Category: Science and Tech
The Most Dangerous Germs Without Effective Vaccines
Gizmodo The World Health Organization has put out a hit list of germs for future vaccines to tackle. In a report published this week, WHO scientists have identified 17 widely common pathogens that most need new or improved vaccines, including influenza, HIV, norovirus, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Vaccines have long been one of humanity’s most important public […]
Nov 6, 2024
Japan’s Shionogi says Phase 3 study showed COVID pill reduces transmission
Reuters Japan’s Shionogi & Co said on Tuesday a global, late-stage study showed its pill-based treatment for COVID-19 was effective in reducing transmission of the disease. Ensitrelvir, known commercially as Xocova, showed a statistically significant reduction in participants with symptomatic infection after exposure to household contacts with COVID, Shionogi said in a statement. The Phase 3 […]
Oct 30, 2024
Nature Nirmatrelvir plus ritonavir received Emergency Use Authorization for treating mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients. Its efficacy against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 remains uncertain. This retrospective cohort study assessed the effect of nirmatrelvir–ritonavir in preventing severe disease progression and long COVID symptoms after acute COVID-19 in non-hospitalized adults. SALAMA medical records from […]
Oct 29, 2024
Research reveals new clues to the mysteries of long COVID
University of Alberta Three groundbreaking studies pinpoint immune cells and proteins linked with the lingering condition — and suggest a possible cause. Researchers at the University of Alberta have pinpointed two proteins that could serve as markers for identifying patients with long COVID — a discovery that may lead to treatments that will bring better […]
Oct 29, 2024
New Covid Tests Are Here. They Test for Flu, Too.
NYT Yet again this winter, millions of Americans will wonder if a nagging cough or body aches is a sign they’re coming down with Covid or the flu. This time, they’ll have an expanded array of tools to get an answer without leaving the house. There are now nine at-home tests that can detect the […]
Oct 29, 2024
Advanced technologies for the development of infectious disease vaccines
Nature Vaccines play a critical role in the prevention of life-threatening infectious disease. However, the development of effective vaccines against many immune-evading pathogens such as HIV has proven challenging, and existing vaccines against some diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria have limited efficacy. The historically slow rate of vaccine development and limited pan-variant immune responses […]
Oct 22, 2024
Novel mRNA vaccine prevents and treat C. difficile
Penn Today Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have developed the first mRNA vaccine against C. difficile to successfully ward off the bacterial infection. A new vaccine provides hope for treating and even preventing the highly contagious and difficult-to-treat Clostridioides difficile infection, more commonly known as C. difficile or C. diff. In animal models, this first mRNA-LNP C. difficile vaccine was […]
Oct 22, 2024
Yahoo News Scientists have found that chimpanzees are turning to bat feces for nutrients in concentrated areas of deforestation, which could have implications for human epidemics, reports Mongabay. What’s happening? In the Budongo Forest in Uganda, animals — including chimpanzees, monkeys, and antelope — rely on minerals from decaying palm trees, per the report. However, between […]
Oct 16, 2024
Viruses Found on Toothbrushes Are ‘Unlike Anything Seen Before’
Gizmodo Scientists have discovered over 600 different species of bacteria-hunting viruses living in our common bathroom items, though the microbes pose no harm to people. Some of the most diverse environments in the world can be found right in our bathrooms—virally speaking. Scientists swabbed people’s toothbrushes and showerheads and found them brimming with hundreds of […]
Oct 9, 2024
What Happens When Humans Become Guinea Pigs to Advance Science
Bloomberg In early 2020, it was assumed that most people who contracted Covid would fully recover in two to three weeks. Months later, we learned that a significant proportion of survivors are plagued by lingering symptoms that we now recognize as long Covid. In 2021, analyses of electronic health record data showed how Covid patients, […]
Oct 8, 2024