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☆ Strange, 7-foot-long cannibalistic fish with fangs that live in the deep sea are washing up on the West Coast and scientists don't know why
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lancetfish live in the deep sea, have fanged jaws and long scaleless bodies, and eat their own. The cannibalistic fish has been washing up on the West Coast, but scientists can't explain why. Video taken in California in 2021 shows a lancetfish flapping its jaw and writhing on the sand. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on the culture & business of sustainability — delivered weekly to your inbox. The video shows the lancet flapping its fanged jaw and writhing wildly on the sand.

☆ What Is Mifepristone and How Is It Used?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Claire Cain Miller | Margot Sanger-Katz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mifepristone is used as part of a two-drug regimen to end a pregnancy without surgery. Along with the second drug, misoprostol, it is known as medication abortion, or “the abortion pill” in common parlance. Mifepristone blocks a hormone called progesterone that is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol brings on uterine contractions, causing the body to expel the pregnancy as in a miscarriage. Growing evidence from overseas suggests that abortion pills are safe even among women who do not have a doctor to advise them.

☆ Study reveals how treating hearing loss could impact dementia risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Treating hearing loss could mean reducing the risk for dementia, according to a new study. Hearing loss may increase the risk for dementia, but using hearing aids lowered the risk so it’s similar to those without hearing loss, according to the study published Thursday in The Lancet. A 2020 Lancet commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care suggested hearing loss may be associated with around 8% of dementia cases, but this study found that the use of hearing aids reduced the risk to levels similar to people without hearing loss, the study said. “A recent study showed that only 15% of US adults with hearing loss use hearing aids,” De Sousa said. The Hearing Loss Association of America still supports multiple avenues for addressing hearing loss, Hamlin said.

☆ These eight charts show why climate change matters right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment ReportGlobal warming is caused when greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in the atmosphere. Climate change is already having impacts on human life and well-beingZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards This chart shows the various impacts climate change has on water availability, food production, health and well-being, cities and infrastructure and biodiversity and ecosystems. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment ReportMany of the worst impacts of climate change will come to pass in the lives of the youngest humans. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment ReportThe globe has warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the IPCC report says. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment ReportA slight change in the average change of the earth's temperature will impact different populations differently.

☆ Three Years Late, the Lancet Recognizes Natural Immunity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Allysia Finley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Lancet medical journal this month published a review of 65 studies that concluded prior infection with Covid—i.e., natural immunity—is at least as protective as two doses of mRNA vaccines. “Immunity acquired from a Covid infection is as protective as vaccination against severe illness and death, study finds,” NBC reported on Feb. 16. The study found that prior infection offered 78.6% protection against reinfection from the original Wuhan, Alpha or Delta variants at 40 weeks, which slipped to 36.1% against Omicron. Protection against severe illness remained around 90% across all variants after 40 weeks. These results exceed what other studies have found for two and even three mRNA doses.

☆ Children as young as 10 and rape victims were sterilized in Utah as late as the 1970s. Time is running out to get justice.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Victims as young as 10 were sterilizedA picture of the Utah State Hospital from the late 1800s. Sterilizations were carried out in this hospital before the Utah State Training School was opened. 'He felt there was nothing he could do to prevent the operation'An entrance to the Utah State Training School, American Fork, Utah, February 1942. Utah State Historical SocietyLike many other states in the US, the people who were deemed unfit in Utah — labeled as "feeble-minded"— would be sent to off to state institutions — first at the Utah State Hospital they at the Utah State Training School from 1931. At the Utah State Training School, students were meant to learn practical skills like housework, sewing, and shoe mending.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating (in China)," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. A total of 13 cases of variants were found, including 1 case of XBB.1, 5 cases of BQ.1.1, 1 case of BQ.1.1.17, 4 cases of BQ.1.2 and 2 cases of BQ.1.8.

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The world should "calm down" about the possibility of new COVID-19 variants circulating in China, leading Chinese scientist George Gao said. "The world should completely calm down from the fear that there are new variants or special variants circulating [in China]," Gao, professor at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Reuters. The variants causing infections in China were the same Omicron sub-variants - BA.5.2 and BF.7 - seen elsewhere in the world, he said by email. Gao said China was continuing widespread viral genomic sequencing, and would identify any new variants if they emerged. The authors said there were some limitations to the study, including China's decision to end large-scale mandatory testing.

☆ Depression treatments haven't changed much in decades. Here are the promising new drugs that could be more precise, work faster, and help more people.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Advances in depression treatment have been rare over the past few decades. But treatments for mental-health illnesses, like depression, haven't changed much over the past few decades. Insider put together a roundup of the most promising depression treatments today, both those that have won approval and those that are in the later stages of the research process. Unlike most depression treatments on the market, Auvelity is rapid-acting, which means it offers faster relief for patients. MDD is also known as clinical depression and is defined by persistent depressive symptoms.

☆ China's Covid wave drives up consumer interest in insurance after health system shortfalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

For people planning to spend more on that health category, 47% said in December they intend to spend more on health insurance. "This experience is also driving increased interest in commercial health insurance which could cover access to premium private providers," Lipson said. Anecdotes depict a public health system overwhelmed with people at the height of the wave, and long wait times for ambulances. Some of the players in China's health insurance industry include Ping An , PICC and AIA . Hospital fundingHowever, one of the barriers to improving China's public health system is its fragmented financing system, according to Qingyue Meng, executive director at Peking University's China Center for Health Development Studies.

The methods for counting COVID deaths have varied across countries in the nearly three years since the pandemic began. CAN CHINA'S COVID DATA BE TRUSTED? With one of the lowest COVID death tolls in the world, China has been routinely accused of downplaying infections and deaths for political reasons. Globally, the study estimated 18.2 million excess deaths in 2021-2022, compared with reported COVID deaths of 5.94 million. China actually cut its accumulated death toll by one on Dec. 20, bringing the total to 5,241.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause ‘turbo cancer’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A video in which a Canadian doctor claims that COVID-19 vaccines cause so-called “turbo cancer” is not based on facts, according to five experts who spoke to Reuters. He claimed that COVID-19 vaccines damage the immune systems of recipients and cause aggressive new cancers, as well as flare-ups in those in remission from the disease. During the same period, the charity estimated that 30,000 fewer people began their cancer treatment compared to 2019 (here). Reuters has previously addressed claims where COVID-19 vaccines have been falsely linked to weakening the immune system (here), and causing cancer (here and here). Five experts told Reuters that there is no evidence to suggest COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, nor so-called “turbo cancer,” but said a drop in screenings during the pandemic may have led to rise in cancers first detected at their later stages.

☆ Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids. Inside the movement to take 'control of human evolution.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

"We are the Underground Railroad of 'Gattaca' babies and people who want to do genetic stuff with their kids," Malcolm told me. Ellison, meanwhile, who has two children in their 30s, has reportedly resumed having kids — with his 31-year-old girlfriend. "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," Simone said. The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children. Before she met Malcolm, Simone was convinced she wanted to live her life single and child-free.

In October 2021, Da’Vion Miller was found unconscious in the bathroom of his home in Detroit a week after receiving his first dose of Pfizer's Covid vaccine. Courtesy Da’Vion MillerMiller is one of a very small group of people in the United States who have experienced myocarditis following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna Covid vaccines based on mRNA technology. Video: CDC says waiting longer between Covid vaccine doses could reduce myocarditis risk. Cooper joined an expert advisory panel formed by Moderna to monitor its Covid vaccine safety. The Pfizer study will include people who were previously hospitalized with vaccine-associated myocarditis, and it will also follow those who were more recently diagnosed.

The answer is likely to frustrate parents: There is no obvious reason some healthy babies get so sick with RSV that they must be hospitalized, on oxygen, while others do not. That means babies who have never been exposed to a virus like RSV may be hit harder than older children who've had previous RSV infections. A study published Thursday in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found that in Europe, about 2% of healthy children under age 1 who get RSV require hospitalization. The U.S. is in an unusual surge in respiratory viruses, including RSV, that have overwhelmed children's hospitals. “They’re experiencing their first RSV virus at the same time as other viruses,” including rhinoviruses that cause the common cold.

☆ Climate Change and the Lancet’s ‘Heat Death’ Deception
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Bjorn Lomborg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

As the United Nations’ annual global climate summit, COP27, nears, it’s important to look with skepticism at the academic reports many news outlets cite as evidence supporting radical climate policies. Too often, they use highly skewed data that seem to have been carefully selected to support aggressive environmental regulations. The study offers a frightening statistic: Rapidly rising temperatures have increased annual global heat deaths among older people by 68% in less than two decades. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres publicized the report, tweeting a link with a grave statement of his own, “The climate crisis is killing us. #COP27 must deliver a down-payment on climate solutions that match the scale of the problem.”

☆ RSV: Pandemic 'immunity gap' is probably behind surge in respiratory cases, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That “immunity gap” from the last few years is probably behind the “unprecedented” early surge in RSV infections this year, scientists say – and it has thrown other seasonal respiratory viruses out of whack around the world. Across the US, the number of flu cases has also been increasing a little earlier than usual. A handful of schools have seen large absences, and medical offices say they are seeing more people sick with other respiratory viruses at times that don’t fit the usual patterns. Like Covid-19, RSV and the flu spread through droplets released into the air when people cough or sneeze. The pandemic behaviors created an “immunity gap” or “immunity debt” that makes more people in the US vulnerable to diseases like RSV.

☆ Doctors decry 'record profits' for fossil fuel companies as climate change weighs on global health
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The report’s theme reflects a growing frustration and helplessness expressed by medical professionals left to deal with the impacts of climate change as world leaders struggle to address the root cause. The annual report catalogs the health impacts of change worldwide and a separate policy brief outlines impacts in the U.S. Tiny particles released into the air as pollution during fossil fuel use were responsible for 1.2 million deaths in 2020. Climate change is taking a toll on mental health. The report notes growth in renewable energy investment, increasing media coverage of climate change and growing engagement from government leaders on health-centered climate policies.

☆ Covid-19 death toll is a tragedy and 'massive global failure at multiple levels,' Lancet commission says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Naomi Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

(CNN) The death toll from Covid-19 is "both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels," the Lancet Covid-19 Commission said in a report Wednesday. "Too many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency, too many people -- often influenced by misinformation -- have disrespected and protested against basic public health precautions, and the world's major powers have failed to collaborate to control the pandemic," the commissioners wrote. The World Health Organization says there have been more than 6.4 million Covid-19 deaths reported as of Sunday, but some experts say the actual toll most likely dwarfs the reported number. The Lancet Commission report is addressed to UN member states, UN agencies and others, including the G20 and G7. The commission specified that it is not "an investigative group, nor a body of biomedical specialists," but it focused on science-based policy, global cooperation and international finance in order to propose "guideposts for strengthening the multilateral system to address global emergencies and to achieve sustainable development."

☆ Россия выкупила у Словакии 160 тысяч доз вакцины «Спутник V». Страна отказалась от ее применения из-за низкого спроса
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-04 | by ( ) nokta.md time to read: +2 min

Россия выкупила у Словакии 160 тысяч неиспользованных доз вакцины «Спутник V», сообщила пресс-секретарь министерства здравоохранения республики Зузана Элиашова, передает Медуза.спуьникКак сообщил телеканал TA3, партию «Спутника» выкупили по той же цене, что Россия продала вакцину Словакии, — по 9,95 доллара за дозу. По данным Минздрава, всего в стране, где живут больше пяти миллионов человек, первой дозой «Спутника» привились 10500 человек. В марте Словакия купила 200 тысяч доз вакцины «Спутник V», что привело к отставке премьер-министра Словакии Игоря Матовича. В апреле Государственный институт по контролю лекарств Словакии заявил, что вакцина «Спутник V», поступившая в страну, отличается от образцов, о которых писал научный журнал The Lancet и которые находятся на исследовании в Европейском агентстве по лекарственным средствам. В конце мая правительство Словакии одобрило применение «Спутника» на территории страны, но в июне из-за низкого спроса решило прекратить вакцинацию российским препаратом.

Persons: nokta, Зузана Элиашова, Зузаны Элиашовой, Игорь Матович Organizations: Медуза.спуьникКак, Спутник, Минздрав, Российский фонд прямых инвестиций (РФПИ), РБК, Государственный институт по контролю лекарств, Европейское агентство по лекарственным средствам, РФПИ Locations: Россия, Словакия

☆ Analiză Politico: Efectul „ascuns” al pandemiei de COVID-19. Viitorul val de cancer din Europa
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-18 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +11 min

În tot acest timp, procesul de depistare a cancerului s-au oprit, ținându-i departe de spitale pe toți pacienții, cu excepția bolnavilor cronici. „Tratamentul a fost amânat pentru multe săptămâni, iar asta a afectat pacienții”, a explicat doctorul Grigorescu, adăugând că un număr substanțial de pacienți erau prea speriați de Covid-19 pentru a merge la spital. O altă slăbiciune majoră pe care o menționează medicul este lipsa de digitalizare, precum și suportul administrativ. Planul european de combatere a cancerului primise aprobarea președintei Comisiei Europene, Ursula von der Leyen, care și-a pierdut sora mai mică, în copilărie, din cauza cancerului, precum și a comisarului pentru sănătate Stella Kyriakides, supraviețuitoare a cancerului la sân. Dar odată ce pandemia a luat amploare, planul european de combatere a cancerului a stagnat timp de un an, fiind publicat abia în februarie 2021, după mai multe întârzieri.

Persons: coronavirus, pandemia, Alexandru Călin Grigorescu, . Carol Davila, Grigorescu, Csaba Dégi, Katie, Ursula von, Stella Organizations: Uniunii Europene, Organizația Europeană, Liga Națională, Organizației Europene, Cancerului, Europene, Internaționale, Partidului Popular European, Parlamentul Locations: Europe, Europa, Italia, Franța, Amsterdam, Austria, Olanda, Europa Centrală, Est, Vest, Belgia, Islanda, România, Slovacia, Bulgaria, suedez, Ungaria, Croația, Slovenia, București, UE, Ursula von der, Europei

☆ “Спутник V”, “Эпиваккорона”, “Ковивак”, “Спутник Лайт”. Что известно о российских вакцинах
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-09 | by ( Выжга Елена | ) aif.md time to read: +7 min

Сейчас только вакцина “Спутник V” прошла все четыре стадии исследований: одну доклиническую (на животных) и три клинических (на людях). Эффективность и безопасность вакцинВакцина “Эпиваккорона” успешно прошла первую и вторую фазы клинических испытаний, а “Спутник V” — все три фазы. Публикации с результатами финальных испытаний “Спутника V” вышли в авторитетном научном журнале The Lancet. Эффективность вакцины “Спутник V” составила 91,6%. Разработчики “Спутника V” утверждают, что после вакцинации двумя дозами препарата люди перестают быть разносчиками коронавируса.

Persons: “ ”, “, ”, Айдар Ишмухаметов Organizations: Pfizer — BioNTech, Moderna, Центр им. М.П. Чумакова, Центр эпидемиологии и микробиологии имени академика Гамалеи, Центр “Вектор, Центр им. Гамалеи, ТАСС, Спутник, Роспотребнадзор, Эпиваккороны, Центр имени М.П. Чумакова, Центр “Вектор противопоказанный, Центр им. Гамалея, Центр “Вектор указанные боль, Центр имя. Гамалеи Locations: Россия, Спутник

☆ China se pregăteşte să vaccineze anti-COVID-19 copiii de peste trei ani
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

China se pregăteşte să vaccineze împotriva coronavirusului copiii de peste trei ani, a anunţat marţi o companie farmaceutică, ceea ce ar face din această ţară prima din lume care va distribui vaccinuri copiilor mici, informează AFP. „Vaccinul Sinovac a fost aprobat în ultimele zile pentru copiii cu vârste cuprinse între 3 şi 17 ani”, a declarat el pentru AFP, conform Agerpres. Purtătorul de cuvânt nu a precizat şi când ar putea fi administrate copiilor primele doze, de calendarul de vaccinare fiind responsabil Ministerul Sănătăţii. Laboratorul şi-a finalizat studiile clinice pe copii şi adolescenţi, iar rezultatele acestora vor fi publicate în revista britanică The Lancet, a adăugat el. Pe lângă Sinovac, China a aprobat până acum administrarea la adulţi a vaccinurilor produse de laboratoarele Sinopharm (două doze) şi Cansino Biologics (o doză).

Organizations: Agerpres Locations: China, Lancet, Sinovac

☆ Незаконные трансплантации органов в Болгарии: Граждане Молдовы становились донорами почек для «теть и дядь» из Израиля и Омана
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-07 | by ( ) nokta.md time to read: +1 min

Десятки граждан Молдовы предположительно пересекли границу Болгарии, чтобы стать донорами органов. Журналистское расследование болгарского бюро «Свободной Европы» показало, что операции проводились незаконно в одной из государственных больниц Болгарии. «Доноры — племянники из Украины и Молдовы, а получатели — дяди и тети из Израиля, Японии, Германии, Омана. Есть все основания полагать, что эти люди не связаны друг с другом», — заявил врио министра здравоохранения Болгарии Стойчо Кацаров. Временный министр здравоохранения Стойчо Кацаров объявил в четверг, что распускает совет директоров Лозенецкой больницы.

Persons: Стойчо Кацаров, Кацаров Organizations: Свободная Европа, Лозенецкая больница, Национальный фонд медицинского страхования (НФМС) Locations: Молдова, Болгария, София, Украина, Израиль, Япония, Германия, Оман

☆ Вакцина Pfizer-BioNTech обеспечивает более низкие уровни антител для варианта Дельта
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-04 | by ( Mld Media Srl | ) noi.md time to read: +1 min

Уровни антител в крови вакцинированных людей, которые способны распознавать новый вариант SARS-CoV-2 Delta, впервые обнаруженный в Индии (B.1.617.2), и бороться с ним, в среднем ниже, чем против ранее циркулировавших в Великобритании вариантов. Такие выводы были сделаны специалистами после получения новых лабораторных данных в Институте Фрэнсиса Крика и Национальном институте медицинских исследований (NIHR) Центра биомедицинских исследований UCLH, опубликованных в качестве исследовательского письма в The Lancet. Результаты также показывают, что уровни этих антител ниже с возрастом и что уровни со временем снижаются, что дает дополнительные доказательства в поддержку планов по усилению вакцинации уязвимых людей осенью. Это крупнейшее из опубликованных на сегодняшний день исследований, посвященных изучению индуцированной вакциной нейтрализующей способности антител против новейших проблемных вариантов у здоровых взрослых. Ранее ГЛАС писал о том, что у переболевших новым коронавирусом молодых людей часто обнаруживают устойчивые признаки наличия опасного для здоровья сердечно-сосудистого поражения.

Organizations: Институт Фрэнсиса Крика, Национальный институт медицинских исследований (), Центр биомедицинские исследования, ГЛАС Locations: Индия, Великобритания

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