Scientists close to developing antidote to the most lethal biological weapon
Scientists are on their way to developing an effective antidote for botulinum toxin – one of the world’s most feared biological weapons. The researchers have developed a protein that blocks the effects of the toxin by tricking it into not attacking cells in the body. The protein acts on the most powerful of these seven toxins produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium, for which there is no medical treatment. The developed protein behaves as a decoy to proteins in the nerve cells, which means that the toxin chooses not to attach itself to the nerve cells when it enters the body, preventing paralysis.
A team of three researchers are developing new sensors that take advantage of the sensory capabilities of biological cells. The tiny sensors, only a few millimeters in size, could speed up and improve the detection of everything from explosive materials to biological pathogens to spoiled food or impure water. The researchers plan to use other specialized cells much like a canary in a coal mine. The cells would show stress or die when exposed to certain pathogens, and the sensing circuits monitoring them would trigger a warning, more quickly and accurately than in present systems.
A multi-institutional team, led by John T. McDevitt, reported at a recent meeting of the 
Scientists in the U.S. have developed a much faster way to isolate highly specific antibodies needed to make flu vaccines by pinpointing the window of opportunity when the human immune response to a particular pathogen peaks. The discovery may also lead to new and faster ways to produce vaccines and therapies to fight several other diseases.
