Science

Science.org reports: Despite decades of progress, HIV still infects more than 1 million people a year, and a vaccine remains stubbornly out of reach. But this year the world got a glimpse of what might be the next best thing: an injectable drug that protects people for 6 months with each shot. A large efficacy trial in African adolescent girls …

The New York Times reports: Twenty big cats, including a half-Bengal tiger and four cougars, died between late November and mid-December at a sanctuary in Washington State after becoming infected with bird flu, according to the facility’s director. “We’ve never had anything like it; they usually die basically of old age,” said Mark Mathews, the founder and director of the …

Via press release from the state of Oregon: The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is alerting pet owners that samples of Northwest Naturals brand 2lb Turkey Recipe raw & frozen pet food tested positive for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. Testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) …

USA Today reports: The Food and Drug Administration has classified a recall of eggs sold at Costco caused by potential salmonella contamination as the highest risk level for infection. The voluntary recall last month was of 108,000 cartons of Handsome Brook Farms eggs sold under the Kirkland Signature Organic Pasture Raised label. The FDA defines a Class I recall as …

NBC News reports: Whooping cough cases in the U.S. have reached the highest annual total in a decade, according to data from the CDC. As of mid-September, about 14,500 cases had been recorded nationwide since the beginning of the year. That number climbed to more than 32,000 as of Dec. 14, meaning as many cases have been tallied in the …

NBC News reports: NASA is preparing to “taste” the sun on Christmas Eve. The agency’s Parker Solar Probe is days away from making its closest-ever approach to the sun on Tuesday, swooping nearer to our star than any other human-made object in history. The spacecraft, which is about the size of a small car, is set to dive within 3.86 …

The New York Times reports: A fast-growing outbreak of avian flu has upended California’s dairy industry, the nation’s largest producer of milk, infecting most of the state’s herds and putting thousands of farmworkers at risk for contracting the virus. In just about four months, cows in 645 dairies in California have tested positive for H5N1, even as many ranchers have …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Wednesday in response to rising cases of bird flu, the same day the U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed a person in Louisiana had been hospitalized with a ‘‘severe’’ case of the disease. “This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility …

Via press release from the CDC: A patient has been hospitalized with a severe case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”) infection in Louisiana. This marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States. The case was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday, December 13. Since …

“There is not a vaccine that Kennedy thinks is safe or effective. These folks don’t believe the polio vaccine actually stopped polio. It’s true! They think it is a combination of better sewage, of refrigeration. They are polio truthers. That is what they believe. Robert F. Kennedy has told me this. And so, absolutely, they wanna get rid of all …

Detroit’s ABC affiliate reports: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has seen over 1,500 cases of whooping cough this year. That’s more than 13 times what they saw in 2023, when the state saw 110 cases. “Pertussis cases in general are up across the country,” said Ryan Malosh, director of the Division of Immunizations at the Michigan Department …

The New York Times reports: More than 75 Nobel Prize winners have signed a letter urging senators not to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The letter, obtained by The New York Times, marks the first time in recent memory that Nobel laureates have banded together against …

The Independent reports: Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and economist at Stanford, reportedly wants to target so called “cancel culture” at a number of top progressive universities, according to The Wall Street Journal. Those with knowledge of Bhattacharya’s thinking told the newspaper that he’s considering linking the doling out of billions …

Politico reports: The raw milk brand favored by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a recall in California over safety concerns just as the CEO is poised to join the Trump administration at the behest of the former independent presidential candidate. Mark McAfee, CEO of Raw Farm, says he was asked by Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan to apply for …

The New York Times reports: Mr. Trump’s pick for N.I.H. director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the Stanford professor who gained notoriety during the pandemic for supporting the widely maligned idea that the coronavirus should be left to spread freely among healthy Americans, has called for a dramatic restructuring of the N.I.H., which he has said is led by small-minded bureaucrats. Dr. …

Via press release from NASA: Just what you need for the holidays… the coziness of a crackling and roaring rocket engine! Technically, this fireplace packs the heat of FOUR RS-25 rocket engines and a pair of solid rocket boosters – just enough to get you to the Moon. (And get through the holidays with your in-laws.) Video description: A stock …

The Associated Press reports: People with HIV who need a kidney or liver transplant will be able to receive an organ from a donor with HIV under a new rule announced Tuesday by U.S. health officials. Previously, such transplants could be done only as part of research studies. The new rule, which takes effect Wednesday, is expected to shorten the …

The Hill reports: Yu Shang Food, Inc. is recalling more than 70,000 pounds of its ready-to-eat meat and poultry products because of a listeria outbreak that has sickened at least 11 people, including one baby who subsequently died. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said it discovered the problem on Oct. 21, 2024, during routine testing …

CNN reports: The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge from major tobacco companies to the FDA’s requirement that they place graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements. The FDA issued a rule in 2020 that requires health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements, occupying the top 50% of the area on the front and back …

NPR reports: Foreign-born workers account for about half of the doctoral-level scientists and engineers working in the U.S. Many were initially hired under H-1B visas, which are granted to as many as 85,000 highly skilled specialists each year, allowing them to work in the U.S. for up to six years. But the incoming Trump administration has signaled that it will …