Science

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 …

Via press release from the CDC: In 2023, over 2.4 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia were diagnosed and reported. This includes over 209,000 cases of syphilis, over 600,000 cases of gonorrhea, and over 1.6 million cases of chlamydia. Importantly, the combined count includes 3,882 cases of congenital syphilis, including 279 congenital syphilis stillbirths and neonatal/infant deaths. As in …

The New York Times reports: SpaceX’s latest test flight of its Starship vehicle got off to a sobering start as the company was unable to recover the enormous booster stage of the rocket, the most powerful ever built. Instead of snapping back into its original place on the tower it lifted off from at a South Texas site, as it …

Via press release from the CDC: CDC and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O121 infections linked to multiple brands of recalled organic whole bagged carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms. On November 16, 2024, Grimmway Farms recalled multiples sizes and brands of bagged organic baby and whole carrots. These …

CNN reports: Global measles cases surged by more than 20% to an estimated 10.3 million last year, the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. About 107,500 people, mostly young children, died — an “unacceptable” death toll from a disease that’s preventable through vaccination, the health groups said. The increase in cases is …

Axios reports: Public health efforts were weakened by misinformation and distrust during the COVID pandemic, but a brain drain of the nation’s top scientific minds could hobble research and dissolve institutional knowledge at agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Less than a week after the election, …

ABC News reports: SpaceX pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket on Sunday, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with mechanical arms. A jubilant Elon Musk called it “science fiction without the fiction part.” At the flight director’s command, the first-stage booster flew back to the launch pad where it had blasted …

Reuters reports: U.S. health officials have identified a cluster of cases caused by an mpox variant that are resistant to Siga Technologies’antiviral tecovirimat, branded as TPOXX, in five U.S. states, federal and state researchers reported on Thursday. The cases involved a total of 18 individuals infected with clade II mpox between Oct. 6, 2023, and Feb. 15, 2024, who had …