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PepGen Announces Appointment of James McArthur, Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer
February 4, 2021 GMT
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BOSTON and OXFORD, England, Feb. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ PepGen, a biotechnology company focused on transforming the care of patients with neuromuscular diseases through the enhanced delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides, today announced the appointment of James McArthur, Ph.D., as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Dr. McArthur brings more than 25 years of experience as a co-founder of numerous biotech companies focused on rare disease therapeutics. He joins the PepGen team at a time of rapid growth following its successful $45 million Series A financing at the end of 2020, which was led by RA Capital Management with participation from Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), CureDuchenne Ventures, and the University of Oxford.
The Water Paradox
By NARAYANI GANESH
The long-held scientific and cultural belief that life began in the ocean, may perhaps soon be revised somewhat, going by new research being conducted by biochemist John Sutherland and his team at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge.
Hindu mythology narrates the story of Vishnu’s 10 avatars that are believed to mirror the theory of evolution, with the Matsya Avatar, the first, indicating that aquatic beings heralded the first life forms. Vishnu as a fish, emerging from the deep ocean yes, that does conjure a captivating image. But what if life arose in a muddy puddle, the perfect recipe much like the primordial soup? Ashallow body of water fed by streams and going through periodic dry spells, is what engenders key molecules to undergo core processes that, in turn, enable the creation of biological cells, conclude the researchers, reports Nature.
Virus replication takes place inside cells
Blocking entry to the cells prevents more of the virus being made
The latest results from the phase 3 Covid-19 vaccines trials have been very positive.
These have shown that vaccinating people with the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce excellent protective immunity.
The spike protein is the focus of most Covid-19 vaccines as it is the part of the virus that enables it to enter our cells.
Virus replication only happens inside cells, so blocking entry prevents more virus being made.
If a person has antibodies that can recognise the spike protein, this should stop the virus in its tracks.
Representational image. | Nicolas Asfouri/AFP
The latest results from the phase 3 Covid-19 vaccines trials have been very positive. These have shown that vaccinating people with the gene for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can induce excellent protective immunity.
The spike protein is the focus of most Covid-19 vaccines as it is the part of the virus that enables it to enter our cells. Virus replication only happens inside cells, so blocking entry prevents more virus being made. If a person has antibodies that can recognise the spike protein, this should stop the virus in its tracks.
The three most advanced vaccines (from Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna) all work by getting our own cells to make copies of the virus spike protein. The Oxford vaccine achieves this by introducing the spike protein gene via a harmless adenovirus vector. The other two vaccines deliver the spike protein gene directly as mRNA wrapped in a nanoparticle. When our own cells mak
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Life might have begun in bodies of water on land, perhaps in craters similar to Canada’s Lake Manicouagan, formed by an ancient impact. Credit: Planet Observer, Universal Images Group and Alamy
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On 18 February next year, a NASA spacecraft will plummet through the Martian atmosphere, fire its retro-rockets to break its fall and then lower a six-wheeled rover named Perseverance to the surface. If all goes according to plan, the mission will land in Jezero Crater, a 45-kilometre-wide gash near the planet’s equator that might once have held a lake of liquid water.
Among the throngs of earthlings cheering on Perseverance, John Sutherland will be paying particularly close attention. Sutherland, a biochemist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, was one of the scientists who lobbied NASA to visit Jezero Crater, because it fits his ideas about where life might have originated on Mars and on Earth.