Category: Science and Tech
Was a study that created a hybrid COVID-19 virus too risky?
(Science) Science looks at the furor over an experiment that combined Omicron with a more lethal SARS-CoV-2 variant. This week, Twitter exploded with outrage about a study that seemed to have created a Frankenstein COVID-19 virus: a version of SARS-CoV-2 that combines Omicron, the fast-spreading but relatively mild variant that’s now everywhere, and a deadlier […]
Oct 18, 2022
Authorized COVID Antiviral Fails to Cut Hospitalization Risk
MedPageToday – Molnupiravir failed to reduce the risk for hospitalization or death in high-risk COVID-19 outpatients who took the oral antiviral within 5 days of symptoms, a large open-label multicenter trial found. In more than 25,000 participants in the PANORAMIC study, the rate of all-cause hospitalization or death at 28 days was an identical 0.8% […]
Oct 18, 2022
Emmanuel, a TikTok-famous emu, has avian flu after a deadly outbreak on a Florida farm
NPR – Emmanuel, a widely beloved emu who went viral on TikTok, is in dire condition battling the avian flu. Taylor Blake’s family farm in South Florida, Knuckle Bump Farms, has lost more than 50 birds in just three days, Blake wrote on Twitter Saturday. Only two birds survived. “I am still trying to wrap […]
Oct 18, 2022
Boston University researchers’ testing of lab-made version of Covid virus draws government scrutiny
STAT News – Research at Boston University that involved testing a lab-made hybrid version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is garnering heated headlines alleging the scientists involved could have unleashed a new pathogen. There is no evidence the work, performed under biosecurity level 3 precautions in BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, was conducted improperly or […]
Oct 18, 2022
SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and
variants under investigation in England
UK Health Security Agency – This report has been published to share the detailed variant surveillance analyses whichcontribute to the variant risk assessments and designation of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.This specialist technical briefing contains early data and analysis on emerging variants andfindings have a high level of uncertainty. Unless stated otherwise, this technical briefing uses a […]
Oct 13, 2022
Around 12+ key companies are developing the Marburg Virus Disease Therapies | DelveInsight
Market screener – DelveInsight’s “Marburg Virus Disease Pipeline Insight” report provides comprehensive insights about 12+ companies and 12+ pipeline drugs in the Marburg Virus Disease pipeline landscapes. It comprises Marburg Virus Disease pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products. It also includes the Marburg Virus Disease therapeutics assessment by product type, stage, route […]
Oct 12, 2022
FDA Clears Use of Monkeypox Testing Equipment
FDA – FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Abbott Molecular, Inc., for the Alinity m MPXV, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test intended to detect monkeypox DNA using lesion swab specimens from individuals suspected of monkeypox virus infection. The Alinity m MPXV test is the first commercial test kit to be authorized for detection […]
Oct 10, 2022
Long COVID: Scientists find 20 blood protein ‘signatures’ that may point to risk
Med News Today – Researchers published their findings comparing blood samples from healthcare workers who had contracted SARS-CoV-2 and healthcare workers who had not. They found that blood protein levels within six weeks of contracting SARS-CoV-2 could predict long COVID incidence. “These changes in the blood that we observe shortly after infection indicate how the […]
Oct 4, 2022
FDA – FDA added important information to the authorized Fact Sheets for Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab) to inform health care providers and individuals receiving Evusheld of the increased risk for developing COVID-19 when exposed to variants of SARS-CoV-2 that are not neutralized by Evusheld. Detailed neutralization data can be found in the revised authorized Fact […]
Oct 4, 2022
Wild Birds in North America Are Dying Like Never Before
The Atlantic – Scientists are concerned for North American wildlife as the worst avian flu outbreak since 2015 rages on. The July 5 trip was routine: From the deck of an airboat, two wildlife biologists scanned the cattail marsh—one of many seasonal wetlands in the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge—on their weekly lookout for sick or […]
Oct 3, 2022