Science

Nine Red States Lead Annual CDC Report On STI Rates

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 …

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SpaceX Booster Explodes With Trump Watching [Video]

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 …

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Dozens Sickened, One Dead In Latest E Coli Outbreak

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 …

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CDC And WHO Warn That Measles Cases Are Surging

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 …

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Axios: Federal Science Agencies Brace For Brain Drain

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, …

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SpaceX Successfully Captures Booster Rocket [Video]

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 …

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CDC Identifies Drug-Resistant Mpox Strain In US

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 …

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NOAA Drops Scientist’s Ashes Into Hurricane’s Eye

Ars Technica reports: On Tuesday evening during a measurement flight, the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center dropped the ashes of Peter Dodge, a longtime radar scientist and hurricane hunter, in the eye of Hurricane Milton. The drop honored Dodge’s 44-year career and his contributions to radar meteorology and tropical cyclone research. As the powerful and dangerous storm bears down on Florida, …

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WHO Launches $135M Global Strategy To Fight Mpox

The World Health Organization writes: The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to stop outbreaks of human-to-human transmission of mpox through coordinated global, regional, and national efforts. This follows the declaration of a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO Director-General on 14 August. The plan covers the six-month period of …

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MA Towns On Alert Over Rare Mosquito-Borne Virus

ABC News reports: The threat of Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus has prompted several Massachusetts towns to implement targeted mosquito spraying to protect residents. According to the CDC, this virus, often called Triple E, is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito and can cause a “rare but severe illness.” Although the number of annual cases is low, the virus …

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NASA To Use SpaceX To Retrieve Stranded Astronauts

The Washington Post reports: NASA announced Saturday that it will use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to bring home two astronauts stuck in space for months, because the agency does not have confidence in Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule. The highly anticipated decision, one of the most consequential by the space agency in years, is a devastating blow to Boeing, which had argued …

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FDA Approves First At-Home Syphilis Blood Test

NBC News reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted marketing authorization to the first at-home, over-the-counter test to detect syphilis antibodies in human blood in a move that could help boost screening rates for the sexually transmitted disease. Developed by privately held NOWDiagnostics, the antibody test helps identify current or past infection and provides a result in about …

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WHO Declares New Mpox Strain Is Global Emergency

The New York Times reports: The rapid spread of mpox, formerly called monkeypox, in African countries constitutes a global health emergency, the World Health Organization declared on Wednesday. This is the second time in three years that the W.H.O. has designated an mpox epidemic as a global emergency. It previously did so in July 2022. That outbreak went on to …

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CDC Issues Alert On New Deadly Strain Of Mpox

Axios reports: The Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday alerted doctors to be on the lookout for a deadly new strain of mpox spreading through parts of Africa while U.S. officials committed $424 million to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is the epicenter of the outbreak. The so-called clade I virus is more virulent and deadly than the …

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Bloomberg Gives $600M To Black Medical Schools

The New York Times reports: Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire and former New York City mayor, is giving $600 million to the country’s four historically Black medical schools, which account for a significant percentage of all medical degrees awarded to Black doctors. Through his charitable organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mr. Bloomberg is giving $175 million each to Meharry Medical College in …

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FDA Approves Blood Test To Screen For Colon Cancer

NBC News reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Guardant Health’s blood test, called Shield, to screen for colon cancer. The test isn’t meant to replace colonoscopies, but is generating enthusiasm among doctors who say it has the potential to boost the dismal rate of screenings for the second-highest cause of cancer death in the United States. Shield …

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STUDY: Twice-Yearly Anti-HIV Shot Is 100% Effective

CNN reports: Two shots a year of a drug currently used to treat HIV infections were dramatically effective at preventing infections in a study among young women and adolescent girls in Africa. The twice-yearly injection of the drug lenacapavir can provide total protection against HIV infections, demonstrating 100% efficacy in Phase 3 trial data released by drugmaker Gilead and published …

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FDA Approves Eli Lilly’s Expensive Alzheimer’s Med

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug donanemab, expanding the limited treatment options for the mind-wasting disease in the U.S. The agency approved the treatment, which will be sold under the brand name Kisunla. Eli Lilly’s drug slowed Alzheimer’s progression by 35% over 18 months compared with a placebo, according to a late-stage …

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US To Pay Moderna $176M To Develop Bird Flu Vax

Ars Technica reports: The US government will pay Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA vaccine against a pandemic influenza—an award given as the highly pathogenic bird flu virus H5N1 continues to spread widely among US dairy cattle. The funding flows through BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, as part of a new Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) …

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NIH Study: Multivitamins Don’t Improve Longevity

ABC News reports: A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published Wednesday found that multivitamins won’t help extend your life, with researchers reporting, “multivitamin use to improve longevity is not supported.” The study analyzed data from nearly 400,000 adults over 20 years. Participants had a median age of 61.5 years old and were generally healthy, with no history …

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