DL Open Thread: Saturday, December 10, 2022

For All You Science Nerds, (Let’s see, there’s Unstable Isotope, and that’s about it), Is This How To Beat Covid?:

As severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) evolves to escape natural antibodies, it also loses sensitivity to therapeutic antibody drugs. By contrast, evolution selects for binding to ACE2, the cell-surface receptor required for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Consistent with this, we find that an ACE2 decoy neutralizes antibody-resistant variants, including Omicron, with no loss in potency. To identify design features necessary for in vivo activity, we compare several enzymatically inactive, Fc effector–silenced ACE2-Fc decoys. Inclusion of the ACE2 collectrin-like domain not only improves affinity for the S protein but also unexpectedly extends serum half-life and is necessary to reduce disease severity and viral titer in Syrian hamsters. Fc effector function is not required. The activity of ACE2 decoy receptors is due, in part, to their ability to trigger an irreversible structural change in the viral S protein. Our studies provide a new understanding of how ACE2 decoys function and support their development as therapeutics to treat ACE2-dependent coronaviruses.

Yep, that’s pretty much the way I see it as well…

Is The ‘Religious Exemption’ In The Respect For Marriage Act A Poison Pill?:

The Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, and mandates that all states honor valid marriages from other states—specifically barring states from refusing to validate out-of-state marriages if the reason for doing so is the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The bill now heads to President Biden for his signature.

The Senate passed the bill with support from 12 Republicans by including in the bill a robust exemption for religious organizations. This strategy, referred to by insiders as “the Utah compromise,” reflects a strategy taken in Utah to pass gay rights legislation by including broad carve-outs for religious objectors. Better half a loaf than no loaf at all, so the thinking goes. But alarm bells should set off when a strategy to protect civil rights in an outlier state—a state some have described as a theocracy—becomes the new normal for the whole country.

I know you’re not getting your money’s worth today.  Sometimes, there’s just not much stuff that intrigues me.  Thankfully, Jason has more than picked up the slack.  It’s what being a ‘team player’ is all about!

What do you want to talk about?