Snakebites: COVID vaccine tech could limit venom damage

University of Reading

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A Bothrops-species snake. Imagen by University of Reading PhD student Gnaneswar Chandrasekharuni

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Credit: Gnaneswar Chandrasekharuni

The same technology used in COVID-19 vaccines could help prevent muscle damage from snakebites, according to a new study published in Trends in Biotechnology today [24 November]. 

Scientists from the University of Reading and the Technical University of Denmark tested whether mRNA technology could be used to protect against the damage caused by the venom of the Bothrops asper snake, found in Central and South America. This snake's venom destroys muscle tissue, often leaving victims with permanent disabilities even after receiving standard treatment. 

The research team wrapped specific mRNA molecules in tiny fat particles that, when injected into muscle, teach cells to produce protective antibodies, preventing venom damage. The treatment could significantly limit the injury and impacts caused by snakebites, which kill around 140,000 people worldwide and cause 400,000 permanent disabilities each year.  

Professor Sakthi Vaiyapuri, lead author of the study from the University of Reading, said: "For the first time, we've shown that mRNA technology can protect muscle tissue from snake venom-induced damage. This opens a completely new door for treating snakebites, particularly the local injuries that current antivenoms struggle to prevent.” 

Professor Andreas Laustsen, who co-led this study from the Technical University of Denmark said:  "We tested this treatment on snake venom, but this technology could be even more useful for other conditions where toxins cause harm gradually. For example, it might help block harmful toxins produced by bacteria during infections." 

Shielding muscles from damage 

Current antivenoms work well against toxins in the bloodstream but struggle to reach damaged muscle tissue around the bite site. In laboratory tests using human muscle cells, the new treatment reduced damage from both a single toxin and whole venom. The protective antibodies appeared within 12-24 hours of mRNA injection. In mice, a single injection of mRNA protected muscle tissue from toxin-induced injury when given 48 hours before exposure to the venom. 

The treatment reduced key signs of muscle damage. Mice that received the mRNA treatment before being exposed to the toxin showed lower levels of enzymes such as creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, which are released when muscle is injured. The treatment also preserved healthy muscle structure. 

The researchers say their approach could work alongside traditional antivenoms. Standard treatments handle toxins in the blood, while mRNA-delivered antibodies could protect local tissues that antivenoms cannot reach as well as neutralise the toxins in the circulation. 

Tackling remaining challenges 

The research team says various challenges remain before the new treatment could help patients. The antibodies take hours to develop, and the treatment currently targets only one toxin. Future versions would need to protect against multiple venom components. Storage in remote areas without refrigeration also presents difficulties. 

Professor Vaiyapuri said: "We now need to expand this approach to target multiple venom toxins and solve storage challenges for rural areas, as well as ensure faster production of antibodies in tissues. The potential to reduce disabilities among snakebite victims is significant." 

The team plans to develop treatments targeting additional toxins and test whether the approach works when given after a bite occurs. 

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Journal

Trends in Biotechnology

DOI

10.1016/j.tibtech.2025.10.017 

Article Title

Intramuscular delivery of mRNA-encoded single-chain variable fragments prevents myotoxin II-induced skeletal muscle damage in a preclinical model

Article Publication Date

24-Nov-2025

 

Pusan National University researchers develop model to accurately predict vessel turnaround time

Dynamic operation indicators improve vessel turnaround forecasting accuracy, boosting berth planning and overall port efficiency

Pusan National University

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This study presents a time-series forecasting framework that integrates queuing-based operation indicators to improve vessel turnaround time prediction accuracy by up to 28%. Rather than directly optimizing waiting times, the research establishes a foundational predictive model that can support future efforts to enhance port efficiency and resource management.

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Credit: Professor Hyerim Bae from Pusan National University, Korea

In the 21st century, as global trade expands and cargo volumes surge, ports face mounting pressure to operate efficiently. A key challenge lies in accurately predicting vessel turnaround time (VTT)—the period between a ship’s arrival and departure—which directly influences scheduling, congestion management, and energy use. Traditionally, forecasting methods have relied on static factors, such as vessel specifications or container volumes, which fail to capture the highly dynamic nature of port operations.

To address this gap, a team of researchers led by Professor Hyerim Bae and Master’s student Daesan Park from Department of Industrial Engineering at Pusan National University, South Korea, has devised an innovative time-series approach to VTT forecasting via queuing-based operation indicators (OIs). Their findings, published in Volume 69, Part B of the journal Advanced Engineering Informatics on 1 January 2026, were made available online on 15 October, 2025.

This new framework introduces operation indicators as quantitative measures of a system’s changing state, based on queueing theory. These indicators are derived from operational parameters such as arrival rates, service rates, and variability, calculated separately for berth and yard stages, and then linked to represent their interdependence. Unlike static models, this approach captures time-varying fluctuations in congestion, workload, and inter-stage interactions, offering a dynamic picture of how port systems evolve over time. Each variation in the OI corresponds to measurable changes in system behavior, effectively bridging theoretical modeling with real-world operations.

By feeding these dynamic indicators into time-series deep learning models, the framework learns how short-term variations in operational load affect overall turnaround performance. The result is a data-driven, explainable forecasting model that translates complex, fluctuating port activities into accurate and actionable predictions.

“Our framework can be directly applied to port operations to enhance berth scheduling, predict congestion, and optimize the allocation of cranes, trucks, and labor, leading to shorter vessel turnaround times and reduced energy consumption,” explains Prof. Bae. “Its strength lies in modeling how 'interconnected stages, such as vessel berthing, container handling, and yard transfer, affect one another through time. This perspective allows our framework to be extended naturally to other multi-stage service systems beyond ports.”

Potential applications range widely. In airports, similar indicators could help anticipate downstream delays in aircraft handling. In hospitals, they could model patient flow from registration to treatment, aiding workload balance. In urban transport, queue-based modelling could predict how congestion spreads through networks. In manufacturing, the framework could help prevent bottlenecks by mapping interdependencies between production lines and logistics systems.

As Mr. Park concludes, “By viewing each system as a chain of interdependent operations, our approach transforms complex processes into measurable, predictive indicators. It enables smarter, more reliable, and sustainable management systems that can improve everyday experiences—from faster travel and healthcare to more efficient production and mobility.”

 

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Reference
DOI: 10.1016/j.aei.2025.103974

 

About Pusan National University
Pusan National University, located in Busan, South Korea, was founded in 1946 and is now the No. 1 national university of South Korea in research and educational competency. The multi-campus university also has other smaller campuses in Yangsan, Miryang, and Ami. The university prides itself on the principles of truth, freedom, and service and has approximately 30,000 students, 1,200 professors, and 750 faculty members. The university comprises 14 colleges (schools) and one independent division, with 103 departments in all.
Website: https://www.pusan.ac.kr/eng/Main.do

 

Prof. Hyerim Bae
Professor Hyerim Bae is Dean of the Graduate School of Data Science and Professor of Industrial Engineering at Pusan National University, Republic of Korea. He directs the Human-Centered Carbon Neutral Global Supply Chain Research Center and serves as CEO of SmartChain Co., Ltd. His research focuses on AI-driven analytics, process mining, and sustainable logistics, particularly for smart ports and digital supply chains. He is an Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Big Data and the International Journal of Innovative Computing, Information, and Control. He contributes to national policy as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science & Technology.
Lab: https://pnubaelab.github.io/
ORCID: 0000-0003-2602-5911

 

Daesan Park
Daesan Park is a Master’s student in Industrial Data Science and Engineering at Pusan National University, Republic of Korea. He received his B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Pusan National University. His research focuses on data-driven modeling of complex operational systems, with emphasis on queueing theory, process mining, and time series forecasting using deep learning. His interests include developing predictive frameworks for logistics and healthcare systems under uncertainty and dynamic conditions.
ORCID: 0009-0008-2796-8632
 

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Journal

Advanced Engineering Informatics

DOI

10.1016/j.aei.2025.103974 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Time-series approach to vessel turnaround time forecasting using queuing-based operation indicators

Article Publication Date

1-Jan-2026

COI Statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Hyerim Bae reports article publishing charges was provided by National Research Foundation of Korea. Hyerim Bae reports equipment, drugs, or supplies was provided by Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

 

Intensive New York City housing remediation effort cut violations in half but did not yield immediate health improvements

Results highlight challenges of linking housing quality improvements to direct and speedy health system impacts

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

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November 24, 2025-- New York City’s most aggressive housing quality enforcement programs reduced hazardous housing violations in targeted buildings but did not lead to measurable changes in short-run health care utilization, according to a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The findings are published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

Many housing and health initiatives had focused on publicly owned housing and, until now, there was little evidence on whether housing quality interventions could alter health care use in privately owned and managed, low-quality housing buildings.

“This study centers on tenants in privately owned buildings, a large but often overlooked segment of the low-income population where landlord oversight is weaker,” said Kacie Dragan, PhD, MPH assistant professor of Health Policy and Management and principal investigator. “However despite substantial building improvements under the law we found no evidence of changes in health care spending or emergency department visits among low-income residents in the years immediately following remediation,” said Dragan.

“These results suggest that housing remediation alone may not yield immediate reductions in health care utilization, particularly when improvements cannot fully resolve longstanding hazards,” noted Dragan.

The evaluation focused on the Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), created under the NYC Safe Housing Law of 2007 to identify and remediate the city’s 250 most distressed privately owned residential buildings each year. Landlords selected into AEP are required—within four months—to address all heat and hot water violations and at least 80 percent of “immediately hazardous” issues such as serious mold, pest infestations, rodents, peeling lead paint, broken fixtures or windows, and water leaks. These program criteria are written into the City Charter.

Reports from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development show that AEP has produced significant housing quality improvements. “Compliance rates are high, despite the fact that many AEP buildings are owned by the city’s most chronically neglectful landlords,” Dragan said.

The study followed 48,151 Medicaid enrollees linked to AEP-eligible buildings from 2007–2018. In the final analysis, there were 24,294 enrollees included—14,974 residents in untreated buildings and 9,320 residents of buildings that underwent housing improvements.

Using Medicaid eligibility and claims data from 2007–2019, Dragan also measured total health care spending, the number of emergency department visits, and all health system visits tied to conditions likely linked to housing quality—injuries, respiratory conditions, and anxiety.

Despite large reductions in hazardous violations—cut by half in the treated buildings—the analysis found no evidence of meaningful short-run changes in health care utilization.

“The existing literature offers limited insight into how quickly substandard housing conditions translate into health problems, and how quickly those health problems, in turn, translate into actual utilization of the health care system,” observed Dragan.

“However, the largely null results in this study shed light on what decision makers in the health and housing sectors could realistically expect from housing quality improvement interventions,” said Dragan.

These results have implications for policy debates. Health insurers like Medicare and Medicaid have begun piloting policies that pay for housing remediation services like pest control or ventilation, with the rationale that these services might save money by reducing health care utilization. “These findings indicate that the expectation of cost savings by insurers may not be appropriate. Still, improving the quality of low-income housing is important and worthwhile,” Dragan notes.

Even with directed repairs and heightened oversight, it is important to emphasize that tenants in AEP buildings continue to live in some of the worst housing in New York City. Eliminating half of all open violations still leaves residents in deeply distressed conditions—underscoring how challenging it is to fully remediate decades of disinvestment and neglect.

Nationwide, 42 percent of low-income households live in homes needing at least one major repair, and as many as 20 percent of homes in low-income neighborhoods have three or more serious hazards that pose well-established risks to health.

“These findings suggest that more comprehensive remediation efforts, paired with sustained follow-up, may be needed before measurable health improvements appear.”

The study was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (T32HS000055), the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (T32MH019733), and the Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting New Yorkers, the nation and the world. The Columbia Mailman School is the third largest recipient of NIH grants among schools of public health. Its nearly 300 multi-disciplinary faculty members work in more than 100 countries around the world, addressing such issues as preventing infectious and chronic diseases, environmental health, maternal and child health, health policy, climate change and health, and public health preparedness. It is a leader in public health education with more than 1,300 graduate students from 55 nations pursuing a variety of master’s and doctoral degree programs. The Columbia Mailman School is also home to numerous world-renowned research centers, including ICAP and the Center for Infection and Immunity. For more information, please visit www.mailman.columbia.edu.

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Journal

Journal of Policy Analysis and Management

DOI

10.1002/pam.70074 

 

Vegan diet—even with ‘unhealthy’ plant-based foods—is better for weight loss than Mediterranean diet, finds new study

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eating a vegan diet increases consumption of plant-based foods—including those defined as “unhealthy” by the plant-based diet index—leading to greater weight loss than the Mediterranean diet, finds a new analysis by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine published in Frontiers in Nutrition. 

Avoiding animal products; eating foods like potatoes and refined grains, which are defined as “unhealthy” by the plant-based diet index; and avoiding added oils and nuts, which are defined as “healthy” by the plant-based diet index, all contributed to weight loss.

“Our research shows that even when a low-fat vegan diet includes so-called unhealthy plant-based foods—as defined by the plant-based diet index—like refined grains and potatoes, it’s better than the Mediterranean diet for weight loss, because it avoids animal products and added oils,” says Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and lead author of the study.

The new research is a secondary analysis of a previous Physicians Committee study comparing a low-fat vegan diet to a Mediterranean diet. The study randomly assigned 62 overweight adults to either a low-fat vegan diet, which consisted of fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans, or a Mediterranean diet, which focused on fruits, vegetables, legumes, fish, low-fat dairy, and extra-virgin olive oil, for 16 weeks. Neither group had a calorie limit. Participants then went back to their baseline diets for a four-week washout period before switching to the opposite group for an additional 16 weeks. The study found that a vegan diet is more effective for weight loss than a Mediterranean diet, and has better outcomes for weight, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol levels.

In this secondary analysis, the participants’ dietary records were used to assess the relationship of a plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful PDI (hPDI), and unhealthful PDI (uPDI) with weight loss on both the vegan diet and Mediterranean diet. “Healthful” plant-based foods, as defined by the PDI system, include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, oils, coffee, and tea. “Unhealthful” plant-based foods include fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes, and sweets. The PDI system assigns scores as follows:

• PDI: Score increases with more plant-based foods overall.
• hPDI: Score increases with more “healthful” plant-based foods and fewer “unhealthful” plant-based foods.
• uPDI: Score increases with more “unhealthful” plant-based foods and fewer “healthful” plant-based foods.

In the analysis, the PDI score increased significantly on the vegan diet and did not change on the Mediterranean diet; the hPDI score increased on both diets; and uPDI increased on the vegan diet and decreased on the Mediterranean diet.

The increases in the PDI and uPDI scores, which were seen only the low-fat vegan diet, were associated with weight loss. The changes in hPDI, which were seen on both diets, were not associated with changes in body weight.

The majority of the increases in the PDI, hPDI, and uPDI scores came from avoiding animal foods on a vegan diet. Reducing the consumption of oils and nuts further increased the uPDI score by points on a vegan diet. These findings suggest that replacing animal products with plant-based foods, and reducing the consumption of oil and nuts, may be successful strategies for weight loss.

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Journal

Frontiers in Nutrition

DOI

10.3389/fnut.2025.1666807 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Plant-based dietary index on the Mediterranean and a vegan diet: a secondary analysis of a randomized, cross-over trial

Article Publication Date

18-Nov-2025