
-
Trump touts control over famed arts venue
-
Trump taps Michelle Bowman to be US Fed vice chair for supervision
-
Jury deliberates US pipeline case with free speech implications
-
European star-gazing agency says Chile green power plant will ruin its view
-
Carney says Canada 'too reliant on US' on UK, France trip
-
Starbucks ordered to pay $50m for hot tea spill
-
Talks on divisive deep-sea mining resume in Jamaica
-
Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay
-
Trump veers towards courts clash over migrant flights
-
M23 shuns DR Congo peace talks at 11th hour after sanctions
-
Man Utd defy fan groups with five percent season ticket rise
-
Huthis report new US strikes after major rallies in rebel-held Yemen
-
UN chief meets rival Cyprus leaders ahead of talks
-
Messi out injured as Argentina seek to seal World Cup place
-
New blow to German auto sector as Audi announces job cuts
-
New Canada PM meets King Charles and Macron after Trump threats
-
Conan O'Brien tapped to host Oscars again
-
Hong Kong property tycoon Lee Shau-kee dies aged 97
-
EU vows 2.5 bn euros to help Syrians after Assad ouster
-
'Anti-American'? US questions UN agencies, international aid groups
-
Trump claims Biden pardons of his opponents are void
-
N.Macedonia mourns 59 killed in nightclub blaze
-
West Ham's Antonio '100 percent' sure he will play again after car crash
-
Major rallies in rebel-held Yemen after deadly US strikes
-
Webb telescope directly observes exoplanet CO2 for first time
-
Trump to visit top US arts venue after takeover
-
McIlroy wins second Players Championship title in playoff
-
Stench of death as Sudan army, paramilitaries battle for capital
-
Trump and Zelensky's stormy ties: From impeachment to truce proposal
-
McIlroy wins Players Championship title in playoff
-
'More and faster': UN calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint
-
Plastic pellets spotted in water after North Sea ship crash
-
US retail sales weaker than expected as consumer health under scrutiny
-
After ending Man Utd goal drought, Hojlund admits struggles
-
African players in Europe: Brilliant Marmoush strikes for City
-
Liverpool face uncertain future even as Premier League glory beckons
-
Court upholds £3 bn lifeline for UK's top water supplier
-
New Canada PM seeks 'reliable' Europe allies after Trump threats
-
Putin, Trump to discuss Ukraine Tuesday
-
OECD lowers global growth projections over tariffs, uncertainty
-
N.Macedonia mourns dozens killed in nightclub blaze
-
EU warns Trump's freeze of US-funded media risks aiding enemies
-
Russians speak of nerves and hope for peace as they shelter in Kursk
-
Yemen's Huthis claim US aircraft carrier attacks
-
At least 40 killed in weekend US tornadoes
-
Peruvian farmer demands 'climate justice' from German energy giant
-
From determination to despair: S.Africa's youth battling for work
-
Designer Jonathan Anderson leaves Spanish brand Loewe
-
UK energy minister in Beijing seeks to press China on emissions
-
South Korea coach takes swipe at Bayern Munich over Kim injury

Ebola-infected monkeys cured with a pill, raising hopes for humans: study
Monkeys infected with Ebola can be cured with a pill, according to a new study out Friday that could pave the way for more practical, affordable treatments in humans.
First identified in 1976 and thought to have crossed over from bats, Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing severe bleeding and organ failure.
Because outbreaks primarily affect sub-Saharan Africa, pharmaceutical companies have lacked financial incentives to develop treatments, and the sporadic nature of outbreaks has made clinical trials difficult.
A vaccine was only widely approved in 2019, and while two intravenous antibody treatments improve outcomes, they require costly cold storage and are difficult to administer in some of the world's poorest regions.
"We're really trying to come up with something that was more practical, easier to use, that could be used to help prevent, control, and contain outbreaks," Thomas Geisbert, a virologist at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, who led the new study published in Science Advances, told AFP.
For their experiment, Geisbert and colleagues tested the antiviral Obeldesivir, the oral form of intravenous Remdesivir, originally developed for Covid-19.
Obeldesivir is a "polymerase inhibitor," meaning it blocks an enzyme crucial for viral replication.
The team infected rhesus and cynomolgus macaques with a high dose of the Makona variant of the Ebola virus.
A day after exposure, ten monkeys then received an Obeldesivir pill daily for ten days, while three control monkeys received no treatment and died.
Obeldesivir protected 80 percent of the cynomolgus macaques and 100 percent of the rhesus macaques, which are biologically closer to humans.
The drug not only cleared the virus from the treated monkeys' blood but also triggered an immune response, helping them develop antibodies while avoiding organ damage.
Geisbert explained that while the number of monkeys was relatively small, the study was statistically powerful because they were exposed to an extraordinarily high dose of the virus -- roughly 30,000 times the lethal dose for humans. This reduced the need for additional control monkeys, limiting unnecessary animal deaths.
The researcher, who has worked on Ebola since the 1980s and is credited with discovering the Reston strain, said one of the most exciting aspects of Obeldesivir is its "broad-spectrum" protection, compared to the approved antibody treatments that only work against the Zaire species of Ebola.
"That's a huge advantage," Geisbert said.
Pharmaceutical maker Gilead is currently advancing Obeldesivir to Phase 2 clinical trials for Marburg virus, a close relative of Ebola.
Geisbert also emphasized the importance of funding from the US National Institutes of Health, amid reports that dozens of grants have been canceled under President Donald Trump's administration.
"All these drugs and vaccines that were developed against Ebola and a lot of these exotic viruses and pathogens -- 90 percent of the money comes from the US government," he said, adding, "I think the general public would agree we need treatments for Ebola."
T.Resende--PC