MIT researchers create test to predict COVID immunity, Harvard scientists develop test for both virus and antibodies
BOSTON — If you’re wondering how much protection you have from COVID-19, researchers at two local powerhouse universities say they’ve created new tests that will help determine antibody levels.
MIT scientists on Tuesday announced they’ve developed a blood test that may predict COVID-19 immunity. The announcement came a day after Harvard researchers said they’ve built a saliva test that detects the presence of both antibodies and the virus.
The MIT researchers created a paper test that measures the level of neutralizing antibodies in a blood sample, which could help people decide what protections they should take against infection. Their test uses the same type of “lateral flow” technology as most rapid antigen tests for COVID-19.
“Among the general population, many people probably want to know how well protected they are,” said Hojun Li, the Charles W. and Jennifer C. Johnson clinical investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
—Boston Herald
Ted Cruz softens on same-sex marriage, says ‘reasonable people can disagree’
WASHINGTON — Like many conservatives, Sen. Ted Cruz has gone out of his way since the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade to ease fears that, with abortion rights erased, gay marriage is the next target.
Cruz still denounces the 2015 ruling that extended marriage equality to same-sex couples as “clearly wrong.” But he’s softened his stance, conceding recently that on the definition of marriage, reasonable minds can differ — a remarkable shift.
Just seven years ago, Cruz proposed a constitutional amendment to define marriage as only one thing: the union of a man and a woman.
“I believe marriage is the union of one man and one woman. I also recognize that reasonable people can disagree on that and I believe that there is room for a diversity of views,” he said at the Senate recently when prompted to explain his personal views.
—The Dallas Morning News
143 roosters euthanized after deputies bust illegal cockfighting event in California
LOS ANGELES — More than 140 roosters were euthanized after Riverside County sheriff's deputies busted an illegal cockfighting event in Jurupa Valley, authorities said.
At around 10:36 p.m. on Friday, deputies responded to a call about an illegal cockfighting gathering on Troth Street. When deputies arrived at the home, 200 people scattered, and 143 birds were found caged throughout the property, many of them dead or severely injured, Sgt. Patrick Samosky said in a statement.
John Welsh, a Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesperson, described the scene as chaotic when deputies arrived. People were scrambling away from the property in attempt to escape, and some of the bird cages were crushed in the stampede, he said.
Welsh said all 143 birds needed to be euthanized because the department "cannot adopt out such birds as they are valuable and they would almost always end up back in a cockfighting ring."
—Los Angeles Times
Horrific rape case raises South Africa ghosts
PRETORIA, South Africa — The gang rape of eight women — allegedly by illegal miners — has transfixed South Africa and encapsulated numerous evils plaguing this society all at once.
The victims were models taping a program at a mining location when attacked. More than 100 men have been arrested in the assault, although not all charged. Many are from neighboring countries — most in Johannesburg largely from Lesotho — and are in South Africa without proper documentation, police say.
Women activists “must be turning over in their graves,” said Sophia Williams de-Bruyn, a veteran advocate who has been fighting violence against women for decades. Tuesday is a holiday here marking an anti-apartheid march undertaken by brave women 66 years ago, a touchstone in the struggle for women’s rights.
The scourge of rape has long been one of South Africa’s post-apartheid crimes that human rights groups and law enforcement agencies have confronted unendingly. The United Nations says the incidence of rape in South Africa is among the highest in the world; local media say there are on average about 110 rapes a day in the country.
—Los Angeles Times
