US researchers develop new rapid test for Zika virus
22 WORLD NEWS l BioSpectrum | November 2017 | www . biospectrumindia . com
US researchers develop new rapid test for Zika virus
Researchers from Harvard Medical School ( HMS ) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) have developed a new paperbased test to detect infection with the Zika virus in as little as 20 minutes . The new test is designed to avoid cross-reaction with the dengue virus and associated false positive results .
Intended to provide an easy-to-use , cheap and portable diagnostic , the test is expected to be useful in countries where the blood test that measures viral ribonucleic acid ( RNA ) is not available . The team , which also included international researchers , used the new test to evaluate various patient samples and found that it could accurately differentiate Zika from similar viruses .
The researchers focused on identifying antibodies that only interact with the NS1 protein produced by the Zika virus , and those that would be specific to NS1 from each of the four dengue strains . The method currently requires five test strips per sample to diagnose each of the viruses , and the researchers are working on a model that would test for all the five viruses with one strip . The researchers expect that the approach can also be used to develop tests to diagnose other related viruses in the future .
Merck invests in its new biotech manufacturing site
Merck , a leading science and technology company , will invest EUR35 million in a new production line for the aseptic filling of biotech medicines under isolator at its manufacturing site of Bari , Italy . The announcement was made as part of an event celebrating the 25th anniversary of the site and its leading role on the science and
technology scene in the South Italian region of Apulia .
The new production line is expected to be fully operational in 2022 . It will be equipped with an isolator designed with the latest technologies available and with a high level of automation . The isolator technology represents best practice in aseptic filling which is a prerequisite to ensure the safety of injectable medicines . The new production line is intended to be used for the aseptic filling of Merck ’ s biotech medicines in the areas of multiple sclerosis , fertility and endocrinology with a capacity of 14 million units per year .
The Bari site is part of a network of 15 manufacturing sites dedicated to the production of Merck ’ s biotech and pharmaceutical medicines serving 60 million patients across the globe each and every day .
Three Americans get Nobel Prize in Medicine
Three Americans have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries about the body ’ s daily rhythms , opening up whole new fields of research and raising awareness about the importance of getting proper sleep .
Dr Jeffrey C . Hall , Dr Michael Rosbash and Dr Michael W . Young won the 9-millionkronor ($ 1.1 million ) prize for isolating a gene that controls the body ’ s normal daily biological rhythm . Circadian rhythms adapt the workings of the body to different phases of the day , influencing sleep , behavior , hormone levels , body temperature and metabolism . Dr Rosbash is on the faculty at Brandeis University , Dr Young is at Rockefeller University and Dr Hall has been associated with the University of Maine .
The awardees ’ work stems back to 1984 , when Dr Rosbash and Dr Hall , who was then also at Brandeis , along with Dr Young isolated the period gene in fruit flies . Dr Hall and Dr Rosbash found that a protein encoded by the gene accumulated during the night and degraded during daytime . A decade later , Dr Young discovered another clock gene . The paradigm-shifting discoveries by the laureates established key mechanisms for the biological clock .