Science

The Washington Post reports: The World Health Organization will reconvene its emergency committee Thursday to determine whether the coronavirus outbreak amounts to a public health emergency of international concern, as the total number of people infected in mainland China surpassed those infected with SARS during the 2002-2003 epidemic. More than 6,000 cases have been confirmed in China, with thousands more …

Business Insider reports: Scientists in Melbourne, Australia, have successfully grown the Wuhan coronavirus from a patient sample, which could help provide international experts with crucial information to beat the virus. It’s the first time the virus has been grown in a cell culture outside China. The scientists come from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity — a joint …

The Associated Press reports: China on Monday expanded its sweeping efforts to contain a deadly virus, extending the Lunar New Year holiday to keep the public at home and avoid spreading infection as the death toll rose to 81. Mongolia closed its vast border with China, and Hong Kong and Malaysia announced they would bar entry to visitors from the …

The Washington Post reports: China’s national health commission said early Sunday that the number of confirmed infections had soared 50 percent over the prior 24 hours to 1,975 people across 30 provinces. Fifty-six deaths have been reported, including in major metropolitan areas such as Shanghai. Several doctors in Beijing, the capital, also reported being infected. The United States, meanwhile, announced …

The South China Morning Post reports: The virus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, already on lockdown, banned most vehicle use downtown and Hong Kong said it would close schools for two weeks as authorities scrambled Saturday to stop the spread of an illness that has infected more than 1,200 people and killed 41. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam [photo] said her …

Reuters reports: France confirmed on Friday its first two cases of the Wuhan coronavirus, with one patient being hospitalized in Paris and the other in the southwestern city of Bordeaux. Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told a news conference these were the first two confirmed cases in Europe and that more cases were likely to occur in France. Earlier, the charity …

The Associated Press reports: On the eve of the Lunar New Year, transportation was shut down in at least 13 cities home to more than 36 million people. The cities are Wuhan, where the illness has been concentrated, and 12 of its neighbors in central China’s Hubei province. Normally bustling streets, malls and other public spaces were eerily quiet in …

The Guardian reports: Three Chinese cities with a total population of 20 million have been put on lockdown and Beijing has cancelled a number of major public events in an attempt to contain the spread of a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Authorities banned transport links from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, on Thursday, as well as the nearby central Chinese …

The New York Times reports: A person in Washington State is infected with the Wuhan coronavirus, the first confirmed case in the United States of a mysterious respiratory infection that has killed at least six people and sickened hundreds more in Asia. The man is a resident of Snohomish County, Wash., who experienced symptoms after returning from a trip to …

The BBC reports: The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK has dropped substantially since 2012, according to figures released by Public Health England. Gay and bisexual men have experienced the most dramatic decline in new infections, with rates falling by 71%. It has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Campaigners are …

NJ.com reports: Religion will remain a valid excuse for children to bypass vaccination laws in New Jersey — at least for now — after state lawmakers Monday failed a second time to muster enough support to pass a controversial bill that would have repealed the option that thousands of the state’s families used last year. With hundreds of parents once …

The Associated Press reports: Researchers on Wednesday reported the largest-ever one-year decline in the U.S. cancer death rate, a drop they credited to advances in lung-tumor treatments. The overall cancer death rate has been falling about 1.5% a year since 1991. It fell 2.2% from 2016 to 2017, according to the new American Cancer Society report. That’s the largest drop …

The Hill reports: Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut, said she believes in extraterrestrial life in an interview with The Guardian published Sunday. “Aliens exist, there’s no two ways about it,” Sharman told the newspaper. “There are so many billions of stars out there in the universe that there must be all sorts of different forms of life,” she said. “Will …

The Associated Press reports: More companies could begin making an easy-to-use version of an opioid overdose antidote under a deal announced Thursday by New York’s attorney general. Under the agreement, Emergent BioSolutions will no longer enforce a contract that had allowed it to be the only company to develop a nasal spray version of the drug nalmefene for use as …

Yahoo News reports: The Pentagon is advising members of the military not to use consumer DNA kits, saying the information collected by private companies could pose a security risk, according to a memo co-signed by the Defense Department’s top intelligence official. The memo provides little details on how genetic profiles could endanger security, other than noting that potential “inaccuracies” in …

The Associated Press reports: Change is afoot for the official measuring stick used to size up big places in America. The reason? There are actually two different definitions of the 12-inch measurement known as a foot. Some land surveyors use what’s known as the U.S. survey foot. Others use the definition that’s more accepted by the broader world: the international …

Bloomberg Law reports: A judge in Albany, N.Y., upheld a state law boosting vaccine requirements, dismissing a case brought by parents who don’t want their children vaccinated and say the measure violates their religious rights. Under the law, parents are required to have their children vaccinated before they can attend school or day care, unless they have a medical condition …

The Guardian reports: The worldwide surge in deadly measles outbreaks is showing no sign of abating, with nearly 10 million cases and 142,000 deaths last year, according to new estimates, and three times more cases reported so far this year than at the same stage in 2018. Most of those dying are small children, and thousands more suffer harm including …

The New York Times reports: About 80,000 babies and toddlers die of AIDS each year, mostly in Africa, in part because their medicines come in hard pills or bitter syrups that are very difficult for small children to swallow or keep down. But on Friday, the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla announced a new, more palatable pediatric formulation. The new …

The New York Daily News reports: Victory is in sight. City officials say they are on the cusp of the once unthinkable — ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic as new medicines and treatment drove down the number of new cases to a 17-year-low in 2018, Health Department stats show. And officials say it’s all thanks to the emergence of a new …