Category Archives: Transhuman News

In the summer of 2013,Massachusetts authorities announced thatthey had finally identified the serial killer behind one of America's most terrifying cold cases.

They pointed to Albert DeSalvo, a long-deadconvicted rapist.DeSalvo had actuallyconfessed to the murders, but policehad dismissed him as a fraud.

So, why were investigators now so sure thatthey had really solved the mystery ofthe Boston Strangler?

Former LAPD detective and Fox Newsforensic and crime scene expertMark Fuhrmanwent back over the evidence and came to his own conclusionsin Fox Nation's"The Fuhrman Diaries."

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"Between 1962 and early 1964, there was a string of 13 murders in Boston," narrated Fuhrman."They were all females. They were all rapes. They were all murders with a ligature usually acquired within the residence."

However, there was nearly no discernable evidence left at the crime scenes and it was difficult for investigators to determine a pattern to the murders.The ages of the victims ranged from 19 to 85 years old.

"The victimology really created a problem for the police," noted Furhman. "We can't say that he's targeting people. ... They didn't know each other."

"The horrifying crimes rattled police almost as much as the public, but no one could catch him," said Furhman.

Then in 1965, a break in the case. A prisoner named Albert DeSalvo reportedly confessed to his cellmate that he was the Boston Strangler.DeSalvo was in prison for another string of violent rapes, but he didn't kill any of his victims in those heinous crimes.

In another bizarre twist,DeSalvo did not appear to have any detailed knowledge of the murders.

"During criminal investigations, detectives often keep certain pieces of evidence from the public to ensure that during interrogations, there are things only the suspect would know," explained Fuhrman.

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"Albert DeSalvo couldn't recall several crucial details about the crimes he supposedly committed," Fuhrmancontinued, "And in some cases, he got the cause of death, time of death and body position entirely wrong."

Psychiatrists evaluated DeSalvo, and they couldn't come to a conclusion either -- one doctor diagnosed him with multiple personality disorder, another disagreed.

Investigators eventually dismissed DeSalvo's confessionas the ravings of a loudmouth. He was never charged with the Boston Strangler murders and in1973he was stabbed to death by fellow inmates.

The cases laid dormant for decades until 2013 whenDeSalvo's name was again splashed across the headlines.

DNAwas recovered from semen found in decades-old evidence from the murderof 19-year-old Mary Sullivan. The genetic materialwas cross-checked against the DNA of one of DeSalvo's living relatives and finally, police had concrete evidence.

UNDERCOVER AGENT WHO TOOK DOWN NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLER SPEAKS OUT

"This marker was proof that the nephew was related to the person that deposited the semen in the rape victim," said Fuhrman. "So once they had that, they exhumed the body of Albert DeSalvo and took a direct DNA test. And he was, in fact, the person that left a semen sample in Mary Sullivan the day that she was raped and murdered."

DeSalvo was conclusively linked to the murder of Mary Sullivan, but not the other 12 murders.Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley alluded to this fact in a news conference in 2013.

"This leaves no doubt that Albert DeSalvo was responsible for the brutal murder of Mary Sullivan," she said, "and most likely that he was responsible for the horrific murders of the other women he confessed to the killing."

The other unresolved issue was that DeSalvo did not exhibit any knowledge of the crime scenes, but Fuhrman has an answer for that. Hebelieves that DeSalvo could have been the killer -- and not even known it.

"I think Albert DeSalvo did them all --he did all 13 victims of the Boston Strangler -- and I also believe that Albert DeSalvo had multiple personalities," said Furhman.

"If he had multiple personalities, he might not know unless that person is present during that interrogation or interview or statement that he is, in fact, remembering that exact moment," concluded Fuhrman. "I believe he did all of them. I just don't believe Albert knew he did."

To watch more of"The Fuhrman Diaries,"go to Fox Nation and sign up today.

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Did DNA evidence identify the real Boston Strangler? - Fox News

Drake has revealed he had two DNA tests done before he stunned the world on Monday by sharing the first pictures of his adorable son Adonis.

The rapper - who initially kept his two-year-old child's birth a secret - shared a string of photos to Instagram showing off his blue-eyed, blonde curly-haired boy for the first time.

Drake, 33, went viral after rapping on the 2018 track March 14: "I wasnt hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid."

During an interview with Rap Radar which was released in December last year, Drake said he had to get DNA tests for him to be sure he was his child.

To be honest with you, I did a DNA test for my son and it came back to us and it said the DNA test got ruined in transit and they couldnt be 100 percent sure that that was my son or not, he said.

So, I was in a really weird pending situation where I didnt want to go tell the world that that was my son and it wasnt.

Drake alluded to his sons pale skin, blue eyes and blond hair and laughed: If you see my son you understand why.

Hes a stunning child you know, with the brightest blue eyes and at the time I was like I dont know.

It actually wasnt until a week before the album came out that I got confirmation that that was definitely my son.

The rapper then revealed: It took me two more solid [DNA] tests with two different companies.

Former adult movie star Sophie welcomed their son in October 2017.

In 2018, rapper Pusher T released a diss track entitled The Story of Adidon, in which he claimed Drake was hiding a secret child with a porn star.

Having initially keeping the news a secret, Drake confirmed he had fathered a child from a brief fling and opened up about fatherhood on his 2017 album Scorpion.

The rappers mindset appears to have changed as he posted the snaps and gushed over his toddler who he is currently isolating from separately due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Drake demanded two DNA tests for his son before proudly showing him off to the world - Mirror Online

This article originally appeared on VICE AU.

Just before large gatherings were banned due to coronavirus, but after it hit the news, I attended a Mind, Body, Spirit convention in Sydney. As expected, it was full of clairvoyants and generalist psychics. But there were also a lot of people describing themselves as "medical intuitives".

According to various sources, so-called medical intuition involves reading and gathering "energetic information" from the body, in order to heal it. One such practitioner and speaker at the convention was 60-year-old Julie Lewin (pictured above), who told the crowds she could create the perfect DNA to protect you from coronavirus.

Julie would later explain to me that scientific evidence just isn't her thing: "It doesnt matter to me whether it's scientifically proven to be true," she asserted. "Its that I believe it to be true.

For the record, Im no psychic groupie; Im writing a book examining psychics' unchecked power. So this was research. But I was intrigued by Julies grand claim, and called her at home in Queensland to find out more.

Julie at home in Queensland. Image supplied.

I feel and see inside peoples bodies," Julie told me, when asked how she operates as a medical intuitive. "A movie in my mind plays, so I can see whats happening.

Julie has been doing this work since she was 25, when a psychic told her she had a gift. Prior to that she was in corporate life, and among other things ran her own secretarial business. These days she makes a living by running retreats, where she teaches her methods for $997 AUD. She believes everyone has intuition and can learn the techniques to heal themselves.

"Medical intuitives genuinely believe they have a magical gift," says Richard Saunders, former President of Australian Skeptics. "Its largely to do with the constant positive enforcement they get from clients, who are believers to begin with. They surround themselves in a bubble of people who believe the same things. In better times these people slip under the radar, but in times of national emergency they really should be scrutinised, named and shamed."

Trained doctors aren't having it, either. Dr Brad McKay, a Sydney GP (and former host of TV show Embarrassing Bodies) told VICE: Hearing people talk about medical intuition reminds us how important it is to get a formal education."

Look," she adds, "I dont understand the science of it too much, but its like a light switch turning on and off. The one thing I don't do is really get into the science of stuff. I use my intuition and do the visualising, because then I get an outcome."

According to Julie, humans have 20 codons switched on and four that are switched off, and to create immunity from coronavirus we need to have all 24 switched on. How do we do that? I don't feel comfortable giving you the technique, but its a visualisation process where basically youre turning them on she says. But its better they listen to my voice guiding them through that process than seeing it written down.

I checked, and codons form a unit of genetic code in DNA. Humans have 20 different amino acids, and 64 possible codons. Julie says she regularly turns on "all 24" of her own codons through visualisation techniques that help her recover faster from conditions like pneumonia. Its like when I was flying to Sydney for that event she tells me. I noticed two codons werent quite switched on, so I switched them on.

I ask Dr Brad McKays for his thoughts. A visualisation process might earn you high points on a Scrabble board, he says, but isnt going to switch your codons off or on.

In addition to her claims that she can switch codons on and off for her clients, Julie also advises them to keep out of polarity. When I ask her what polarity is she says its like Hitler. He polarised people. They loved him or hated him. Staying out of polarity is keeping your bodys charge zennot too high or low.

Could this all be the placebo effect, I ask her? Absolutely she responds. I think our mind is actually the root of many things.

To find out if the techniques of medical intuitives differ on coronavirus, I also spoke to Catherine Carrigan from Atlanta, Georgia in the US. Catherine describes herself as a "Medical Intuitive Healer" and says she uses her intuitive gifts to read whats happening in your body, energy system, emotions, mind and soul.

Like Julie, Catherine claims to be able to help with immunity against Covid-19. I can help you understand whatll make you strong enough to survive, she explains, listing 24 ways she boosts her clients immune systems naturally, which include stop using the microwave, cultivate positive emotions through regular prayer, and consider liquid silver rather than antibiotics." Catherine's guides are her angels, who tell me we are living through a very dangerous time".

Catherine from Atlanta, Georgia in the US. Image supplied.

So who exactly is going to the likes of Julie and Catherine for their unproven claims, and why? Julie put me in touch with a client, 53-year-old Louise Kelly. Louise is a physiotherapist from Victoria, Australia. When her husband, Al, fell from the house roof four years ago, he catapulted face-first onto concrete and had seven fractures in his spine, skull, nose and jaw. He also had whiplash of the spinal cord. From the ambulance, Louise called Julie.

She said to channel green emerald light through him, Louise tells me. With one hand holding the phone, the other cradled his head and worked on him, she says, while Julie claimed to be doing the sameby remote.

Al was in a neck brace for eight weeks and had to sleep in a chair till he was recovered, five months later. But Louise insists this green-light visualisation had an effect. As an experienced therapist of 30 years, Ive never seen anyone heal as quickly from such a severe accident," she says. "Ten days later, his facial skin was almost completely healed, and he was off his pain medication. He got out of bed on Sundayit happened on Thursday.

Julie's clients, Louise and Al. Image supplied.

Does she tell this story to many people? No. For lots of people its too weird, too way out there, she says. But honestly, its a resource we all have and dont use. Theres so much we dont know.

This knowledge gap should be filled with research-backed knowledge, says Dr Brad McKay. Not intuition. That especially applies to our current situation. Scientists are working hard to find a cure and vaccine to protect us all against coronavirus," he says. "Hearing someone claim to boost your immunity against this potentially lethal virus is insulting to the researchers working day and night to provide us with real solutions.

My intuition tells me the experts aren't buying it.

Gary Nunn is a freelance journalist. Reach him on Twitter: @garynunn1

Excerpt from:
The 'Medical Intuitives' Promising to Protect Your DNA Against Coronavirus - VICE

A virus is a microscopic package of genetic material surrounded by a molecular envelope. The genetic material can be either DNA or RNA.

DNA is a two-strand molecule that is found in all organisms, such as animals, plants, and viruses, and it holds the genetic code, or blueprint, for how these organisms are made and develop.

RNA is generally a one-strand molecule that copies, transcribes and transmits parts of the genetic code to proteins so they can synthetize and carry out functions that keep organisms alive and developing. There are different variations of RNA that do the copying, transcribing and transmitting.

Some viruses such as the coronavirus (SARS-Cov2) only contain RNA, which means they rely on infiltrating healthy cells to multiply and survive. Once inside the cell, the virus uses its own genetic code RNA in the case of the coronavirus to take control of and reprogramme the cells so that they become virus-making factories.

In order for a virus like the coronavirus to be detected early in the body using real time RT-PCR, scientists need to convert the RNA to DNA. This is a process called reverse transcription. They do this because only DNA can be copied or amplified which is a key part of the real time RT-PCR process for detecting viruses.

Scientists amplify a specific part of the transcribed viral DNA hundreds of thousands of times. Amplification is important so that instead of trying to spot a minuscule amount of the virus among millions of strands of genetic information, scientists have a large enough quantity of the target sections of viral DNA to accurately confirm that the virus is present.

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How is the COVID-19 Virus Detected using Real Time RT-PCR? - International Atomic Energy Agency

On May 6, 1993, 8-year-olds Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers were found nude and hogtied in a West Memphis, Arkansas, bayou.

Their bodies and clothes had been jammed into the muddy ground with sticks, and their bikes were found on either side of a pipe bridge not far from the crime scene.

The boys had been so badly mutilated that investigators believed they had been killed in a Satanic ritual, and they soon arrested three outcast teenagers Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. and charged them with the murders.

The so-called West Memphis Three were tried and convicted of the slayings, but they continued to proclaim their innocence from behind bars, and a series of documentaries drew critical attention to the case and suggested the teens were the victims of Satanic Panic, a fear that Satanism would infect society.

While their appeals were repeatedly denied, a new set of DNA testing in 2007 revealed that no genetic material taken from the crime scene was a match to Echols, Baldwin or Misskelley, according to court documents obtained by Oxygen.com.

Four years later, they reached a deal with prosecutors and were released from prison after agreeing to an Alford plea, which allowed them to maintain their innocence while admitting the prosecution had enough evidence to convict them.

Although the men have been free for the past decade, they are still technically convicted killers, and it remains unclear who is responsible for the deaths of Branch, Moore and Byers.

Theres still that sense that something aint right. Things havent been finished. I just want my name back, and I want justice in this case, Baldwin told investigator and host Bob Ruff in the documentary special The Forgotten West Memphis Three, streaming now on Oxygen.

To potentially uncover new evidence in the case, Ruff is hoping to have the crime scene evidence including the bikes, sticks and clothing re-tested with M-Vac, a wet-vacuum DNA collection system that can gather 200 times more DNA sample compared to swab testing.

DNA testing was very limited back at the time of the trial in 1993. There was no such thing as touch DNA and so Im hoping that this new M-Vac technology may be the key to unlocking evidence thats been there this whole time, Ruff said.

In order to gain access to the evidence, however, Ruff and his team need the consent of district prosecuting attorney Scott Ellington. While Ellington was not in office during the original trials, he was throughout their appeals, and he was the one who ultimately approved the Alford plea that freed the West Memphis Three.

Following their release, Ellington pledged he was not abandoning the case.

It would be a dereliction of my duties not to review credible evidence thats been presented, and so we have to do that, Ellington said in a 2012 interview that was also featured in The Forgotten West Memphis Three.

As of now, Ruff and his team say theyve been unsuccessful in their attempt to contact Ellington, even though they have the support of Echols, Baldwin, Misskelley and victims family members, including Branchs mother, Pam Hicks, and Byers brother, Ryan Clark.

Ruffs hope is to finally figure out who murdered Branch, Byers and Moore and give the people involved some closure.

"There were a lot of victims. Many people had their lives completely and absolutely destroyed by this case," Echols told Ruff in The Forgotten West Memphis Three.

Although both Echols and Hicks said they were not surprised by the states lack of response, they continue to support Ruff in his fight for justice.

I met with Scott Ellington and, you know, all of them. Ive been from A to Z. Im the mother, and they wont even let me have access to anything. I want finally to be able to say that its over. But Im not giving up. Ive got too much hope and too much to live for, Hicks said.

Ruff has also vowed to exhaust every single possible avenue and effort to try to figure out who killed these boys.

The only way that were ever going to be able to solve this case definitively is gonna have to be through science and DNA testing. At this point, the balls in the court of Scott Ellington. So this is all gonna come down to whether Scott Ellington wants to find the truth or not because we have the technology to find it, Ruff said.

To hear more from those involved in the case, watch The Forgotten West Memphis Three, streaming now on Oxygen.com.

Crime Time is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Sign up for our Crime Time Newsletter and subscribe to our true crime podcast Martinis & Murder for all the best true crime content.

Continued here:
Could New DNA Testing Fully Exonerate The West Memphis Three? - Oxygen

- Subsidiary of Global Biopharmaceutical Company to Evaluate Linear DNA as Replacement for Plasmids for CAR T Applications -

Applied DNA Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN) ("Applied DNA" or the "Company") a leader in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)-based DNA manufacturing that enables diagnostics, pre-clinical nucleic acid-based therapeutic drug candidates, supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, announced today that it has shipped two CAR T amplicons proprietary to the biologics subsidiary of a U.S.-based, global biopharmaceutical company. The customer is one of nearly two dozen development customers in various stages of evaluating the use of linear DNA manufactured by the Company.

"We see a steady flow of interest for our LinearDNA manufacturing platform from customers with gene and redirected-cell therapies. Securing development customers is the first step in our LinearDNA commercialization strategy that offers a path to higher and recurring revenues as customers validate linear DNA as a viable alternative to plasmid DNA. We expect some customers will license our intellectual property to enable the optimal performance of their therapeutic," said Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA. "I am especially proud of our team during this coronavirus outbreak who continue to prioritize our work on COVID-19-related therapies and diagnostics, as well as deliver linear DNA to customers without interruption. In the coming weeks and months, we expect to continue our work with all therapeutic customers to optimize LinearDNA for their unique therapeutic applications."

LinearDNA is Applied DNAs branded platform for large-scale DNA manufacture by PCR.

About Applied DNA Sciences, Inc.

Applied DNA is a provider of nucleic acid technologies that enable diagnostics, pre-clinical nucleic acid-based therapeutic drug candidates, supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting anti-theft technology and product genotyping.

Visit adnas.com for more information. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Join our mailing list. Common stock listed on NASDAQ under the symbol APDN.

LinearDNA is a trademark of Applied DNA Sciences, Inc

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made by Applied DNA in this press release may be "forward-looking" in nature within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe Applied DNAs future plans, projections, strategies and expectations, and are based on assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Applied DNA. Actual results could differ materially from those projected due to the possibility of a failure to make timely payment on its outstanding secured convertible notes and resulting enforcement by noteholders of remedies on collateral which includes substantially all of Applied DNAs assets, its history of net losses, limited financial resources, limited market acceptance, the fact that there has never been a commercial drug product utilizing PCR-produced DNA technology approved for therapeutic use, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including whether any of Applied DNAs or its partners product candidates will advance further in the preclinical research or clinical trial process, including receiving clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies to conduct clinical trials and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies, the unknown outcome of any applications to U.S. FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies, Applied DNAs ability to obtain and maintain adequate protection for intellectual property rights relating to its product candidates and technologies, and various other factors detailed from time to time in Applied DNAs SEC reports and filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on December 12, 2019 and our subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on February 6, 2020, and other reports we file with the SEC, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Applied DNA undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless otherwise required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200326005345/en/

Contacts

investor contact: Sanjay M. Hurry, LHA Investor Relations, 212-838-3777, shurry@lhai.com program contact: Brian Viscount, Applied DNA, 631-240-8877, brian.viscount@adnas.com web: http://www.adnas.com, http://www.adnas.com/linearx twitter: @APDN

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Applied DNA Ships LinearDNA to Another Development Customer - Yahoo Finance

A new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer has been revealed by researchers in the latest study to offer hope for early detection.

The test is based on DNA that is shed by tumours and found circulating in the blood. More specifically, it focuses on chemical changes to this DNA, known as methylation patterns.

Researchers say the test can not only tell whether someone has cancer, but can also shed light on the type of cancer they have.

Dr Geoffrey Oxnard of Bostons Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, part of Harvard Medical School, said the test was now being explored in clinical trials. You need to use a test like this in an independent group at risk of cancer to actually show that you can find the cancers, and figure out what to do about it when you find them, he said.

Writing in the journal Annals of Oncology, the team reveal how the test was developed using a machine learning algorithm a type of artificial intelligence. Such systems pick up on patterns within data and as a result learn to classify it.

The team initially fed the system with data on methylation patterns in DNA from within blood samples taken from more than 2,800 patients, before further training it with data from 3,052 participants, 1,531 of whom had cancer and 1,521 of whom did not.

Using this information, the system sorted the samples into groups based on the methylation patterns. The team then taught the system which groups reflected which type of cancer.

In pregnant women we look in their free-floating DNA for foetal abnormalities, said Oxnard. We know this [approach] exists, the question is how do you fine-tune and perfect the art of looking for cancer in this free-floating DNA? And that is what the machine learning did.

The team then tested the trained system on another set of samples from 1,264 individuals, about half of whom had cancer.

The results reveal that less than 1% of those without cancer were wrongly identified by the system as having the disease. It is really important you dont tell non-cancer patients they have cancer, said Oxnard.

When it came to identifying people with cancers the team found that, across more than 50 different types of cancer, the system correctly detected that the disease was present 44% of the time although the team stress that figure could differ if the test was used to screen a general population, rather than those known to have cancer.

Detection was better the more advanced the disease was. Overall, cancer was correctly detected in 18% of those with stage I cancer, but in 93% of those with stage IV cancer.

The team say the results are exciting as they offer the possibility of a new way to screen for cancers that are otherwise difficult to detect. For example, the system correctly identified 63% of those with stage I pancreatic cancer, rising to 100% in stage IV.

The team further found that the system could shed light on the type of cancer. For 96% of samples deemed to show cancer, the test was able to offer a prediction for in which the tissue the cancer originated, with 93% of these predictions found to be correct.

Dr David Crosby, head of early detection at Cancer Research UK, said that detecting cancers in their early stages is important as they are less aggressive and more treatable.

Although this test was still at an early stage of development, the initial results were encouraging, he said. And if the test can be fine-tuned to be more efficient at catching cancers in their earliest stages, it could become a tool for early detection.

But Crosby added there was work to do. More research is needed to improve the tests ability to catch early cancers and we still need to explore how it might work in a real cancer screening scenario, he said.

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New blood test can detect 50 types of cancer - The Guardian

ByAmanda Zrebiec

Peter Thielen and Tom Mehoke have spent years sequencing the genome of influenza. Now, as a new strain of coronavirus spreads across the globe, these biologists from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are transitioning their work to better understand the virus that causes COVID-19.

Inside the molecular diagnostics laboratory at Johns Hopkins Hospital, while health care workers and hospital staff work tirelessly to process patient tests, Thielen and Mehoke, members of APL's Research and Exploratory Development Department and the Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Surveillance, are waiting for the positive tests. Certainly, positive tests are no cause for celebration, but for Thielen and Mehoke, they are a key to learning more about the rapidly spreading virus.

With software and molecular biology approaches developed in part at APL, Thielen and Mehoke are using handheld DNA sequencers to conduct immediate on-site genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2the virus that causes COVID-19.

"This information allows us to track the evolution of the virus," Thielen said. "It gives us a sense of where the new cases coming into Baltimore could've originated, and insight into how long transmission may have occurred undetected. There are a lot of things we can glean from that."

Topping that list is the ability to see how quickly the virus mutatesintegral information for mapping its spread, as well as developing an effective vaccine. Influenza, for example, mutates constantly. That's why it's necessary to vaccinate against different strains of the flu each year.

The virus causing COVID-19, Thielen said, does not appear to be mutating as fast.

"When this virus was first sequenced in China, that information was helpful in starting the process to develop a vaccine," Thielen explained. "What we're doing informs whether or not the virus is mutating away from that original sequence, and how quickly. Based on the mutation rate, early data indicates that this would likely be a single vaccine rather than one that needs to be updated each year, like the flu shot."

In the near-term, the mutations inform how the virus is spreading.

Image caption: APL biologist Tom Mehoke reviews the DNA sequencing analysis of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, at the molecular diagnostics laboratory at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Image credit: Johns Hopkins APL / Ed Whitman

With the United States continuing to ramp up testing and mitigation capabilities, the ability to understand how outbreaks are linked gives public health departments another tool for evaluation. Mutations can explain how long the virus may have gone undetected and the supposition that there are likely far more cases than diagnosed, and can advise on what measures to put in place (such as the social-distancing efforts and closings that are ongoing nationwide).

Sequencing of the virus' genome is being performed by scientists all over the globe as they work to trace the source of regional outbreaks. In northern California, for example, news reports suggest that genome sequencing has linked the Bay Area outbreak to the Grand Princess cruise ship, which linked back to the virus found in Washington State, which likely came from China.

That's the type of insighta DNA fingerprint, if you willthat Thielen and Mehoke will gain as more virus genomes are sequenced from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., regions.

They've completed analysis of the first four COVID-19 samples, with upward of 100 in the queue from the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, and expect many more in the coming weeks.

Coverage of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting operations at JHU and how Hopkins experts and scientists are responding to the outbreak

Operating remotely with handheld sequencers and laptop computers, Thielen and Mehoke's process required a several day wait before results could be transferred. But, at the end of last week they validated a new process that enables same-day sequencingone that can be done by the hospital staff members already administering the diagnostic tests.

In the last nine months, Thielen and Mehoke held two workshops with the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center to help train scientists from low- and middle-income countries on how to use the handheld sequencers to do this work. The latest workshop was held virtually last week, when they trained stateside researchers to do the same type of on-site sequencing in their own laboratories.

"We were doing that to prepare as many researchers as we can, in the event that there would be a future pandemic," Thielen said. "It's here."

Read more from the original source:
Sequencing the genome of the virus behind COVID-19 - The Hub at Johns Hopkins

The Spaniard is pleased that the club decided to keep faith in a club legend through a difficult period amid constant speculation over his future

Manchester United are heading in the right direction under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, according to Juan Mata, who has credited the Norwegian for injected much-needed "positivity" into the squad.

United appointed Solskjaer to replace Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December 2018, following a poor run of results which left the team well off the pace in the race for Champions League qualification.

He oversaw 15 wins from his first 17 games at the helm, and was rewarded with a permanent three-year contract, but results then took a turn for the worse.

Article continues below

A drop in collective fitness levels and standards on the pitch saw the Red Devils limp to the finishing line in sixth, without a single piece of silverware to show for their efforts.

United's inconsistency continued in the first half of the 2019-20 campaign, despite the arrivals of British trio Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James.

However, an upturn in form has coincided with the signing Bruno Fernandes from Sporting in January, with the midfielder injecting a new creative dimension into the startingline up.

United are unbeaten in their last 11 matches, and nine clean sheets have been recorded during that period, easing the pressure on Solskjaer amid reports of ex-Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino waiting in the wings to take his position.

Mata says Solskjaer's reputation at Old Trafford preceded him when he was drafted in to succeed Mourinho, and that his continued presence in the dugout serves as proof "things are going okay" for the Red Devils as they approach the end of a frustrating transitional period.

Of course, I heard much about him as a player. About that goal, about the many goals," Mata told United's official podcast.

"So we had a meeting between us, the team, and they said: 'Listen, it's probable that Ole's going to come. He's going to take care of the team until the end of the season. He's coming from Molde in Norway.'

As soon as he came in, you could see the positivity. You could see the Man United DNA. He knew everyone, he felt like a proper United fan, and he was happy and smiley and full of energy. So we stay with him, and I think that's a good sign of things going okay."

The Spain international went on to offer an insight into his relationship with Mourinho, the man who sanctioned his move to Manchester while he was in charge at Chelsea in 2014.

Mata insiststhe pair have always had a "mutual" respect for one another, despite reports suggesting otherwise upon his Stamford Bridge exit,which continued when they reunited at Old Trafford.

The respect is mutual, and we never had any personal problem," he said."The situation was a football situation. He played in a certain way that maybe didn't suit perfectly my qualities as a player, and that's it. Sometimes it happens in football.

But my mentality [when Mourinho joined United]was: 'Okay, I'm going to try'.My family was a bit scared. The fans were telling me, 'What are you going to do?' But I had it clear in my mind that I'm going to stay and prove that I can play much more than people think, and I did.

"And it's one of the things that I feel very proud ofin my career: having made that decision, testing myself and keeping going and playing, at the end, the Carabao Cup final, the Europa League final, and feeling an important player in the squad.

"That's how I felt before, and how I felt with him.

See the rest here:
'Solskjaer has Man Utd DNA and brings positivity to the squad' - Everything 'going okay' under Norwegian boss, says Mata - Goal.com

Key point:This fighter was built for export and has come a long way. Here's how Beijing is keeping it up-to-date.

Chinas JF-17 Thunder multirole fighter is one of Chinas most successful aerospace exports. While it was designed from the outset to be an export fighter, its road to service was very rocky, involving decades of development and even American involvement at some points. Design wise, its a fusion of the MiG-21 and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The most recent blocks of the JF-17 have introduced advanced capabilities that nominally put it on par with designs twenty years its senior. But how exactly did the United States help in creating the JF-17? Does the ancient airframe hold it back, or can it be worked around?

This first appeared in 2020 and is being reposted due to reader interest.

The JF-17evolved out of a seriesof projects to produce an upgrade for the Pakistani Air Forces fleet of Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) J-7 fighters. As Pakistan was one of the primary facilitators of U.S. aid to the anti-Soviet Afghan Mujaheddin, the United States was willing to provide aid to Pakistan in other defense sectors. As the Soviets were preparing to field their next generation lightweight fighter; the MiG-29, Pakistan wanted an aircraft that could counter it.

This resulted inProject Sabre II, an attempt to modernize the J-7s conducted by CAC and Grumman. The original iteration of Sabre II only stretched the fuselage of the J-7, redesigned the control surfaces, and changed the location and size of the air intakes. However the Sabre II was unable to reach the performance of contemporary American fighters or the projected performance of the MiG-29 with this configuration, so Project Sabre II was canned.

However, the three countries decided to have another go at it later in the 1980s, resulting in the Super 7 project. This time the wingspan was increased and formed into asimilar configuration to the F-16in addition to the prior aerodynamic changes. Grumman pulled out of the Super 7 project in 1989 due to Tiananmen Square and the resulting fallout. The project remained on ice for around 10 years as negotiations between China and Pakistan continued. A feasibility study to see if future development would be fruitful was commissioned in 1992, it was successful so a memorandum to continue development was signed.

In 1998China and Pakistan recommenced serious development of the Super 7. Costswere split 50/50between the Pakistani government and CAC and the aircraft was renamed JF-17 As Grumman had dropped out, the fighter needed a new powerplant. A solution was found in the Russian Mikoyan design bureau, which offered the Klimov RD-93 engine which was originally designed for the canceled MiG-33 fighter jet. The RD-93 was an advanced version of the RD-33 used on the MiG-29, however, only one RD-93 is used on the JF-17 in contrast to two RD-33s in a MiG-29.

Another key innovation that occurred during the development process was the inclusion of diverterless supersonic intakes (DSI) on the JF-17 design. The designwent through several iterationsbut is seen on current JF-17 production aircraft. In 2003 the first prototype took to the air. By 2006 the JF-17 was finalized and ready to enter serial production. It was formally adoptedin 2007.The first fully Pakistani-manufactured JF-17 was created in 2008.

The JF-17s designers have proven adept at keeping up with the times following its entry into service. The initial run of fighters for Pakistan have been referred to as Block I JF-17s. Block II JF-17s introduced a multitude of new capabilities and upgrades, includingcompositesin the airframe for reduced weight, air to air refueling, a full fly-by-wire system, and a better radar. China offered to replace the Russian RD-93s with their own WS-13 in Block II JF-17s, but Pakistanopted to stick with the Russian engine.

For the Block III, China hopes to add an AESA radar to the JF-17 and further improve the avionics and weapons compatibility of the JF-17. The standard JF-17 features the MIL-STD-1760 databus in some implementations, allowing for compatibility with Western and Eastern weapons. One potential weakness of the JF-17 is its internal cannon, which is still the double-barrel GSh-23, a legacy of its MiG-21 heritage. This cannon is outperformed by practically any other autocannon mounted on a modern combat aircraft. However, given the relative infrequency of cannon usage in modern air combat, this is not a big issue.

The largest advantage of the JF-17 is its cost. At only 15 million per plane in its most basic configuration, the JF-17 is far cheaper than any of its competitors, even used. Block II JF-17s cost around the same margin, with Myanmarbuying them for only 16 million per unit. This has been the key to the JF-17s export success. A poor nation can field a relatively modern fighter for a very low price. It is yet to be seen whether it can actually perform at its price point in combat, but Pakistan seems to be satisfied with what the JF-17 can do in trials. In many ways, China has updated the budget fighter of the last generation, the MiG-21, for the modern era with the help and additional design cues from the F-16.

Charlie Gao studied political and computer science at Grinnell College and is a frequent commentator on defense and national-security issues.This first appeared in 2020 and is being reposted due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters

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Why China's Jf-17 Fighter Has American F-16 "DNA" - The National Interest