Category: Science and Tech
What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about how viruses evolve
NPR arly in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists predicted the coronavirus would mutate slowly. They were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of viral mutations and multiple seasonal waves later, researchers now know why. Turns out, SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes the disease COVID-19 — was making evolutionary leaps and bounds in one specific group of people. “When […]
Mar 25, 2025
Four ways COVID changed virology: lessons from the most sequenced virus of all time
Nature After 150,000 articles and 17 million genome sequences, what has science taught us about SARS-CoV-2? Kei Sato was looking for his next big challenge five years ago when it smacked him — and the world — in the face. The virologist had recently started an independent group at the University of Tokyo and was […]
Mar 19, 2025
America Is Sleeping on a Powerful Defense Against Airborne Disease
The Atlantic Treating clean indoor air as a public good would have protected Americans against more than COVID-19. In the early evening of March 7, 2020, I was on my cellphone in an airport terminal, telling a friend that I was afraid to write an article that risked ruining my journalistic reputation. I had been […]
Mar 11, 2025
The Next Pandemic May Come From Bats
Reuters Humanity is ramping up the risk of global health disasters by intruding deep into the world’s bat habitats, breeding grounds for deadly viruses. In this five-part series, Reuters pinpoints the places where the next outbreaks are likeliest. PART ONE: WEST AFRICA The world’s bat lands are under attack, seeding risk of a new pandemic. […]
Feb 18, 2025
AI approach reveals possible fusion of rare diseases in COVID-19 origins
Medical News Despite extensive research, the origins of COVID-19 remain elusive. In a new study published in the KeAi journal Advances in Biomarker Sciences and Technology (ABST), an AI-driven approach was adopted to examine DNA methylation patterns at 865,859 CpG sites in blood samples from early COVID-19 patients. The study was conducted by Zhengjun Zhang from the Department […]
Feb 12, 2025
How Sudan Virus Infects Human Cells With Greater Efficiency Than Ebola
Technology Networks Sudan virus binds to human cells with nine times more affinity than Ebola, revealing key infection mechanisms. The Sudan virus, a close relative of Ebola, has a fatality rate of 50% but remains poorly understood in terms of how it infects cells. Currently, no approved treatments exist. To address this critical gap in […]
Feb 5, 2025
Kennedy, in His Own Words: Flu, Diabetes, Autism and More
NYT At Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearings, beginning on Wednesday, senators are expected to question him closely about his controversial views on vaccines. For years Mr. Kennedy has questioned the safety of vaccines, including those for polio and measles, two diseases that continue to harm children. More recently, he has said that he’s not […]
Jan 29, 2025
Extended Paxlovid May Relieve Long Covid Symptoms
Neuroscience News Extended courses of Paxlovid may alleviate symptoms in some patients with long Covid, though its effectiveness varies widely. Of 13 patients studied, five experienced sustained improvements, while others reported temporary or no benefits. This complexity underscores the challenge of treating long Covid, a condition with over 200 symptoms ranging from brain fog to […]
Jan 8, 2025
Study retracted years after it set off an infamous COVID-19 treatment scandal
USA Today A discredited study that set off a flurry of interest in using an antimalarial drug to treat COVID-19 has now been formally withdrawn. A scientific journal on Tuesday retracted the March 2020 study that introduced the world to hydroxychloroquine early in the COVID-19 pandemic – and confirmed that the attention was undeserved from the start. […]
Dec 18, 2024
Stanford study reveals flu virus remains infectious in refrigerated raw milk
Stanford University Raw milk, hailed by some as a natural and nutritious alternative to pasteurized dairy, may come with hidden dangers, according to a new Stanford University study. The research, published Dec. 12 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters reveals that influenza or flu virus can remain infectious in refrigerated raw milk for up to five days. The findings […]
Dec 17, 2024