Newsletter

Gonorrhoea designated “priority pathogen” following increase in antibiotic resistance; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Gonorrhoea is an old affliction. The book of Leviticus mentions a contagious condition involving the continuous emission of semen and a painful erection. Only 2,500 years later, in the mid-20th century, did the discovery of antibiotics bring relief.  But not, perhaps, for long. […]

Gonorrhoea designated “priority pathogen” following increase in antibiotic resistance; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Malaria vaccine resulted in 13% drop in deaths; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi In a major analysis in Africa, the first vaccine approved to fight malaria cut deaths among young children by 13% over nearly 4 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week. Data from a pilot rollout of the vaccine, called

Malaria vaccine resulted in 13% drop in deaths; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Project NextGen unveils contracts for vaccine development support; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Six months after announcing the $5 billion Project NextGen to develop treatments and vaccines that can “stay ahead of COVID-19,” the U.S. government has awarded 20 contracts that reveal what much of that sum will support. The Department of Health and

Project NextGen unveils contracts for vaccine development support; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Haemoglobin: more than just blood? The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi Blood is red because it’s brimming with the oxygen-toting protein haemoglobin, but scientists have long wondered whether cells outside of the bloodstream depend on this protein as well. Now, a team of researchers from China has demonstrated that cartilage-making cells called

Haemoglobin: more than just blood? The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Strain of flu eradicated during pandemic? The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  An influenza virus variant that circulated widely before the COVID-19 pandemic has disappeared, leading an expert group that advises the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend last week that it no longer be included in flu vaccines. https://www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-more-success-fusion-medical-tests-under-scrutiny-and-grizzly-reintroduction?  The strain, known

Strain of flu eradicated during pandemic? The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Nobel Prize awarded for COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2023/press-release/  The discoveries by the two

Nobel Prize awarded for COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

Could bats hold the secrets to preventing cancer? The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  A new paper in Genome Biology and Evolution, published by Oxford University Press, shows that rapid evolution in bats may account for the animals’ extraordinary ability to both host and survive infections as well as avoid cancer.  https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1001498#  Bats are exceptional among mammals

Could bats hold the secrets to preventing cancer? The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

New monovalent COVID-19 vaccines approved in US; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  After the US Food and Drug Administration authorized new monovalent COVID vaccines on early last week, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices backed the decision a day later with a nearly unanimous vote in favour of universal XBB-containing

New monovalent COVID-19 vaccines approved in US; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

USAID slashes funding for scheme identifying zoonotic diseases; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has prematurely ended a $125 million program aimed at identifying viruses that might harm humans in animals. Many see this as a fallout from the concern that researchers studying bat viruses may have triggered

USAID slashes funding for scheme identifying zoonotic diseases; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »

US to negotiate on prices for a number of prescription drugs; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its first list of 10 prescription drugs whose prices will be open for negotiation in 2023 and 2024. Any settled price will become effective in 2026. The HHS will be

US to negotiate on prices for a number of prescription drugs; The latest health stories from around the world Read More »