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Gene Editing Institute Travels to Salem for ‘Innovation Days’ Workshop

Education sessions bring CRISPR gene editing to high school students from diverse backgrounds Scientist-educators from ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute held a workshop using CRISPR in a BoxTM at Salem Academy during Innovation Days in October at the school, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. These sessions followed a previous gene editing education workshop with Salem Academy students in January 2022. CRISPR in a BoxTM is a revolutionary toolkit that allows students to carry out a hands-on gene editing experiment while learning and analyzing the steps involved in a typical gene editing reaction. Scientists from the Gene Editing Institute also taught a condensed lesson about CRISPR gene editing’s utility in medicine and fielded questions from students about jobs in biotechnology, bioethics and sustainability in the lab. “It’s a really special opportunity that I know I wouldn’t get anywhere else,” said Mathilda Willenborg, a sophomore boarding student from Germany. “And I do feel like I’m learning a lot about gene editing that I definitely didn’t know before. The team makes it really easy and walks us through all the steps.” Last winter, Salem Academy became the first school in North Carolina to offer CRISPR in a Box as it pivoted its academic focus to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). That first innovative workshop originated as a result of an idea from a ChristianaCare board member who attended Salem Academy. Gene Editing Institute Founder and Lead Scientist Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., made a virtual appearance as part of the latest sessions to encourage the students to pursue careers and pathways in biotechnology. “We’re so appreciative of our partnership with Salem Academy,” said Kmiec. “We want to take every chance we get to encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM. Women around the nation, and around the world, should have access to this groundbreaking technology, which will ultimately drastically change the way we treat and cure diseases. If we don’t have young women in that discussion, we’re missing out on valuable experiences and perspectives.” Salem Academy is the only all-female boarding and day high school on a college campus in the U.S. with a STEM focus. Women are achieving significant progress in STEM fields, representing 45% of students majoring in STEM, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. However, women only represent 27% of STEM workers, with wide disparities in income in post-graduation employment. As of 2019, less than 30% of the world’s researchers were women, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The Gene Editing Institute commits to a mission of diversity and equity in its approach. This workshop reached 10 women, two of whom are international students. “Our ongoing partnership with the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute will help position our aspiring women scientists for future careers in biotechnology, science and medicine,” said Summer McGee, Ph.D., president of Salem Academy and College. “This is the type of experience that sets Salem Academy apart as a national leader in building the next generation of women leaders in STEAM.” The Gene Editing Institute itself is a national leader in female researchers. Women make up over 80% of scientists within the Institute and fill 75% of the principal investigator roles. The Institute pushes to address the gender gap and promote inclusivity through local outreach and state-spanning programs, like CRISPR in a Box. “We’re not here to do lip service,” said Brett Sansbury, Ph.D., principal investigator of the Discovery Branch of the Gene Editing Institute. “Too many companies make a plan or promise without any actionable steps. We’re taking those steps and bringing in opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn’t have had them.” To learn more about how to bring CRISPR in a Box to your school, visit https://geneeditinginstitute.com/products/education. About CRISPR in a BoxTM CRISPR in a BoxTM is the leading educational toolkit to teach gene editing. The exercise features a hands-on gene editing experiment, including a live readout within non-infectious E. coli bacteria. These experiments follow a gene editing reaction from beginning to end while teaching students the techniques scientists use to perform these reactions in real laboratory environments. CRISPR in a Box is distributed by Carolina Biological. To learn more, visit https://geneeditinginstitute.com/products/education.

Aston University delivers tailored low carbon advice to clothes designer ahead of COP27 fashion charter

• University expert helps clothes designer measure and tackle their carbon emissions • Upcycler, ‘Missfit Creations’, has saved CO2 equivalent of three tonnes • Call to COP27 to issue a protocol to measure all garments’ environmental impact. 8 November 2022 | Birmingham UK As policymakers at COP27 are to discuss the effects of the fashion industry on the environment, an Aston University scientist has been helping a clothes designer measure and tackle their carbon emissions. Debbie Murphy runs Missfit Creations which provides an alternative to fast fashion. She saves clothes from clogging up landfill by restoring and reworking second-hand and vintage clothing, from de-mob suits and 1970s psychedelia, to the present day. Dr Maria Pimenta da Costa Ocampo, a researcher from the Energy & Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) at Aston University, has been identifying the impact the business is having on reducing carbon emissions. By analysing the recirculation of second-hand clothes alone, she found Debbie’s current fashion collection has the potential to save the CO2 equivalent of three tonnes – equal in size to at least three semi-detached houses. The support provided to Tamworth-based Missfit Creations was through EBRI's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme that helps West Midlands companies develop low carbon goods and services. Debbie said: “It was eye-opening to work with Aston University. “I collect and restore a huge amount of old, unwanted clothes that would otherwise have ended up in landfill, so I decided to find out what impact my business has on the environment. “I knew my business would help tackle the effects of fast fashion, but I didn’t realise I’ve been able to prevent the production of so much CO2. “Raising awareness of second-hand clothes over fast fashion, and the increased awareness of clothing care efficiency will help reduce the carbon footprint of the textile industry.” The Aston University report also suggests ways the business can further decrease emissions. As a result, it will be introducing a ‘take-back’ scheme, offering vouchers or exchanges in return for previous purchases. Debbie will also be changing production methods by ensuring all packaging is biodegradable, ironing fabrics less and switching to a more sustainable energy provider. The COP27 fashion charter event (11 November 2022) will explore whether the sector’s planned transformation to net zero is underway, practical solutions that are being applied and what is needed to achieve the goal. However, Dr Pimenta-Ocampo said: “Every single action taken towards the production and recirculation of clothing has an environmental impact. “For example, we calculated that by recirculating vintage clothing, Missfit Creations was reducing CO2 equivalent by almost two tonnes just by diverting clothes from landfill. “And by outsourcing their vintage clothes for cleaning services that don’t use tumble driers, not taking into account transport emissions, Missfit Creations is reducing CO2 equivalent by another one tonne. “There is a great need for the textile industry to monitor and provide accurate data and to become more transparent, specially when global supply chains are involved. “However, the creation of a protocol and standardisation of the Life Cycle Assessment, which measures a product’s environmental impact from raw material to final disposal, is also required. Without it, it will be impossible to produce results that can be representative.”

Can you be hacked while using your mobile device? In a word, yes — here’s how to protect your data

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and being aware of all your devices is as important as ever before. Most people are online every day, which opens themselves up to a threat of being hacked. Whether it be a mobile device, laptop, or personal computer, everyone needs to have cyber awareness. Steven Weldon, director of the Cyber Institute at Augusta University’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences said many straightforward things that can be done to protect devices, such as having lock screens, making sure operating systems are up to date and simply recognizing how, when and where devices are being used. “Smart phones today are probably the most capable computing device that we have and we have it on us all the time,” said Weldon. “The data that can be extracted from these devices can be put together to build a pattern of life on us: where we go, what we do and when we do it. All of this data is potentially at risk if we’re not being careful about who gets access to our smart phones. That’s a great reason to lock the screen and require at least a password or pin to unlock the phone.” Gokila Dorai, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences, suggests using biometrics to enhance security. “I would strongly recommend for women, young adults even teenagers, if it’s possible for you to have biometrics as a way to unlock your device, then go for that. These unique ways of unlocking a device would add a layer of protection,” said Dorai. Dorai is one of the growing experts in the field of mobile forensics and her research projects are federally funded. In addition, several SCCS faculty are mentoring undergraduate and graduate students working on cutting edge research related to mobile device security and digital forensics. She also suggested adding a two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security. When out in the public, it’s easy to connect a mobile device to an unprotected Wi-Fi network. Doing so could open up sites you visit to a hacker. Weldon suggests people should be careful of what apps are used when on public Wi-Fi, since they may expose a lot of personally identifiable information. His suggestion is to use a virtual private network to help protect data that’s being transmitted and received. “We should recognize the data on our smart phones and protect them accordingly,” added Weldon. “Recognizing the value and sensitivity of the data on our smart phones can guide us in how we protect these devices. We may not think as much about the security and privacy of our smart phones as we do about our laptops and desktops. When we think about everything we use our smartphones for, how ubiquitous they are in our lives, we come to realize just how central they are to today’s lifestyle in the digital age.” It’s tough to identify when a mobile device has been hijacked, so both Weldon and Dorai suggest paying close attention to any unusual behavior, even small things such as a battery draining faster than usual. Both are indicators you may need to take corrective actions. Dorai added the government can do more to protect a person’s privacy. “With the introduction of more and more Internet of Things devices in the market, with several different manufacturers, there’s a lot of user data that’s actually getting exchanged. These days, the most valuable thing in the world is data. So stricter measures are required,” she said. She indicated it needs to be a collaborative effort between industry, academia, government, and practitioners to come together and work on ideas to strengthen security. “Yes we want security. We are willing to put up with a little bit of friction for additional security. We want it easy and we generally want it free,” said Weldon. “We don’t read licensing agreements, but we would generally be willing to take certain actions, make certain tradeoffs, to be more secure.” One other major concern are apps in general. While Google Play Store and Apple routinely remove some apps that may be out of date or have security vulnerabilities, they may still be running on a user’s device. “Mobile applications may also hide from you in plain sight in the sense the app icons may not be showing up on the screen, but still they are running in the background,” added Dorai. In essence, the device user is the first line of defense. Taking all the necessary steps to prevent a third party from getting your information is of the utmost importance in the digital age. “I believe a big part of it this discussion is about user awareness. We want that free app but that app is asking for a lot of permissions. There’s an old saying in cybersecurity: if you are not paying for the product, you are the product. There’s also another saying: if it’s smart, it’s vulnerable,” said Weldon. Are you a reporter covering Cybersecurity Awareness Month? If so - then let us help with your stories. Steven Weldon is the Director of  Cyber Institute at the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University and is an expert in the areas of cellular and mobile technology, ethics in computer science, scripting and scripting and automation. Gokila Dorai is an Assistant Professor in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University and is an expert in the areas is mobile/IoT forensics research. Both experts are available for interviews - simply click on either icon to arrange a time today.

MEDIA RELEASE: Watch for higher traffic volume in school zones as students go back to class

WINNIPEG, MB, September 7, 2021 – After months of distance learning, many students will be excited to see their friends and classmates again as they return to the classroom. With higher traffic periods anticipated before and after school, CAA Manitoba (CAA MB) is urging all pedestrians and motorists to stay alert and take extra caution while travelling through school zones. “Pedestrian safety begins with drivers,” said Heather Mack, manager of government and community relations at CAA MB. “When you’re behind the wheel, you have the responsibility to look out for everyone else around you, including parents, guardians and children.” When COVID-19 public health orders were loosened in the province during August and September 2020, recent data reported by Manitoba Public Insurance revealed a spike in the number of fatalities and serious injuries in motor vehicle collisions. In comparison to the previous five-year average, the number of fatalities caused by distracted driving quadrupled while the number of fatalities due to not wearing a seatbelt almost tripled. Additionally, instances of speeding also significantly increased. “CAA is reminding pedestrians, cyclists and motorists to be fully aware of their surroundings by slowing down and putting away all distractions,” said Mack. “Whether you are a parent or guardian driving, or a child walking or wheeling to school, everyone plays a role in keeping school zones safe.” CAA is encouraging motorists to remember these top five school zone safety tips: 1. Make eye contact with passing pedestrians and cyclists: With the excitement of going back to school, anticipate that children may not easily see or hear your moving vehicle. Use eye contact to ensure pedestrians are aware of you driving your vehicle.   2. Help reduce traffic with active school travel: Encourage your kids to walk or ride to school to ease traffic congestion. If your school is a further distance, CAA encourages parents and guardians to park a block away and walk to school, if possible, to reduce traffic and make school zones safer.   3. Slow down: Know the speed limit in your neighbourhood’s school zones and respect them. Ensure to give yourself plenty of time to drop off your kids at school to avoid rushing.  4. Follow the rules of the road near school buses: Always stop for the buses’ flashing lights and wait for children to get safely on or off. Stay alert and watch for children or parents/guardians crossing the road when the bus moves on.   5. Choose a safe spot to drop off and pick up your children from school: Follow your school’s rules and avoid double parking or stopping on crosswalks, dropping off or picking up your kids on the opposite side of the street, and stopping in moving traffic as kids rush out. Instead, use the designated drop off areas or consider a spot a bit farther away from school that is easily accessible and safe.   CAA supports safety in school zones through the CAA School Safety Patrol® program. The program was developed to protect, educate and empower elementary school children on safe road-crossing practices.

Aston University joins Birmingham Health Partners alliance

Aston University becomes second university member to join Birmingham Health Partners (BHP) BHP brings together excellence from University of Birmingham and four regional NHS trusts The alliance brings together translational medicine, encompassing health data and academic excellence. Aston University has joined Birmingham Health Partners (BHP), becoming the second university to join the city’s university-NHS partnership. BHP brings together academic, clinical and translational excellence from the University of Birmingham, Aston University and four regional NHS trusts: University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust; Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust; and more recently Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, the Royal Orthopaedic NHS Foundation Trust, as well as the regional Academic Health Science Network. BHP is known for its unique ecosystem which enables a full spectrum of translational medicine: encompassing health data, an established local health system, academic excellence and an extensive clinical trials capability – to help bring about answers to complex healthcare issues for the direct benefit of people worldwide. Aston University will be represented at board level by Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University. While Professor Anthony Hilton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor & Executive Dean College of the College of Health and Life Sciences will join the executive group of BHP. Professor Hilton said: “We are excited to join BHP because it gives Aston University the chance to develop cross institutional collaborations under one umbrella of BHP. It provides an important forum for engagement with our regional NHS trusts and beneficiaries for both research, education and knowledge exchange. “We are keen to see how the alliance will support the funding of future research, enabling us to share innovation at the boundaries of each institutional expertise. “By having a unified West Midlands approach, we can harness key skills, expertise and our resources to have an impact on health in the region.” Managing Director at BHP, John Williams said: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome Aston University to be part of Birmingham Health Partners. “Alongside our NHS partners we will make use of our shared capabilities as employers, educators and researchers to positively impact the health and economic growth of our region."

Planet 9 Doesn’t Exist, So Why Does It Matter How We Get There? Let Our Expert Explain.

Planet 9 is an oft-discussed hypothetical planet in the outer region of the solar system. A new study involving Florida Tech astrobiologist Manasvi Lingam helps illustrate how we could possibly get there. The study, “Can We Fly to Planet 9?” is from Lingam and researchers Adam Hibberd and Andreas Hein. The team discovered that using current, unmanned transportation methods, it would take 45 to 75 years to get to Planet 9, which is about 42 billion miles away from Earth. By comparison, Pluto, which is the ninth object from the Sun, is roughly three billion miles from Earth. The research and work of Lingam, Hibberd and Hein is also getting a lot of attention from websites like UniverseToday.com. The team also studied near-future transportation methods nuclear thermal propulsion and laser sails. Using nuclear thermal propulsion, it would take approximately 40 years to reach Planet 9. It would take merely six to seven years to reach Planet 9 using laser sail propulsion, which involves using light from lasers to propel the vehicle. In its research, the team used the principles of orbital mechanics, sometimes called spaceflight mechanics. They inputted the complex and nonlinear mathematical equations into a computer, and then solved those equations with some optimization constraints. “What I mean by the latter is that ideally you want to maximize or minimize some quantity as much as possible,” Lingam said. “You might say, ‘Well, I want to minimize the flight time of the spacecraft as much as possible.’ So, what we did is that we put in an optimization constraint. In this case, it happens to be minimizing the time of journey. You solve the mathematical equations for a spacecraft with this condition, and then you end up with the results.” Lingam is inspired by the trendsetting Voyager spacecraft missions of the late 1970s, and one of his goals is to gain additional information about other worlds in our solar system, in addition to Planet 9 Voyager still provides valuable information regarding the outer solar system, though by 2025 it is expected that there may no longer be sufficient power to operate its science instruments. “Any mission to Planet Nine would likewise not just provide valuable information about that hypothetical planet, but it would also yield vital information about Jupiter, because what we do in some of the trajectories is a slingshot or powered flyby around Jupiter,” Lingam said. “It could also provide valuable information about the Sun because we also do a maneuver around the Sun, so you would still be getting lots of interesting data along the journey. And the length of the journey is comparable to that of the functioning time of the Voyager spacecraft today.” If you're a reporter looking to know more - then let us help get you connected to an expert. Manasvi Lingam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is an author and go-to expert for media when it comes to anything in outer space or out of this world - just recently he was featured in Astronomy.com where he was asked to answer the illusive question - Are we alone?  Manasvi is available to speak with media - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Researchers explore alternate delivery method for potential Alzheimer’s treatment

“Traditionally, the nose has been used as a route for delivery of locally acting drugs,” Laleh Golshahi, Ph.D., explained. “But recently, there has been a great deal of interest in the direct pathway through the olfactory region. That’s the same region where we smell, and that route is a direct pathway to the brain.” Golshahi, associate professor in VCU’s Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, leads the collaboration. Other members of the group are Worth Longest, Ph.D., the Louis S. and Ruth S. Harris Exceptional Scholar and Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering; Michael Hindle, Ph.D., the Peter R. Byron Distinguished Professor in VCU’s Department of Pharmaceutics; and Arya Bazargani, a Ph.D. student in VCU’s Interdisciplinary Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Sciences. The project is supported by a $200,000 internal grant from VCU Breakthroughs, a new internal funding mechanism as part of the Optimizing Health thrust of the One VCU Research Strategic Priorities Plan being implemented by the university’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. Hindle said that studies of nasally administered insulin have shown some promise for reducing the effects of Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, delivery by injection, the most common way to deliver insulin, is ineffective for Alzheimer’s and other cerebral conditions because of the blood-brain barrier. Bazargani explained that nose-to-brain delivery of pharmaceuticals circumvents the blood-brain barrier, the lining of the blood vessels that surround the brain, guarding the central nervous system against a host of pathogens. “It’s usually a good thing,” he said. “But not when you’re trying to induce therapeutic effects into the brain.” Bazargani explained that insulin molecules are so large that the blood-brain barrier filters out most of the insulin. Hindle pointed out that even though the VCU team is avoiding the blood-brain barrier, insulin delivery still presents a number of challenges. “Insulin is a pretty fragile molecule, you know. It’s stored in the fridge,” Hindle said. “We need to include insulin in some sort of stable formulation — either a powder or a liquid nasal spray. We have to create the right particle or droplet size to get it into the right area of the nose.” Formulation development is only half of a two-pronged challenge, Golshahi said. The second aspect is the creation of a device that can deliver a dose way up to the olfactory region. “The nose is a challenge, because it’s designed as a filter to keep aerosols out of the body,” said Longest, who, along with Golshahi and Hindle, brings expertise in computational fluid dynamics to the team. “And the olfactory region is an especially troubling or difficult region to target, because it’s designed just to let a few molecules of what we inhale deposit.” Chief among the nasal filtering defenses, Golshahi said, is mucociliary clearance. Nasal passages are lined with mucous-coated cilia — moving microscopic projections on cells — sweeping foreign substances out of the air we breathe. The cilia do an excellent job, she said, but their efficiency makes it difficult to achieve a consistent delivery to the olfactory region. Another challenge, she added, lies in the fact that all noses are different. The collaborators are using in vitro and in silico methodologies. For the in vitro work, they have an array of 3D printed nose models, based on computed tomography (CT) scans. Golshahi said they have multiple anatomical casts of human nasal airways to test likely device/formulation combinations for their insulin/Alzheimer’s initiative. “We are going to use three of those nasal casts as our starting point,” she said. “We’ll connect the casts to a breathing simulator, which is basically a machine you can program to add the air going through — sort of bringing them to life.” Golshahi added that data from the casts will inform the in-silico component of the work — computational analysis that is expected to verify or challenge observations from the lab. Hindle said that once the team has developed a satisfactory formulation-device system, they can tackle the next challenge: identifying the dominant pathway from the olfactory region to the brain. “There are a variety of theories out there,” he said. “It could go along the nerve passageway. It could go between the nerve walls and the cells linking them.” “We have all the equipment and all the expertise necessary to be able to develop a formulation, and to put it in a device that leads to the highest amount of delivery to the target region,” Golshahi said. “And we are able to quantify how successful that combination of formulation and device is.”

Tokyo International Conference on African Development

Aston University co-hosted parts of the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8). There was a total of six talks hosted by the University, five of which are available to catch up on below. TICAD8 is the eighth event of TICAD, having been initiated by Japan in 1932. The conference brings together international organisations and business representatives from African countries and Japan to promote the digitalisation of African nations to keep pace with other leading economies. Cyber security and data privacy were two of the main topics up for discussion as well as central bank digital currencies (CBDC). CBDC is a government-issued fiat currency, that is, a currency not backed by a commodity such as gold. The use of an ideal CBDC will eliminate over 100,000 armoured cars carrying cash for ATM machines all over the world, reducing CO² emissions. Experts say transitioning to fiat currency requires the highest level of cyber security. The digitalisation of the healthcare sector in Africa Professor Georg Holländer of Oxford University speaks with Aston University visiting professor - and GVE founder - Koji Fusa. The discussion focuses on the benefits of an electronic health record for both an individual and the health care provider but will also relate these benefits to issues of public health and research. The technical challenges of providing the conventional infrastructure to establish health care records will be touched on with a focus placed on data security. Reasons will be pointed out that impede the uptake of electronic health records, especially in low and middle income countries, and possible solutions are presented to overcome this problem. CBDC and private sector digital currency will facilitate the digitalisation of nations of African countries CBDC will require the highest security and privacy protection. Professor Koji Fusa, Cyber Security Innovation Centre, Aston University, CEO of GVE Ltd discusses the benefits of a comprehensive digitalisation of fiat currency. This will become a powerful digital infrastructure which could expand into other areas like healthcare. The cyber security issue pointed by the US NIST in 2016 could be solved by having a different set of systems which could reduce the risks being presented by international hacking groups having quantum computers in the future. The World Bank's support for digitalisation of Africa Takashi Miyahara, the Executive Director of the World Bank Group, presents this talk in his personal capacity. Mr. Miyahara introduces the World Bank’s contribution to date, and Japan’s collaboration with the Bank, for digital development of Africa. Mr. Miyahara worked for the Ministry of Finance of Japan since 1986 before he took the current position in January 2021. Vaccine and climate transition in Africa René Karsenti, senior adviser and honorary president of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), former board chair of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), honorary director general of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and member of the Global Advisory Board of GVE Ltd, talks to Aston University's Koji Fusa about vaccine and climate transition in Africa: two major challenges, lessons from innovative ESG financing and future endeavours. Health and vaccine finance, climate transition and sustainable finance have sparked a revolution in thinking about innovative solutions leading to implementing successfully new humanitarian finance such as IFFIm, financing GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as other new ESG investments to achieve a positive impact. He says: "Needs remain huge in Africa. "We are now at a decisive moment in such ESG investments. We have evolved in a few years from a situation where investors knew - and cared - little about what their investments were supporting, to one where purpose matters more than ever. "But only by recognizing the urgency for action particularly in Africa and the power of ESG investment, collaboration, technology and innovation would get us there." Cyber security, financial integrity and developments Professor George Feiger is the executive dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences at Aston University. He suggests truly secure data transfer has the capability to transform more than medicine and finance in the efficiency sense and also holds out the promise of helping to clean up the even more consequential problem of looting of the state.

Bivalent Boosters are Here: Our Expert Explains What You Need to Know

Updated COVID-10 booster shots are rolling out across the United States, and these new bivalent formulations target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that have become the dominant circulating strains as well as the original form of the coronavirus. UConn Health's Dr. David Banach, an infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist, spoke with UConn Today about the latest CDC vaccination guidelines and the significance of these updated boosters: What’s the difference between the monovalent and bivalent vaccines? The monovalent vaccines are the ones that have been available thus far. They contain a small piece of the mRNA component of the virus based on the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, sometimes termed as the “ancestral strain,” and are designed to generate an immune response to that original virus. We’ve seen with the omicron variant — and specifically with the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which have appeared most recently — the virus has changed. The bivalent vaccine contains both the portion of the original ancestral virus mRNA as well as a portion of mRNA that is specific for the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants that have been circulating most recently. The hope is, by more specifically targeting the most recent subvariants, the bivalent boosters will reduce the impact of COVID both on individuals who received them as well as the population. Conceptually it’s analogous to what has been done with the influenza vaccine. The technology’s a little different but it’s based on the same idea. It’s targeted against both the original strain and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron. What becomes of the monovalent vaccine? At this time the vaccination program will be a primary vaccine series with the original monovalent vaccine and booster doses using the bivalent vaccine. Why wouldn’t we just start people with the bivalent vaccine? Data showed the monovalent vaccine upfront provides that high level of protection. The bivalent vaccine has not been evaluated as a primary vaccine candidate, so we don’t have the data to support its use in that context. That’s how it was originally designed, to be a booster. Dr. Banach is a leading voice on the fight against the COVID-19 virus, and he's available to speak with the media. Click on his icon to arrange an interview today.

FBI data shows murders are up, and our experts are ready to help with your coverage

FBI data shows murder rates are up, with the latest figures showing a staggering 21,570 murders happening nationwide in 2020. Dr. Kim Davies teaches a sociology of murder course at Augusta University and was recently interviewed on the topic by a local CBS affiliate. Davies has developed the course to help educate students and get them thinking about ways they can bring awareness to the violent crime problem. Students put a tick on the sidewalk in chalk to represent every murder to offer a better understanding of the number of families affected. “If I put that number on the board, it looks like a big number," said Davies. "But nobody really knows what that is. If we tick every mark and we say, ‘Look, that’s a victim,’ it means more to the students.” Davies also reiterates that even though this current number is probably the highest it’s ever been since she's been offering this class, it's not at an all-time high. "Murder was higher in the '90s when I was in grad school, but it’s been going down, down, down. Hopefully it’s not a trend where we continue up, but we’re back up.” If you’re a journalist covering true crime or any other aspect of this topic, then let us help with your stories. Davies is a sociologically trained criminologist with academic focus is on homicide and violence. Her most recent book, The Murder Book: Understanding Homicide Today, explores topics such as the increase in mass murders, the change in Stand Your Ground laws across the country and police shootings as it relates to the Black Lives Matter movement. Davies is available to speak with media about this subject – simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.