9:20 AM 6/6/2020 - Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠: Covid-19 as the BIOWEAPON: Only the German - New Abwehr (Military?) Microbiologists have the capability to construct this Covid-19 Bio-weapon & to use it together with Information warfare, & in the most sophisticated way. The Chinese and the Russians, and others (?Israelis), are just the covers...
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Disease X-19, aka "Covid-19" is the BLACKMAIL of the German Intelligence Services directed at former WW2 Allies and also other countries whom they blame for the defeat of Nazi Germany in WW2. They fan the flames of hostility between USA and China, and use the Chinese. It is their multiprong sphisticated game, as always. - M.N.
| Covid-19 as the BIOWEAPON: Only the German - New Abwehr (Military?) Microbiologists have the capability to construct this Covid-19 Bio-weapon & to use it together with Information warfare, & in the most sophisticated way. The Chinese and the Russians, and others (?Israelis), are just the covers, as always. Sars and AIDS are the Bioweapons, and constructed by the New Abwehr researchers also! - M.N. | This is an Accepted Manuscript for QRB Discovery as part of... | Sir Richard Dearlove said there was good evidence that the virus was engineered, but that it's escape from the laboratory was accidental. | RT @LawrenceSellin: The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturall - 9:17 AM 6/5/2020 | ||
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Covid-19 as the BIOWEAPON
'The WIV does not have the intention and the ability to design and construct a new coronavirus'
M.N.: The second and the main part is true, I think: NO ABILITY! Coronavirus origin still unclear as China lab rejects conspiracy theories - The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/international/coronavirus-origin-still-unclear-as-china-lab-rejects-conspiracy-theories-626162
Only the German - New Abwehr (Military?) Microbiologists have the capability to construct this Covid-19 Bio-weapon & to use it together with Information warfare, & in the most sophisticated way. The Chinese and the Russians, and others (?Israelis), are just the covers, as always. Sars and AIDS are the Bioweapons, and constructed by the New Abwehr researchers also! - M.N.
» mikenov on Twitter: RT @LawrenceSellin: The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturall
05/06/20 07:07 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturally-occurring and establish the means for rapid and accurate scientific analysis of potential biological threats. #Covid...
» mikenov on Twitter: RT @Pontifex: Everything is interconnected: Genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity
05/06/20 07:07 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Everything is interconnected: Genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice, and faithfulness to others. #LaudatoSi #WorldEnvironmentDay Posted by Pontifex on Friday, June 5th, 2...
Sir Richard Dearlove said there was good evidence that the virus was engineered, but that it's escape from the laboratory was accidental.
Former MI6 head claims COVID-19 was made in a Chinese lab - The Jerusalem Post
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This is an Accepted Manuscript for QRB Discovery as part of the Cambridge Coronavirus Collection.
Subject to change during the editing and production process. |
Covid-19-Review.
Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ | InBrief |
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Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks  | |||||||||||||||
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| Deutsche Welle: Joe Biden officially clinches US Democratic nomination | |||||||||||||||
Joe Biden says he has enough Democratic party-backing from delegates to challenge President Donald Trump in November's US election. Biden crossed the threshold in tallying awaited since 8 primaries held Tuesday. | |||||||||||||||
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| Coronavirus Depletes the Keepers of Europes Memory | |||||||||||||||
ROME For years, Gildo Negri visited schools to share his stories about blowing up bridges and cutting electrical wires to sabotage Nazis and fascists during World War II. In January, the 89-year-old made another visit, leaving his nursing home outside Milan to help students plant trees in honor of Italians deported to concentration camps.
But at the end of February, as Europes first outbreak of the coronavirus spread through Mr. Negris nursing home, it infected him, too. Shut inside, he grew despondent about missing the usual parades and public speeches on Italys Liberation Day, grander this year to mark the 75th anniversary. But the virus canceled the April 25 commemorations. Mr. Negri died that night.
The memory is vanishing, and the coronavirus is accelerating this process, said Rita Magnani, who worked with Mr. Negri, at the local chapter of the National Association of Italian Partisans. We are losing the people who can tell us in first person what happened. And its a shame, because when we lose the historical memory we lose ourselves.
The virus, which is so lethal to the old, has hastened the departure of these last witnesses and forced the cancellation of anniversary commemorations that offered a final chance to tell their stories to large audiences. It has also created an opportunity for rising political forces who seek to recast the history of the last century in order to play a greater role in remaking the present one. Throughout Europe, radical right-wing parties with histories of Holocaust denial, Mussolini infatuation and fascist motifs, have gained traction in recent years, moving from the fringes and into parliaments and even governing coalitions. The Alternative for Germany is looking to capitalize on the economic frustration the coronavirus crisis has triggered. In France, the hard-right National Rally had the countrys strongest showing in the last European Parliament elections. And in Italy, the birthplace of fascism, the descendants of post-fascist parties have grown popular as the stigma around Mussolini and strongman politics has faded.
Italy is especially vulnerable to the loss of memory. It has endured a severe epidemic and has the oldest population in Europe. It is also a politically polarized place where areas of consensus in other countries are constantly relitigated, with recollections of Nazi and fascist atrocities countered with retorts of summary executions by Communist partisans.
In the three quarters of a century following Italys defeat and de facto civil war with Mussolinis short-lived Nazi puppet state in the north, the people who lived through the war and fascism have offered a living testimony that shined through the muddle. That generation was to get a final close-up and megaphone on the 75th anniversary of the wars end, in Italy and throughout Europe.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, Germany had spent more than a year booking flights and hotels and organizing wheelchairs and oxygen tanks for 72 survivors and 20 American soldiers who liberated the camps. For five days starting on April 29, they were to meet one another and tell their stories. The pandemic made that impossible.
Instead, only four officials took part in the event. Many survivors had been living for the day, said Gabriele Hammermann, who runs the Dachau concentration camp memorial, and was one of the four participants. In these times of change in which fewer and fewer survivors are able to come to the memorial site, it was of particular importance that the baton of remembrance be handed to the next generations. On May 8, Victory in Europe day, the BBC broadcast parts of Winston Churchills speech 75 years before, (We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing,) and Prime Minister Boris Johnson lamented the lack of parades but said that fighting the virus demands the same spirit of national endeavor as the war effort did. In France, Geneviève Darrieussecq, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Armed Forces, said regional ceremonies were canceled especially as former fighters and flag bearers are particularly exposed.
Some veterans groups have said they understood that memorials for the past needed to take a back seat to immediate health risks. Others found the absence devastating.
In Russia, which lost tens of millions of soldiers during a war that forged its national identity, President Vladimir V. Putin had planned a major military parade for May 9, to be attended by President Emmanuel Macron of France and possibly other world leaders in Moscow. Instead he made phone calls of solidarity and rescheduled the event for June 24. We will do this, he said.
In the meantime, as the virus upsets all of modern life, it is also severing connections to the past.
In Spain, José María Galante, 71, survived the Spanish Civil War and the regime of the dictator Francisco Franco, and spent recent years trying to bring his torturer, Antonio González Pacheco, a policeman known as Billy the Kid, to justice. But in March, Mr. Galante died of the virus. Weeks later, the virus also killed Mr. Pacheco, 73. Its a huge loss for all those who believed that Spain should not silence its past, said Mr. Galantes longtime partner, Justa Montero. When the virus killed Henry Kichka, a 94-year-old Belgian writer and Auschwitz survivor, on April 25, the Belgian politician Charles Picqué wrote a great witness of Shoah left us, and that it was now up to the young generations to continue his battle against hate.
In Italy, its more than just the memory of the fascist era that risks being shut away, as the country debates what to do with its vulnerable elders.
For months, officials have debated what policy to adopt for the countrys older at-risk population, including those who rebuilt the country after the war, fueled its boom and endured the domestic terrorism of the 1970s itself an echo of the civil war. In a gerontocracy like Italy, proposals to encourage the elderly to stay inside would mean shutting away much of the political, academic, industrial and business elite. At the beginning of March, the leading health official in Lombardy asked people over the age of 65 to stay home, a suggestion echoed by the national government in a decree. Grandfathers published open letters to their grandchildren, urging them not to stash away the protagonists of the 1940s as useless burdens. A former president of the countrys highest court noted that the Constitution assures freedom of movement to all citizens. (I know 80- year-olds who are in great shape, he wrote.)
Who can make a society without models taken from the past? said Lia Levi, 88, an Italian writer, who is Jewish and suffered under Italys racial laws as a child. She said that many of the partisans who fought the fascists never wrote a word or became political, but simply lived their lives and told their children and grandchildren what they saw.
I can tell you when I was kicked out of school, and that I couldnt understand why, that humanizes historical facts, she said, adding, We see each other.
Unlike Germany, which has forced itself to look unflinchingly at its crimes, Italy has often looked away.
In May, Giorgia Meloni, a rising star on the Italian right and the leader of the increasingly popular Brothers of Italy, the descendant of Italys post-fascist parties, paid tribute to a right-wing politician who once avidly supported Mussolinis racial laws. The deaths from the virus of those who fought fascism have gotten less attention. Piera Pattani worked clandestinely as a trusted confidante and liaison for local resistance leaders around Milan during the war. She helped allies escape from fascist Italian guards and watched the German SS take her comrades away. Into her 90s, she remained healthy and lucid and willing to tell her stories in classrooms. She ended up in a nursing home. But in March she was infected with the virus. She died alone in the hospital at 93. The virus did what fascism couldnt, said Primo Minelli, 72, the president of Legnano partisan association and her friend. It has brought a lot of people away who could have stayed longer. That mattered especially now, he said, because of a political climate that he found threatening. Firsthand testimony is valued over indirect testimony, he said. There is already an attempt underway to remove the history of resistance. That effort will be sped up when the witnesses are gone.
The families of other partisans said they themselves only felt the full weight of that history now that the people who lived it had died.
You know how it is, when someones well, it seems like a fable, what they say about the past, said Teresa Baroni, 86, who lost her husband, Savino, to the virus in March. And then they are gone and it doesnt seem like a fable anymore. When he tested positive for the virus and ambulance workers prepared to take him to the hospital in March, his wife kept him at home, saying she had slept next to him for 66 years and wouldnt stop now. He died beside her days later, she said, taking his stories with him. Memory goes away when those directly involved go away, and we are all old, said William Marconi, a partisan who fought Nazis in Tirano in northern Italy. And this virus is killing the old. Mr. Marconi, 95, still lives in Tirano, where he said his inability to walk has kept him at home and away from the threat of a virus that killed one of his former comrades, Gino Ricetti, on April 26.
Mr. Marconi had written about his experiences, but had grown less than sanguine about the prospect of younger generations learning the lessons of the past.
Im not convinced memory serves, he said. Even those who know history, they do it again and again and again. Reporting was contributed by Emma Bubola from Milan, Raphael Minder from Madrid, Christopher Schuetze from Berlin, and Monika Pronczuk from Brussels. | |||||||||||||||
| Coronavirus Depletes the Keepers of Europe's Memory | |||||||||||||||
In May, Giorgia Meloni, a rising star on the Italian right and the leader of the increasingly popular Brothers of Italy, the descendant of Italy's post-fascist ... | |||||||||||||||
| The National Interest: World War II History Lesson: How Japan's Mighty Navy Died | |||||||||||||||
Warfare History Network History, Asia  Enemy attackers are approaching. Trust in the Gods and give it your best.The Japanese superbattleship Musashi was steaming east along with a fleet of other battleships, cruisers, and destroyers on their way toward what was expected to be a climactic battle at Leyte Gulf. At 8:10 am on October 24, 1944, Musashis captain ordered the crew to battle stations. An American scout plane had been spotted overhead. The fleet lacked its own air cover, so it had to endure the American plane and expected an attack any time. The fleet commander, Admiral Takeo Kurita, sent a message to his sailors: Enemy attackers are approaching. Trust in the Gods and give it your best. At 9:30 a lookout spotted a trio of what appeared to be more scout planes. Kurita requested air support from land-based fighters, but they never arrived. Less than an hour later the lookouts spotted the first wave of American planes. They were from the U.S. aircraft carriers Intrepid and Cabot, a few dozen torpedo and dive bombers escorted by 21 fighters. Within a few minutes Musashis antiaircraft guns were in action, sending rounds skyward at aircraft that plunged down to deliver their deadly payloads. A bomb hit first, but it struck the forward turret, doing no damage. Then a torpedo impacted amidships and four more bombs were near misses; their combined effects were leaks below the ships waterline. Musashi developed a list of 51/2 degrees to starboard, but damage control crews were able to reduce that to one degree. The ship still kept pace with the fleet. Tragically for the crew, however, Musashis trials had only just started. Within an hour another attack occurred; a trio of torpedoes struck the port side along with two more bomb hits. The ship now listed five degrees to port and lost the port propeller. She fell behind the fleet, losing the protection of its escorts. When the next strike arrived, even the main guns fired on it, using nine sanshiki-dan, or beehive shells designed for antiaircraft fire. They had no apparent effect on this wave or the next, but more torpedo and bomb hits followed, leaving Musashi stricken. The goal had been to get the fleet within range of the American invasion force in Leyte Gulf and lay waste to it. The Japanese attack force would still arrive, but it would be short one battleship. Musashi sank beneath the waves just after 7:30 pm, a victim of overwhelming American air power. The Pacific War extended over an immense expanse, most of it water dotted with thousands of islands, making it essentially a conflict of warships and aircraft. In 1944, the American leadership chose to strike next at the Philippines, which would sever Japans link to its oil supply and bring the Allies one step closer to ending the war. Japans own war leaders knew this was a likely avenue of approach for their enemy and prepared for it, but they were fast running out of ships, aircraft, and resources and had to make do with what remained on hand. Both sides used intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, and radio interception to determine what their opponent would do. Deciphering an enemys intentions and deciding how to counter them is a complex and difficult process. How both sides tried to do this is well recounted in Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy (John Prados, NAL Caliber, New York, 2016, 388 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $28.00, hardcover). There have been many books on the Leyte Gulf fighting and for good reason. The battle is full of tough decision making, extreme courage, and hard-fought actions. What makes this new book stand out is the authors extensive research into the intelligence and reconnaissance efforts that took place before the fighting. The work does an excellent job showing how both sides tried to figure out what the other would do as well as how the various personalities acted, setting the stage for the Japanese navys last major battle. The amount of detail included in the authors assessments shows the immense amount of research taken from intelligence reports and the amount of work done to correlate all the data. The result is a thoroughly informative book that retells the prelude to the battle before delving into the fight itself in exciting prose. The authors extensive knowledge allows him to add background information as needed. It is a complete retelling of one of historys largest naval engagements. As Good As Dead: The True WWII Story of Eleven American POWs Who Escaped from Palawan Island (Stephen L. Moore, Caliber Press, New York, 2016, 368 pp., maps, photographs, appendices, notes, bibliography, index, $27.00, hardcover) Palawan Island in the Philippines was the site of a Japanese-run POW camp; in late 1944 that camp held 150 American prisoners. They had endured years of torture, disease, and starvation while working at forced labor. It was a hellish existence. Near the end of the year U.S. forces landed in the Philippines. The Japanese decided to murder the prisoners, herding them into small underground air raid shelters. These dugouts were then doused with gasoline and set ablaze. About 30 Americans were able to escape the flaming pits and ran for the relative safety of some nearby cliffs. As they fled Japanese soldiers turned machine guns and bayonets on them, cutting down many; yet 11 managed to get away. Their ordeal was just beginning, however. The struggle for survival faced by these 11 men is recounted in dramatic detail in this new volume by an author well known for his works on the Pacific War. Using diaries, letters, court transcripts, and the official statements of the survivors, he has created an exciting, readable story of how these men overcame the odds against them. It is an astonishing tale of human endurance and willpower in the face of extreme adversity. Holocaust Heroes: Resistance to Hitlers Final Solution (Mark Felton, Pen and Sword, South Yorkshire, UK, 2016, 174 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $34.95, hardcover) It was 2 am on August 16, 1943, and the SS was coming for the Jews in the Bialystok Ghetto. Operatives of the Jewish Underground noticed SS troops surrounding the ghetto and warned their comrades. The Jewish fighters had only a few small arms and hand grenades to resist their foe, which had armored vehicles and artillery in support. As the SS rounded up the civilians, the fighters attacked at 10 am. They set off a mine under a sewer manhole, forcing the tanks back for a time. Luftwaffe aircraft strafed and bombed; the Jewish warriors had no response to that. The fighting went on for several more days, varying in intensity but gradually turning against the Jewish resistance throughout the burned and blasted ghetto. Mordecai Tenenbaum, a resistance leader, committed suicide in his bunker just before the Germans captured it. He left behind words describing his determination and defiance: We aspired to only one thing: To sell our lives for the highest possible price. This concise but detailed history of Jewish resistance to the SS effectively shows both the danger experienced by the fighters and the boldness they demonstrated in the face of overwhelming attacks and extreme cruelty. Most works on the Holocaust focus on the plights of Jews as victims of Nazi barbarity. This new book shows how they could also be courageous and determined soldiers. Sacrifice on the Steppe: The Italian Alpine Corps in the Stalingrad Campaign, 1942-1943 (Hope Hamilton, Casemate Publishing, Havertown, PA, 2016, 268 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $18.95, softcover) The Battle of Stalingrad is the classic struggle of Nazi Germany versus the Soviet Union, but other nations armies were involved. Italy, Romania, and Hungary all contributed forces that guarded the German flanks as the Wehrmacht drove itself into the heart of the city. All of them were crushed under the Russian tide when their counterattack struck. All but onethe Italian Alpine Corps, known as the Alpini. These 60,000 elite mountain troops held out against punishing attacks after they were encircled and even tried to break out, all during a terrible winter. Ultimately, however, they faced capture and imprisonment just like their German allies. Only 10,000 of them would survive the POW camps and get home. Though they fought for a doomed and wrongful cause, the valor, suffering, and sacrifice of the Alpine Corps is worthy of the retelling they receive in this book. The author sets out to tell the story of the Alpini from the bottom up and succeeds, with the experiences of many private soldiers, NCOs, and junior officers included, making it a human story above all. Enough higher information is provided to give the reader a sense of time and place, which blends well with the narrative of bravery and sorrow. Wasp of the Ferry Command: Women Pilots, Uncommon Deeds (Sarah Byrn Rickman, University of North Texas Press, Denton, 2016, 440 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $29.95, hardcover) Soon after World War II began, U.S. Army Air Corps commanders realized they lacked enough pilots to carry out the mission of ferrying newly built training aircraft from the factory to the airfields where a new generation of flyers would learn to take warplanes into the air. A woman named Nancy Love gathered a group of 28 female pilots to carry out the duty. Later, a flight school for women trained more pilots to join them in this unglamorous but vital task. After production of trainer aircraft ceased, these women were retrained to fly fighters and began ferrying them to New Jersey so they could be shipped overseas for combat use. In all, more than 100 women served as Ferry Command Pilots, doing what they could to serve their country in its time of need. This is the authors third work on the subject, and her expertise shows in the detailed narrative and clear prose. This subject has long been unexplored, and it formed one small step in the gradual sweep of social change in the 20th century, a phenomenon the war only accelerated. The dedication and perseverance of these women is shown to advantage, and the book is liberally illustrated with period photographs of the pilots performing their duties. Fighting the Invasion: The German Army at D-Day (Edited by David C. Isby, Frontline Books, Yorkshire, UK, 2016, 256 pp., maps, photographs, index, $14.99, softcover) Fritz Ziegelmann, a lieutenant colonel in the German Armys 352nd Infantry Division, was abruptly awakened at midnight on June 5, 1944. Enemy parachutists had been reported nearby at Caen. As a staff officer for his division, he went ahead and ordered all units to an increased air raid warning. An hour later reports of several companies of paratroopers near Carentan came in. More reports followed, and German infantry was dispatched to deal with them but they were delayed when their French truck drivers claimed engine trouble. Over the next few hours a handful of prisoners were brought in, Americans wearing the patch of the 101st Airborne Division. Not long afterward Ziegelmann learned the beach areas were being bombarded; soon a regimental commander reported inbound landing craft. The division staff began issuing orders, but communications became spotty. For a while it seemed the Germans were holding their own against the assault, but around 11 am the weather cleared and hordes of Allied fighter bombers attacked. It was the start of a long day for the division staff, and the beginning of the end of a long war. Numerous books on D-Day can be found on any bookstore shelf; what makes this volume stand out is its perspective. The entire story is told from the point of view of the defending German troops. It is a compilation of after-action reports from various German officers telling their piece of the story as they saw it on that fateful day. Each section of the book covers a different topic: the preparations, how the defense was organized, the invasion itself, and the counterattacks carried out that day. Before the Belle: The Chronicle of Hot Stuff, the First Eighth Air Force Heavy Bomber to Complete Twenty-Five Combat Missions During World War II (Cassius Mullen and Betty Byron, Page Publishing, New York, 2016, 338 pp., maps, photographs, bibliography, $18.95, softcover) At 9:22 am on May 3, 1943, a lone Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber named Hot Stuff took off from Bovington Aerodrome in England bound for the United States. It had to stop in Iceland to refuel. The weather was bad, and the pilot took his plane down as he searched for the airfield at Keflavik. It appeared once through the heavy clouds, and the bomber circled, dropping flares to announce its intent to land. Still the weather prevented a landing. The B-24 continued to circle until the pilot decided to divert to another airfield. As the pilot turned his craft, a mountain suddenly loomed ahead. Contact with Hot Stuff was lost at 3:30 pm. All but one of the crew was killed, including Lt. Gen. Frank Andrews, commander of all U.S. Forces in Europe. The authors present a convincing case that Hot Stuff was the first heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 missions. In fact they maintain the bomber completed 31 missions and document each of them. Even if the reader disagrees about whether this bomber was the first to 25, the book is a fascinating look at the almost day-to-day life of a bomber crew and their aircraft, with descriptions not only of their missions, but base life, leave in London, and flights to other theaters of operation, such as the Middle East. New Georgia: The Second Battle for the Solomons (Ronnie Day, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2016, 272 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $35.00, hardcover) In November 1943, the Americans won the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, a second turning point in the Pacific War after the Battle of Midway. Afterward, they attacked up the Solomons Island chain. They would fight the Japanese at New Georgia on land, sea, and air from March through October 1943. It was really a series of battles, with names such as Kula Gulf, Bairoko Harbor, and Vella Lavella. Air power would prove crucial to victory, and the skies over New Georgia were often filled with fighters and bombers engaged in equally desperate if unnamed struggles. Meanwhile, soldiers and Marines fought their Japanese counterparts in the jungles below. Many of the engagements, landings, and fights that took place during this campaign are worthy of a book of their own; this volume takes a look at each and how these events combined to influence the final outcome. The author weaves a narrative that effectively tells the reader a complex tale in a simple, readable style. Sadly, the author, a history professor at East Tennessee State University, passed away before the publication of this work. The book is a fitting tribute to his love of history and skill as a writer. Originally Published in the April 2017 Issue of WWII History Magazine This article by Christopher Miskimon first appeared in the Warfare History Network on December 19, 2018. Image: The U.S. Navy battleship USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) leading USS Colorado (BB-45) and the cruisers USS Louisville (CA-28), USS Portland (CA-33), and USS Columbia (CL-56) into Lingayen Gulf, Philippines, in January 1945. | |||||||||||||||
| » Coronavirus Depletes the Keepers of Europe's Memory 06/06/20 05:00 from Google Alert - coronavirus in italy | CoronaVirus News Review | |||||||||||||||
 https://covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-depletes-keepers-of-europes.html_________________________________________________________________ CoronaVirus News Review In Brief _________________________________________________________________
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 Seafood industry struggling to stay afloat amid outbreak - Portland Press Herald https://www.pressherald.com/2020/04/05/seafood-industry-struggling-to-stay-afloat-amid-outbreak/#
Michael Novakhov@mikenov
______________________________________________________________________https://covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/google-alert-covid-19-neurological.html Disease X-19 News Review - from Michael Novakhov _______________________________________________
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| Coronavirus cases in seafood industry skyrocket; outbreak hits world's first major fishing vessel. | M.N.: I see one common element in fish & meat processing: Rodents infestations: rats & possibly mice, who transmit the infections. Also: closed spaces with poor ventilation. I also cannot escape the thought that the New Abwehr wants to make you a vegetarian, just like Hitler was. | |||||||||||||||
 https://covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-cases-in-seafood-industry.html 
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| LIVE UPDATES: Coronavirus cases in seafood industry skyrocket; outbreak hits world's first major fishing vessel; signs of life in Asia | Intrafish | |||||||||||||||
IntraFish is bringing you quick, live updates on the impacts of the coronavirus on the seafood market in this story. For full coverage of the virus' impact, visit and bookmark this coronavirus topic page.
--- --- Friday, June 5, 3:20 GMT Two more American Seafoods fishing trawlers hit by coronavirus outbreaksTwenty-five crew members aboard American Seafoods' Northern Jaeger and American Triumph factory trawlers have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning blow to the company, which was already reeling from a mass outbreak on a third vessel last week. --- Friday, June 5, 1:04 GMT Whittier Seafood records 11-person Covid cluster, part of 17 new seafood worker cases across AlaskaThe City of Whittier and Whittier Seafood are both working together and in coordination with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to respond to the cluster of cases. --- Thursday, June 4, 4:52 GMT Workers for Cooke-owned Icicle Seafoods test positive for COVID-19 in AlaskaThe two individuals, both male, one age 40-49 and one age 50-59, have been in quarantine in Unalaska since arriving seven days ago and have now been moved to isolation following the positive tests. --- Thursday, June 4, 3:51 GMT Seafood investment fund: Covid has revealed a resilient industryThe foodservice collapse during coronavirus was sudden, but will the sector continue to struggle in the long-term? No, says specialized seafood sector fund Holberg Triton Co-Founder Hogne Tyssoy who thinks normality will return with some adjustments. --- Thursday, June 4, 2:46 GMT Thai Union Global Sustainability Director: Coronavirus crisis reinforces need for changeIncreased media coverage and significant events such as fires in the Amazon and Australia in 2019 have contributed to a raised awareness of climate change and put the issue firmly on Thai Union's agenda as it pushes forward with the next phase of its sustainability drive, Global Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Darian McBain told IntraFish. --- Thursday, June 4, 2:28 GMT Wells Fargo: How seafood companies can raise capital in a pandemicBanking leaders in the food space with Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest lender in the United States, remain largely bullish on seafood's investment potential. Read more here. --- Wednesday, June 3, 14:37 GMT Aquaculture Canada and WAS North America 2020 rescheduledThe Aquaculture Canada and WAS North America Steering Committee reschedule the event to Sept. 26 to Sept. 29, next year, at the St. Johns Convention Centre, Newfoundland and Labrador. The change was done to accommodate attendees who wish to attend AquaNor 2021 in Trondheim, Norway. --- Wednesday, June 3, 4:01 GMT Question mark hangs over prices as Russias wild salmon producers face lower catches, coronavirus-related cost hikesRussias Pacific wild salmon harvesting season officially kicked off Monday, and while hopes are for stronger prices, the industry is burdened withmarket uncertainty and costs associated with Covid-19 preventative measures. | |||||||||||||||
| Covid-19 as the BIOWEAPON: Only the German - New Abwehr (Military?) Microbiologists have the capability to construct this Covid-19 Bio-weapon & to use it together with Information warfare, & in the most sophisticated way. The Chinese and the Russians, and others (?Israelis), are just the covers, as always. Sars and AIDS are the Bioweapons, and constructed by the New Abwehr researchers also! - M.N. | This is an Accepted Manuscript for QRB Discovery as part of... | Sir Richard Dearlove said there was good evidence that the virus was engineered, but that it's escape from the laboratory was accidental. | RT @LawrenceSellin: The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturall - 9:17 AM 6/5/2020 | |||||||||||||||
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Covid-19 as the BIOWEAPON
'The WIV does not have the intention and the ability to design and construct a new coronavirus'
M.N.: The second and the main part is true, I think: NO ABILITY! Coronavirus origin still unclear as China lab rejects conspiracy theories - The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/international/coronavirus-origin-still-unclear-as-china-lab-rejects-conspiracy-theories-626162
Only the German - New Abwehr (Military?) Microbiologists have the capability to construct this Covid-19 Bio-weapon & to use it together with Information warfare, & in the most sophisticated way. The Chinese and the Russians, and others (?Israelis), are just the covers, as always. Sars and AIDS are the Bioweapons, and constructed by the New Abwehr researchers also! - M.N.
» mikenov on Twitter: RT @LawrenceSellin: The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturall
05/06/20 07:07 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) The time is long overdue for U.S. intelligence agencies to reassess their statement that the #COVID19 virus is naturally-occurring and establish the means for rapid and accurate scientific analysis of potential biological threats. #Covid...
» mikenov on Twitter: RT @Pontifex: Everything is interconnected: Genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity
05/06/20 07:07 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Everything is interconnected: Genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice, and faithfulness to others. #LaudatoSi #WorldEnvironmentDay Posted by Pontifex on Friday, June 5th, 2...
Sir Richard Dearlove said there was good evidence that the virus was engineered, but that it's escape from the laboratory was accidental.
Former MI6 head claims COVID-19 was made in a Chinese lab - The Jerusalem Post
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This is an Accepted Manuscript for QRB Discovery as part of the Cambridge Coronavirus Collection.
Subject to change during the editing and production process. DOI: 10.1017/qrd.2020.8 Biovacc-19: A Candidate Vaccine for Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Developed from Analysis of its General Method of Action for Infectivity B. Sørensen(1), A. Susrud(1), A.G.Dalgleish(2) 1) Immunor AS, Oslo, Norway 2) Foundation Professor of Oncology, St. George's, University of London, Institute of Infection and Immunity, London, United Kingdom ABSTRACT This study presents the background, rationale and Method of Action of Biovacc-19, a candidate vaccine for Covid-19, now in advanced pre-clinical development, which has already passed the first acute toxicity testing. Unlike conventionally developed vaccines, Biovacc-19's Method of Operation is upon non human-like (NHL) epitopes in 21.6% of the composition of SARS-CoV-2's Spike protein, which displays distinct distributed charge including the presence of a charged furin-like cleavage site. The logic of the design of the vaccine is explained, which starts with empirical analysis of the aetiology of SARS-CoV-2. Mistaken assumptions about SARS-CoV-2's aetiology risk creating ineffective or actively harmful vaccines, including the risk of Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE). Such problems in vaccine design are illustrated from past experience in the HIV domain. We propose that the dual effect general method of action of this chimeric viruss spike, including receptor binding domain, includes membrane components other than the ACE2 receptor, which explains clinical evidence of its infectivity and pathogenicity. We show the non-receptor dependent phagocytic general method of action to be specifically related to cumulative charge from inserted sections placed on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike surface in positions to bind efficiently by salt bridge formations; and from blasting the Spike we display the non human-like epitopes from which Biovacc-19 has been down-selected.
This is an Accepted Manuscript for QRB Discovery as part of ...www.cambridge.org core services content view
May 28, 2020 - Author Contributions. Birger Sørensen: Writing original draft. Angus Dalgleish: Review and editing. Andres Susrud: Investigation and Review ...
angus dalgleish and Birger Sorensen - GS
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Fig. 2. The identified inserts examined in the PDB 6VXX electron microscopy structure (Walls et al., 2020) The sequences highlighted in red could not be found in the cryo-electron microscopy structure data. The 6 aligned sequences in Fig. 1 are underlined in the missing sequences. Bold amino acids indicate first and last amino acids used to build the structure where the missing part is in between. Insert 6 did not have the same sequence in 6VXX as in the reference Sars-CoV-2 sequence. The authors stated that a designed mutated strain lacking the furin cleavage site residues was used. _______________________________________________ Our findings confirm (Coutard et al., 2020) that the SARS-CoV-2 contains a furin-like cleavage site absent in CoV of the same clade. Also in Fig 1, Coutard highlight that enriched basic charge associated with this cleavage site are found in a number of viruses such as Human Immunodeficiency Viruses, Influenza, human CytoMegalo Virus (Herpes) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Yellow fever, Zika and Ebola. Coutard et al furthermore state that, "conversely, the highly pathogenic forms of influenza have a furin-like cleavage site cleaved by different cellular proteases, including furin, which are expressed in a wide variety of cell types allowing a widening of the cell tropism of the virus." Furthermore the insertion of a multibasic motif RERRRKKRGL at the H5N1 hemagglutinin HA cleavage site was likely associated with the hyper-virulence of the virus during the Hong Kong 1997 outbreak. Extensive clinical evidence in this pandemic suggests that SARS-CoV-2 poses such widened cell tropism. The mechanism of action linked to such basic Arginine rich domains is known as the binding of cell-penetrating peptides (Thorén et al., 2000). The important point to grasp is that such positively charged amino acids need to be located in such a way that they span four amino acids (or more) in length to act as an initial membrane anchor. Use of such positive charged vaccine peptides allows for attachment and/or direct cell uptake depending on the net charge present in the peptide (Åmand et al., 2011; US patent US9950811B2n). The present authors have used such basic properties in uploading vaccine peptides to cells (typically macrophages and dendritic cells). We have found that more than 3 Arginines are required for uptake. In addition this charge needs to be distributed over the peptide. (Yesylevskyy et al., 2009). Fig. 3 (a-f) illustrate the process in dynamic sequence from attachment to cell membrane until complete cell penetration. ___________________________________________________________________________
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| Popova called a singular coronavirus vaccine impossible [Russia's chief epidemiologist] | |||||||||||||||
There will not be a single coronavirus vaccine in Russia, and several treatments for various population groups will be used instead. This was stated by ... | |||||||||||||||
| Popova called a singular coronavirus vaccine impossible [Russia's chief epidemiologist] : Coronavirus | |||||||||||||||
level 1
To be expected, not every vaccine is one size fits all, and not every vaccine is safe for everyone.
For example because the flu vaccine is grown in egg, I wasnt ever able to get them growing up, since I was allergic.
And thats fine, variety is better
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| 12:16 PM 6/4/2020 - Is there a connection between Covid -19 and the present "civil unrest"? Of course, it is. These are the two consecutive parts of the same Intelligence Operation. Rightists Trump and white nationalists , and the leftist Antifa are just the covers behind which is the New Abwehr. | |||||||||||||||
 Pentagon chief breaks with Trump, opposes invoking Insurrection Act http://hill.cm/aovwuii Is there a connection between Covid -19 and the present "civil unrest"? Of course, it is.These are the two planned and consecutive parts of the same Intelligence Operation. Both rightist Trump and white nationalists on the one hand, and the leftist Antifa on another are just the covers behind which is the New Abwehr. https://fbinewsreview.blogspot.com/2020/06/1216-pm-642020-is-there-connection.html
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| Antifa planned anti-government insurgency before George Floyd protests: law enforcement official | |||||||||||||||
Activists of the far-left Antifa movement began planning to foment a nationwide anti-government insurgency as early as November as the U.S. presidential campaign season kicked off in earnest, according to a law enforcement official with access to intelligence behind the shadowy group.
The radical movement has emerged as a key focus for investigators in the wake of violent protests and looting across the country after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, according to U.S. law enforcement officials and private security experts. The law enforcement official would not speak on the record about Antifas plans as the election season heats up, but longtime analysts of the group say such a move would be entirely in character. Antifas actions represent a hard break with the long tradition of a peaceful political process in the United States, said former National Security Council staff member Rich Higgins. Their Marxist ideology seeks not only to influence elections in the short term but to destroy the use of elections as the determining factor in political legitimacy. Added Joe Myers, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official and counterinsurgency expert, President Trumps election and revitalization of America are a threat to Antifas nihilist goals. They are fomenting this violence to create havoc, despair and to target the Trump campaign for defeat in 2020. More generally, senior Trump administration officials and private analysts are warning that the radicals have rushed to exploit recent anti-police protests to set into motion a program of widespread civil unrest, a program that involves using the protests for looting and burning inner cities with the help of criminals and street gangs. Far from a centrally organized movement, Antifa is a shadowy anti-fascist political front of loosely organized, quasi-underground activists known for wearing black-clad outfits and masks who see destructive street violence as a political tool. In recent days, the group interspersed its operatives among protests set off by the police killing of a handcuffed Mr. Floyd. Mr. Trump has singled out Antifa for the violent protests. The president said Monday that in recent days, our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, looters, criminals, rioters, Antifa and others. White House National Security Adviser Robert OBrien said U.S. officials are pressing for more intelligence on the groups activities in light of the events of recent days. The president and the attorney general want to know from [FBI] Director [Christopher] Wray what the FBI has been doing to track and dismantle and surveil and prosecute Antifa, Mr. OBrien said. And if that hasnt been happening, we want to know what the plan is going forward. Mr. Myers argued that Antifa clearly meets the criteria for being labeled a terrorist and insurgent movement. It is employing organized violence for political ends: destruction of the constitutional order, he said. Direct action What makes the shadowy group unique is its willingness to use of violence, what Antifa organizers and sympathizers call direct action in support of the anarchist and Marxist-Leninist agenda. That often involves setting fires, looting, throwing bricks and bottles at police, and in one case the apparent use of a milkshake laced with quick-dry cement in attacking an opponent in the face. Antifa initially was focused in West Coast cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Berkeley, California. Antifa supporters later took part in demonstrations during the inauguration of Mr. Trump in January 2017. However, security officials said the coordinated, national-level riots inspired by Antifa in recent days are unprecedented. In New York, a senior police official provided the first details of how radical anarchists like those with Antifa came from outside the city and intentionally incited protesters to violence. John Miller, deputy police commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, told NBC New York that the radicals operations included organized scouts, medical teams and an arsenal of rocks, bottles and accelerants. The material was used by hard-core activists interspersed among the protesters who would break away from larger demonstrations to commit acts of violence and vandalism. Mr. Miller, who did not mention Antifa by name, said he has high confidence in intelligence assessment of the activities. They included strong indicators that the violent protesters had made preparations. Antifa also used encrypted communications as part of the planning. Before the protests began, organizers of certain anarchist groups set out to raise bail money, and people who would be responsible to be raising bail money, they set out to recruit medics and medical teams with gear to deploy in anticipation of violent interactions with police, Mr. Miller said. They prepared to commit property damage and directed people who were following them that this should be done selectively and only in wealthier areas or at high-end stores run by corporate entities, he added. A New York City police spokeswoman confirmed Mr. Millers information and said the operations of the rioters included a complex network of scouts on bicycles who would move ahead of demonstrators and identify locations with minimal police presence. At those locations, extremists were able to easily vandalize or burn vehicles using Molotov cocktails. Antifas leftist agenda calls for supporting so-called social justice movements. Among the liberal-left causes espoused by the group are issues of racism and police misconduct, support for Muslim minorities and backing the transgender rights movement. Attorney General William P. Barr said peaceful and legitimate protests against Mr. Floyds death were hijacked by violent radical elements. He singled out Antifa for special criticism. Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent and extremist agenda, Mr. Barr said on Sunday. FBI counterterrorism officials have been monitoring Antifa and similar violent groups for years. In a bid to obscure its actions, Antifa has begun using cover names such as Black Lives Matter, Smash Racism, Abolish ICE and others. Communist roots The name Antifa is derived from the Moscow-based Communist International that in 1933 directed the Soviet-led Communist Party USA to form the American League Against War and Fascism. That group was patterned after Germanys Antifascist Action or Antifa formed in 1932. CPUSA leader Manning Johnson testified to Congress in 1953 that the goal of the front group was never the abolishment of fascism, but rather the subversion and subsequent overthrow of the United States. The National Security Councils Mr. OBrien described Antifa foot soldiers as militant radicals who come into our cities and cross state lines. Theyre organized and use Molotov cocktails and fireworks and gas to burn down our cities, especially businesses in minority neighborhoods. Its got to be stopped, he said. Mr. Higgins, the former NSC staffer, sees Antifa as a significant tool of leftist and communist political warfare. Antifas goal is nothing less than fomenting revolution, civil war and silencing Americas anti-communists, said Mr. Higgins, a former Pentagon irregular warfare expert. Their labeling of Trump supporters and patriots as Nazis and racists is standard fare for left-wing communist groups. The ideology of Antifa is at its center Marxism-Leninism, he said. Antifa is currently functioning as the command and control of the riots, which are themselves the overt utilization of targeted violence against targets such as stores capitalism; monuments history; and churches God, he said. Until the riots, the FBI paid little attention to left-wing radical groups and other subversive organizations because of the overwhelming focus of people and investigative resources on the Islamic State and al Qaeda terrorist groups. Social media sites such as Facebook also say they have taken down some provocative posts by right-wing groups posing as Antifa members. Additionally, the bureau has put a much heavier emphasis on investigating right-wing extremists even though these groups are smaller than those like Antifa, Mr. Higgins said. Skepticism Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said he is skeptical about the prominence of Antifas role in the recent unrest despite the administrations concerns. We will try to find out how organized this violence is, Mr. Graham said. But I am old enough to remember 1968, and Antifa was not around in 1968, that I know of. Antifa also gets support from some academics. Walter F. Heinecke, a University of Virginia associate professor of education, helped secure permits for counterprotests that included Antifa and other groups in 2017 against the Unite the Right political rally for white nationalists, although Mr. Heinecke asserted that he did not knowingly back the anarchist groups participation. Asked whether he supports the movement, Mr. Heinecke said, I am against fascism, so if Antifa means against fascism, then generally, yes. Mr. Heinecke emphasized that he is not technically a member of an Antifa organizing group, and I dont speak for any Antifa organization. I like to think all Americans are against fascism, and if so they are anti-fascists, he said. Mr. Heinecke said Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr have made no mention of white nationalists taking action against a black church. We dont hear the equivalent cries from Trump and Barr about extreme right-wing agitators attempting to turn this into a race war, he said. They are opportunistically looking for the Antifa as boogeyman to deflect the real issue: There is an insurrection going on in this country against the racist culture and structure. Harvard Divinity School Professor Cornel R. West has praised Antifa for protecting him and other protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Antifa and its supporters call its operating methods direct action. Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, argues that militant anti-fascism is a reasonable response to what he sees as the rise of right-wing politics. It is an unabashedly partisan call to arms that aims to equip a new generation of anti-fascists with the history and theory necessary to defeat the resurgent Far Right, Mr. Bray said. Andy Ngo, a journalist who was beaten by Antifa activists last year, has closely monitored the activities of the group. He recently wrote that the riots around the country are glimmers of the full insurrection the far left has been working toward for decades. Mobilization and disinformation The death of Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis was a pretext for launching the Antifa insurgency, he said. In a matter of hours after the video of Floyd began circulating the internet, militant Antifa cells across the country mobilized to Minnesota to aid Black Lives Matter rioters, he said. Mr. Ngo said Antifa supporters have spread disinformation that it is white supremacists and nationalists who are to blame for the rioting. So far, no evidence has emerged linking right-wing extremists to the violence. Antifa has been operating relatively unimpeded by law enforcement in recent years despite its use of violence, and many analysts credit the movements support and sympathy from the liberal left of American political and media establishment. One reason is that so many Democrat leaders have children and family members who are active participants in the Marxist movement, with many of them being members of Antifa, insofar as one can be a member, said Mr. Higgins, the former NSC official. Jeremiah Ellison, son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, tweeted his support for Antifa on Sunday. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio had his daughter arrested in New York with protesters, and Sen. Tim Kaines son Woody also was affiliated with Antifa, Mr. Higgins said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, condemned Antifa after its activists sparked riots in Berkeley several years ago. But in a now-deleted 2018 tweet, Mr. Ellison, then-deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, posted a photograph of an Antifa handbook with the statement that the manual should strike fear in the heart of @realDonaldTrump. Asked about the tweet Sunday, Mr. Ellison told reporters that the tweet about Antifa was meaningless. It means nothing. Look, I was at a bookstore, and I saw a book, said Mr. Ellison. It means nothing. The FBI, which is in charge of countering domestic security threats posed by foreign intelligence services or domestic terrorists, has largely avoided focusing on Antifa. A search of the FBI website produces no results for Antifa. The FBI investigated three Antifa activists suspected of beating a Unite the Right protester in Charlottesville three years ago, but no charges were brought. Kenneth deGraffenreid, who was deputy national counterintelligence executive during the George W. Bush administration, said the FBI has not been engaged in effective domestic counterintelligence for years. The FBI has not had a meaningful domestic counterintelligence capability for many years, Mr. deGraffenreid said. Theyve been distracted or politically corrupted. An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. Rowan Scarborough, Jeff Mordock and Valerie Richardson contributed to this report. Sign up for Daily Newsletters | |||||||||||||||
| Antifa planned anti-government insurgency before George Floyd protests: law enforcement official | |||||||||||||||
Activists of the far-left Antifa movement began planning to foment a nationwide anti-government insurgency as early as November as the U.S. presidential campaign season kicked off in earnest, according to a law enforcement official with access to intelligence behind the shadowy group. The radical movement has emerged as a key ... | |||||||||||||||
| Former Defense Secretary Mattis Issues Stunning Rebuke Of Trump - NPR | |||||||||||||||
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| Shining Light In A Black Box: Can The U.S. Slow The Flow Of Dirty Money From The Ex-U.S.S.R.? | |||||||||||||||
The United States may follow in Europes footsteps and create a register of beneficial owners of shell companies putting names on massive, murky investments. Will it have an impact on illegal money flowing in from the former Soviet Union and elsewhere?  | |||||||||||||||
| Russias Putin declares state of emergency over Siberian fuel spill | |||||||||||||||
From: france24english
Duration: 01:51
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency over the spill of more than 2,000 tons of diesel fuel into a Siberian river. After a reservoir collapsed at a powerplant in the Arctic circle on Friday, a clean-up operation and a criminal investigation have been launched to unveil the circumstances over what could become the second worst environmental disaster in Russias history.
Subscribe to France 24 now: http://f24.my/youtubeEN FRANCE 24 live news stream: all the latest news 24/7 http://f24.my/YTliveEN Visit our website: http://www.france24.com Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://f24.my/youtubeEN Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en  | |||||||||||||||
| » mikenov on Twitter: Both health and law enforcement officials should be aware of the possibility for use of more than one biological agent or a combination of agents. - Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare covid-19-review.blogspot.com | |||||||||||||||
Is coronavirus becoming less potent? Doctors believe it is weakening https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/02/coronavirus-becoming-less-potent-doctors-believe-weakening-12790604/?ito=article.desktop.share.top.twitter via
https://covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/michael-novakhov-posts-on-twitter-250.html Michael Novakhov - Posts on Twitter - 250 | Page _____________________________________
» mikenov on Twitter: Both health and law enforcement officials should be aware of the possibility for use of more than one biological agent or a combination of agents. - Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/101-pm
03/06/20 14:08 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Both health and law enforcement officials should be aware of the possibility for use of more than one biological agent or a combination of agents. - Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/101-pm Poste...
» mikenov on Twitter: #Covid19Review: 1:01 PM 6/3/2020 - Both health and law enforcement... covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/101-pm
03/06/20 14:07 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) #Covid19Review: 1:01 PM 6/3/2020 - Both health and law enforcement... covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/101-pm Posted by mikenov on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 5:07pm mikenov on Twitter
» mikenov on Twitter: the plague of Thebes could be a composite of >2 causative agents, as it has been suggested for the contemporary plague of Athens (6,7). The Plague of Thebes, a Historical Epidemic in Sophocles Oedipus Rex - Volume 18, Number 1
03/06/20 13:50 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) the plague of Thebes could be a composite of >2 causative agents, as it has been suggested for the contemporary plague of Athens (6,7). The Plague of Thebes, a Historical Epidemic in Sophocles Oedipus Rex - Volume 18, Number 1Januar...
» mikenov on Twitter: Both health and law enforcement officials should be awareof the possibility for use of more than one biological agent ora combination of agents.Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare chrome-extension://mhjfbmdgcfjbbpaeojofohoefgiehj
03/06/20 13:45 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Both health and law enforcement officials should be aware of the possibility for use of more than one biological agent or a combination of agents. Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare chrome-extension://mhjfbmdgcfjbbpaeojofohoefgiehjai/...
» mikenov on Twitter: combination of psychological warfare and bio-warfareCombined biological weapons use more than one infection - Google Search google.com/search?newwind
03/06/20 13:42 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) combination of psychological warfare and bio-warfare Combined biological weapons use more than one infection - Google Search google.com/search?newwind Posted by mikenov on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 4:42pm mikenov on Twitter
» mikenov on Twitter: Mouse models - Importantly, mouse can be easily manipulated at the genetic level ... infected with SARS-CoV (Urbani strain), it was found that the ...Sars-Cov can be present in rodents - Google Search google.com/search?newwind
03/06/20 13:33 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Mouse models - Importantly, mouse can be easily manipulated at the genetic level ... infected with SARS-CoV (Urbani strain), it was found that the ... Sars-Cov can be present in rodents - Google Search google.com/search?newwind Posted b...
» mikenov on Twitter: Search ResultsScholarly articles for Sars-Cov-2 in rodentsSars-Cov-2 in rodents - Google Search google.com/search?q=Sars-
03/06/20 13:30 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Search Results Scholarly articles for Sars-Cov-2 in rodents Sars-Cov-2 in rodents - Google Search google.com/search?q=Sars- Posted by mikenov on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 4:30pm mikenov on Twitter
» mikenov on Twitter: Mar 11, 2020 - Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from ... suggests that these mice do get infected with the new pandemic virus, ...Do rodents transmit Sars? - Google Search google.com/search?q=Do+ro
03/06/20 13:28 from Michael Novakhov on Twitter from Michael_Novakhov (1 sites) Mar 11, 2020 - Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from ... suggests that these mice do get infected with the new pandemic virus, ... Do rodents transmit Sars? - Google Search google.com/search?q=Do+ro Posted by ... | |||||||||||||||
| 1:01 PM 6/3/2020 - Both health and law enforcement officials should be aware of the possibility for use of more than one biological agent or a combination of agents. - Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare | |||||||||||||||
 Which Species Transmit COVID-19 to Humans? We're Still Not Sure. | The Scientist Magazine® https://covid-19-review.blogspot.com/2020/06/101-pm-632020-both-health-and-law.html
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| Coronavirus: Italian doctors say samples of virus getting weaker | |||||||||||||||
Doctors in Italy claim the coronavirus has weakened and become a shadow of the disease that rapidly spread around the world.
Italian medics say the infection - which has killed 370,000 worldwide - is much less lethal than it was and 'no longer clinically exists'. Patients are showing much smaller amounts of the virus in their system, compared to samples taken during the peak of the crisis in March and April, they said. Infections and deaths caused by Covid-19 have been falling in Italy for weeks. It was, at one point, the centre of Europe's escalating outbreak. Scientific theory suggests viruses may become weaker over time in a bid to survive - if they kill or cripple all their human hosts they will run out of road. But virologists have today cast doubt on the Italian doctors' claims, saying there is no evidence the virus is losing potency anywhere. One called them 'bulls***'. Viruses known to have mutated in this way, such as HIV and the common cold, have been around for decades and thousands of years, respectively, while the coronavirus was only spotted in humans in December last year. Another scientist said it was possible that the coronavirus would mutate in this way but it was dangerous to assume it was happening simply from swab samples.
The coronavirus is thought to kill around one in every 100 people who catch it and more than six million people have been diagnosed with it since January, with considerably more known to have had it but never been tested (Pictured: Medical workers process a test sample in Beijing, China)
Doctors in Italy, which has been one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus, say the virus has changed in the past couple of months and appears in much smaller quantities in patients' bodies (Pictured: Staff outside the Colosseum wearing protective gear)
Professor Alberto Zangrillo, head of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan in the northern region of Lombardy, made the claim to the RAI TV channel.Calling on politicians to get Italy back to being a normal country, he said: 'In reality, the virus clinically no longer exists in Italy.' He said that swabs taken from patients during the last 10 days have an 'infinitesimal' - extremely small - viral load, compared to ones carried out a month ago. The viral load is the quantity of virus that is detected in someone's swab sample - a greater load has been associated with worse symptoms. The Italian government urged caution over the claims, warning it was far too soon to claim victory in the absence of scientific evidence. But the head of the infectious diseases clinic at the San Martino Hospital in Genoa told reporters that he was also seeing the virus weaken. Matteo Bassetti told the ANSA news agency: 'The strength the virus had two months ago is not the same strength it has today. 'It is clear that today the COVID-19 disease is different.' Share this articleShare13k shares Dr Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, from the University of Wollongong in Australia, told MailOnline that the idea the virus has disappeared 'seems dubious'. The epidemiologist warned Italy - which was the centre of Europe's coronavirus crisis in March - is still recording new Covid-19 cases and deaths, showing it is still a danger.
Coronaviruses are so named because their structure has jagged edges which look like a royal crown corona is crown in Latin (Pictured, an illustration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Italian health chiefs yesterday recorded just 355 cases, a fraction of the 6,000-plus that were being declared daily at the peak of the outbreak.And officials announced 75 more Covid-19 deaths - significantly fewer than the 919 recorded on March 27, the darkest day in Italy's crisis. Other experts slammed the report, with one virologist saying the SARS-CoV-2 virus has not attenuated and saying the claim was 'awful'. HOW AND WHY CAN VIRUSES LOSE POTENCY OVER TIME?
Viruses are known to change over time because they are subject to random genetic mutations in the same way that all living things are.
These mutations can have various effects and many will only happen briefly and not become a permanent change as newer generations of viruses replace the mutated ones. However, some of the mutations might turn out to be advantageous to the virus, and get carried forward into future generations. For example, if a virus becomes less dangerous to its host - that is, it causes fewer symptoms or less death - it may find that it is able to live longer and reproduce more. As a result, more of these less dangerous viruses are produced and they may go on to spread more effectively than the more dangerous versions, which could be stamped out by medication because more people realise they are ill, for example. The mutation may then be taken forward in the stronger generations and become the dominant version of the virus. In an explanation of an scientific study about HIV, the NHS said in 2014: 'The optimal evolutionary strategy for a virus is to be infectious (so it creates more copies of itself) but non-lethal (so its host population doesnt die out). 'The "poster boy" for successful long-living viruses is, arguably, the family of viruses that cause the, which has existed for thousands of years.' She added less transmission means fewer hospitalisations and deaths - but warned: 'That doesn't mean less virulence.' The virulence of a virus is how dangerous the illness is but may not directly relate to how contagious it is. Dr Seema Yasmin, an epidemiologist from Stanford University, called for the original report to be deleted, saying it was 'bulls***'. Dr Oscar MacLean, of the University of Glasgow, said: 'These claims are not supported by anything in the scientific literature, and also seem fairly implausible on genetic grounds. 'The vast majority of SARS-CoV-2 mutations are extremely rare, and so whilst some infections may be attenuated by certain mutations, they are highly unlikely to be common enough to alter the nature of the virus at a national or global level. 'As testing efforts are scaled up across the globe, asymptomatic and mild infections which previously would not have been detected, are now much more likely to be identified. It's important not to confuse this with any weakening on the virus's part. 'Making these claims on the basis of anecdotal observations from swab tests is dangerous. Whilst weakening of the virus through mutations is theoretically possible, it is not something we should expect, and any claims of this nature would need to be verified in a more systematic way. 'Without significantly stronger evidence, no one should unnecessarily downplay the danger this highly virulent virus poses, and risk the ongoing society-wide response.' New cases and deaths have fallen steadily in Italy, and officials are finally unwinding strict lockdown restrictions imposed to control the outbreak. A decline in cases and deaths, however, is not proof that the virus is becoming less dangerous, but proof that the social distancing and lockdown measures have worked. No matter how virulent a virus is, if people act to stop it spreading between them, the scale of the effect it can have on the population will be dramatically reduced. Less human contact will automatically lead to fewer infections which will in turn result in fewer deaths. Some viruses do lose their virulence over time, though, meaning the Italian doctors' claims are not without scientific basis. Some viruses may do this in a bid to survive by becoming less deadly so they do not run out of people to infect.
Tourists return to Venice as lockdown eases in Italy
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LIVEProgress: 0% 0:00 An extremely deadly virus which killed everyone who caught it would run out of road because the patient would likely not infect many others if they died quickly. All viruses change the longer they exist because of random genetic mutations which happen to all living things. If a mutation turns out to be of benefit to the virus - for example, if being less dangerous means it can survive for longer and reproduce more - it may be that this mutated strain becomes more widespread and eventually the dominant type. A study of HIV in 2014 found that HIV samples in Botswana seemed to show that patients had less of the virus in their blood when infected, even though the disease was more common. In an explanation of an article about HIV, the NHS said in 2014: 'The optimal evolutionary strategy for a virus is to be infectious (so it creates more copies of itself) but non-lethal (so its host population doesnt die out). 'The "poster boy" for successful long-living viruses is, arguably, the family of viruses that cause the, which has existed for thousands of years.' A study published last month suggested that the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has only been known about for six months, is changing but does not appear to be getting weaker. Dr Fang Li, from the University of Minnesota, said: 'Typically when a virus develops mechanisms to evade immune responses, it loses its potency to infect people. 'However, SARS-CoV-2 maintains its infectivity using two mechanisms. 'First, during its limited exposure time, the tip of the viral key grabs a receptor protein on human cells quickly and firmly. Second, the pre-activation of the viral key allows the virus to more effectively infect human cells.' | |||||||||||||||
| German spy agency doubts US China lab coronavirus accusations, report says | |||||||||||||||
Key Points
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump are seen as they pose for a family photo at the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018.
Reinhard Krause | Reuters
A German intelligence report casts doubts on U.S. allegations that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory and says the accusations are an attempt to divert attention from U.S. failure to rein in the disease, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday.
Spiegel said Germanys BND spy agency had asked members of the U.S.-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance for evidence to support the accusation. None of the alliances members, the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, wanted to support Pompeos claim, it said. An intelligence report prepared for German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer concluded that the U.S. accusations were a deliberate attempt to divert public attention away from President Donald Trumps own failures. A German government spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Trump has said he has evidence the virus could have originated in a Chinese lab, but he has declined to elaborate. U.S. deaths from the coronavirus exceeded 75,000 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, with mixed messages from the White House and state governments on how to slow the rate of infection. | |||||||||||||||
| Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 through recombination and strong purifying selection | |||||||||||||||
AbstractCOVID-19 has become a global pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for deterring future zoonosis, discovering new drugs, and developing a vaccine. We show evidence of strong purifying selection around the receptor binding motif (RBM) in the spike and other genes among bat, pangolin, and human coronaviruses, suggesting similar evolutionary constraints in different host species. We also demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2s entire RBM was introduced through recombination with coronaviruses from pangolins, possibly a critical step in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2s ability to infect humans. Similar purifying selection in different host species, together with frequent recombination among coronaviruses, suggest a common evolutionary mechanism that could lead to new emerging human coronaviruses.IntroductionThe severe respiratory disease COVID-19 was first noticed in late December 2019 (1). It rapidly became epidemic in China, devastating public health and economy. At the beginning of May, COVID-19 had spread to ~150 countries and infected over 3.3 million people (2). On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared it a pandemic.The etiological agent of COVID-19 (3), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (4), was identified as a new member of the genus Betacoronavirus, which includes a diverse reservoir of coronaviruses (CoVs) isolated from bats (57). While genetically distinct from the betacoronaviruses that cause SARS and MERS in humans (8, 9), SARS-CoV-2 shares the highest level of genetic similarity (96.3%) with CoV RaTG13, sampled from a bat in Yunnan in 2013 (8). Recently, CoV sequences closely related to SARS-CoV-2 were obtained from confiscated Malaya pangolins in two separate studies (10, 11). These pangolin SARS-like CoVs (Pan_SL-CoV) form two distinct clades corresponding to their locations of origin: the first clade, Pan_SL-CoV_GD, sampled from Guangdong (GD) province in China, is genetically more similar to SARS-CoV-2 (91.2%) than the second clade, Pan_SL-CoV_GX, sampled from Guangxi (GX) province (85.4%). Understanding the origin of SARS-CoV-2 may help develop strategies to deter future cross-species transmissions and to establish appropriate animal models. Recombination plays an important role in the evolution of coronaviruses (12, 13). Viral sequences nearly identical to SARS and MERS viruses were found in civets and domestic camels, respectively (14, 15), demonstrating that they originated from zoonotic transmissions with intermediate host species between the bat reservoirs and humansa common pattern leading to CoV zoonosis (57). However, non-human viruses nearly identical to SARS-CoV-2 have not yet been found. In this paper we demonstrate, through localized genomic analysis, a complex pattern of evolutionary recombination and strong purifying selection between CoVs from distinct host species and that cross-species infections that likely originated SARS-CoV-2. ResultsAcquisition of receptor binding motif through recombinationPhylogenetic analysis of 43 complete genome sequences from three clades (SARS-CoVs and bat_SL-CoVs in clade 3; SARS-CoV-2, bat_SL-CoVs and pan_SL-CoVs in clade 2; and two divergent bat_SL-CoVs in clade 1) within the Sarbecovirus group (9) confirms that RaTG13 is overall the closest sequence to SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. S1). Pan_SL-CoV_GD are the next closest viruses, followed by Pan_SL-CoV_GX. Among the bat-CoV sequences in clade 2 (Fig. S1), ZXC21 and ZC45, sampled from bats in 2005 in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China, are the most divergent, with the exception of the beginning of the ORF1a gene (region 1, Fig. 1A). All other Bat_SL-CoV and SARS-CoV sequences form a separate clade 3, while clade 1 comprises BtKY72 and BM48-31, the two most divergent Bat_SL-CoV sequences in the Sarbecovirus group (Fig. S1). Recombination in the first SARS-CoV-2 sequence (Wuhan-Hu-1) with other divergent CoVs has been previously noted (3). Here, to better understand the role of recombination in the origin of SARS-CoV-2 among these genetically similar CoVs, we compare Wuhan-Hu-1 to six representative Bat_SL-CoVs, one SARS-CoV, and the two Pan_SL-CoV_GD sequences using SimPlot analysis (16). RaTG13 has the highest similarity across the genome (8), with two notable exceptions where a switch occurs (Fig. 1A). In phylogenetic reconstructions, SARS-CoV-2 clusters closer to ZXC21 and ZC45 than RaTG13 at the beginning of the ORF1a gene (region 1, Fig. 1B), and, as previously reported (10, 17), to a Pan_SL-CoV_GD in region 2 (Figs. 1C and S2), which spans the receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding site in the spike (S) glycoprotein gene. When comparing Wuhan-Hu-1 to Pan_SL-CoV_GD and RaTG13, as representative of distinct host-species branches in the evolutionary history of SARS-CoV-2, using the recombination detection tool RIP (18), we find significant recombination breakpoints before and after the ACE2 receptor binding mortif (RBM) (19, 20) (Fig. S2A). This suggests that SARS-CoV-2 carries a history of cross-species recombination between the bat and the pangolin CoVs.Pan_SL-CoV sequences are generally more similar to SARS-CoV-2 than other CoV sequences, with the exception of RaTG13 and ZXC21, but are more divergent from SARS-CoV-2 at two regions in particular: the beginning of the ORF1b gene and the highly divergent N terminus of the S gene (regions 3 and 4, respectively, Fig. 1A). Within-region phylogenetic reconstructions show that Pan_SL-CoV sequences become as divergent as BtKY72 and BM48-31 in region 3 (Fig. 1D), while less divergent in region 4, where Pan_SL-CoV_GD clusters with ZXC21 and ZC45 (Fig. 1E). Together, these observations suggest ancestral cross-species recombination between pangolin and bat CoVs in the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 at the ORF1a and S genes. Furthermore, the discordant phylogenetic clustering at various regions of the genome among clade 2 CoVs also supports extensive recombination among these viruses isolated from bats and pangolins. The SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein mediates viral entry into host cells and therefore represents a prime target for drug and vaccine development (12, 19). While SARS-CoV-2 sequences share the greatest overall genetic similarity with RaTG13, this is no longer the case in parts of the S gene. Specifically, amino acid sequences of RBM in the S1 subunit are nearly identical to those in two Pan_SL-CoV_GD viruses, with only one amino acid difference (Q498H)although the RBM region has not been fully sequenced in one of Guangdong pangolin virus (Pan_SL-CoV_GD/P2S) (Fig. 2A). Pangolin CoVs from Guangxi are much more divergent. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of this region shows three distinct clusters of SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and bat-CoV only viruses, respectively (Fig. 2B). Interestingly, while SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 viruses use ACE2 for viral entry, all CoVs in the third cluster have a 5-aa deletion and a 13-14-aa deletion in RBM (Fig. 2A) and do not infect human target cells (5, 21, 22). Although both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 use the human ACE2 as their receptors (8, 23), they show a high level of genetic divergence (Figs. 1 and S1). However, structures of the S1 unit of the S protein from both viruses are highly similar (20, 2426), with the exception of a loop that bends differently (Fig. 3A). The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) between the two S proteins are 1.2Å over 174 Cα residues (24). This suggests that conformational similarity of the binding motif enables viral entry through molecular recognition of ACE2. These structural studies also thoroughly analyzed the contact residues between the S protein and human ACE2 (20, 24). Previously structural and mutagenesis studies have identified two hot-spots, K31 and K353, at the S/ACE2 interface in SARS-CoV. In SARS-CoV-2, these two hot-spots were slightly weakened due to different residues on its S protein but the loop that takes different conformations from SARS-CoV provides additional interaction that strengthens the interaction (26). Among 17 distinct amino acids between SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 in the RBM region (Fig. 2A), five contact sites based on the structural studies (24) are different, likely impacting RaTG13s binding to ACE2 (Fig. 3B and Table S1). The single amino acid difference at position 498 (Q or H) between SARS-CoV-2 and Pan_SL-CoV_GD is at the edge of the ACE2 contact interface; neither Q or H at this position form hydrogen bonds with ACE2 residues (Fig. 3C). Thus, a functional RBM nearly identical to the one in SARS-CoV-2 is naturally present in Pan_SL-CoV_GD viruses. The very distinctive RaTG13 RBM suggests that this virus will not likely infect human cells efficiently. Indeed, a recent study showed that the RaTG13 pseudovirus is much less efficient than SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviruses in using ACE2 to infect cells, and this is most likely due to the L486F and Y493Q substitutions, which result in lower ACE2 binding in RaTG13 (26). Therefore, it is likely that the acquisition of a complete functional RBM by a RaTG13-like CoV through a recombination event with a Pan_SL-CoV_GD-like virus enabled it to more efficiently use ACE2 for human infection. Three small insertions are identical in SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 but not found in other CoVs in the Sarbecovirus group (27, 28). The RaTG13 sequence was sampled in 2013, years before SARS-CoV-2 was first identified. It is unlikely that both SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 independently acquired identical insertions at three different locations in the S gene. Thus, it is plausible that a RaTG13-like virus served as a progenitor to generate SARS-CoV-2 by gaining a complete human ACE2 binding RBM from Pan_SL-CoV_GD-like viruses through recombination. Genetic divergence at the nucleic acid level between Wuhan-Hu-1 and Pan_SL-CoV_GD viruses is significantly reduced from 13.9% (Fig. 1E) to 1.4% at the amino acid level (Fig. 2B) in the RBM region, indicating recombination between RaTG13-like CoVs and Pan_SL-CoV_GD-like CoVs. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 has a unique furin cleavage site insertion (PRRA) not found in any other CoVs in the Sarbecovirus group (Fig. S3) (27), although similar motifs are also found in MERS and more divergent bat CoVs (29). This PRRA motif makes the S1/S2 cleavage in SARS-CoV-2 much more efficient than in SARS-CoV and may expand its tropism and/or enhance its transmissibility (20). A recent study of bat CoVs in Yunnan, China, identified a three-amino acid insertion (PAA) at the same site (30). Although it is not known if this PAA motif can function like the PRRA motif, the presence of a similar insertion at the same site indicates that such insertion may already be present in the wild bat CoVs. The more efficient cleavage of S1 and S2 subunits of the spike glycoprotein (29) and efficient binding to ACE2 by SARS-CoV-2 (20, 25) may have allowed SARS-CoV-2 to jump to humans, leading to the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 in China and the rest of the world. Strong purifying selection among SARS-CoV-2 and closely related virusesRecombination from Pan_SL-CoV_GD at the RBM and at the unique furin cleavage site insertion prompted us to examine the SARS-CoV-2 sequences within these regions. Amino acid sequences from SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and all Pan_SL-CoV viruses (group A) are identical or nearly identical in the region before and after the RBM and at the region after the furin cleavage site (S2 subunit), while all other CoVs (group B) are very distinctive (Fig. 4A and S4). The average of all pairwise dN/dS ratios, defined as ω, among SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and Pan_SL-CoV viruses at the S2 subunit is ω = 0.013, compared to the much higher values ω =0.053 in the S1 region preceding the furin cleavage site, and ω = 0.042 at the S2 subunit for all other CoVs (Fig. 4B). The much lower ω value at the S2 subunit among the SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and Pan_SL-CoV viruses indicates that this region is under strong purifying selection within these sequences. A plot of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions relative to Wuhan-Hu-1 highlights the regional differences across the region before and after the furin cleavage site (Fig. 4A): the S2 subunit is highly conserved among the SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and Pan_SL-CoV viruses (group A), while far more nonsynonymous mutations are observed in the rest of the CoV sequences (group B). The shift in selective pressure at the S1/S2 cleaveage site among these related viruses versus other CoVs begins near codon 368 (Fig. 4B): the two graphs show the cumulative plots of the average behavior of each codon for all pairwise comparisons in the input data, for synonymous mutations, non-synonymous mutations and indels of group A sequences and group B sequences. The non-synonymous plot shows a marked change in slope (vertical step) in the group A sequences at codon 368, but not in group B sequences. Similarly, when looking at all the dS/dN ratios (ω) for each group A sequence compared to the Wuhan-Hu-1 sequence, we see that these ratios are much lower in the 5-end of the region, before codon 368 (nucleic acid position 1104), compared to the 3-end, and no such difference is observed in the group B sequences (Fig. 4C).This strong purifying selection observed in the S2 subunit of the S gene is not surprising given its role in cell entry by fusing the viral and host cell membranes (5, 19). Following the binding of RBD to the ACE2 receptor, heptad repeat regions 1 (HR1) and 2 (HR2) within the S2 subunit rearrange to form the fusion core, bringing together the viral and cell membranes for fusion and infection (Fig. S5A). Due to the mechanistic constraints for this assembly for fusion, the protein segments that take part in this assembly are well preserved (20, 31). Furthermore, some regions of the S2 subunit are covered by S1 in the trimer conformation of the spike protein (Fig. S5B). Based on the currently available, but incomplete, cryo-EM structure of the spike trimer, we estimate that 60%-65% of S2 amino acids are buried. This adds further structural constraints on changing amino acids in S2. While hundreds of new SARS-CoV-2 sequences are added to the GISAID repertoire every day (32), we note that the RBM region currently remains highly conserved. No amino acid within 6 Angstroms of the ACE2 binding site has repeated variations, with the exception of G476S, a very rare mutation found in 8 sequences from a local cluster in Washington state, out of 6,400 total sequences from GISAID (April 13, 2020). In addition, we observe similar patterns of purifying selection pressure in other parts of the genome, including the E and M genes, as well as the partial ORF1a and ORF1b genes (Fig. S6 and S7). Interestingly, the viruses affected by purifying selection pressure varies depending on which genes are analyzed. SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, all Pan_SL-CoV and the two bat CoVs (ZXC21 and ZC45) are under the similar purifying selection in both the E and M genes (Figs. 5A and S6). In the S2 subunit, similar purifying selection are only observed for SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and all Pan_SL-CoV (Fig. 5B). A few viruses including only SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13, and pangolin CoVs from Guangdong are under similar purifying selection in the partial regions of ORF1a and ORF1b (Figs. 5C and S7). Strong purifying selection pressure on SARS-CoV-2, RaTG13 and Pan_SL-CoV_GD viruses, as indicated by consistently low ω values, suggests that these complete and partial genes are under similar functional/structural constraints among the different host species. In two extreme cases, amino acid sequences of the E gene and the 3 end of ORF1a are identical among the compared CoV sequences, although genetic distances are quite large among these viruses at the nucleic acid level (Fig. 5A and 5C). Such evolutionary constraints in many parts of the viral genome, especially at functional domains in the S gene which plays an important role in cross-species transmission (5, 12), coupled with frequent recombination, may facilitate cross-species transmissions between RaTG13-like bat and/or Pan_SL-CoV_GD-like viruses. Frequent recombination between SARS-CoVs and bat_SL-CoVsPrevious studies using more limited sequence sets found that SARS-CoVs originated through multiple recombination events between different bat-CoVs (10, 12, 21, 33, 34). Our phylogenetic analyses of individual genes confirm this and show that SARS-CoV sequences tend to cluster with YN2018B, Rs9401, Rs7327, WIV16 and Rs4231 (group A) for some genes and Rf4092, YN2013, Anlong-112 and GX2013 (group B) for others (Fig. S8). SimPlot analysis using both groups of bat_SL-CoVs and the closely related bat CoV YNLF-34C (34) shows that SARS-CoV GZ02 shifts in similarity among different bat SL-CoVs at various regions of the genome (Fig. 6A). In particular, phylogenetic reconstruction of the beginning of ORF1a (region 1) confirms that SARS-CoVs cluster with YNLF-34C (34), and this cluster is distinctive comparing to all other CoVs (Fig. 6B). YNLF-34C is more divergent from SARS-CoV than other bat-CoV viruses before and after this region, confirming the previously reported complex recombinant nature of YNLF-34C (34) (Fig. 5A). At the end of the S gene (region 2), SARS-CoVs cluster with group A CoVs, forming a highly divergent clade (Fig. 6C). In region 3 (ORF8), SARS-CoVs and group B CoVs, together with YNLF-34C, form a very divergent and distinctive cluster (Fig. 6D). To further explore the recombinant nature of SARS-CoVs, we compared GZ02 to representative bat CoV sequences using the RIP recombination detection tool (18). We identified four significant breakpoints (at 99% confidence) between the two parental lineages (Fig. S9A), further supported by phylogenetic analysis (Fig. S9B-S9D). In addition, the two aforementioned groups of bat CoVs (shown in light brown and light blue in the trees) show similar cluster changes across the five recombinant regions, suggesting multiple events of historic recombination among bat SL-CoVs. These results demonstrate that SARS-CoV shares a recombinant history with at least three different groups of bat-CoVs and confirms the major role of recombination in the evolution of these viruses.Of the bat SL-CoVs that contributed to the recombinant origin of SARS-CoV, only group A viruses bind to ACE2. Group B bat SL-CoVs do not infect human cells (5, 21, 22) and have two deletions in the RBM (Figs. 1E and 2A). The short deletion between residues 445 and 449, and in particular the loss of Y449, which forms three hydrogen bonds with ACE2, will significantly affect the overall structure of the RBM (Figs. 3C and 3D). The region encompassing the large deletion between residues 473 and 486 contains the loop structure that accounts for the major differences between the S protein of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. 3A) and strengthen the interaction of the latter to ACE2 (26). This deletion causes the loss of contact site F486 and affects the conserved residue F498s hydrophobic interaction with residue M82 on ACE2 (Fig. 3D). These two deletions will render RBM in those CoVs incapable of binding human ACE2. Therefore, recombination may play a role in enabling cross-species transmission in SARS-CoVs through the acquisition of an S gene type that can efficiently bind to the human ACE2 receptor. ORF8 is one of the highly variable genes in coronaviruses and its function has not yet been well elucidated (5, 12, 35). Recombination breakpoints within this region show that recombination occurred at the beginning and the end of ORF8 (Fig. S10), where nucleic acid sequences are nearly identical among both SARS-CoVs and group B bat CoVs. Moreover, all compared viruses form three highly distinct clusters (Fig. 6D), suggesting that the ORF8 gene may be biologically constrained and evolves through modular recombination. The third recombination region at the beginning of ORF1a is near where SARS-CoV-2 also recombined with other bat CoVs (region 1 in Fig. 1A). This region is highly variable (5, 12) and recombination within this part of the genome was also found in other CoVs, suggesting that it may be a recombination hotspot and may factor into cross-species transmission. DiscussionThere are three important aspects to betacoronavirus evolution that should be carefully considered in phylogenetic reconstructions among more distant coronaviruses. First, there is extensive recombination among all of these viruses (10, 12, 21, 33, 34) (Figs. 1 and 5), making standard phylogenetic reconstructions based on full genomes problematic, as different regions of the genome have distinct ancestral relationships. Second, between more distant sequences, synonymous substitutions are often fully saturated, which can confound analyses of selective pressure and adds noise to phylogenetic analysis. Finally, there are different selective pressures at work in different lineages, which is worth consideration when interpreting trees.The currently sampled pangolin CoVs are too divergent from SARS-CoV-2 to be its recent progenitors, but it is noteworthy that these sequences contain an RBM that can most likely bind to human ACE2. While RaTG13 is the most closely related CoV sequence to SARS-CoV-2, it has a distinctive RBM. In addition, a recent study showed that the RaTG13 pseudovirus is much less efficient than the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus in using ACE2 to infect cells (26). SARS-CoV-2 has a nearly identical RBM to the one found in the pangolin CoVs from Guangdong. Thus, it is plausible that RaTG13-like bat-CoV viruses may have obtained the RBM sequence binding to human ACE2 through recombination with Pan_SL-CoV_GD-like viruses. We hypothesize that this, and/or other ancestral recombination events between viruses infecting bats and pangolins, may have played a key role in the evolution of the strain that lead to the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into humans. It is also possible that other not yet identified hosts infected with CoVs that can jump to human populations through cross-species transmission if they can successfully infect human cells through ACE2 or other receptors. Interestingly, an analysis of 6,400 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data) (36, 37) identifies only one very rare mutation, G476S that is directly in a ACE2 contact residue. It was found in a local cluster of sequences from Washington state. However, it is at the periphery of the receptor contact surface, and so may not significantly impact the viruss receptor binding affinity. All three human CoVs (SARS, MERS and SARS-2) are the result of recombination among CoVs. Recombination in all three viruses involved the S gene, likely a precondition to zoonosis that enabled efficient binding to human receptors (5, 12). Extensive recombination among bat coronaviruses and strong purifying selection pressure among viruses from humans, bats and pangolins may allow such closely related viruses to readily jump between species and adapt to the new hosts. Many bat CoVs have been found able to bind to human ACE2 and replicate in human cells (10, 21, 22, 3840). Serological evidence has revealed that additional otherwise undetected spillovers have occurred in people in China living in proximity to wild bat populations (41). Continuous surveillance of coronaviruses in their natural hosts and in humans will be key to rapid control of new coronavirus outbreaks. While the SARS and MERS originating strains have been found in civets and dromedary camels respectively (14, 15), so far, efforts to identify a similarly close link in the original pathway of SARS-CoV-2 into humans have failed. If the new SARS-CoV-2 strain did not cause widespread infections in its natural or intermediate hosts, such a strain may never be identified. The close proximity of animals of different species in a wet market setting may increase the potential for cross-species spillover infections, by enabling recombination between more distant coronaviruses and the emergence of recombinants with novel phenotypes. While the direct reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 is still being sought, one thing is clear: reducing or eliminating direct human contact with wild animals is critical to preventing new coronavirus zoonosis in the future. Materials and MethodsSequences analysisAll 43 CoV complete genome sequences were obtained from GenBank and GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data) (36, 37), and were selected to be representative of the diversity (Tables S2 and S3). Pan_SL-CoV_GD/P1La sequence was generated by combining Pan_SL-CoV_GD/P1L (10) with some additional sequences from the NCBI BioProject database PRJNA5732983 (11, 42) to have a maximal coverage of the complete genome sequence for analysis. A new CoV sequence from pangolin (EPI_ISL_410721) (43) was not included here as it became available after we had already completed the analyses in this study. Once it became available, we observed that it was as close to SARS-CoV-2 as the sequences we had already used and hence did not change the interpretation of our results. Whole genome sequences were first aligned using Clustal X2 (44). The alignments for all coding regions were manually optimized based on the amino acid sequence alignment using SeaView 5.0.1.Recombination AnalysesSimPlot 3.5.15 (16) was used to determine the percent identity of the query sequence to reference sequences. Potential recombinant regions among analyzed sequences were identified by sliding a 400bp-window at a 50bp-step across the alignment using the Kimura 2-parameter model. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by the maximum likelihood method using the GTR model (45), and their reliability was estimated from 1,000 bootstrap replicates. The positions of analyzed sequence regions were based on those in the reference SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 (MN908947). Recombination regions and breakpoints were also analyzed using the LANL database (46) tool RIP (18) with a 400bp window. Regions between breakpoints were identified using a 99% confidence threshold.Selection AnalysesCumulative plots of the average behavior of each codon for all pairwise comparisons in the input data, for insertions and deletions (indels), synonymous (syn), and nonsynonymous (nonsyn) mutations and values of the ratios of the rate of synonymous nucleotide substitutions per synonymous site and nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site (dN/dS, or ω) were obtained using the LANL database tool SNAP (47). In order to avoid counting instances where synonymous mutations were saturated, averages of all pairwise dN/dS ratios were calculated excluding pairs that yielded dS values greater than 1.Structure modeling of receptor bindingTo investigate the single mutation Q498H in RBM between SARS-CoV-2 and Pan_SL-CoV_GD, Q498 in the crystal structure of S/ACE2 complex was mutated to H498 using Chimera (48). Local energy minimization (only H498 was allowed to move) was computed using Chimeras built-in functions. To investigate the impact of the deletion between residue 473 to 486 to the binding interface between SARS-CoV-2 and human ACE2, a homology model with the deletion was generated using I-TASSER (49). The top five best models provided by the server have Confidence Score (C-score) of 0.86, -2.33, -4.01, -4.17, and -4.49. The C-score was used to estimate the quality of the models, which should be between -5.0 to 2; the higher the value, the higher the confidence in the model (49). Based on the C-score, model 1 was used in Fig. 3D. The interaction of the RBD of RaTG13 and ACE2 was modeled on PDB 6M0J, a structure of RBD of SARS-CoV-2 in complex with human ACE2 (24) using ICM software package (50), and the mutational differences of the Gibbs free energy (Table S1) were calculated with the built-in algorithm.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, so long as the resultant use is not for commercial advantage and provided the original work is properly cited.
References and Notes |
Deutsche Welle from Michael_Novakhov (6 sites).
1. US Security from Michael_Novakhov (88 sites).
Popova called a singular coronavirus vaccine impossible [Russia's chief epidemiologist] : Coronavirus.
The FBI News Review - fbinewsreview.blogspot.com - Blog by Michael Novakhov.
www.washingtontimes.com stories: Security.
Top stories - Google News.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
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