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Plug-and-play vaccine, a good read: Prof Sarah Gilbert, Covid vaccine creator: Now let’s take on 12 more diseases If you head to the cutting edge of vaccinology you will find Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, from the Jenner Institute and the architect of the Oxford vaccine. Using a revolutionary technology, the team at Oxford had a vaccine ready to start clinical trials in just 65 days. In partnership with pharma giant AstraZeneca, more than 1.5 billion doses have been distributed around the world. The new generation of vaccines are quick to make and highly flexible. "It's like decorating a cake," says Prof Gilbert. The old-school method of developing vaccines means you must go back to the raw materials and start from scratch for every vaccine you make. It is like starting with a bench of flour, sugar, eggs and butter. The next step is to take the offending virus, or other disease-causing microbes, and either kill it or weaken it to make a vaccine. Take the two seasonal flu vaccines that are given each year. The adult jab is made by growing influenza viruses inside eggs. The viruses are then purified and killed to make the vaccine. The nasal spray for children has live viruses, but these are made weak and unstable so they can grow in the cooler temperatures of the nose, but not in the warmth of the lungs. But it takes a lot of work to start from scratch for every new disease and there is plenty that can go wrong. You can end up with the vaccine-equivalent of a soggy bottom. The development of Oxford's coronavirus vaccine used a completely different approach known as "plug-and-play". With this type of vaccine most of the work has already been done - the cake has been pre-baked, it just needs to be "decorated" in order to match its target. "We've got the cake and we can put a cherry on top, or we can put some pistachios on top if we want a different vaccine, we just add the last bit and then we're ready to go," Prof Gilbert tells Inside Health. Two of the other big Covid vaccines - one made by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other by Moderna - use another style of highly adaptable plug-and-play vaccine technology. And all these technologies should make it quicker and easier to develop the vaccines of the future. "There's a lot of vaccine development that we need to do now that we can do it," says Prof Gilbert. Top of her list of targets are the official "priority pathogens". While Covid was a surprise, these are the known threats that are bubbling away with the potential to cause large outbreaks and potentially the pandemics of the future. Some of this work is already under way. Oxford has started clinical trials of a plague vaccine using its plug-and-play technology. Plague infamously caused the Black Death pandemic killing hundreds of millions of people. Separately Moderna is already looking at using its own mRNA technology to make a Nipah vaccine. The virus kills up to three-quarters of infected people. Yet, the big barrier for tackling these diseases will be the same as it has always been - money. They affect some of the poorest parts of the world and there is concern that, even in the wake of pandemic, research won't be funded. And, while vaccine technology has leapt forward - the old enemies are still the same and some have tricksy quirks that mean they pose monumental challenges. All vaccines need a target - called an antigen - that they train the immune system to attack. For all the problems Covid has caused, the virus was a pretty simple beast and the target antigen was blatantly obvious. The outer surface of the virus is covered in spike proteins. So all researchers had to do was plug in the genetic blueprints for the spike protein, train the body to recognise it and be pretty confident that the vaccine was going to work. However, the target antigen is not obvious in other more complex microbes such as the three big killers - malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. HIV is a constantly moving target. It is a shape-shifter that rapidly mutates in order to alter its appearance and outwit our immune system. It is hard to know how to pin it down. We already have vaccines against malaria and tuberculosis, but they are far from perfect. Read more : https://www.bbc.com/news/health-58898085

Alright folks, wadda ya say, time for a forum game! It's word association. The rules: Only 1 word is allowed per post. Your word must be directly related in an explainable way to the word in the post before yours. You may not post the same word, or a plural of the post before yours. Example: Person A: "Chew" Person B: "Munch" Person C: "Snack" Person D: "Time" Let's begin: Leftovers

Fowl play: 13 chicken suppliers fined record S$26.9m for price-fixing, non-compete pacts THIRTEEN distributors of fresh chicken have been fined S$26.9 million for price-fixing and agreeing not to compete for customers, the largest total financial penalty in a single case to date, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said in a media statement on Wednesday. Fresh chicken distributors import live chickens from farms in Malaysia and slaughter them in Singapore, selling the fresh chicken products to customers such as supermarkets and restaurants. The 13 distributors collectively supply more than 90 per cent of fresh chicken products in Singapore, with an annual combined turnover amounting to about half a billion dollars. The 13 suppliers were fined between S$705,939 to S$11.4 million, taking into account relevant turnovers; the nature, duration and seriousness of the infringement; aggravating and mitigating factors, such as cooperation with the CCCS; and representations made. "Particularly for this case, the large size of the industry, the high market shares of the parties, the seriousness and the long duration (of about seven years) of the cartel conduct contributed to CCCS imposing the highest total financial penalty in a single case to date," said the CCCS.

I have a old to To ROTEL integrated amplifier AX 939 RX with missions speakers. Simple 2 channel amp, it has no digital or optical input or output. No HDMI,20 over years technology but still sound good. I want to stream music with tidal. Can it be done？ Do I need a streamer or DAC or better to buy a new one. Any recommendations

Open ended question. Inspired by the recent Jumanji movie and the Sims game. What video game do you related your life with? Or what game character do you related yourself to? How would you play this game if you have an alternative choice? What powers and abilities and weakness you think you should have to make you stronger? Discuss.

It's Official: Reunited GUNS N' ROSES To Play This Year's COACHELLA Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/its-official-reunited-guns-n-roses-to-play-this-years-coachella/ Is this for real?! I had given up hope that they will ever reunite! My ultimate dream is to see them live in Singapore, but highly impossible.

Hi guys, I have Alpine ICS-X8 that has a problem now..I can play anything from USB,or CD without any problem. But when I switch to radio, no sound at all..I even cannot change the channel..Anyone has similar experience before?any advise? please share if you guys have any..thanks

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/entertainment/news/a25482/robert-de-niro-to-play-enzo-ferrari-in-hi-budget-biopic/ Apr 9, 2015 @ 11:19 AM Robert De Niro to play Enzo Ferrari in hi-budget biopic De Niro tells an Italian newspaper that production will begin soon ahead of a 2016 release. By Robert Sorokanich

hi, the new CS5 can be played online with multi-players mode. i'm keen to play with members here with a big map to run our own city. anyone here interested to join? please key your username and type of trade you prefer for your city to begin with. 1. yeobt - tourism 2. 3. 4. 5.

Kiss your free time goodbye: you can now play 900 pre-1996 arcade games online for free. The golden age of arcade games has returned—to your web browser. The Internet Archive exists to create a digital copy of, well, everything digital produced by culture. It's most famous for the Wayback Machine, which preserves old versions of websites for posterity—so, for example, if you want to see what Yahoo.com looked like in 1996, you can do that. Last year, it added "stealing everyone's spare time" to its goals, and debuted a powerful weapon in that arsenal: The Console Living Room, simulating hundreds of classic console games ranging from Atari to Sega Genesis and a dozen-plus other consoles in between. Now it has a new tool for monopolizing the nostalgia of anyone old enough to have actually played arcade games and younger nerds who want a little hipster cred: The Internet Arcade. I died because I was taking a screenshot for you. I hope you appreciate it. There are currently 901 games available (although a mere 350 or so are "recommended"), spanning the 1970s to the 1990s. People today complain about video games charging you once for the main product and then again for downloadable content, but these are the games that people paid to play every single time, and now they're free. Having a Q*Bert high score makes going pro in LoL look like child's play. Every punk kid says they've played on the tournament level for League of Legends these days, but none of them ever had their three initials saved in glorious neon for everyone in town to marvel over (until a challenger could rise up and beat them). Street Fighter 2 was actually a video game before it was a movie! These games don't have the graphics or sound design that modern titles do, but that also means that the games are built entirely out of their mechanics. Everything you play today has an ancestor in here somewhere, and there's a good chance the original version did it simpler and better. I hope you realize that I could have been playing games instead of writing this. Whether you loved these games back in the day or you just love video games enough to go back to your roots, can you really afford not to waste all your time playing free games without having 13-year-olds (or mental 13-year-olds) scream at you?

Lim Kay Tong to play founding PM Lee Kuan Yew in the movie 1965 http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/movies/story/lim-kay-tong-play-founding-pm-lee-kuan-yew-the-movie-1965-20141008 SINGAPORE - Despite an almost unanimous verdict among Singaporeans on social media that he is perfect for the role, veteran actor Lim Kay Tong admits he had to overcome cowardice before agreeing to play Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in the local movie 1965. At a press conference on Wednesday, he says: "Two things in the 1960s that are stuck indelibly in my mind - the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Lee Kuan Yew's speech on the separation. Even as a child, you realise the significance of it, you see a different side to the man, a very human side. That press conference really defined him in a different way. "After reading the script, Lim, 60, thought he could take on the part.

Any1 here play multiplayer PC games on steam regularly? Like CSGO or COD, BF4, payday2?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j8_X-9AIG-c Wah.. best new game coming out in November... Who want to be glorious leader??

Went up to their unit to ask them to lower volume. They said ok but continue jamming away. Belong to a certain race as you all know it. Call police come laio then now start again. I think need to look for MP

Do you miss them? 1. Snake 2. Snake 2 3. Memory 4. Space Impact 5. Bantumi 6. Bounce Last but not the least.... CANDYYYY CRUSSSSHHHH!

I was in a cab chatting with the driver when he brought up the topic of customers playing dirty which is common these days. What they do is, they get the driver to drive them to their destination. Only upon arrival, they declare that they only got $X dollars (eg, $4) in their wallets. it is the take-it-or-leave-it attitude. the taxi drivers have no choice but to take it. Cos if they were to argue with the customer, the customer makes a complain, their rice bowl is threatened. if the driver makes a report to the police, it will be time wasted for making statements. and customers will never leave their particulars for the driver to make a valid report anyways. if the driver makes it difficult for the customer to leave the cab till they settle the payment, they may be accused of criminal detainment by the customers. I checked with my uncle who is also driving a cab and he confirmes that it is common now a days. he gets a few of these cases each week. and there is nothing he can do about it. have you heard of such stories? what would you do if you are the taxi driver in such a situation? Any taxi uncles or aunties to share their views?

Argentina's Aimar to play for Johor Published on Sep 15, 2013 -- PHOTO: AFP Former Argentina international Pablo Aimar greeting fans of Johor Darul Takzim before signing a two-year deal to play with the Malaysian Super League club yesterday. The 33-year-old footballer, who played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, will begin playing for his new club next season. He is the latest high-profile player to feature for the big-spending Malaysian team, which brought in former Spanish international Daniel Guiza for the last season. Johor Football Association president Tunku Ismail Ibrahim said Aimar will be the league's most expensive player but did not reveal how much he will be paid.

I got this error message "You were disconnected from EA Online (1)" when I brought my notebook to Cambodia to play BF3. But why I didn't get this error message back in Singapore?

Top Apps 75% off I just spend a total of 50cents for these 2 Apps, OfficeSuite Pro 6+ Runtastic Pro

I've recently installed Battlefield 3 in my notebook, but how to play in single user in campaign mode? The menu option for the PC version is very different from PS3 version, the PC version only shows multiplayer or co-op, but don't have single user campaign mode. I'm confused.

opinion needed. already have Iphone with internet connection on the go. occupation does not require ipad to facilitate business purpose. am thinking of buying an ipad just for playing games and internet surfinng at home (even though already have laptop with mobile broadband connection - just that it is more convenient to surf using Ipad). and to do that, to buy a 2nd sim card from singtel at $5 charge per month. do you think this is not a recommended move? also, does it mean the Ipad that i buy from Singtel will not be at discounted price, since there will be no new line sign-up?

Every website i go, i keep seeing this advertisement popping up, Spore really hard up for more FT. https://home-in-singapore.sg/Default.aspx?t...aign=Contextual

Singapore banker detained in China Ms Wu was due to return to Singapore to get married next Saturday, but is being detained for allegedly aiding a client of embezzlement. Sat, Mar 17, 2012 AsiaOne Miss Eden Wu Yidian and her American fiance, Mr Jason David Tan, who are engaged and had planned to get married in Singapore on Mar 24. A Singaporean banker working in Shanghai as a relationship manager for Standard Chartered Bank's private banking business has been detained in China. Ms Eden Wu Yidian, 31, has been held in a Wuxi jail near Shanghai since March 6 for allegedly harbouring a client who is on the run after embezzling US$50 million (S$63.4 million), according to news reports quoting her fiance. Ms Wu was due to return to Singapore to get married on March 24, said The New Paper. Although she has not been charged with any crime, Chinese police are investigating a client of hers who allegedly fled the country after embezzling money from the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China. The client was an employee of the bank's branch in Jiangyin, a city in Jiangsu province near Shanghai, reported The Financial Times. According to The Straits Times, Ms Wu came to Singapore 10 years ago after graduating from a university in China. She is said to be fluent in English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Japanese. She started working in the banking sector after passing an accountancy exam. Ms Wu eventually took up Singaporean citizenship and is engaged to business consultant Mr Jason Tan, a 34-year-old Chinese-American living in Shanghai. Mr Tan told Lianhe Wanbao that he had not been able to see his fiance for nine days but was allowed to speak to her on the phone. The last time he spoke to her was on Thursday. He added that he and his parents are worried for her and she had pleaded for help. Since January, Ms Wu had been summoned by Chinese police for questioning five times, said Mr Tan. Ms Wu did not think anything of it initially and had told the police that she had to return to Singapore by March 8. However, she was detained when she visited the police station with her fiance. Mr Tan told New York Times: "After I had waited outside the police station for about an hour, the police told me she was being detained." The police also handed her diamond engagement ring, watch and necklace to him, reported Shin Min Daily News. Mr Tan said he had accompanied her at least twice on her earlier visits to the police station and even witnessed her putting her thumbprint on some documents. He was not allowed to sit in when she was questioned but she had told him of the sessions, said Mr Tan. He also told Lianhe Wanbao that Ms Wu had not taken any money and was not aiding or harbouring anyone involved in the case. Mr Tan said that since she started working in the private banking division in Shanghai nine months ago, Ms Wu had had the opportunity to mingle with some of the wealthiest people in China. The Straits Times said that a Standard Chartered spokesman confirmed that Ms Wu was the bank's employee and said it was providing support by liaising with her family and legal representative. The Standard Chartered spokesman also told The New Paper: "We are unable to comment on Eden's detention as this is part of an ongoing investigation by the police, but we can confirm that Standard Chartered is not being investigated." Mr Tan said that the stress, anxiety and sleepless nights had caused him to lose 6kg since he last saw her. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Singapore Consulate-General in Shanghai is aware of the case, which is currently under investigation. It said it will render all necessary consular assistance, including paying visits to Ms Wu, said The Straits Times.

RWS chases high rollers to court over gambling debts Following in MBS's footsteps, it is suing 5 men over debts totalling $8.5m By GRACE LEONG (SINGAPORE) First it was Marina Bay Sands (MBS). Now, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has turned to Singapore's High Court in its efforts to pursue gambling debt collections against local and international high rollers. In its first-ever legal salvo against defaulting casino gamblers in Singapore, Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd on Monday brought five lawsuits against three Malaysians, one Hong Kong SAR resident and one Singaporean to collect nearly $8.5 million in unpaid gambling debts. This comes several months after MBS stepped up debt collection efforts with a slew of seven lawsuits filed in the High Court against several premium players at its Paiza Club to recover $7.89 million in alleged unpaid gambling debt. That's in addition to its ongoing lawsuit against Lester Ong Boon Lin, subject of the first gambling debt collection case here. According to court papers filed by Straits Law Practice LLC on behalf of Resorts World at Sentosa, Malaysians Wong Kah Hin, Chong Kim Foo and Chu Kong Ming are accused of defaulting on $2.95 million, $1.4 million and $480,546 in gambling debts respectively. Mr Wong, according to one suit, had applied for a $3 million credit line on April 29, 2010. On Nov 27, 2010, he was issued $3 million worth of casino chips, which he gambled. After a $47,520 discount for commission was offset against his credit line, he still owed RWS $2.95 million. RWS took legal action after two cheques he gave in the amounts of HK$10 million and HK$8.31 million (being the equivalent sum of $2.95 million) bounced, and he allegedly failed to respond to requests to make payment. In another case, Mr Chong was issued a $1 million credit line on July 25, 2010, which was increased to $2 million on Aug 11, 2010. On Aug 21, 2010, his credit line was increased by $500,000, and on Oct 13, 2010, by another $500,000. As at Oct 13, 2010, he had gambled $1.43 million. After a $26,432 discount for commission and his deposit with RWS was offset against his credit line, he still owed $1.4 million. RWS filed suit after he failed to respond to its letters of demand. In Mr Chu's case, he was issued $500,000 in casino chips on Feb 6 last year. After a $11,352 discount for commission and his deposit with RWS was offset against his credit line, he still owed $488,648. RWS took action after he paid $8,102 of his debt but allegedly defaulted on the rest. Most casinos globally would prefer to enter into a voluntary payment agreement with the customer, said Jonathan Galaviz, head of global tourism consultancy Galaviz & Co in Las Vegas. 'But it's quite common for casinos that offer credit to engage in legal remedies in instances where default has occurred,' he said. But in taking action against customers, the casino industry must be mindful of its image, he added. In another suit, Hong Kong citizen Leung Moon Chuen was issued $1 million in credit on June 26, 2011, which was increased by another $1 million a month later. On Aug 20, 2011, his credit line was increased to $4 million, of which $3 million was gambled. As at Oct 26, 2011, after a $1.03 million discount for commission and his deposit with RWS was offset against his credit line, he still owed $1.97 million. Singaporean Phuah Hock Guan alias Phuan Hock Guan, a premium player at RWS, allegedly owed RWS $1.68 million in unpaid gambling debts. On April 15, 2010, Mr Phuah was issued a $1 million credit line. As part of a credit agreement, he was required to issue a blank cheque to RWS as security to be applied towards any outstanding debt. On Nov 20, 2010, his credit line was increased to $2 million, which he gambled. As at March 14, 2011, after a $317,642 discount for commission and his deposit with RWS was offset against his credit line, he still owed $1.68 million. RWS took legal action after his cheque bounced, and he failed to respond to requests for payment. Some gaming analysts say RWS's legal move isn't surprising given its management's cautious stance on credit in the face of weakening regional economic growth. For fiscal 2011 ended Dec 31, RWS parent Genting Singapore's bad debt provisions totalled $121.1 million, up 48 per cent from $81.7 million a year ago. The company wrote off $219,000 in net bad debts for the fourth quarter, and about $995,000 for fiscal 2011. But its fourth-quarter receivables and bad debt provisions showed a 'marked improvement', said Tan Hee Teck, president and chief operating officer of Genting Singapore and chief executive of RWS, in a recent earnings call. Genting Singapore reported $20.7 million in bad debt provisions for the fourth quarter, down from $27.8 million a year ago, and from $56.9 million for the third quarter. 'This likely reflects management's decision to tighten its credit policy,' Citi Investment Research said in a Feb 22 report. For the fourth quarter, RWS reported $398.8 million in Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and Ebitda margin of 52 per cent. That's up from $384.7 million a year ago, and from $375.5 million in the third quarter.