"The H5 subtype of avian influenza viruses has spilled over into mammals and is particularly concerning to researchers due to the risk of them evolving to cause another pandemic. But because there are multiple variants of these viruses, it has been hard to pre-prepare vaccines. Now, a team have used information on how these viruses evolved over time to design a vaccine that in animal studies provided protection against different H5 strains."
"Making muon beams without a huge particle accelerator - plus, the bats hunting migrating birds in mid-air. Research Highlight: Research Highlight: European bats capture migrating birds and eat them on the wing Portable muon beam could accelerate archaeology scans Nature: The Guardian: Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday."
A vaccine engineered using reconstructed evolutionary pathways of H5 avian influenza elicited cross-protection in animal models against multiple H5 variants. H5 viruses have spilled into mammals and pose a pandemic risk if they evolve for efficient human transmission. Multiple co-circulating variants have hindered pre-existing vaccine stockpiles. Designing vaccines informed by viral evolutionary history enabled protection across strains in animals and could permit creation of strain-agnostic stockpiles for rapid deployment. Additional research highlights include methods to generate muon beams without large accelerators and evidence that European bats capture and consume migrating birds in flight, alongside reporting on carbon-offset failures and a DNA search engine.
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