said the CCMB director.

The effort has come from the Hyderabad-based primary research institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) centre, which has been working on enhancing Covid-19 testing in India.

Also read: Cases, fatality rate or deaths per million, India in control of Covid: Niti Aayog expert

In response to ICMRs latest guidelines that focus on testing only symptomatic patients, Rakesh Mishra said, Testing is like seeing whats around us. If you see more, you will be more informed.

If you give me a choice, I will test everybody as it helps understand where to do a lockdown or where to resume business, he said.

Noting concerns about resources among governments, he said, If we test more, we will be in a better position. He added that healthcare workers, in particular, must be tested at least every two weeks.

With worlds eyes set on developing a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, Mishra said the CCMB was also working on one. In an ideal scenario, the vaccine the institute is developing will be ready for use by the first half of next year, he added.

The research institute has established stable virus cultures using coronavirus from patients samples. This will help us in vaccine development and drug testing to fight Covid-19. Now we can confidently say that were done with a major chunk of the work as for isolating the infectious viruses from other isolates, said Mishra.

The CCMB, which cultures the virus in its labs, uses vero cells (from the kidney of monkeys) to establish cell lines to grow the virus for developing a vaccine.

We have a special Bio Safety level 3 lab where we culture the live virus, he said. CCMB is also using a version of the vero cell called E6. It is also getting human epithelial cells from the lungs from I-Step, another company in Bengaluru, in a joint collaboration. This is exactly from where the virus spreads so these cells help us study it properly, he said.

Out of a team of 60 people working on the vaccine, 45 are students of the institute who volunteered to be part of the process.

Also read:Covid patients with high blood pressure face double risk of death, says Chinese study

The novel coronavirus originated in mid-November to December in China, the CCMB director told ThePrint. The institute was able to calculate this based on the timing of the mutation rate.

The scientists working at the institute discovered that after the infection originated from Wuhan in China, it came to Southeast Asia in mid-February when a new clade emerged A3i, which is unique to India and Southeast Asia, and is the second most dominant in the country.

It contributes to 41 per cent of the infection among patients in the country, he said.

The two clades in India are A3i and A2a, which is known across the world. A clade is a cluster of SARS CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) that are similar in evolution and grouped together due to certain characteristic mutations.

Mishra said the virus reached Hyderabad first from where it spread in India. Although some isolated cases did come to Kerala from Wuhan, the major cases first arrived in Hyderabad and across Telangana followed by Tamil Nadu and some parts of Delhi before the lockdown was enforced on 25 March, he said.

From the mutation, it theoretically appears that it could affect it (the virus) by slowing down the spread and showing up in patients in a less symptomatic manner The virus will be less efficient. It may spread less efficiently, it may be less symptomatic. Either of the two can happen, he said, adding that its too early to tell but there is sufficient evidence to investigate this further.

The CSIR institute director also highlighted that CCMB is working on an alternative to plasma therapy, in partnership with a Hyderabad-based company and the University of Hyderabad.

Since we have an immense amount of inactivated virus to work on the vaccine, one can also inject that in large animals, say a horse, and make an antibody in the horse and collect it and use it as an antidote in patients to test it, he said.

A Hyderabad-based company is taking the virus from CCMB and using it to test in horses. It will be like replacing plasma therapy as one of the options to treat patients, so were hoping to get beneficial results from there too, he said, adding that horse antibodies have been used since 1890.

Talking about how scientific solutions have been overlooked in India, Rakesh Mishra said, We spend very little money on research, science and technology, but we need to realise solutions to problems lie in science.

Referring to how the economy world over has been hit due to coronavirus, he said the solutions will come from a lab. The government and big industrial houses have perhaps realised this amid the spread of Covid-19 a positive side-effect of the disease.

Also read:AstraZenecas cancer drug shows early signs of promise in treating severe Covid cases

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Hyderabads CCMB develops Covid test that can handle up to 50,000 times more samples - ThePrint

Cell Biology

COVID-19 in India may have originated from Europe and Middle East: Study – Northeast Now

Researchers have claimed that the novel coronavirus in India may have originated from Europe, South Asia, Middle East and Oceania.

According to a study conducted by experts from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), there is a close connection between source of virus and the countries that are most travelled by Indians.

The study which was conducted by MainakMondal, AnkitaLawarde and KumaravelSomasundaram from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, was published in the scientific journal Current Science.

The researchers carried out systematic analysis of genome sequences of Indian SARS-CoV-2 isolates and inferred the possible source of origin and important genetic variants of Indian viruses.

The analysis revealed that most Indian SARS-CoV-2 viruses (129 out of 137) show more similarity to that of specific countries, the study said.

In cluster A, Indian samples show more similarity to the viruses found in Oceania, Kuwait and South Asian samples, while in the cluster B, Indian samples show more similarity to mainly European and few numbers of Middle East/South Asian samples, it added.

The study stated that these results indicate that majority of Indian SARS-CoV-2 viruses have originated from Europe, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania regions.

The remaining Indian isolates have grouped with other clusters which contained most samples from China and East Asia.

This indicates that these viruses might have been introduced by Indian travellers from China and its neighbouring countries as they show close resemblance to ancestral Chinese virus, it added.

The possible spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to India through Middle East countries from Europe and Oceania regions cannot be ruled out, the study said.

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COVID-19 in India may have originated from Europe and Middle East: Study - Northeast Now

Physiology

Letter To The Editor: Love Overcomes Hate – Los Alamos Daily Post

By BEATRICE N. ODEZULU, MBALos Alamos

I am writing as an African American woman with four kids and a husband trying to process the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd. We have mourned and now are trying to heal.

My children are asking me questions which I do not have any answer to. However, a Scripture popped up in my heart, Love overcomes hate. Love your neighbor means treat them the way you would want to be treated.

The community has a huge role to play in creating an environment where love prevails. When you see a person, see them as a human being first. We all bleed, hurt, and want good things in life. The color of my skin does not take away my humanity. It is deep ignorance to think that the quantity of melanin (pigment that determines skin tone) that someone has, makes them less human. When donating blood or signing up to be an organ donor, nobody cares what your skin color is. Yet, skin color has resulted in untold hardship for thousands.

Some may not understand the term white privilege because they have never been on the other side of the fence. It means the hurdles and glass ceilings you dont have to constantly deal with in the ordinary course of living, because you have the right skin color. If you have not been followed around while shopping, you are enjoying that privilege. [Thats the reason I dont like shopping. My husband does all the shopping].

In 2012, I went with my then 7-year-old girl to our beloved CB Fox to shop. A clerk kept following us so that my daughter innocently asked why the woman was following us. I told her she wanted to make sure we were not having any problems. My daughter pointed out that she was not following other shoppers and then I had to tell her the bitter truth: There are things people will do to you and not to others, just because of your skin color.

People that act that way will not consider themselves racists. It is just ingrained in our society and people do it without giving thought to why they are doing it.

The African American male suffers the consequences of racial profiling in a proportion that is heart-breaking. Even with education and civility, it does not erase how they are being viewed and treated. My husband has a Ph.D. in Physiology and Anatomy, yet he cannot get a job to provide for his family. His job as a professor in Northern New Mexico College was terminated 6 years ago because of racial injustice. His students protested because they loved him, and he was a wonderful teacher that made the most difficult course easy to understand.

Peaceful protest of racial injustice is one way to overcome this evil. I was touched when I saw the variety of people protesting: white, black, yellow, red, young, old etc. It shows there is hope for humanity. Love is the way to extend it to our homes. What and how we talk, at our dinner tables, about other people different from us matter. Choose the love way. Explain to your family that even if people are different from you, they are humans and have the same basic needs you have.

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Letter To The Editor: Love Overcomes Hate - Los Alamos Daily Post

Physiology

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative awards $1.49 million to Stanford researchers | The – Stanford University News

by Stanford Medicine on June 13, 2020 1:30 pm

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) has awarded $1.49 million to research projects involving Stanford Medicine scientists who will investigate emerging ideas about the role of inflammationin disease. The grants will be awarded over a two-year period.

Ami Bhatt is one of the researchers on the Analyzing how inflammation affects the aging brain project that will be receiving funds from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. (Courtesy Stanford Medicine)

CZI is a philanthropic organization established byFacebookfounder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, in 2015.

Following are short descriptions of the projects, their funding amounts and the names of their investigators (lead investigators are listed first):

Analyzing how inflammation affects the aging brain ($525,000): ANNE BRUNET, professor of genetics; AMI BHATT, assistant professor of genetics and of hematology; CHRIS GARCIA, professor of structural biology and of molecular and cellular physiology.

Imaging gut immune cells and microbes to understand health and disease($300,000): LUCY ERIN OBRIEN, assistant professor of molecular and cellular and biology; KC HUANG, professor of bioengineering and of microbiology and immunology.

Studying vascular disease in black and Hispanic patients ($525,000): JOSEPH WU, professor of cardiovascular medicine and director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute; ELSIE GYANG ROSS, assistant professor of vascular surgery and of biomedical informatics research; and PHILIP TSAO, professor of cardiovascular medicine.

Understanding how stress and social disparity affect preterm birth ($140,000): Jingjing Li, assistant professor of neurology (UCSF); GARY SHAW, professor of pediatrics; and DAVID K. STEVENSON, professor of pediatrics.

Read this article and more on the Stanford Medicine website.

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Physiology

A Homeopathic Defence Against COVID-19 Is No Defence at All – The Wire

Arsenicum album 30C (Aa30C) is a homeopathic drug that Indias Ministry of AYUSH prescribed through an advisory on March 6, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In section i. Preventive and prophylactic and sub-section Homoeopathy, the ministry advised the recommended dose thus: Arsenicum album 30, daily once in empty stomach for three days.

To make the drug, a mother tincture of the medicine is first made by dissolving by arsenic trioxide in a mixture of glycerine, alcohol and water or sometimes by heating arsenic with water. One millilitre of this tincture is diluted with 99 ml of water plus ethyl alcohol, and given a few machine-operated, moderate, equal and successive jerks, called succussions. This leads to a 100-fold dilution. The process is repeated 30-times to produce the final product, of 30C potency. A few drops of this, loaded on sugar pills, is administered to an individual. Apparently, each dilution plus succussion step makes the formulation more potent, and the process is called potentisation.

Starting with a mother tincture that has 200 grams of arsenic trioxide in 1 litre of liquid, the 30C potency medicine has one molecule of the active material present in a volume equivalent to that of 1 million Suns. In terms of the active material, an individual is consuming zero molecules.

However, this should not surprise us. Homeopathy was first proposed in Germany by Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) as an alternate medicinal strategy, more than 200 years ago. This was a time when the chemistry to show the above effect was not known (now it is in school textbooks). This was also an era where orthodox medicine was crude, often involving blood-letting. Compared to this, homeopathy seemed safe and humane. But today, when science has since made numerous strides, it is problematic that homeopathic principles still evade the rigours of scientific questioning.

From nothingness to water memory

Homeopathy takes recourse in the notion that water, when it comes in contact with the active material, develops molecular memory. In the absence of this active material in the final formulation, it is this memory-laden water that triggers an immune response in the human body. Note that the active material arsenic, in this case is chosen based on the homeopathic law of similars, i.e. a substance that induces the symptoms of a disease.

Unfortunately, there is no evidence of water having any kind of memory. Even the journal Nature was touched by this controversy. It should also strike us that if water remembered what it touched, it would have lots of memories of anything it touched.

Any scientific response to such lack of evidence should be rigorous experimentation to demonstrate effects, or the lack of it. However, the actual response to any critique of homeopathy has often been that science does not know everything yet.

The quest to explain how homeopathy works has also led to hypotheses that suggest the active material somehow survives in even the most dilute homeopathic medicines. Here, the original active material finds its way into the final drug via interaction of the drug and bubbles formed during succussions. However, the methods used in the study are not standard for potentisation. The physics of bubbles catching the active material is unclear, and control experiments like checking for contaminants were not performed.

More importantly, even if traces of active material are present, how do they trigger physiology to act against an external agent (like the novel coronavirus)? We dont know. For a chemical to be accepted as a drug, it takes years of experimentation, involving laboratory experiments, animal trials and human trials over multiple phases. But proponents of homeopathy have claimed that it cannot be subjected to such trials because it provides highly individualised doses. However, the mass distribution of Aa30C is anything but individualised.

Most popular narratives on homeopathy consist of anecdotes and scientific-sounding terms like vital force or biphasic actions. Hahnemann himself explained that homeopathy worked through a dematerialised spiritual force.

We also hear things like a thousand people were given this medicine and then 95% did not get the disease, so it works. This is not what a trial is and these experiments are worthless unless compared with 1,000 people who are given placebos (i.e. blank doses).

The fact that homeopathy thrives is not proof of its efficacy just like the existence of tarot readers and astrologers does not prove that these practices have any scientific basis.

Homeopathy puts on an aura of respectability thanks to scientific journals from major publishers that cater to it.

Many reputed institutions have looked at the available literature and their conclusions are unequivocal. The US National Institutes of Health say, Theres little evidence to support homeopathy as an effective treatment for any specific health condition. The UKs National Health Services (NHS) state, Theres been extensive investigation of the effectiveness of homeopathy. Theres no good-quality evidence that homeopathy is effective as a treatment for any health condition.

A report prepared by a committee appointed by the UK parliament in 2010 called the British governments position on homeopathy confused and recommended that the government stop funding homeopathy on the NHS. The report argued that homeopathy undermines the relationship between NHS doctors and their patients, reduces real patient choice and puts patients health at risk. Since 2017, the NHS has severely restricted access to homeopathy.

After an extensive literature survey, Australias National Health and Medical Research Council concluded in 2015 that there was no reliable evidence from research in humans that homeopathy was effective for treating the range of health conditions considered: no good-quality, well-designed studies with enough participants for a meaningful result reported either that homeopathy caused greater health improvements than placebo, or caused health improvements equal to those of another treatment.

Also read: Will COVID-19 Change AYUSH Research in India for the Better?

A false shield

A much-quoted statement by the WHO sometimes distorted during the Ebola outbreak in 2014 said, In the particular context of the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, it is ethically acceptable to offer unproven interventions that have shown promising results in the laboratory and in animal models but have not yet been evaluated for safety and efficacy in humans as potential treatment or prevention (emphasis added). However, the words in bold are often omitted in public statements, such as in the AYUSH ministry advisory.

All the hype and publicity surrounding Aa30C have set the stage for people to desperately chase what they think is a wonder drug. Clarifications of the type issued by the AYUSH ministry, stating that their recommendation is only in the general context or that it is only for add-on preventive care, is like water off a ducks back. Panic-buying of Aa30C has already been reported. News of random, untracked distributions by various agencies and buyers flocking to pharmacies to buy the concoction at inflated prices continue to pour in.

The problem is significant because people are likely to believe that by imbibing this medicine, they have just acquired a shield against the COVID-19. A corporator in Mumbai mentioned that some people, when questioned about their being out during a lockdown, said that they had taken Arsenicum album. They believed that they would now be immune to the disease.

Anurag Mehra, Supreet Saini and Mahesh Tirumkudulu teach in IIT Bombay.

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A Homeopathic Defence Against COVID-19 Is No Defence at All - The Wire