Category: Science and Tech
Metformin found to reduce Long Covid in clinical trial
Inside Medicine A study posted on a preprint server operated by the medical journal The Lancet reports that Long Covid diagnoses were found to be lower in patients who received metformin (an inexpensive diabetes drug) compared to those who received placebo. The study has not yet been peer reviewed. Still, the findings are promising. Around 10.6% (1 in 9) […]
Mar 7, 2023
Lion infected with covid-19 probably passed it on to two zoo workers
New Scientist A lion at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus after it started coughing and became breathless. Zoo workers who had cared for the lion later caught the infection. A lion that was infected with the coronavirus probably passed it on to two zoo employees, researchers have said […]
Mar 7, 2023
Paxlovid slashed severe outcomes for at-risk patients after Omicron surge, study finds
(MSN) Canadians at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 who took the antiviral medication Paxlovid significantly reduced their likelihood of being hospitalized or killed by the virus after the Omicron surge, according to new research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The study, which looked at data from thousands of Ontarians, wanted to measure the effectiveness […]
Feb 14, 2023
The Global Governance of Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
(Council on Foreign Relations) Challenges and Proposed Reforms Zoonotic diseases, naturally transmissible between humans and animals, have posed a growing public health threat for decades. However, existing institutional arrangements have fallen short. The wide-ranging, large-scale, and costly effects of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the value of addressing those weaknesses in global governance. Introduction: The Increasing […]
Feb 14, 2023
What Happened to the Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID-19?
(MedPageToday) Losing focus on monoclonals means neglecting those who need them most: the immunocompromised. Hello, it’s Jeremy Faust, editor-in-chief of MedPage Today. Thanks for joining us. Today, I’m going to cover an article I wrote in Inside Medicine called, “Data Snapshot: The rise and fall of monoclonal antibodies for COVID-19opens in a new tab or window.” Six monoclonal […]
Feb 13, 2023
Technologies Spearheading Infectious Disease Research
(Genetic Engineering and Biotech News) Infectious diseases, believed to be a thing of the past only a few decades ago owing to the discovery of antibiotics, have resurfaced as an area of active research with the rampant spread of antimicrobial resistance and evolving viruses. Caused by pathogens ranging in size from viruses to worms that […]
Feb 13, 2023
Will mink-to-mink H5N1 flu on a farm in Spain spread ferret-to-ferret in a lab?
(ISDA) Last week, Aguero et al. reported in the journal Eurosurveillance that in October 2022, H5N1 avian influenza (clade 2.3.4.4b) caused mink-to-mink infections and some deaths (peak of 4.3%) on a farm with more than 51,000 mink in Galicia in northwest Spain. Although H5N1 “avian flu” has infected limited numbers of mammalian species, this is the first reported outbreak […]
Feb 8, 2023
2022 was a breakthrough year for understanding rare diseases. 2023 needs to be better
(STAT) Major advances in the study and treatment of rare diseases occurred in 2022, from a better understanding of just how many of these diseases exist to the start of new clinical trials that may lead to new therapies. For the last decade or so, the number of accepted rare diseases has stood between 7,000 […]
Feb 7, 2023
Three Montana Grizzly Bears Euthanized Last Fall Tested Positive for Avian Flu
(NYT) The bears are believed to have contracted the virus from diseased birds, amid what a U.S.D.A. spokesman called the “largest foreign animal disease outbreak in U.S. history.” Three young grizzly bears in Montana that were euthanized last fall later tested positive for the highly contagious avian influenza, the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks service announced […]
Jan 31, 2023
‘Incredibly concerning’: Bird flu outbreak at Spanish mink farm triggers pandemic fears
(Science) Spread among captive mink could give the H5N1 strain opportunities to evolve and adapt to mammals. When mink at a big farm in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain, started to die in October 2022, veterinarians initially thought the culprit might be SARS-CoV-2, which has struck mink farms in several other countries. But lab […]
Jan 31, 2023
