Science

CDC Reports High Incidence Of Flu In Multiple States

Yahoo News reports: The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say. The CDC posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. …

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CDC: “Staggering” Global Rise In Measles Deaths

CBS News reports: The number of countries battling disruptive outbreaks of measles surged to 37 last year, a report published by the CDC confirmed Thursday, as officials warn that the global fight against the disease has struggled to recover in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measles can be deadly, especially in children, but it is preventable with a common …

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SpaceX Booster Explodes After Liftoff, Starship Lost

CNN reports: The Starship system made it much further into flight than the first attempt in April, but ultimately ended in another explosion. The rocket and spacecraft safely lifted off the pad, with the Super Heavy booster igniting all 33 of its engines. During the last attempt, multiple engines shut down prematurely. Then, the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft …

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FDA Approves Eli Lilly Diabetes Drug To Treat Obesity

The New York Times reports: The decision by the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday to approve the weight loss drug tirzepatide adds a potent new tool to the fast-growing arsenal of obesity drugs. The drug, which will go by the brand name Zepbound, contains the same compound in the sought-after diabetes drug Mounjaro. Many people have used Mounjaro off-label …

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NASA Launches Tracker For Saturday’s Solar Eclipse

Space.com reports: A spectacular annular solar eclipse will grace the Americas on Oct. 14 and you can track it down to the exact second with NASA’s 2023 Eclipse Explorer. The Eclipse Explorer’s interactive map details when and where the eclipse will be visible, including the path and duration of annularity (the areas from which the ‘ring of fire’ can be …

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Jordanian Govt To Charge Anti-Vaxxers For Claiming The Measles Vax Causes Death, Sterility, Homosexuality

The Jerusalem Post reports: In a totally unexpected move, the Jordanian government has been forced to act quickly against what it called two parties who spread false information, causing chaos among children and parents. The prosecutor general is looking into possible cybercrimes committed to dissuade the public from the acceptance of the new measles (MR) vaccine that will be rolled …

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Scientists: Antarctic Sea Ice Levels At Record Low

The Washington Post reports: Sea ice levels around Antarctica just registered a record low — and by a wide margin — as winter comes to a close, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). This significant milestone adds worry that Antarctic sea ice may be entering a state of decline brought on by climate change. “There is …

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Diagnostic Testing For Long COVID May Come Soon

NBC News reports: More than three years into the pandemic, the millions of people who have suffered from long Covid finally have scientific proof that their condition is real. Scientists have found clear differences in the blood of people with long Covid — a key first step in the development of a test to diagnose the illness. The findings, published …

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NASA Mission Returns With Asteroid Sample [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: A brown-and-white capsule that spent the last seven years swooping through the solar system — and sojourning at an asteroid — has finally come home. And it has brought a cosmic souvenir: a cache of space rock that scientists are hungry to get their hands on. On Sunday morning, those scientists waited eagerly as the …

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California Sues Over “Abortion Pill Reversal” Claims

Reuters reports: California on Thursday sued two anti-abortion organizations for telling patients that they can help reverse the effects of the abortion pill mifepristone, a potentially dangerous claim not supported by evidence. In a complaint filed in Alameda County Superior Court, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, accused Heartbeat International (HBI) and RealOptions Obria of violating a state law …

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Sunday: NASA Asteroid Lander To Return With Samples

ABC News reports: An asteroid NASA’s been tracking for nearly 25 years could impact Earth in the future, a new report reveals. First discovered in 1999, Bennu, the near-Earth asteroid, could possibly drift into the planet’s orbit and could hit the planet by September 2182, according to the OSIRIS-REx science team. Bennu passes near Earth every six years and has …

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COVID Infections Surpass 2020’s First Pandemic Peak

Fortune reports: U.S. COVID infections are hovering near levels of the pandemic’s first peak in 2020, and approaching the Delta peak of late 2021, according to wastewater surveillance and modeling by forecasters. Viral wastewater levels are not far behind all of the pandemic’s 2020 peaks except for one—the initial peak of March 2020, which they’ve already surpassed. And they lag …

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FDA Advisors: Popular Oral Decongestants Don’t Work

The Associated Press reports: The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is likely no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against the effectiveness of the ingredient found in …

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FDA Approves New Pfizer And Moderna Boosters

Via press release from the FDA: Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action approving and authorizing for emergency use updated COVID-19 vaccines formulated to more closely target currently circulating variants and to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Today’s actions relate to updated mRNA vaccines for 2023-2024 manufactured by ModernaTX Inc. and …

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Anti-Vaxxers Claim Vaccines Cause “Canine Autism”

IFL Science reports: A new study has found that dog owners in the US have become increasingly skeptical of vaccinating their canine companions. Researchers found that 30 percent of the 2,200 dog owners surveyed believed that canine vaccines were medically unnecessary and more than 20 percent believed that they were ineffective. Nearly 40 percent believed dog vaccinations to be unsafe, …

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Study: Single Mushroom Dose Greatly Eases Depression

Bloomberg News reports: A single dose of psilocybin can lead to a “rapid, robust, and sustained reduction” in symptoms of severe depression when taken in conjunction with psychotherapy, according to a new study. Patients across the US were given either a 25mg dose of the drug, found in magic mushrooms, or a B vitamin, before spending between seven and 10 …

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CDC Warns Of Spike In COVID-Related Hospitalizations

CBS News reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now forecasting an acceleration in new COVID-19 hospitalizations over the coming month, the agency said this week, replacing a previous projection that admissions would “remain stable or have an uncertain trend.” It comes as health officials are racing to study a new highly mutated COVID variant called BA.2.86, nicknamed …

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India Becomes Fourth Nation To Land On The Moon

NBC News reports: India made history on Wednesday by becoming the first country to reach the lunar south pole. NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon, intends to land its Artemis III mission in the south polar region in 2025. An uncrewed robotic moon lander, operated by India’s space agency and known as the Chandrayaan-3, touched …

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STUDY: Long COVID Symptoms Can Linger For Years

The Washington Post reports: People who endured even mild cases of covid-19 are at heightened risk two years later for lung problems, fatigue, diabetes and certain other health problems typical of long covid, according to a new study that casts fresh light on the virus’s true toll. The analysis, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, is believed to be …

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Russia’s Luna-25 Mission Crash Lands On The Moon

Reuters reports: Russia’s first moon mission in 47 years failed when its Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit, underscoring the post-Soviet decline of a once mighty space program. Russia’s state space corporation, Roskosmos, said it had lost contact with the craft at 11:57 GMT on Saturday after …

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