Science

The Texas Tribune reports: An outbreak of measles in West Texas has grown to 58 cases, including four patients who said they were vaccinated against the disease. Ten more cases were added to the count Tuesday, including for the first time the four who self-reported they were vaccinated against the disease, according to the agency’s latest update. Health investigators are …

CNN reports:  The US Department of Agriculture last week issued a conditional license for an avian flu vaccine for use in chickens, amid an outbreak ravaging poultry flocks, contributing to the sky-high price of eggs. Zoetis, the manufacturer behind the vaccine, announced the conditional approval. “We’ve been working with the administration and with Congress, and we’re very excited today to get …

NBC News reports: As avian flu drives egg prices to record levels and increasingly poses a risk to humans, moves by the White House to cut spending and restrict communications have hobbled public health officials’ response, with the new administration yet to outline a clear strategy on how it plans to stem the spread of the virus. State and local …

The Washington Post reports: A report from the CDC published Thursday shows some veterinarians who provide care for cattle were unknowingly infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus last year. The report on the cattle veterinarians found that a small number who had been infected did not knowingly work with infected dairy herds or animals. The CDC tested the blood …

Axios reports: At least two dozen cases of measles have been reported in a single county in Texas over the past two weeks, in the latest sign the disease is rebounding amid falling vaccination rates. Public health experts say the spread of the highly contagious and potentially life-threatening disease is preventable, noting cases have surged in areas with high vaccination …

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 …