HIV/AIDS researcher David Katzenstein dies
The Stanford virologist conducted clinical vaccine trials, which led to the approval of antiretroviral drugs, greatly improving the survival of people living with HIV Feb 4 2021
David Katzenstein was widely praised for his efforts to bring better, cheaper methodologies to bear on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa.
TeachAids
David Katzenstein, MD, professor emeritus of infectious diseases and global health at Stanford Medicine, who spurred advances in diagnosing, treating and preventing AIDS, died Jan. 25 of COVID-19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was 69.
Katzenstein was a trained virologist, clinician and tireless advocate for global health. He was widely praised for his energetic push to bring better, cheaper methodologies to bear on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in middle- and low-income African countries, where over a 35-year period he spearheaded numerous life-saving projects.
Study reveals immune driver of brain aging
Scientists have identified a key factor in mental aging and shown that it might be prevented or reversed by fixing a glitch in the immune system’s front-line soldiers. Jan 20 2021
Katrin Andreasson is the senior author of a study that identifies a particular set of immune cells as a key driver of mental aging.
Steve Fisch
Suppose Smokey Bear were to lose it and start setting forest fires instead of putting them out. That roughly describes the behavior of certain cells of our immune system that become increasingly irascible as we grow older. Instead of stamping out embers, they stoke the flames of chronic inflammation.
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Suppose Smokey the Bear were to go on a tear and start setting forest fires instead of putting them out. That roughly describes the behavior of certain cells of our immune system that become increasingly irascible as we grow older. Instead of stamping out embers, they stoke the flames of chronic inflammation.
Biologists have long theorized that reducing this inflammation could slow the aging process and delay the onset of age-associated conditions, such as heart disease, Alzheimer s disease, cancer and frailty, and perhaps even forestall the gradual loss of mental acuity that happens to nearly everyone.
Yet the question of what, exactly, causes particular cells of the immune system to kick into inflammatory overdrive has lacked a definitive answer.
Biden Wins Wide Berth On Judicial Picks With Senate Victory By By
Andrew Kragie Law360 (January 6, 2021, 4:31 PM EST) Democrats have secured a narrow Senate majority after winning the second of Georgia s two runoff elections, boosting President-elect Joe Biden s legislative agenda and giving him broad latitude when picking federal judges.
The Associated Press called the second race for Democrat Jon Ossoff about 4 p.m. Wednesday after his lead over Republican Sen. David Perdue widened to 0.6%, exceeding the recount threshold with about 98% of votes counted. The news service had declared Democrat Raphael Warnock the victor over incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler at 2 a.m. Wednesday as he led by more than a percentage point.
Pa. GOP Cite Lawsuit To Block State Senator s Swearing-In By By
Matthew Santoni Law360 (January 5, 2021, 6:22 PM EST) Republicans in Pennsylvania s state Senate temporarily evicted the lieutenant governor and refused to seat a Democrat from a suburban Pittsburgh district during the Legislature s first session of the year Tuesday because his opponent was still pursuing a federal lawsuit challenging his 69-vote win.
After a party-line vote in the Republican-majority Senate removed Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman from presiding over Tuesday s swearing-in ceremonies, Senate President Pro Tem Jake Corman ordered that incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster be excluded from the reading of official votes and the swearing-in because his opponent, Nicole Ziccarelli, had a pending federal lawsuit challenging state court rulings that allowed the counting of ballots whose outer envelopes lacked handwritten dates or addresses.