Monday, February 01, 2021
‘Immunological unicorn’discovered in Australia
In a high security laboratory in Sydney, where a select group of researchers go to extreme lengths to work with samples of blood and swabs containing Covid-19, virologist Stuart Turville found a unicorn.
“A beautiful, immunological unicorn,” Turville, an associate professor with the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, said.
“We found him when we were analysing samples from the Red Cross blood bank from people who have had Covid. And he had the most amazing Covid response I’ve ever seen.”
The unicorn is a 50-year-old father of three named Damian living on the NSW Central Coast who developed symptoms of Covid-19 in March. His symptoms were severe enough to take him to the hospital emergency department, but after being given oxygen he was sent home the same day. Bizarrely, when he was tested for the virus with the gold-standard PCR nasal swab, the lab kept returning a negative result for Covid-19.
“When they initially diagnosed him they couldn’t find virus in his nasopharyngeal area [the upper part of the throat behind the nose],” Turville told Guardian Australia.
“So they kept on swabbing him and swabbing him, but they couldn’t find it. He kept on saying to them, ‘Look, I’m sick, my son’s got it, I have to have it’. And it was only when they looked at his blood, his serum, they said; ‘Oh, yeah, you’ve had it. And you’ve got the most amazing immune response’.”
Most people who have Covid-19 develop a decent immune response.
“But this guy’s response is 100 to 1,000-fold that,” Turville said.
“His response is that good. To put it in context, we are eight or nine months out since he was infected. And he still ranks in the top 1% of responders, so what that means is if we could ever bottle a vaccine that could mimic his response, you’d want to do it. I would say that we’re going to see him responding just as well probably a year out, and maybe after about two years we might start to see some response decay.”
Usually, patients who show a particularly robust immune response to Covid-19 end up in an intensive care ward. In many of these severely unwell patients, the immune system overreacts in what is called a “cytokine storm”. Cytokines are proteins that can trigger an inflammatory response so aggressive that not only are virus cells attacked but cells in the blood vessels, urinary tract, organs and blood vessels are also destroyed, leading to organ failure and sometimes death. For some reason Damian’s response, though strong, did not bring on such an aggressive storm.
“That’s something we’re trying to get our head around,” Turville said.
Not only is Damian’s immune response lasting but it has not weakened much over time, offering strong ongoing protection against the virus, which is what makes him so unique. A Public Health England study found that while most people who have the virus are protected from reinfection for at least five months, some are reinfected, and even asymptomatic people can harbour high levels of the virus in their noses and mouths, and therefore risk passing it on to others.
After being told about his unicorn status, Damian offered himself up for medical research. Turville estimates that Damian has donated blood and plasma upwards of 15 times.
Hundreds of recovered Australians like Damian have now donated blood so their plasma, teeming with antibodies, can be separated out and used to make batches of serum through a collaboration between the Kirby Institute and manufacturer CSL. This serum is then given to severely unwell patients around the world to treat their disease.
“It also means that if the virus emerges again in Australia and takes off, we’re battle ready,” Turville said.
“Damian’s serum has contributed to many batches of these CSL products. Whenever we get a batch of serum that is particularly amazing, we say ‘OK, he’s in this batch’. That’s how impressive his response is.”
Some of the findings about Damian have been published in a pre-print paper about “high and elite responders,” which describes how “patients with high and robust Covid-19 responses were more likely male, hospitalised, and of older age”.
It is work like this that has researchers from the Kirby Institute’s containment lab – more scientifically referred to as a Physical Containment Level 3 (PC3) Laboratory – occupied at times until 3am in the morning. They also examine samples taken from returned travellers in hotel quarantine, growing the different variants in the lab to see how they behave. It is one of a handful of high-security labs around Australia where the virus is being studied.
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A Plan to Make Trump and America Great Again
Wayne Allyn Root
I am the author of the bestselling book "TRUMP RULES." My book identifies the top 10 rules that made former President Donald Trump one of the greatest winners in world history in business, branding, real estate, celebrity, television, publishing and politics. Trump is the only person in world history to reach the pinnacle of all of those fields. And the only person to become both a billionaire and president of the United States. It's not a bad resume.
Many critics think Trump's winning streak ended with a presidential loss. I disagree. I know the man. I understand the man. I know what comes next. It may be Trump's greatest chapter yet.
Simply because Trump is relentless. He may be the most relentless human in world history. The secret to Trump's success is "the art of the comeback." Every time he is given up for dead, he makes the biggest comeback yet. He never gives up or gives in. He finds a way to turn lemons into lemonade. You can't beat someone like that. You can't bet against someone like that. As I always say, NBAT: Never Bet Against Trump.
Before I get to the details of the comeback, let's define "winning." Trump's critics think he just lost and, therefore, he's no longer a winner. Not true. Back in 2016, Trump won the biggest upset in political history. This time around, he added 11 million new votes. His 74 million votes were the most votes for any incumbent president in America's history. Trump also received more votes than any Republican in history.
Sorry, Trump haters, but that's called "winning" at superhuman levels.
Nonetheless, Trump lost and Joe Biden won. Democrats, RINOS (Republicans in Name Only) and the "fake news" media all believe Trump is finished. So, now it's time for the greatest comeback in history -- for Trump and America.
Here's my game plan for how Trump can make Trump and America great again.
First, Trump must become the kingmaker of the GOP. The Trump Army is 74 million strong. The Republican Party belongs to Trump. He should remake the party in his image.
In some ways, his defeat was empowering. As president, Trump couldn't get rid of RINOS and never-Trumpers, because he needed their votes. But from the outside, he can remake the party, elect allies and end the careers of the GOP traitors who stabbed him in the back. Are you listening, Rep. Liz Cheney?
Trump should recruit, endorse and campaign for Trump Republicans in each GOP primary where they're running against RINOS, never-Trumpers and backstabbers. Seventy-four million Trump voters will vote for his chosen candidates in GOP primaries. By 2022, the GOP will be 100% remade in Trump's image.
Secondly, Trump should spend the next four years fixing voter fraud at the state level. Trump should recruit his billionaire buddies to put up hundreds of millions to attack this problem. Trump's goal should be to reform election law in just the handful of states that cost him the election: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona.
If Trump spends his time, money and focus on reforming election laws in those six states, the GOP will be back in business in 2022 and 2024.
Thirdly, Trump needs to raise billions from his billionaire backers to build TMN: Trump Media Network. That should include a national cable TV network; a national talk radio network; a new version of Drudge Report (called Trump Report); and conservative versions of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Conservatives will never again have to depend on the mainstream media or Silicon Valley to broadcast their news and opinions.
Only Trump has the money, brand and fundraising ability to change the media and social media landscape like this. And think of the amazing bonus: Not only will 74 million Trump voters have permanent places to communicate but if we all move away from mainstream media and social media, they will collapse. Trump will cripple his enemies and put many of them out of business.
Lastly, here's one more idea: Trump, run for Congress in 2022. Pick any GOP-friendly district in Florida, where you're loved, primarily one run by a RINO who stabbed you in the back. You'll win the primary by a landslide. Since it's a GOP district, you're guaranteed victory in the general election. Once in Congress, after the GOP has regained control in the midterms and most of the candidates are loyal to you, you'll be elected speaker of the House. From that platform, you can lead the impeachment of President Biden.
Let the Trump comeback begin. Seventy-four million of us can't wait.
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IN BRIEF
The White House refuses to address GameStop controversy (Fox News)
Congressional committees to hold hearings on trading fallout (Examiner)
Someone's Got Some 'Splainin' to Do: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen received nearly $810,000 from hedge fund embroiled in GameStop debacle (Examiner)
Yellen was also paid by Chinese Communist Party-linked group that even The Washington Post highlighted (National Pulse)
Nancy Pelosi's Tesla stock purchase before Biden's "Buy American" EO raises ethical and legal questions (PJ Media)
Seriously, this story reads like a courtroom drama: "The Trump case, which the board has 90 days to consider since receiving it last week, is seen as a crucial test of the panel's legitimacy. The board will begin taking public comment on it on Friday."
Biden revives international abortion funding even though 77% oppose it (World)
"The radical Democrat agenda must be stopped": Donald Trump commits to campaigning for Republicans in 2022 (Post Millennial)
Orwellian gun control bill proposed by Sheila Jackson-Lee would create public registry of all firearms (Bearing Arms)
China flexes its military muscle in Taiwan and Philippines (National Review) | Secretary of State Antony Blinken issues early warning to China after "verbal threat of war" (Examiner)
Capitol Police chief calls for "permanent fencing" around (ahem) the People's House (Examiner)
Biden Pentagon says Trump right-sized Afghanistan force, but officials won't commit to full withdrawal (Examiner)
"The Pearl family is in complete shock by the decision": Islamist convicted of beheading WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl acquitted (Reuters)
Maryland church donates $500K in reparations to "atone" for slavery (NY Post)
Godzilla is now a "gender-neutral icon" because there wasn't enough woke insanity in the world already (Not the Bee)
Novavax says its COVID vaccine is more than 89% effective (CNBC)
U.S. economy slowed sharply in fourth quarter (NPR)
Dumbest bank robber ever? Armed bandit in Chicago demands $10,000 but then hands teller his state ID upon request (Daily Mail)
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http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://john-ray.blogspot.com (FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC) Saturdays only
https://heofen.blogspot.com/ (MY OTHER BLOGS)
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