Science

CDC Warns Of New “Highly-Mutated” COVID Variant

CBS News reports: The CDC announced Thursday it is tracking a recently discovered COVID-19 strain, BA.2.86, after a case of the highly-mutated variant was discovered in Michigan. “Today we are more prepared than ever to detect and respond to changes in the COVID-19 virus. Scientists are working now to understand more about the newly identified lineage in these cases and …

Read More »

Updated COVID Vaccine To Be Available Next Month

Reuters reports: A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and analysts say it is likely to be coolly received even as hospitalizations from “Eris”, a variant of the Omicron form of the coronavirus, rise around the country. Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. …

Read More »

Red Cross Lifts Ban On Blood Donations By Gay Men

Axios reports: More gay and bisexual men will be able to donate blood beginning Monday as the Red Cross starts implementing a historic rule change approved by federal authorities earlier this year. It helps close the chapter on the Food and Drug Administration’s blood donor restrictions for men who have sex with men, which had been denounced as discriminatory by …

Read More »

CDC Issues Warning On Rise In Florida Leprosy Cases

The Hill reports: Health officials say that cases of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, are surging in Central Florida. In a news release Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Central Florida has accounted for 81 percent of reported cases in the state and almost one-fifth of reported cases nationwide. Authorities said that several cases …

Read More »

NASA To Launch Ad-Free, No-Cost Streaming Service

TechCrunch reports: NASA is getting in on the “+” streaming action. The government agency announced that it’s going to launch a new streaming service later this year called NASA+. The ad-free, no-cost streaming service will include live coverage of future launches, documentaries and new original series that will be exclusively available on the platform. NASA+ will be available via the …

Read More »

CDC To Issue Guidance On Preventive Med For STDs

The Washington Post reports: Public health officials are deploying a powerful new weapon in the war against rising sexually transmitted infections: a common antibiotic that works as a morning-after pill. It is the latest advancement as the sexual health field shifts to preventive medicine — not just condoms, abstinence and tests — as the best hope for quashing the pathogens …

Read More »

MA May End Religious Vax Exemptions For Students

Axios reports: Beacon Hill is wading into the tumultuous territory of school vaccine requirements as lawmakers vet proposals to tighten school precautions against future outbreaks. The Public Health Committee meets Wednesday to consider a handful of vaccine bills, including legislation to completely eliminate the state’s religious exemption option and to standardize the student vaccine exemption system. Vaccine mandates for children …

Read More »

Voice Study: Bisexual Men Sound The Most Masculine

Science news outlet PsyPost reports: Research published in the Journal of Sex Research aimed to determine whether listeners could detect if a man is bisexual from his voice alone. The findings indicate that people are not able to determine if a man identifies as bisexual based on his voice alone. Additionally, when people listened to the voices of gay, straight, …

Read More »

WHO Alert: Bird Flu Is Killing House Cats Across Poland

Bloomberg News reports: An unusual number of cats are dying across Poland, and authorities found more than half of those tested harbored the worrisome strain of bird flu known as H5N1, the World Health Organization said. Of 47 samples tested — including one wild feline in captivity — 29 were positive for the H5N1 flu, marking the first report of …

Read More »

India Celebrates Successful Launch Of Moon Mission

The New York Times reports: India is on its way back to the moon after a rocket lifted off from Sriharikota, a launch site off the country’s East Coast, on Friday afternoon local time. The mission, Chandrayaan-3, is largely a do-over after the country’s first attempt at putting a robotic spacecraft on the surface of the moon nearly four years …

Read More »

Webb Telescope Offers Stunning Image On Anniversary

Via press release from NASA: From our cosmic backyard in the solar system to distant galaxies near the dawn of time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered on its promise of revealing the universe like never before in its first year of science operations. To celebrate the completion of a successful first year, NASA has released Webb’s image of …

Read More »

Robots Hold Press Conference, Promise Not To Rise Up

Reuters reports: Robots presented at an AI forum said on Friday they expected to increase in number and help solve global problems, and would not steal humans’ jobs or rebel against us. The nine humanoid robots gathered at the ‘AI for Good’ conference in Geneva, where organisers are seeking to make the case for artificial intelligence and the robots it …

Read More »

REVIEW: Lab-Grown Chicken Meat Tastes Like Chicken

The Associated Press reports: When I told friends and family I was reporting on the first chicken meat grown from animal cells, their first comment was “Eww.” Their second comment was: “How does it taste?” The short answer (you’ve probably heard this sentence before in other contexts): Tastes like chicken. The longer answer, which folds in the “Eww” response, is …

Read More »

CDC Warning: US Sees First Malaria Cases In 20 Years

From the Centers for Disease Control: CDC is collaborating with two U.S. state health departments with ongoing investigations of locally acquired mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium vivax malaria cases. There is no evidence to suggest the cases in the two states (Florida and Texas) are related. In Florida, four cases within close geographic proximity have been identified, and active surveillance for additional cases …

Read More »

FDA Issues Guidance For Psychedelic Drug Trials

Axios reports: Federal regulators are laying out guidance for psychedelic drug trials for the first time, in a move that could encourage the mainstreaming of substances like magic mushrooms and LSD as behavioral health treatments. Psychedelics are turning into a multi-billion industry and gaining widespread acceptance after decades of concerns about recreational use of the products — and the high …

Read More »

Tech Tycoon Bailed As Sub Passenger Over Safety

The Sun reports: Chris Brown dropped out after becoming concerned by the quality of technology and materials used by OceanGate Expeditions. Multi-millionaire digital marketing tycoon Chris paid a deposit to join the dive at the same time as billionaire pal Hamish Harding — who is one of those missing. Chris said he was concerned to learn that the craft was …

Read More »

Underwater Noises Heard In Area Of Missing Sub

CNN reports: Crews searching for the Titan submersible heard banging sounds every 30 minutes Tuesday, according to an internal government memo update on the search. Four hours later, after additional sonar devices were deployed, banging was still heard, the memo said. It was unclear when the banging was heard Tuesday or for how long, based on the memo. A subsequent …

Read More »

Billionaire In Missing Sub Also Flew On Bezos Rocket

The BBC reports: The US Coast Guard has sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft to search for the submersible on the surface of the water, and has been joined by a Canadian C-130, and a P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability. Sonar buoys are also being deployed in the area. Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard said …

Read More »

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Sends “Postcard” From Mars

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reports: After completing a major software update in April, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover took a last look at “Marker Band Valley” before leaving it behind, capturing a “postcard” of the scene. The postcard is an artistic interpretation of the landscape, with color added over two black-and-white panoramas captured by Curiosity’s navigation cameras. The views were taken …

Read More »

NIH Begins Trial On mRNA-Based Universal Flu Vaccine

CNBC reports: Patients are now enrolling in an early stage clinical trial to test a universal flu vaccine based on messenger RNA technology, the National Institutes of Health announced Monday. Scientists hope the vaccine will protect against a wide variety of flu strains and provide long-term immunity so people do not have to receive a shot every year. Messenger RNA, …

Read More »