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☆ Cloud seeding probably didn't cause Dubai's floods. The UAE has been trying to control its weather for years, and the US does it too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Photos show how the UAE, United States, and other countries have been seeding clouds for decades. Historic floods in Dubai didn't come from cloud seeding, but humans' climate impacts are playing a role. Related storiesAccording to several scientists, cloud seeding isn't the driving force behind Dubai's historic floods. Packets of salt are pictured during a cloud seeding operation at a military airbase in Subang, Malaysia. The real threat behind Dubai's floodsMany atmospheric scientists have dismissed the idea that cloud seeding was behind Dubai's floods.

Persons: GIUSEPPE CACACE, Getty, Prometheus, Frankenstein —, Thomas Peipert, Al Hayer, Amr Alfiky, Andrea DiCenzo, Lim Huey Teng, there'd, Friederike Otto, John Marsham, Jeff Big Jeff, Gary Coronado, Marsham, Fred Greaves, Otto Organizations: Dubai didn't, Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, UAE, Reuters, National Center of Meteorology, United, UAE's National, of Meteorology, Militia, Imperial College London, Science Media, SMC, University of Leeds, Los Angeles Times, Getty, UAE isn't, National Park Service, AP Locations: UAE, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rocky, Lyons , Colorado, China, Australia, Al Ain, Utah, Dongkou county, Shaoyang, Hunan province, Subang, Malaysia, Bannon, Sacramento, , California, California's Sacramento County

☆ Weight-loss drug Wegovy offers benefits for people with diabetes and common form of heart failure, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The study, published Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed how the drug helped people with Type 2 diabetes who also had one of the most common kind of heart failure, obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Obesity-related heart failure with preserved ejection fraction can severely limit a person’s ability to participate in the activities of daily life. Often, people with type 2 diabetes who have this kind of heart failure have a more severe form than those who don’t have diabetes. People with a more severe form of heart failure sometimes don’t respond as well to medication as those with less severe disease. One death in the Wegovy group and four in the placebo group were related to cardiovascular issues.

Persons: Wegovy, Ozempic, Dr, Mikhail Kosiborod, “, ” Kosiborod, Naveed Sattar, ” Sattar, Sanjay Gupta, Kosiborod, ” Organizations: CNN, New England, of Medicine, Novo Nordisk –, US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, St, University of Glasgow, Science Media, CNN Health, American College of Cardiology Locations: Asia, Europe, North, South America, Kansas City , Missouri, Atlanta

☆ Rare cases of possible Alzheimer’s transmission uncovered in recipients of discontinued medical treatment
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

All five adults had growth hormone deficiency as children and received pituitary growth hormones prepared in a specific way from cadavers. The treatment approach was discontinued after cases of a rare brain disorder called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were found to be associated with the administration of contaminated human growth hormone from cadavers. Although Alzheimer’s is not a prion disease, some separate research suggests that the two proteins that are hallmarks in Alzheimer’s disease — amyloid beta and tau — behave like prions. “This study suggests that in very rare circumstances Alzheimer’s disease may be transmitted between humans via human growth hormone from deceased donors. “I’m also intrigued by how these results may inform potential therapeutic targets and strategies in the future,” Isaacson said, regarding Alzheimer’s disease.

Persons: John Collinge, Jakob, Creutzfeldt – Jakob, Alzheimer’s, ” Collinge, ’, –, ” Dr, Susan Kohlhaas, ” Kohlhaas, “ It’s, Dr, Richard Isaacson, ”, Isaacson, “ I’m, ” Isaacson, “, Gargi Banerjee, ” Banerjee, James Galvin, Sanjay Gupta, ” Galvin, Lewy Organizations: CNN, Nature, University College London Institute, University College London, National Hospital for Neurology, Neurosurgery, Alzheimer’s Research, Science Media, Comprehensive, Brain Health, University of Miami Health, CNN Health Locations: United Kingdom, United States, United, Florida, UHealth, Creutzfeldt

☆ New blood test that screens for Alzheimer’s may be a step closer to reality, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that affects memory and thinking skills, is the most common type of dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health. “A blood test being negative speeds up the investigation for other causes of the symptoms and this is just as important,” Ashton said. Isaacson, who has researched blood biomarkers in people with no or minimal cognitive complaints, likened testing blood samples for signs of Alzheimer’s disease to how people undergo routine blood tests for high cholesterol. It is possible that currently available treatments for Alzheimer’s disease would work better in those diagnosed early in this way,” he said. The combination of a simple screening test with an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease would have a dramatic impact for individuals and for society.”

Persons: ” Nicholas Ashton, Ashton, ”, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, antiamyloid, immunoassay, ” Ashton, Richard Isaacson, ” Isaacson, Isaacson, ‘, “, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, David Curtis, ” Curtis Organizations: CNN, University of Gothenburg, National Institutes of Health, Quest Diagnostics, Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Association, Get CNN, CNN Health, University College London, Science Media Locations: Sweden, United States, Wisconsin, Pau, Florida

☆ UK regulators approve medical treatment involving CRISPR gene editing in world first
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The United Kingdom has become the first country to give regulatory approval to a medical treatment involving the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing tool. The treatment, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is administered by taking stem cells out of a patient’s bone marrow and editing a gene in the cells in a lab. “Modifying the stem cells from the bone marrow of the patient avoids the problems associated with immune compatibility, i.e. The release from the MHRA did not say how much the treatment would cost, but it’s likely to be expensive. CRISPR-Cas9 has had a major impact on biomedical research, clinical medicine and agriculture and is widely used in labs around the world.

Persons: —, ”, Julian Beach, “, — Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer A, Doudna —, Casgevy, Alena Pance, ” Pance, Cas9, Jiankui Organizations: CNN, country’s Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, Beta, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, US Food and Drug Administration, University of Hertfordshire, Science Media Centre Locations: United Kingdom, South Asian

☆ Experimental spinal cord implant helps Parkinson’s patient walk in new study
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In a new study, Gauthier was surgically implanted with an experimental spinal cord neuroprosthesis to correct walking disorders in people with Parkinson’s disease. Marc Gauthier, 63, who has Parkinson's disease, was treated with a spinal cord neuroprosthesis for his locomotor symptoms. Then, Gauthier was invited to participate in the new study to test the experimental spinal cord neuroprosthesis. Next, they implanted an array of electrodes against the lower region of Gauthier’s spinal cord to target those zones. “With this spinal cord stimulation, we still have an effect, but we have to fight against worse and more severe symptoms,” Bloch said.

Persons: Marc Gauthier, Gauthier, ” Gauthier, Dr, Eduardo Moraud, ” Moraud, Gilles Weber, CHUV Gauthier, Jocelyn Bloch, ” Bloch, ”, Svjetlana, Miocinovic, David Dexter, Parkinson’s, Dexter, Sanjay Gupta, Moraud, Michael J, Bloch, Grégoire, ” Courtine, “ Organizations: CNN, Nature, Lausanne University Hospital, Emory University School of Medicine, Parkinson’s, Science Media, DBS, CNN Health, Fox Foundation, Medical Locations: Bordeaux, France, Switzerland, Netherlands

☆ Researchers link popular weight loss drugs to serious digestive problems for ‘hundreds of thousands’ worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

They can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar and lead to substantial weight loss for people with or without diabetes. Liraglutide was FDA approved as a weight loss medicine since 2014. What’s been less clear is whether patients taking these drugs for weight loss may have the same serious side effects. CNN reached out to Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of both injectable weight loss drugs examined in this study, for comment. Sodhi said they started the man on a medication that treats stomach paralysis, “and he got a lot better,” Sodhi said.

Persons: Ozempic, ”, Mahyar, —, It’s, Liraglutide, it’s, Mohit Sodhi, Sodhi, Ian Musgrave, Musgrave, What’s, “, ” Sodhi, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, University of British, US Food and Drug Administration, FDA, “, University of Adelaide, Science Media Centre, BMI, Novo Nordisk, CNN Health Locations: University of British Columbia, Australia, Novo

☆ Climate change: Parts of tropical rainforests could get too hot for photosynthesis, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Some leaves in tropical forests from South America to South East Asia are getting so hot they may no longer be able to photosynthesize, with big potential consequences for the world’s forests, according to a new study. They found that average forest canopy temperatures peaked at 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) but some exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). This level of warming is not expected under current climate policies, which are estimated to bring 2.7 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels. While these figures may seem small, the risk is significant given how critical tropical trees are for life, the climate system and the planet. But, he added, there are more immediate concerns for tropical forests, including deforestation, wildfires and droughts.

Persons: photosynthesize, Christopher Doughty, ” Doughty, Martin Zwick, ”, Kevin Collins, Christopher Still, there’s, it’s, “, Chloe Brimicombe, ” Joshua Fisher Organizations: CNN, Northern Arizona University, Getty, Open University, Science Media, Oregon State University, University of Graz, Chapman University Locations: South America, South East Asia, Nature, Australia, Brazil, ecoinformatics, Mobuku, Uganda, ”, Austria

☆ Spanish researchers aim to 'trick nature' with artificial womb
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, June 29 (Reuters) - Researchers in Barcelona are trying to "trick nature" by creating an artificial womb for extremely premature babies after tests on animals kept foetuses alive for 12 days. Their artificial placenta prototype recreates a protective environment with a translucent container made of biocompatible material inside which the foetus' lungs, intestines and brain can continue to develop. Babies born after six months of pregnancy or less are considered extremely premature with a high risk of death or disability. It's a challenge, it's extremely delicate to achieve this, to trick nature to make this possible," Gratacos said. "Although it is an exciting development, the artificial placenta is not intended to replace a natural placenta," Werner said.

Persons: Eduard Gratacos, Gratacos, Kelly Werner, Werner, Horaci Garcia, Emma Pinedo, David Latona, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Reuters, Fundacion La Caixa, Caixabank, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Columbia University, Science Media Centre, Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Barcelona, Spanish

☆ Daytime naps may be good for our brains, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Taking daytime naps may help maintain brain health as we age, according to a new study. The results show “a small but significant increase in brain volume in people who have a genetic signature associated with taking daytime naps,” she told the Science Media Centre. “Even with those limitations, this study is interesting because it adds to the data indicating that sleep is important for brain health,” she said. MoMo Productions/Digital Vision/Getty ImagesHowever, such a technique can only show an association between nap and brain health, not cause and effect. Grandner directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was not involved in the study.

Persons: ”, Victoria Garfield, Tara Spires, Jones, Valentina Paz, they’re, Paz, MoMo, Michael Grandner, Grandner, Raj Dasgupta, “ Organizations: CNN, University College London, UCL, University of, British Neuroscience Association, Centre, Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Science Media, Sleep Health, Alzheimer’s Association, Sleep Medicine, Banner - University Medical Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern Locations: Republic of Uruguay, Tucson , Arizona, University of Southern California

CNN —The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine is one of the biggest industrial and ecological disasters in Europe for decades. Satellite images of the Nova Kakhovka dam before its collapse (left, on June 5) and after the disaster (right, on June 7). The Ukrainians point out that the facility has been under Russian control for the past year, making it easy for Russian forces to plant explosives. But much of the east bank of the river south of the Nova Kakhovka dam remains under Russian control. Maxar Technologies/APThere are also suggestions that the dam collapse took at least some Russian forces by surprise.

Persons: António Guterres, it’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Andrei Pidlisnyi, Chris Binnie, Craig Goff, ” Goff, They’ve, ” Binnie, Goff Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, NATO, Maxar Technologies, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Agricultural Ministry, Maxar, University of Exeter, Engineering, Environmental Services, UK Science Media, HR, Royal Air Force, “ Locations: Nova, Ukraine, Europe, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kherson, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, “, Crimea, Korsunka

The flooding has already killed 300 animals at the Nova Kakhovka zoo, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Satellite images show a close-up view of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power facility before and after the dam collapse on June 6, 2023. Satellite images show homes along the Dnipro River before and after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed. Several Ukrainian regions that receive some of their water supply from the reservoir of the Nova Kakhovka dam are making efforts to conserve water. Local residents carry their personal belongings on a flooded street after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed, in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 6.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Ihor Syrota, ” Syrota, ” Olena, Alina Smutko, Ruslan Strilets, Strilets, António Guterres, Vladyslav Musiienko, Martin Griffiths, Griffiths, ” Griffiths, Zelensky, Oleksandr Prokudin, Maxar Technologies Griffiths, Mohammad Heidarzadeh, Heidarzadeh, Vladimir Saldo, Rafael Grossi, ” Grossi Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Reserve, Nova, Ukrainian Defense Ministry . United Nations, ”, UN Security, Dnipro, Maxar, Maxar Technologies, University of Bath, Science Media, Russian Foreign Ministry, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, UN Locations: Nova, Ukraine, Russian, Kyiv, Moscow, Russia, Dnipro, Kherson, Reuters Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, England, Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyi

☆ Experimental drug appears to slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trial but raises safety concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It involved 1,795 adults, ages 50 to 90, with mild cognitive impairment due to early Alzheimer’s disease or mild Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia. Such a score is consistent with early Alzheimer’s disease, with a higher number associated with more cognitive impairment. By 18 months, the CDR-SB score went up 1.21 points in the lecanemab group, compared with 1.66 in the placebo group. Overall, there were serious adverse events in 14% of the lecanemab group and 11.3% of the placebo group. The researchers also wrote that about 0.7% of participants in the lecanemab group and 0.8% of those in the placebo group died, corresponding to six deaths documented in the lecanemab group and seven in the placebo group.

☆ Rising Covid-19 cases in the UK may be a warning for the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —There are signs that the United Kingdom could be heading into a fall Covid-19 wave, and experts say the United States may not be far behind. A recent increase in Covid-19 cases in England doesn’t seem to be driven by a new coronavirus variant, at least for now, although several are gaining strength in the US and across the pond. Spector runs the Zoe Health Study, which uses an app to let people in the UK and US report their daily symptoms. After seeing a downward trend for the past few weeks, the Zoe study saw a 30% increase in reported Covid-19 cases within the past week. In the US, some models have predicted that Covid-19 cases will begin to rise again in October and continue to increase into the winter.

☆ STUDIU: Varianta britanică de coronavirus nu provoacă forme mai grave de COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-13 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Autorii primului studiu, publicat în The Lancet Infectious Diseases, au analizat datele a 341 de pacienţi cu COVID-19 spitalizaţi la Londra între 9 noiembrie şi 20 decembrie, odată cu apariţia variantei 501Y.V1, în prezent dominantă în mare parte din Europa.58% dintre ei au fost infectaţi cu această variantă, cunoscută sub numele de B.1.1.7, şi 42% cu alte tulpini.36% dintre pacienţii din primul grup s-au îmbolnăvit grav sau au murit, comparativ cu 38% din al doilea grup, sugerând că B.1.1.7 nu este asociată cu o severitate mai mare a bolii.Cu toate acestea, cercetătorii au arătat că probele provenite de la pacienţii infectaţi cu varianta britanică conţineau în medie o cantitate mai mare de virus, indicând o transmisibilitate mai ridicată.Al doilea studiu, publicat în The Lancet Public Health, a analizat datele a circa 37.000 de utilizatori ai unei aplicaţii mobile concepute în Marea Britanie pentru a raporta simptomele de COVID-19, care au fost diagnosticaţi pozitiv în perioada 28 septembrie - 27 decembrie.Plecând de la numărul de persoane care au raportat simptome săptămânal într-o anumită zonă, studiul a concluzionat că varianta "britanică" a avut o rată de reproducere de 1,35 ori mai mare, adică fiecare pacient contaminat a infectat în medie cu 35% mai multe persoane decât în cazul tulpinilor anterioare de coronavirus.Cu toate acestea, varianta B.1.1.7 nu a provocat simptome mai grave sau o probabilitate mai mare de a avea simptome pe termen lung ("Covid long").Într-un comentariu la primul studiu, trei cercetători de la Centrul Naţional pentru Boli Infecţioase (NCID) din Singapore subliniază că descoperirile acestuia contrastează cu trei studii anterioare, care asociază varianta "britanică" cu o probabilitate mai mare de deces şi forme severe de COVID-19.Potrivit acestora, studiul publicat în The Lancet are avantajul de a fi utilizat secvenţierea completă a virusului în analizele sale, însă concluzia sa "liniştitoare" trebuie "confirmată de studii mai ample". "Acest studiu se concentrează pe rezultatele clinice ale unui grup de persoane deja spitalizate cu COVID-19", observă epidemiologul Nicholas Davies, citat de Science Media Centre din Marea Britanie. "Nu contrazice elementele deja adunate de studii anterioare", care tind să arate că "infecţia cu B.1.1.7 este asociată la nivel global cu un risc mai mare de mortalitate, spitalizare şi internare de urgenţă în rândul tuturor persoanelor testate pozitiv pentru SARS-CoV-2", a adăugat el.

Persons: ., Nicholas Davies Organizations: Science Media Locations: Londra, Europa, Singapore

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