Science

Indiana Public Media reports: Another commercial egg producer in Indiana has been hit with the bird flu. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health announced Monday that 912,000 egg-laying hens have been affected and are under quarantine in Jay County. The farm under quarantine has not been revealed publicly. Since the start of the year, it’s the fourth flock in Jay …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Infectious disease specialists throughout Georgia have worked rapidly over the past few weeks to respond to a measles outbreak in the metro Atlanta area, according to the Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Public Health Departments. At the Gwinnett County Board of Health meeting Monday, epidemiology program manager Keisha Francis-Christian provided more information about how local health agencies …

Spectrum News reports: DSHS reported eight of the cases are school-aged children and two are children under the age of 5. Health officials say seven of the patients have been hospitalized. According to data from the state, Gaines County has one of the highest percentages of vaccine exempt students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The South Plains Public Health District …

Axios reports: The National Institutes of Health sent shockwaves through academic research circles late Friday, saying it will dramatically cut the rate it pays for universities’ administration and overhead costs to save the government more than $4 billion. The reductions will particularly hit elite institutions including Harvard, Yale and Johns Hopkins and fulfill a long-sought conservative goal that was included …

The New York Times reports: Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished. The data appear to have been mistakenly posted but includes crucial information …

The New York Times reports: Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a new form of bird flu that is distinct from the version that has been spreading through herds over the last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday. The finding indicates that the virus, known as H5N1, has spilled from birds into cows at least …

The Washington Post reports: At the National Science Foundation, staff have been combing through thousands of active science research projects, alongside a list of keywords, to determine if they include activities that violate executive orders President Donald Trump issued in his first week in office. The words triggering NSF reviews provide a picture of the sievelike net being cast over …

Axios reports: Dozens of newly confirmed cases of avian influenza in wild birds and the first verified U.S. case of a new strain of the virus are raising concern the bird flu crisis may be entering a troubling new phase. The outbreak is intensifying as the Trump administration maintains a pause on most external federal health agency communications, including publication …

The Associated Press reports: A newly discovered asteroid has a tiny chance of smacking Earth in 2032, space agency officials said Wednesday. Scientists put the odds of a strike at slightly more than 1%. “We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss,” said Paul Chodas, director of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object …

CBS News reports: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took offline recommendations on how doctors should treat sexually transmitted infections and vaccinate adults Friday, as part of a sweeping purge of all mentions of “gender” from federal websites ordered by the Trump administration this week. “Doctors in every community in America rely on these treatment guidelines to know what …

Politico Europe reports: Bird flu poses an increasing pandemic threat as it becomes more adaptive, jumping to humans, pets and zoo animals, Europe’s disease and food agencies warned on Wednesday. They are urging countries to step up their surveillance and containment measures to prevent the virus from continuing to evolve and become more dangerous to people. “In 2024, avian influenza …

CNN reports: Seventy-eight years ago, scientists created a unique sort of timepiece — named the Doomsday Clock — as a symbolic attempt to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world. On Tuesday, the clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest the world has ever been to that marker, according to the Bulletin of the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Republicans are filing bills which aim to claw back vaccine requirements. There is even a House joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would preserve Texans’ right to refuse a vaccination. The proposal is among more than 20 bills endorsed by Texans For Vaccine Choice that have been filed, most of them before …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded approval for Johnson & Johnson’s nasal spray, Spravato, to allow it to be used as a standalone treatment for patients with severe depression, the company said on Tuesday. The ketamine-derived drug was first approved in 2019 to be used in combination with antidepressants, and later for patients experiencing suicidal thoughts or …

The Verge reports: Falling debris from the SpaceX Starship explosion yesterday created what looked like a meteor shower, or a colorful fireworks show based on videos shared by people in the area, but it also delayed flights. Eight and a half minutes after launch yesterday, the upper stage of the SpaceX Starship “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” following the separation …

The New York Times reports: Alcohol is a leading preventable cause of cancer, and alcoholic beverages should carry a warning label as packs of cigarettes do, the U.S. surgeon general said on Friday. It is the latest salvo in a fierce debate about the risks and benefits of moderate drinking as the influential U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans are about …

ABC News reports: Bags of ready-to-eat broccoli florets sold in 20 states have been recalled over concerns they may be contaminated with listeria. Braga Fresh Foods has voluntarily recalled one lot of its 12-ounce bags of Marketside Broccoli Florets, according to a recall notice shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 31. Braga Fresh Foods, a California-based …

CNN reports: In the week ending December 21, there was nearly three times as much Covid-19 circulating in the US than there was during the week ending December 7, CDC data shows. This surge happened in all regions of the country, but there has been a particularly sharp uptick in the Midwest, where Covid-19 levels are nearly twice as high …

The Associated Press reports: Cases of a wretched stomach bug are surging in parts of the United States this winter, according to government data. The most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Dec. 5. A norovirus infection is characterized by sudden vomiting and …

Reuters reports: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property. The CDC said the patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part …