A llama called Winter could prove useful in the hunt for a treatment for Covid-19, according to US and Belgian scientists who have identified a tiny particle that appears to block the new coronavirus.

The scientists, from Belgium’s VIB-UGent center for medical biotechnology and the University of Texas at Austin, published research on Tuesday in the journal Cell, with the llama in Belgium central to their studies.

The group began four years ago looking into antibodies that might counter the Sars virus, which spread in 2003, and the Mers virus that flared up in 2012.

“The work was a side project in 2016. We thought maybe this was interesting,” said Xavier Saelens, joint leader of the Belgian part of the collaboration. “Then the new virus came and it became potentially more crucial, more important.”

Winter, the llama, was given safe versions of the Sars and Mers viruses and samples of its blood were later taken.

Llamas and other members of camel family are distinct in creating standard antibodies and smaller antibodies, with which scientists can more easily work.

The Belgian part of the research team, also led by Bert Schepens, identified fragments of the smaller antibodies, known as nanobodies, to see which bound most strongly to the virus.

Saelens describes the new coronavirus as the cousin of the Sars virus. Both have a corona, or crown, shape with protein spikes, onto which an antibody can latch.

The team intend to begin tests on animals, with a view to allowing trials with humans to begin by the end of the year. Saelens said negotiations were under way with pharmaceutical companies.

The research is not the first into nanobodies derived from camels or llamas. French group Sanofi paid 3.9 billion euros ($4.23 billion) in 2018 to buy Ghent-based nanobody specialist company Ablynx.

The government of Pakistan has decided to bring back via special flights its students stuck in Wuhan, China, ground zero of the novel coronavirus.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari tweeted the development on Friday night, referring to those stranded there as "the bravest soldiers".

Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has been tasked to bring the first batch of Pakistanis – mostly students – beginning May 18, when around 250 individuals are expected to return.

Pakistanis who had been studying in Wuhan and other cities in the Chinese province of Hubei – first region in the world to be put under a strict lockdown on Jan 20 after being declared a virus epicenter – had appealed at the time to be evacuated.

Multiple requests for evacuation were made not only by the stranded students but also by their families back home. However, the government said it would not repatriate them immediately and would follow guidelines and processes put in place by China in this regard.

To allay the fears of the students and their families, the Foreign Office in February sent two of its officials from the Beijing embassy to Wuhan while the strict lockdown was still in place. The FO said the staffers were to remain in Wuhan till the lockdown ended and would meet students in different universities to get an update on their well-being and safety.

In March, President Arif Alvi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited China and interacted with Pakistani citizens there via video link.

Upon returning from the trip, both the foreign minister and President Alvi briefed the media and said that the students were in a good condition and had only requested that Pakistani food be provided to them.

On March 28, China began lifting the lockdown in Wuhan. By April 8, the restrictions were completely lifted and some of the the students celebrated by cooking themselves a meal.

Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 21 Displaying the humanitarian side of law, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a rare judgment has set aside a lower court order, though it was neither illegal, nor erroneous. Justice Rajiv Narain Raina made it clear that the judgment granting yet another opportunity to farmers to plead their case for a higher compensation for acquired land was being passed to “avoid miscarriage of justice”. The order came on a petition filed by Vijay Kumar and another petitioner against Haryana and other respondents. Their evidence in support of plea to enhance compensation awarded by the Land Acquisition Collector was turned down on the ground […]

Benin drops 17 places in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, following the withdrawal from a key document of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights.

ADB returned to the US dollar bond market with the pricing of a $4.5 billion 5-year global benchmark bond issue, proceeds of which will be part of ADB’s ordinary capital resources.

ADB has provided several targeted interventions to support its developing member countries in combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic from its early stages. In support of ADB’s effort, the Government of Japan is...

In 2005, the energy sector emitted 88% of Uzbekistan’s 200 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. With the high solar irradiance and abundant land for solar development of Uzbekistan, solar energy was deemed as the most suitable resource that could quickly bridge the energy supply–demand gap, diversify the generation mix, and reduce emissions.

This brief presents methodologies, high-level technologies, and policies that can help the People’s Republic of China, particularly Beijing, accelerate and enhance water conservation planning.

ADB is proposing a project to deliver climate adaptive solutions for water resources management and modernize outdated irrigation and drainage systems within the Amu Darya and selected reaches of the Zarafshan irrigation system.

By end of 2019, the Urban Financing Partnership Facility (UFPF) assistance has led to a total of 152 completed projects, comprised of investment grants, technical assistance, direct charge activities, and project preparation studies.

A new water and sewage plant in Ebeye, one of the most densely populated locations on earth, is helping to ease the prevalence of water-borne diseases.

This video defines State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and guides borrowers on how to assess their viability to participate as bidders under ADB funded projects.

Khadka and her family, like millions of others, were affected by the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. ADB's Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project in Nepal financed the rebuilding of quality schools to withstand future disasters.

Build Back Better has been the foundation of ADB’s reconstruction support to Nepal after the devastating earthquake of 25 April 2015. The newly constructed schools are earthquake resilient with improved facilities and systems.

ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe discussed imperatives for enabling COVID-19 pandemic recovery in developing countries in Asia and the Pacific and new ADBI research to boost related policy efforts in a video message.

SST and UMC Announce Qualification of Embedded SuperFlash® Technology on 40 nm CMOS Process

SST and SK hynix system ic Partner to Expand Availability of Embedded SuperFlash Technology

SST Announces Automotive Grade 1 Qualification of Embedded SuperFlash® Memory on UMC’s 55 nm Platform

Enhancing System Architecture Implementation for AI Applications, Microchip Delivers its Analog Embedded SuperFlash® Technology

Microchip Honored with Best of Show Award at Flash Memory Summit 2019

Thanks to investment from Australia and ADB, a new clean water plant in Ebeye, in the north-west corner of the Marshall Islands, is changing lives.

ADF-funded operations in the Kyrgyz Republic are improving the living standards, well-being, and prospects of women and girls by upgrading crucial infrastructure and educational and other services.

Khadka and her family, like millions of others, were affected by the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. ADB's Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project in Nepal financed the rebuilding of quality schools to withstand future disasters.

MEC152x Keyboard and Embedded Controller for Notebook PC

TNS Your bank may be disbursing home loans without due diligence of realty projects. So don’t be lax in checking out the builder’s credentials If you believe that the project in which you have booked your flat is free from all the issues just because your bank has cleared your loan application and approved the required amount — then it’s time to think again. While many buyers think that the lending bank usually carries out all the checks before approving loan for a project, the reality is very different. It has been seen that banks are not doing enough to gauge the authenticity of housing projects before disbursing loans. There […]

East Asia is setting the pace for the recent trend in regional and interregional integration, which is associated with multilateral infrastructure connectivity initiatives.

Please join us for our Smart Cities & Connected Communities Think Tank Roundtable on Wednesday, May 19. Clint Vince, Chair of Dentons' US Energy practice and Co-chair of Dentons' Global Energy sector, will moderate this event along with a panel of industry leaders for a discussion on the future of cybersecurity concerns.

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The global financial architecture should focus on providing short-term lending facilities to improve the efficiency of developing projects.

East Asia is setting the pace for the recent trend in regional and interregional integration, which is associated with multilateral infrastructure connectivity initiatives.

The passage of contentious Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha may not have much impact on investment sentiment in realty sector across Hyderabad, as the city has already been planned to serve as a joint capital for next 10 years, according to property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle. “The Bill is being viewed with mixed feelings by various stakeholders, but it is still too early to gauge its impacts on the real estate industry. That said, it is likely to end the political uncertainty that Hyderabad has been facing for the past few years. “The outcomes are still unclear, but Brand Hyderabad is not likely to be overly affected as it […]

MUMBAI: US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co has made its entry in the country’s real estate sector by finalising investments of Rs 750 crore in two property projects. KKR has struck a structured debt transaction for Rs 400 crore for the Bhartiya Group’s integrated township project in Bangalore, two people with direct knowledge of the transactions said. It also agreed to provide a Rs 350 crore structured loan to the Wadhwa Group’s luxury home project in west central Mumbai, they said. The group will use the money to repay other lenders of the project, where the cost of apartments ranges from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 10 […]

KOLKATA: The state Public Works department (PWD) have divided all its circles into three zones – North, West and South for better supervision and monitoring of development projects of various government department entrusted to PWD all over the state. The PWD authorities were mulling on the plan to reorganise all its circles with the aim to implement the concept of coming up with three zones – North zone, West zone and South zone – so that the authorities can properly monitor and supervise all development projects that have been entrusted on them by the other departments. The PWD has several circles under the PWD road division, national highway and state […]

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Buying a house or any residential property in Noida will now be a costlier affair, as the Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities decided to hike the land allotment rate up to 10-12% at a board meeting on Monday. “We have increased the land allotment rate up to 10% in Noida in all categories, except for commercial properties. Rates of commercial property in Noida will not be increased because we want to correct the rates. “Land allotment rates will be hiked up to 12% in Yamuna expressway area. The rates are unchanged in Greater Noida because they saw an increase in February this year,” said Rama Raman, chairperson of Noida, Greater […]

Since Samsung’s acquisition of HARMAN less than two years ago, the two companies have worked closely to create and implement connective technologies that align with what consumers want today – and in the future. As technology grows ever more capable,...

On Make Music Day 2019, people across the globe will pick up an instrument to celebrate the joy of making music – including some for the very first time! It’s an indescribable feeling and one that you must experience for yourself. Known for his work with...

With the 2019 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) upon us, we decided to get the latest download on the state of cybersecurity in the automotive industry from HARMAN’s Vice President & General Manager of Automotive Cybersecurity, Asaf Atzmon....

Stamford, CT – May 5, 2020–JBL is now offering its first portable Bluetooth speaker made of recyclable plastic and packaging with the new Flip 5 - Eco edition. The popular Bluetooth speaker is back with the same superb sound and cool tech as before -...