Author name: chris

Study finds clams produce their own antibiotics

Natural antibiotics typically come from bacteria or molds. But some clams make their own erythromycin, a study has found—the first animals reported to possess this ability. The spotted hard clam (Meretrix petechialis) has a mucus-covered outer lip that contains specialized antibiotic-producing cells, according to an international research team. These may protect the clams, which lack […]

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Some Chinese cities ease COVID-19 measures

The giant Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Chongqing announced an easing of COVID curbs last Wednesday, a day after demonstrators in southern Guangzhou clashed with police amid a string of protests against the world’s toughest coronavirus restrictions. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/984819?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4939977&faf=1 The demonstrations, which spread over the weekend to Shanghai, Beijing and elsewhere, have become a show of

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Child immunisation rate drops globally following COVID-19

www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/mumbai-measles-outbreak-due-to-low-vaccination-coverage/article66185257.ece?utm_source=eveningwrap&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter&pnespid=vLBmBnhCa70V2qfKrWy4Q5KKtQK_X8Fxffrm3rVzqgFmOjYiQAAzsWGfKWs82Wh0Ehz6yF5Y One of the biggest fallouts of the pandemic globally has been the low routine immunisation coverage of children. As per WHO data of November 23, 2022, nearly 40 million children globally had missed a measles vaccine dose last year. As a result, there were an estimated nine million measles cases and 1,28,000 deaths in

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World Bank unveils new funding mechanism for prevention of future pandemics

The World Bank has a new funding mechanism to help low- and middle-income countries beef up their abilities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-science-moonshot-uc-student-strike-and-x-ray-boost? Launched last week at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit, a forum convened by the world’s major developed and emerging economies, the Pandemic Fund already has more

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Mass protests against China’s COVID lockdowns

Protests simmered in Shanghai early on Sunday, as residents in several Chinese cities, many of them angered by a deadly fire in the country’s far west, pushed back against heavy COVID-19 curbs nearly three years into the pandemic. www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-building-fire-that-killed-10-sparks-questions-on-zero-covid-policy-3556802 A fire on Thursday that killed 10 people in a high-rise building in Urumqi, capital of

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Cancer now accounts for nearly one in six deaths

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and accounts for nearly one in six deaths. The good news before COVID-19 was that countries across the world, even in low-income regions, had improved their diagnosis and treatment capability, and cancer survival outcomes were improving. www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/18/covid-epidemic-cancer-diagnosis-pandemic-europe? But the pandemic has reversed these gains. A report from

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Pharma companies potentially mandated to disclose prices on emergency treatments

Pharmaceutical companies could be made to disclose prices and deals agreed for any products they make to fight future global health emergencies, under new rules that would govern a World Health Organization (WHO)-backed pandemic accord reviewed by Reuters. A draft version of the WHO accord, which is being negotiated by the UN health agency’s 194

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Research in Thailand develops long shelf life COVID-19 vaccine

A team of researchers affiliated with several entities in Thailand, working with two colleagues from the US and two from Canada, has developed an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine that can be safely refrigerated for up to three months before use. The team has named it ChulaCov19. In their paper published in the journal Nature Microbiology, the

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Beijing locks down district of 3.5 million residents

Beijing told the 3.5m residents of its most populous district to stay at home from Monday, in a bid to contain rising COVID-19 infections. China’s capital reported 516 new infections as of 3pm on Sunday, as well as the death of an 87-year-old man, China’s first known COVID fatality since 26 May. The government recently

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