We get asked about Big Data a lot. It is hyped and hot - But is there any substance to it or is it just a fancy rebranding of business intelligence. This overview artile from Mycustomer.com gives a great introduction
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BackgroundOn March 30, 2013, a novel avian influenza A H7N9 virus that infects human beings was identified. This virus had been detected in six provinces and municipal cities in China as of April 18, 2013. We correlated genomic sequences from avian influenza viruses with ecological information and did phylogenetic and coalescent analyses to extrapolate the potential origins of the virus and possible routes of reassortment events.MethodsWe downloaded H7N9 virus genome sequences from the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database and public sequences used from the Influenza Virus Resource. We constructed phylogenetic trees and did 1000 bootstrap replicates for each tree. Two rounds of phylogenetic analyses were done. We used at least 100 closely related sequences for each gene to infer the overall topology, removed suspicious sequences from the trees, and focused on the closest clades to the novel H7N9 viruses. We compared our tree topologies with those from a bayesian evolutionary analysis by sampling trees (BEAST) analysis. We used the bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method to jointly estimate phylogenies, divergence times, and other evolutionary parameters for all eight gene fragments. We used sequence alignment and homology-modelling methods to study specific mutations regarding phenotypes, specifically addressing the human receptor binding properties.FindingsThe novel avian influenza A H7N9 virus originated from multiple reassortment events. The HA gene might have originated from avian influenza viruses of duck origin, and the NA gene might have transferred from migratory birds infected with avian influenza viruses along the east Asian flyway. The six internal genes of this virus probably originated from two different groups of H9N2 avian influenza viruses, which were isolated from chickens. Detailed analyses also showed that ducks and chickens probably acted as the intermediate hosts leading to the emergence of this virulent H7N9 virus. Genotypic and potential phenotypic differences imply that the isolates causing this outbreak form two separate subclades.InterpretationThe novel avian influenza A H7N9 virus might have evolved from at least four origins. Diversity among isolates implies that the H7N9 virus has evolved into at least two different lineages. Unknown intermediate hosts involved might be implicated, extensive global surveillance is needed, and domestic-poultry-to-person transmission should be closely watched in the future.FundingChina Ministry of Science and Technology Project 973, National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Health and Family Planning Commission, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Via burkesquires
ComplexInsight's insight:
Firstly sidestepping the important findings for H7N9 virus, this paper illustrates the importance of rgorous methodology and key research methods for understanding disease evolution and contagence pathways. the paper details correlated genomic sequences and ecological information using phylogenetic and coalescent analyses to extrapolate the potential originsand possible routes of reassortment events in H7N9 virus. As for the findings - novel avian influenza viruses are a major concern for world wide public health - the research work in this paper raises the need for understanding intermediate hosts, viral evolution pathways and domestic poultry wild animation contact on a global scale for future health policy. Worth reading. Delete the scoop?
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Interesting article by Rick Lewis on PLOS comparing evolution of CAT Feline, Simian and Human immunodeficiency virus oras they are better known FIV, SIV and HIV. SIV no longer sickens most wild primates because they’ve had 12 million years to adapt. Cat species around for a long time, like lions, are less likely to get sick from FIV than their more modern relatives, such as our domesticated friends. These trends give an interesting view of HIV evolution i terms of its long term possible pathways and how that relates to potential treatments and health policy. Worth reading and thinking about. Click on title or image to learn more. Delete the scoop?
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Health officials in the UK believe they have the strongest evidence yet that a new respiratory illness similar to the deadly Sars virus can spread from person to person.
ComplexInsight's insight:
BBC is is reporting that UK health officials believe Coronavirus can spread between species and potentially between humans in close contact with one another. While there are concerns about the new Corona virus since it is from the same family that produce the common cold, generally experts consider it another respitory infection and at this point there is no worry concern over potential pandemic due to the very small number of cases involved. Delete the scoop?
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Background
Papillomavirus graphic by Russell Kightley Media
Via Ed Rybicki Delete the scoop?
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Methamphetamine (meth) is a highly addictive psychostimulant that is among the most widely abused illicit drugs, with an estimated over 35 million users in the world. Several lines of evidence suggest that chronic meth abuse is a major factor for increased risk of infections with human immunodeficiency virus and possibly other pathogens, due to its immunosuppressive property. Influenza A virus infections frequently cause epidemics and pandemics of respiratory diseases among human populations. However, little is known about whether meth has the ability to enhance influenza A virus replication, thus increasing severity of influenza illness in meth abusers. Herein, we investigated the effects of meth on influenza A virus replication in human lung epithelial A549 cells. Via Ken Yaw Agyeman-Badu Delete the scoop?
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The characterization of global marine microbial taxonomic and functional diversity is a primary goal of the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition. As part of this study, 19 water samples were collected aboard the Sorcerer II sailing vessel from the southern Indian Ocean in an effort to more thoroughly understand the lifestyle strategies of the microbial inhabitants of this ultra-oligotrophic region. No investigations of whole virioplankton assemblages have been conducted on waters collected from the Indian Ocean or across multiple size fractions thus far. Therefore, the goals of this study were to examine the effect of size fractionation on viral consortia structure and function and understand the diversity and functional potential of the Indian Ocean virome. Interesting paper - find more info on the findings of the study by clicking on the image or title. Delete the scoop?
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ComplexInsight's insight:
In an awesome peice of detective work mapping out the evolutionary arms race between virus and immune reponse was published in the journal nature. The research team's study is based on a patient in Africa who had a rapid diagnosis after being infected with the virus.By analyzing immune response and HIV evolution the team were eventually able to produce an antibody named CH103 that could neutralise 55% of HIV samples tested. However the anitbody was not produced in one easy step. Rather it was the product of the war of the immune system and HIV trying to out-evolve each other in a a typical arms rage that culminated in the production of CH103. This mapping may help in designing fututer treatments and certainly contributes a lot to understanding the HIV immune system relationships. Click on the image or title to learn more. Delete the scoop?
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Hantaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Eurasia. In Europe both the amplitude and the magnitude of outbreaks of HFRS have increased. The mechanisms that drive the incidences are complex and multi-factorial and only partially due to increased awareness and improved diagnostic tools. Risk determinants include reservoir ecology, virus ecology and anthropogenic factors. The dogma of one specific rodent species as primordial reservoir for a specific hantavirus is increasingly challenged. New hantaviruses have been discovered in shrews, moles and bats and increasing evidence points at host-switching events and co-circulation in multiple, sympatric reservoir species, challenging the strict rodent–virus co-evolution theory. Changing landscape attributes and climatic parameters determine fluctuations in hantavirus epidemiology, for instance through increased food availability, prolonged virus survival and decreased biodiversity.
Via Ed Rybicki, Chris Upton + helpers 
Ed Rybicki's curator insight,
March 7, 12:58 AM
There WILL be more of this: and viruses that were curiosities of teh developing world, will suddenly get attention from the more monied countries. And hopefully, vaccines too. Delete the scoop?
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Ebola viruses (EBOV) cause often fatal hemorrhagic fever in several species of simian primates including human. While fruit bats are considered natural reservoir, involvement of other species in EBOV transmission is unclear. Recent findings from pig to simian transfer indicate that natural reservoirs may be in multiple places. Click on the image or the title to learn more. Via Ken Yaw Agyeman-Badu Delete the scoop?
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“The survey is currently in its first phase and is a door-to-door exercise. As of Monday, we surveyed 3,55,959 homes. Of them, 13,367 have been found to have larvae,” Dr Devaki told Express.
She added that every house that had dengue larvae was marked as D+. “We did this so that in the second phase of the survey we can concentrate only on D+ homes,” she said. Via Rebecca Kreston Delete the scoop?
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In Search of Spanish Flu 2 of 2 - BBC Science Documentary, recorded 03.04.2009 Documentary in which a team of top UK virologists exhume the body of statesman...
And again: Ken Yaw Agyeman Badu, many thanks! Via Ed Rybicki, Chris Upton + helpers Delete the scoop?
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Over the years, researchers in the laboratory of ETH-professor Ari Helenius have elucidated the tricks and tactics viruses use to enter human cells and exploit them for their own multiplication and spread. Jason Mercer, in a collaboration with Berend Snijder and colleagues from the Universtiy of Zürich have just released a publication which puts forward new insights into how viruses enter human cells. "For the first time we were able to demonstrate a mechanism by which a virus uses the cellular waste-disposal system to facilitate release of the viral DNA, which is subsequently multiplied, and used for the formation of new virus particles" he says. In addition, the researchers were able to block the release of viral DNA – using a drug which is already approved for human use. Complete protein inventory During infection, viruses communicate with the host cell and they "abuse" a specific set of host proteins to assist them during their life-cycle. In collaboration with the group of University Professor Lukas Pelkmans, Jason Mercer set out to identify the cellular proteins which the vaccinia virus requires. The idea being that this knowledge may be helpful when developing new strategies to stop infection Click on the image, or the title or read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-virus-exploitscellular-disposal.html#jCp Delete the scoop?
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