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Economic Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Economic Times
Swiss researchers decode ancient 'influenza virus' genome from preserved pandemic victim
TIL Creatives Swiss scientists decode 1918 Spanish flu virus using preserved tissue sample Scientists have decoded the genome of the deadly 1918 influenza virus from preserved tissue of a Swiss patient, offering new insights into how the virus adapted to humans and triggered one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history. The pandemic killed an estimated 20 to 100 million people globally. Researchers say their work could help prepare for future pandemics by improving models of how viruses evolve and spread in human populations. The breakthrough was led by researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Basel, using a 107-year-old preserved lung specimen from an 18-year-old male patient in Zurich who died in July 1918, during the first wave of the Spanish flu in Switzerland. "This is the first time we've had access to an influenza genome from the 1918–1920 pandemic in Switzerland," said lead researcher Verena Schünemann, a paleogeneticist at the University of Basel. 'It opens up new insights into the dynamics of how the virus adapted in Europe at the start of the pandemic.'By comparing the Swiss strain to genomes previously reconstructed in Germany and North America, the team found that the virus already carried three key adaptations to human hosts at the very start of the outbreak. Two mutations helped it resist a human immune system component that normally blocks avian-like flu viruses, while a third mutation enhanced the virus's ability to bind to human cell receptors, making it more infectious. These findings suggest that the 1918 virus had adapted to humans early, allowing it to spread rapidly across populations. One of the biggest challenges was recovering the virus's fragile RNA, which degrades far more quickly than DNA. To overcome this, the team developed a new method for extracting ancient RNA from formalin-fixed tissue, a technique that could now be used to study other historical viral outbreaks. 'Ancient RNA is only preserved over long periods under very specific conditions,' said Christian Urban, first author of the study. 'That's why we developed a new method to improve our ability to recover these fragments.'The study also highlights the untapped potential of medical archives. 'Medical collections are an invaluable archive for reconstructing ancient RNA virus genomes,' said Frank Rühli, co-author and head of UZH's Institute of Evolutionary Medicine.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Swiss researchers decode ancient 'influenza virus' genome from preserved pandemic victim
Scientists have decoded the genome of the deadly 1918 influenza virus from preserved tissue of a Swiss patient, offering new insights into how the virus adapted to humans and triggered one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history. The pandemic killed an estimated 20 to 100 million people globally. Researchers say their work could help prepare for future pandemics by improving models of how viruses evolve and spread in human populations. The breakthrough was led by researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Basel, using a 107-year-old preserved lung specimen from an 18-year-old male patient in Zurich who died in July 1918, during the first wave of the Spanish flu in Switzerland. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Healthcare Product Management Finance Management Data Science Public Policy CXO Leadership others healthcare Degree PGDM Data Analytics Design Thinking Technology MBA Cybersecurity MCA Others Artificial Intelligence Data Science Operations Management Project Management Digital Marketing Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis in Healthcare Financial Management & Investing Strategic Management in Healthcare Process Design & Analysis Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Program in Healthcare Management Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details "This is the first time we've had access to an influenza genome from the 1918–1920 pandemic in Switzerland," said lead researcher Verena Schünemann, a paleogeneticist at the University of Basel. 'It opens up new insights into the dynamics of how the virus adapted in Europe at the start of the pandemic.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 15 Most Beautiful Women in the World Undo By comparing the Swiss strain to genomes previously reconstructed in Germany and North America, the team found that the virus already carried three key adaptations to human hosts at the very start of the outbreak. Two mutations helped it resist a human immune system component that normally blocks avian-like flu viruses, while a third mutation enhanced the virus's ability to bind to human cell receptors, making it more infectious. These findings suggest that the 1918 virus had adapted to humans early, allowing it to spread rapidly across populations. One of the biggest challenges was recovering the virus's fragile RNA, which degrades far more quickly than DNA. To overcome this, the team developed a new method for extracting ancient RNA from formalin-fixed tissue, a technique that could now be used to study other historical viral outbreaks . Live Events 'Ancient RNA is only preserved over long periods under very specific conditions,' said Christian Urban, first author of the study. 'That's why we developed a new method to improve our ability to recover these fragments.' The study also highlights the untapped potential of medical archives. 'Medical collections are an invaluable archive for reconstructing ancient RNA virus genomes,' said Frank Rühli, co-author and head of UZH's Institute of Evolutionary Medicine.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Scientists are freezing human poop in a vault — here's why?
In a bizarre effort to safeguard humanity's health for centuries to come, scientists in Switzerland are freezing human feces. No, it's not a joke. The initiative, called the Microbiota Vault , is based at the University of Zurich and aims to preserve the rich diversity of microbes found in human guts. With more than 1,000 samples already stored at a bone-chilling –80°C, this "doomsday vault" is being treated with the same urgency and importance as the famous Svalbard Seed Vault in Norway. The ultimate goal? To shield future generations from the health consequences of vanishing microbiomes. Why scientists are freezing human poop Launched in 2018, the Microbiota Vault aims to collect 10,000 human fecal samples by 2029. These aren't just any samples—they are being sourced from diverse populations across the globe to capture a wide spectrum of gut microbes. Alongside human waste, researchers are preserving around 200 types of fermented foods and plan to include environmental microbes as well. Why all the urgency? Scientists warn that modern lifestyles, characterized by processed diets, antibiotic overuse, industrial agriculture, and climate change, are causing a dramatic loss in microbial diversity. This decline is linked to rising rates of allergies, autoimmune disorders, and chronic illnesses. By freezing today's microbial richness, the team hopes to offer future generations the ability to restore healthy gut ecosystems, much like how seeds stored in Norway's vault could someday revive extinct crops. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dubai's Next Icon: Experience Binghatti Aquarise Luxury Binghatti Developers FZE Learn More Undo Preserving health and healing ecosystems The project isn't just about saving human health. It could help heal the planet too. Researchers believe that microbes stored in the vault could be used in future ecological restoration projects or to replenish depleted soils. The vault currently holds over 1,200 fecal samples and 190 fermented food specimens from countries including Brazil, Ethiopia, Thailand, and Ghana. Kept at cryogenic temperatures, these samples may one day become key resources for medical research, personalized probiotics, or even rebuilding entire microbial communities in the wake of pandemics or climate disasters. Just like seeds protect our food future, these microbes may protect our biological one.
NZ Herald
21-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
China stood up to Trump and is pushing Europe, seeing more room to assert its interests
Beijing has learned that it has leverage it can use against outside pressure. It stood up to the Trump Administration's punishing trade war by demonstrating how dependent global industry was on China for its supply of critical minerals. And Beijing likely assesses that it is in a stronger position because Western unity is fracturing, analysts say, with United States President Donald Trump's 'America First' foreign policy weakening the historical bonds between Europe and the US. 'Beijing perceives that the global order is in flux,' said Simona Grano, a China expert at the University of Zurich. 'From its perspective, the US is overstretched and preoccupied with multiple conflicts around the world and domestic polarisation.' 'And with signs of division or fatigue within the transatlantic alliance, the Chinese leadership sees more room to assert its interests, not least in trade, tech and security,' Grano said. That calculation has been evident in China's approach to the summit talks on Thursday, which will include its top leader, Xi Jinping, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, as well as other senior European leaders. The two sides will be commemorating 50 years of diplomatic ties — the type of anniversary that ordinarily would be a chance for Beijing to showcase its partnerships. Yet each detail of the meeting appears to underscore China's view of the power dynamic. The summit is being held in Beijing even though it was Brussels' turn to host the rotating event. The meeting will only last one day, according to the EU, despite having been billed earlier as a two-day affair. Expectations for any concrete results from the summit are low. The 27-nation European bloc is caught between wanting to cut a trade deal with the US, which is putting pressure on the region to commit to taking a harder line on China, and the need to maintain stable ties with China. But Brussels has grown more confrontational with Beijing in recent years about a massive trade imbalance that amounted to more than US$350 billion last year, as well as Beijing's alignment with Russia. In a speech this month in the European Parliament, von der Leyen accused China of 'flooding global markets with cheap, subsidised goods, to wipe out competitors', and of discriminating against European companies doing business in China. She also warned that China's support for Moscow in its war with Ukraine was creating instability in Europe. She said she planned to raise these concerns with Chinese officials at the meeting in Beijing. China is unlikely to be accommodating of such criticisms at the summit, if its recent muscle-flexing is any indication. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, fired back at von der Leyen, saying it was the EU's 'mindset' that needed 'rebalancing', not China's trade relationship with Europe. This year, China slowed exports of rare earth minerals to Europe, sounding alarms at high-tech firms across Europe and triggering a temporary shutdown of production lines at European auto parts manufacturers. And this month, China hit back at EU curbs on government purchases of Chinese medical devices by imposing similar government procurement restrictions on European medical equipment. Despite its combative stance, Beijing cannot afford to push Europe too far. China needs European markets to absorb the glut of electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels its factories are making. Domestically, huge price wars have shrunk profits, prompting even Xi and other leaders to warn companies against engaging in 'disorderly and low-price competition'. And Europe's importance has only grown as the Trump Administration tries to close off other markets to China. 'Europe remains an indispensable economic partner for China. But if Beijing overplays its hand, it could find itself more isolated,' Grano said. Still, China has remained defiant when it comes to its close relationship with Russia — which Beijing considers an invaluable partner in counterbalancing the West. Europe has long complained that Beijing's purchases of Russian oil and its supplying of dual-use technologies has enabled the Kremlin to prolong its war in Ukraine. China claims neutrality over the conflict, a position that has been met with deep scepticism in the West, in part because of the closeness of China and Russia. Xi called for Beijing and Moscow to 'deepen' their ties and 'safeguard' their 'security interests' when he met Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Beijing last week. And this month, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, privately told EU officials in Brussels that it was not in Beijing's interests for the war to end because it might shift US attention towards Asia, according to a European official briefed on the talks, who spoke to the New York Times on condition of anonymity. Wang's remarks were first reported by the South China Morning Post. China has not commented on what Wang reportedly said. But Victor Gao, a former Chinese diplomat and vice-president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think-tank, argued that the assertion attributed to Wang did not make sense because China believes the US is able to project its influence in both Asia and over the fate of Ukraine at the same time. Gao was dismissive of European criticisms of China's relationship with Russia, saying that the region should essentially mind its own business and focus on improving the lives of its people. 'From the Chinese perspective, they are not qualified as a geopolitical rival,' he said. 'They think too much of themselves.' China's strategy towards Europe is essentially to divide and conquer. It saw the EU as hawkish and sought to minimise the impact of its policies while courting Europe's leading businesses, namely from Germany and France, Gao said. Hopes that Beijing will ever help Europe pressure the Kremlin to end its war have 'faded away', said Philippe Le Corre, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Centre for China Analysis, who is no more optimistic that Brussels and Beijing will compromise on trade. 'There is no trust between the two sides,' he said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: David Pierson and Berry Wang ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Business Standard
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
China stood up to Trump, and it's not giving Europe an inch, either
Having forced the Trump administration into a trade truce through economic pressure and strategic defiance, China now appears to be playing the same kind of hardball with Europe. It has retaliated against trade curbs, accused Europe of protectionism, slowed exports of critical minerals and further embraced Russia, with China's top leader himself pledging support for Moscow just days before a summit of European Union leaders that China is scheduled to host this week. The moves are part of a tough posture that Beijing is taking in its trade and geopolitical disputes with Brussels. China wants Europe to lift heavy tariffs that it has imposed on Chinese electric vehicles and refrain from further restrictions on trade. EU leaders see Beijing as effectively supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine, and are also concerned that China is dumping artificially cheap products that could undermine local industries. Beijing has learned that it has leverage it can use against outside pressure. It stood up to the Trump administration's punishing trade war by demonstrating how dependent global industry was on China for its supply of critical minerals. And Beijing likely assesses that it is in a stronger position because Western unity is fracturing, analysts say, with President Trump's 'America First' foreign policy weakening the historical bonds between Europe and the United States. 'Beijing perceives that the global order is in flux,' said Simona Grano, a China expert at the University of Zurich. 'From its perspective, the United States is overstretched and preoccupied with multiple conflicts around the world and domestic polarization.' 'And with signs of division or fatigue within the trans-Atlantic alliance, the Chinese leadership sees more room to assert its interests, not least in trade, tech and security,' Grano said. That calculation has been evident in China's approach to the summit talks on Thursday, which will include its top leader, Xi Jinping, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, as well as other senior European leaders. The two sides will be commemorating 50 years of diplomatic ties — the type of anniversary that ordinarily would be a chance for Beijing to showcase its partnerships. Yet each detail of the meeting appears to underscore China's view of the power dynamic. The summit is being held in Beijing even though it was Brussels's turn to host the rotating event. The meeting will only last one day, according to the European Union, despite having been billed earlier as a two-day affair. Expectations for any concrete results from the summit are low. The 27-nation European bloc is caught between wanting to cut a trade deal with the United States, which is putting pressure on the region to commit to taking a harder line on China, and the need to maintain stable ties with China. But Brussels has grown more confrontational with Beijing in recent years about a massive trade imbalance that amounted to over $350 billion last year, as well as Beijing's alignment with Russia. In a speech this month in the European Parliament, von der Leyen accused China of 'flooding global markets with cheap, subsidized goods, to wipe out competitors,' and of discriminating against European companies doing business in China. She also warned that China's support for Moscow in its war with Ukraine was creating instability in Europe. She said she planned to raise these concerns with Chinese officials at the meeting in Beijing. China is unlikely to be accommodating of such criticisms at the summit, if its recent muscle flexing is any indication. Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, fired back at von der Leyen, saying it was the European Union's 'mind-set' that needed 'rebalancing,' not China's trade relationship with Europe. Earlier this year, China slowed exports of rare earth minerals to Europe, sounding alarms at high-tech firms across Europe and triggering a temporary shutdown of production lines at European auto parts manufacturers. And this month, China hit back at European Union curbs on government purchases of Chinese medical devices by imposing similar government procurement restrictions on European medical equipment. Despite its combative stance, Beijing cannot afford to push Europe too far. China needs European markets to absorb the glut of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels its factories are making. Domestically, huge price wars have shrunk profits, prompting even Xi and other leaders to warn companies against engaging in 'disorderly and low-price competition.' And Europe's importance has only grown as the Trump administration tries to close off other markets to China. 'Europe remains an indispensable economic partner for China. But if Beijing overplays its hand, it could find itself more isolated,' Grano said. Still, China has remained defiant when it comes to its close relationship with Russia — which Beijing considers an invaluable partner in counterbalancing the West. Europe has long complained that Beijing's purchases of Russian oil and its supplying of dual-use technologies has enabled the Kremlin to prolong its war in Ukraine. China claims neutrality over the conflict, a position that has been met with deep skepticism in the West, in part because of the closeness of China and Russia. Xi called for Beijing and Moscow to 'deepen' their ties and 'safeguard' their 'security interests' when he met Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in Beijing last week. And earlier this month, China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, privately told European Union officials in Brussels that it was not in Beijing's interests for the war to end because it might shift U.S. attention toward Asia, according to a European official briefed on the talks, who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity to share details of remarks made in a closed-door meeting. Wang's remarks were first reported by the South China Morning Post. China has not commented on what Wang reportedly said. But Victor Gao, a former Chinese diplomat and vice president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank, argued that the assertion attributed to Wang did not make sense because China believes the United States is able to project its influence in both Asia and over the fate of Ukraine at the same time. Gao was dismissive of European criticisms of China's relationship with Russia, saying that the region should essentially mind its own business and focus on improving the lives of its people. 'From the Chinese perspective, they are not qualified as a geopolitical rival,' he said. 'They think too much of themselves.' China's strategy toward Europe is essentially to divide and conquer. It saw the European Union as hawkish and sought to minimize the impact of its policies while courting Europe's leading businesses, namely from Germany and France, Gao said. Hopes that Beijing will ever help Europe pressure the Kremlin to end its war have 'faded away,' said Philippe Le Corre, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, who is no more optimistic that Brussels and Beijing will compromise on trade. 'There is no trust between the two sides,' he said.
