{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.020749665327978582, 'fraction_numerical': 0.00535475234270415, 'mean_word_length': 5.0772357723577235, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
From strangles to sore throats: gene identification technique could help horses and people

A TECHNIQUE originally developed to investigate the bacterium responsible for strangles in horses is now helping scientists studying the pathogen causing sore throats in people. Streptococcus equi causes some 600 outbreaks of strangles annually in the UK. Scientists at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) in Newmarket developed a method, known as transposondirected insertion site sequencing (TraDIS), to identify the genes in the bacterium that allow it to survive in different conditions. The technique enables scientists to establish the importance of every gene at once, instead of testing single genes in different conditions independently. Researchers from the Houston Methodist Research Institute in the USA have now teamed up with AHT scientists to apply the same technique to Streptococcus pyogenes, the bacterium that causes 600 million cases of pharyngitis (sore throat) in people every year. Using TraDIS, the researchers were able to identify 92 genes that S pyogenes needs to grow in human saliva in a laboratory. They hope to use this information to develop novel therapeutics or a vaccine. ‘We are delighted that a technique developed at the AHT . . . has provided new results that could benefit people,’ said Andrew Waller, head of bacteriology at AHT. ‘We hope that our technique will also prove useful for the study and prevention of other diseases, regardless of the animal they affect.’