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By Chinenye Anuforo Amaka Okoye, a seasoned journalist with a passion for truth and justice, has carved a niche for herself in the world of journalism. With a strong background in both Journalism and Maritime Administration and Management, Okoye has a unique perspective on the complexities of human experience. Currently a journalist at Deutsche Welle (DW), she has covered a wide range of topics, from women’s rights and justice to illegal migration and human trafficking. Her fearless reporting has taken her to the heart of Nigeria’s most dangerous regions, where she has documented the stories of those affected by conflict and crisis. This interview with Daily Sun delves into her experiences covering mass abductions in Nigeria, the emotional and professional toll it takes, and the ethical dilemma she faces. What drew you to conflict reporting particularly focusing on violence and insecurity? Quite frankly, conflict reporting chose me and I fell wholeheartedly for it. In fact, I owe it to my former Boss Mr Akintemi who recommended that I be sent to Katsina when the first mass abductions of school children happened there. His idea was majorly because I speak Hausa and it will be easy to get proper coverage of that abduction. I was supposed to go there for at most 3 nights with my cameraman but I ended up spending 13 nights covering back to back that harrowing experience- for both the students abducted, their parents and loved ones and for me as well at different levels- including being “hidden” in the government house because we had reported that the boys have been seen and would be released based on a verified information we got from a government official in the state. But as soon as we reported that, it became a question of “jeopardising the effort of the rescue mission”. And my face was plastered over social media for a false reporting. What Nigerians did not know was that the information came from the state but of course they denied knowledge of it when the Presidency reacted. And everyone wanted my head to know where we got that “intel” from including same government officials. It was an experience I will never forget. Thankfully, the boys were released just as reported. But the social media had roasted me off already. That coverage led to so many coverages of abductions and banditry for me. While very aware of how dangerous those assignments were, I think why I stayed true to those coverage was because of the people. Their story needed to be told correctly and in the right context while representing the reality of people in these conflict and crisis areas. Most importantly, so not to reduce this growing human suffering to just number and statistics. There was and still is the need to put a face to this suffering. That was my driving force and I am grateful for those stories, those people from Kankara to Kagara to Jangebe, to Birnin Kebbi, to Afaka, to Chibok and all those areas I went to, the motive was the same. How have these experiences covering mass abductions personally affected you, both emotionally and professionally? I have grown more in empathy and conviction to tell the stories of those affected with a lot of sensitivity and always check that you represent their stories correctly and factually. I have built a lot of mental resilient and physical stamina to cope with the regular stress of covering such beats and being physically present- I have not done much of that this year because I took some time off for more of up scaling and capacity building. I miss the adrenaline rush no doubt but still very much following and doing more of research work in collaboration with institutes interested in peace and conflict resolution and private security organization. Emotionally, I have learnt to take a break when I need to and to pay attentions to the whirlwinds of emotions- sometimes it is fear, sometimes anxiety, sometimes it is all round exhaustion and sometimes it is shock and helplessness, sometimes it is hope, it is joy in little and big wins of the stories of people who have triumphed from very scary situations to become shinning light. One thing I do is I pay attention to how I feel and what I feel and act rightly. As you know, I am big on therapy and that has been a great help and being surrounded by the right community of friends and colleagues and support tribe. What are the most significant challenges you’ve faced as a journalist covering such sensitive and traumatic events? I think is coming very close to near death experiences in places like Jangebe or Kagara and also when I receive threats that are very palpable. I also feel like the pain and helplessness you feel when you can’t provide answers or the frustrations of not seeing results despite all of the efforts to take some of these risks. Yes, sometimes, you never get any results, not at all. That can be tough. How do you ensure your safety while reporting on dangerous situations, particularly in conflict zones? I must admit that there are things I would do differently that I didn’t do in the past. That will include not undermining any situation and bearing in mind those things can escalate very fast. So, I keep basic tips in mind from how I dress to where I stay to what I post on social media and the timing to even the choice of transportation, sometimes it is safer to also disguise and mingle with locals, but again, this is with great understanding of where you are, who or those you are dealing with in terms of the reports and what you are up against. What ethical dilemmas have you encountered while reporting on these incidents, and how have you navigated them? I remember very vividly when the abductions were happening like every other month and for each of it, I was on ground and covering back to back. And I also remember there was a statement at the time from the government sort of implying that such coverage is amplifying the activities of these abductors or enemy of the state if you like. And it was a dillemma- should we cover the plights of the people or not because we don’t want to be seen as amplifying the voices of the enemy and leave out the sufferings of their victims? It was a tough call but in the end, we still have to do our work and bring these people’s plight to the world and not pretend these things are not happening. Another would be sometimes you hear very chilling accounts and after getting consent, the people will say “No, I don’t want that story told again”. What do you do? It is challenging sometimes to be honest. What do you think is the government’s role in addressing the issue of mass abductions? You know one of the things that baffle me is that we are still having this conversation. My one response is that the government of Nigeria is well aware of these issues, the concerns and demands of these state actors. The Nigerian government can root out these criminal elements. Yes, they can. They just do not have the political will or haven’t been able to demonstrate any political will at all. That is worth is more frustrating. How can the international community better support Nigeria in combating these issues? Nigeria first and foremost has the solutions to its problems. It should look inwards and employ all its resources before seeking collaborations from the so called international community. And what has it done so far with the support we always hear Nigeria soliciting from the international community? Your guess is right as mine What do you foresee for the future of security and safety in Nigeria, particularly regarding school abductions? Not been a prophecy of doom but I think that Nigeria will have more challenges if it refuses to strongly demonstrate political will that will lead to the end of these abductions. Sadly, there’s even more economic dimensions to these abductions. Nigeria has all the resources and intel from very brilliant and hardworking security agencies. Again it boils down to does it want to end it at all? How has the transition from Nigerian media to an international platform like DW impacted your reporting style and approach? Reporting on international platform like DW just gives you an opportunity to seek for stories with global relevance as well as tell the local story with the right nuances. My approach is using this opportunity to present our stories right. To tell them correctly and not promoting narratives that have been incorrectly pushed for a very long time. I also now have the opportunity to delve into global news and regions I would ordinarily not focus on and grow interest in different topics and find ways to present them accurately. How does your experience covering the Nigerian crisis inform your understanding of global issues related to violence and insecurity? I have realised that the problems in the world are pretty much the same- there is pain, corruption, darkness, injustice, name it all every where in the world. The difference is what each nation of the world choose to focus on, how does it media present the overall image of its nation in relation to these issues and how government and state actors tackle their issues. That is the difference. How do you balance the need to inform the public with the responsibility of not sensationalizing or exploiting the suffering of victims? This is a very important question. The first approach is understanding the situation, the context, the subject matter then apply a lot of sensitivity knowing that the people are what matters and you must treat them and their story with a lot of respect, dignity and truth. You can actually tell about their sufferings without dehumanising them more or exploiting their realities. I think also that journalists must learn where to stop or draw the curtain and understand to let the people be when they ask for that. Sometimes our approach are awfully intrusive. The fact of this business is that you are not entitled to anybody’s story and that is why we must honour the people in their stories and represent them rightly whether through images, words or our framing. This is the crux of it all.
COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — Victims' families and others affected by crimes that resulted in federal death row convictions shared a range of emotions on Monday, from relief to anger, after President Joe Biden commuted dozens of the sentences . Biden converted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The inmates include people convicted in the slayings of police and military officers, as well as federal prisoners and guards. Others were involved in deadly robberies and drug deals. Three inmates will remain on federal death row: Dylann Roof , convicted of the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2013 Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev , and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Opponents of the death penalty lauded Biden for a decision they'd long sought. Supporters of Donald Trump , a vocal advocate of expanding capital punishment, criticized the move weeks before the president-elect takes office. Donnie Oliverio, a retired Ohio police officer whose partner, Bryan Hurst, was killed by an inmate whose death sentence was commuted, said the killer's execution "would have brought me no peace.” “The president has done what is right here,” Oliverio said in a statement also issued by the White House. But Hurst’s widow, Marissa Gibson, called Biden's move distressing and a "complete dismissal and undermining of the federal justice system,” in a statement to The Columbus Dispatch . Tim Timmerman, whose daughter, Rachel, was thrown into a Michigan lake in 1997 to keep her from testifying in a rape trial, said Biden's decision to commute the killer's sentence offered families “only pain.” "Where’s the justice in just giving him a prison bed to die comfortably in?” Timmerman said on WOOD-TV. Heather Turner, whose mother, Donna Major, was killed in a 2017 South Carolina bank robbery, called the commutation of the killer's sentence a “clear gross abuse of power” in a Facebook post. “At no point did the president consider the victims,” Turner wrote. “He, and his supporters, have blood on their hands.” Corey Groves, whose mother, Kim Groves, was murdered in a 1994 plot by a New Orleans police officer after she filed a complaint against him, said the family has been living with the “nightmare” of her killer for three decades. “I have always wanted him to spend the rest of his life in prison and have to wake up every morning and think about what he did when he took our mother from us," Groves said in a statement through his attorney. Families of the nine people killed and the survivors of the massacre at the Mother Emanuel AME Church have long had a broad range of opinions on Roof's punishment. Many forgave him, but some say they can’t forget and their forgiveness doesn’t mean they don’t want to see him put to death for what he did. Felicia Sanders survived the shooting shielding her granddaughter while watching Roof kill her son, Tywanza, and her aunt, Susie Jackson. Sanders brought her bullet-torn bloodstained Bible to his sentencing. In a text message to her lawyer, Andy Savage, Sanders called Biden’s decision to not spare Roof’s life a wonderful Christmas gift. Michael Graham, whose sister, Cynthia Hurd, was killed, told The Associated Press that Roof’s lack of remorse and simmering white nationalism in the country means he is the kind of dangerous and evil person the death penalty is intended for. “This was a crime against a race of people," Graham said. “It didn’t matter who was there, only that they were Black.” But the Rev. Sharon Risher, who was Tywanza Sanders’ cousin and whose mother, Ethel Lance, was killed, criticized Biden for not sparing Roof and clearing out federal death row. “I need the President to understand that when you put a killer on death row, you also put their victims' families in limbo with the false promise that we must wait until there is an execution before we can begin to heal,” Risher said in a statement. Risher, a board member of Death Penalty Action, which seeks to abolish capital punishment, said during a Zoom news conference that families “are left to be hostages for the years and years of appeals that are to come.” Abraham Bonowitz, Death Penalty Action’s executive director, said Biden was giving more attention to the three inmates he chose not to spare, something they all wanted as a part of their political motivations to kill. “When Donald Trump gets to execute them what will really be happening is they will be given a global platform for their agenda of hatred,” Bonowitz said. Biden had faced pressure from advocacy organizations to commute federal death sentences, and several praised him for taking action in his final month in office. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, said in a statement that Biden has shown "the brutal and inhumane policies of our past do not belong in our future.” Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, criticized the move — and argued its moral ground was shaky given the three exceptions. “Once again, Democrats side with depraved criminals over their victims, public order, and common decency,” Cotton wrote on X. “Democrats can’t even defend Biden’s outrageous decision as some kind of principled, across-the-board opposition to the death penalty since he didn’t commute the three most politically toxic cases.” Two men whose sentences were commuted were Norris Holder and Billie Jerome Allen, on death row for opening fire during a 1997 bank robbery in St. Louis, killing a guard, 46-year-old Richard Heflin. Holder’s attorney, Madeline Cohen, said in an email that Holder, who is Black, was sentenced to death by an all-white jury. “Norris’ case exemplifies the racial bias and arbitrariness that led the President to commute federal death sentences,” Cohen said. “Norris has always been deeply remorseful for the pain his actions caused, and we hope this decision brings some measure of closure to Richard Heflin’s family.” But Ed Dowd Jr., the U.S. attorney in St. Louis at the time of the robbery and now a private attorney, criticized Biden's move. “This case was a message to people who wanted to go out and shoot people for the hell of it, that you’re going to get the death penalty,” Dowd said. Now, "Biden is sending a message that you can do whatever you want and you won’t get the death penalty.” This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rev. Sharon Risher's name. Swenson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jim Salter in O'Fallon, Missouri; Stephen Smith in New Orleans, and Corey Williams in Detroit contributed.
If you’re trying to refresh your social media feed this afternoon, and it’s not loading: you are not alone. Meta is reporting “technical issues” which have crippled their brands including Facebook , Instagram and WhatsApp. We first heard about the outages just before 1 p.m. on Wednesday, but they appear to be more widespread. The company has acknowledged the outages on X.com saying they are aware of the issues. “We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience,” they wrote. Reports from users about the services being down surged on the website DownDetector.com this afternoon as well . That's a site that tracks reports of down services. It was not immediately clear what caused the outage or when the services would resume normal operation. The good news is that the outage seems to be sporadic for those in our office here. At times, several of us have been able to refresh our feeds. LOOK: Things from the year you were born that don't exist anymore The iconic (and at times silly) toys, technologies, and electronics have been usurped since their grand entrance, either by advances in technology or breakthroughs in common sense. See how many things on this list trigger childhood memories—and which ones were here and gone so fast you missed them entirely. Gallery Credit: Stacey MarcusSaquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There's no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley's historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He's not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP's first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren't QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn't. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP's new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It's not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. "I don't think that's crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left," Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven't reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team's struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Analysis: Barkley is NFL's version of Ohtani
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It was Aston Villa ’s annus mirabilis in 2023, so while the rewards of that year were enjoyed in 2024, it did not feel quite as spectacular. Villa qualified for the Champions League for the first time in May, but largely rode the wave of their work in 2023. Performances and points tailed off towards the end of last season and Unai Emery’s men stumbled over the finishing line. Advertisement They sparkled less and were more attritional, yet Villa still had standout moments scattered along the way in 2024. Very little could top the year before, when only Manchester City (93) earned more Premier League points than Villa (85). To coin an Emery phrase, Villa’s “level is increasing”, and reaching the next level is becoming more and more difficult. Still, Villa have been bathing in Champions League waters, continuing to break new ground. Here The Athletic analyses Villa’s 2024... Best moment Villa qualifying for the Champions League. As good fortune would have it, staff were at their end-of-season awards when Villa were confirmed as qualifiers following Tottenham Hotspur ’s failure to beat Manchester City. Emery allowed himself a brief moment of adulation, shouting, “Up The Villa!” into the microphone and the celebrations that followed over the next few days will live long in the memories of everyone connected to the club. Champagne flowed into glasses (and onto people), dancing took place on chairs and players had little sleep. After an unrelenting fixture schedule, the satisfaction was immense. Worst moment Being comprehensively knocked out in the Europa Conference League semi-finals by Olympiacos in May, denying Villa a shot at silverware. Players were exhausted and had no gas left in the tank. There was also winless run of eight games between late October and early December, a period pockmarked by nadirs. The defeat by Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup felt like a missed opportunity , but the anaemic 1-0 loss away to Club Brugge was dire, with Villa barely mustering a shot or pass in anger. The performance was the low point of a gradual downturn in form . Best game It was a re-run of the 1982 European Cup final, with Villa vanquishing Bayern Munich 1-0 more than 40 years after the last time in front of a stirring, frenzied Villa Park. The explosion of noise that met Jhon Duran ’s finish was spine-tingling. From the murals and the large tifo that draped down from the Holte End to the sheer exuberance at the final whistle, this was a night of triumph and nostalgia. GO DEEPER Skipping school, exam issues and family rows - Villa's 1982 European Cup final win through fans' eyes Emotions were high and the night itself provided the most fitting, cyclical ending. It felt like the victory to rubber-stamp Emery’s era. Best player Emiliano Martinez has long been a pantomime villain in the Premier League . He is Villa’s showman, sh**house and entertainer . A two-time winner of the Yashin Trophy and the ‘FIFA Best’ award, given to the world’s best-performing goalkeeper, he is Emery’s undisputed No 1 and, perhaps, his most crucial player. Advertisement Without the Argentinian’s presence, the team becomes discernibly more introverted. They appear less sure of themselves and seemingly less willing to battle their way through key pressure points in matches. The higher the stakes, the better Martinez performs and his penalty shootout heroics against Lille in April’s Conference League quarter-final were a testament to that . There has been a regression in his shot-save percentage but those numbers do not reflect how he is marshalling an increasingly porous defence that concedes high-quality chances. Martinez, who holds high standards himself, has admitted there has been a drop off this season — in his words, “not having a very good year” — but he still has a penchant for the outstanding. His miraculous save against Nottingham Forest was a testament to th at. He justifies Emery’s methods, be it the high line or baiting opposition forwards into pressing Martinez, just so he or Pau Torres can rip passes through the vacant spaces. According to FBref, the 32-year-old ranks in the top two per cent (among goalkeepers in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues and UEFA competitions this year) for crosses stopped, with his interventions the clearest demonstration of his excellence in easing pressure on team-mates. Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans deserve honourable mentions and there is a strong argument for either — but without Martinez, Villa would not be in the Champions League. GO DEEPER Bosnich analyses Martinez: 'His arrogance is insecurity too - he's the best in the world' The stat that sums up 2024 Villa’s points per game has dropped from 2.02 in 2023 (only Manchester City’s 2.27 was a better record) to 1.5 in 2024. That may look alarming to some but, at the time of writing, they have played six games fewer (36 compared to 42). It puts them comfortably in the top eight in the 2024 table. Favourite quote John McGinn aptly summing up Duran’s impact following the Colombia international’s two late goals in the 3-3 draw against Liverpool in May: “Duran is a bit nuts. He’s a nightmare to have in your team sometimes. But he has moments of quality. We’ll try to keep his feet on the ground in the next couple of days.” Did that really happen? Martinez getting a second yellow against Lille and not being sent off was bizarre but for this category, it has to be Tyrone Mings picking up the ball inside his box at Club Brugge. Mings’ handball turned out to be decisive and Emery, speaking in a hurried post-match press conference, partially blamed his team’s loss on the incident. “It’s completely strange,” he said. “It is the biggest mistake we’ve made in my career as a coach.” For whatever reason, Mings thought he was going to take a goal kick instead of Martinez, despite the goalkeeper having already played a pass in front of him. So Mings simply stepped out of the six-yard box and scooped up the ball with one hand before retreating. Club Brugge are awarded a penalty after Tyrone Mings picks the ball up inside his own area 😳 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/wpAqjMW8pn — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 6, 2024 German referee Tobias Stieler had little time for understanding or sympathy and gave a penalty. As Emery said, it was just a strange, anomalous moment. Player to watch in 2025 Can I pick two? Ollie Watkins and Duran. Both are approaching a crossroads in their Villa careers. Watkins is eight years older than Duran, who is a young man in a hurry and firmly believes he is the club’s best forward. The jury is out over whether his all-round game can rival Watkins, even if he is arguably a more natural goalscorer. Advertisement Can they play together? The evidence suggests no as a front-two pairing disrupts Villa’s structure too heavily. But can they co-exist and be happy and productive together? Watkins is 28 and does not have many years of resale value left, while Duran retains strong suitors, despite signing a long-term deal in October. What happens with them over the next 12 months will be fascinating. GO DEEPER Understanding Aston Villa's Jhon Duran - 'Nothing he was given was free' A wish for 2025 More European trips and major victories against the continent’s powerhouses. Who knows, maybe Emery’s Villa complete the European set and tick the final competition off their list... qualifying for the Europa League . (Top photo: Duran and Digne celebrate Villa’s win over Bayern. David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will miss Sunday's game against the Packers with a sore throwing shoulder
A group of researchers have found a way to develop FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay (FELUDA), a test developed during the Covid-19 period to diagnose Covid cases, as a point-of-care diagnostic service at a minimal cost for detection of H. pylori and its mutations in dyspeptic patients from rural areas of India, with minimal or no access to diagnostic laboratories. Infections with H. pylori affect over 43 per cent of the world’s population with a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders, including peptic ulcers, gastritis, dyspepsia and even gastric cancer, according to ministry of science and technology. Resistance to clarithromycin, primarily attributed to point mutations in the 23S ribosomal RNA coding gene of H. pylori poses a global threat to public health, by necessitating repeated diagnostic tests and use of multiple courses of different antibiotic combinations for eradication of the same. Integration of novel diagnostic strategies as cost-effective diagnostic tools to detect the presence of H. pylori in human samples, as well as the identification of the antibiotic susceptibility is crucial for its rapid eradication. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-based methodologies are known to enable site recognition and cleavage of the target DNA with exceptional accuracy by designing guide RNAs targeting the respective mutation site in various kinds of DNA samples. Hence, in-depth understanding of H. pylori genetic makeup by CRISPR-based diagnostics (CRISPRDx) could aid in molecular dissection of its pathogenicity and development of targeted therapeutics against different strains. Towards this goal, Dr. Debojyoti Chakraborty and Dr. Souvik Maiti’s group at CSIR-IGIB had previously demonstrated the possibility of detecting H. pylori antibiotic resistance mutations using Cas9-based mutation detection strategies. However, CRISPR-Cas9 based biosensing techniques face limitations due to the requirement of NGG PAM sequences at the recognition site while detecting mutations. To encounter this limitation of CRISPR-Cas9 based detection tools in this study, Dr Shraddha Chakraborty (currently a Department of Science and Technology INSPIRE Faculty Fellow at DBEB, IIT Delhi) and colleagues at CSIR-IGIB explored the potential of en31-FnCas9 to successfully detect the presence and identify the 23S rDNA mutation status of H. pylori in gastric biopsy samples from dyspeptic patients, both by in vitro cleavage studies and lateral flow-based test strip assays (FELUDA). Clinical arm of the study was led by Dr Govind K Makharia (Department of Gastroenterology, AIIMS New Delhi), Dr Manas K Panigrahi (Department of Gastroenterology, AIIMS Bhubaneswar) and Dr Vinay K Hallur (Department of Microbiology, AIIMS Bhubaneswar). They used an engineered Cas9 protein having resemblance to Cas9 orthologs isolated from Francisella novicida (en31-FnCas9) but with altered PAM binding affinity. In their paper published in the Microchemical Journal they reported the potential of this en31-FnCas9 to successfully detect the presence and identify the 23S rDNA mutation status of H. pylori in gastric biopsy samples from dyspeptic patients of Indian origin. The study highlights the significance of sequencing-free molecular diagnosis in detecting H. pylori and its antibiotic resistance mutations, thereby emphasizing the need for tailored treatment plans to address global public health concerns associated with antibiotic resistance and gastric cancer risks. The integration of en31-FnCas9-based detection with lateral flow assay (FELUDA) demonstrated rapid visual readout of H. pylori infection and its mutation status in patient samples, enhancing its diagnostic potential in clinical settings. This is the first report of en31-FnCas9 mediated molecular diagnosis of H. pylori mutations implicated in clarithromycin resistance. Successful deployment this methodology in a clinical setup can be helpful in providing accurate and timely reports on the antibiotic resistance pattern of the H. pylori strains isolated from patients, in remote settings allowing for effective management of this global public health concern.
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