respiratory

Wolbachia trials show promising results for reducing Dengue; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views  and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi  Looking at the year ahead in 2024, a strategy of releasing lab-modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of dengue fever is poised to scale up after a series of successes. The Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, developed and tested by the non-profit World Mosquito Program […]

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Genetic editing, the answer to bad cholesterol? The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi A technique for precisely rewriting the genetic code directly in the body has slashed “bad” cholesterol levels—possibly for life—in three people prone to dangerously high levels of the artery-clogging fat. The feat relied on a blood infusion of a so-called base

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RSV

FDA approves RSV maternal vaccine; 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. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a vaccine given to pregnant women to protect babies from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The virus causes severe lung infections that are the leading cause of U.S. infant hospitalizations. https://www.science.org/content/article/rsv-vaccine-scientific-advisory-panels-and-biodiversity-hot-spot-risk?   Pregnant people

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UK COVID-19 surveillance “flying blind”; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The UK is nearly “flying blind” when it comes to COVID this autumn, experts have said, amid an increase in cases. While the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to track some metrics of COVID, including hospitalization numbers, many of the

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RSV

FDA approves new RSV vaccine; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi A panel advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week recommended that it approve a vaccine given to pregnant people to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause severe lung infections. https://www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-china-s-ethics-oversight-arpa-h-s-new-science-and-210-million-protein? The vote was unanimous

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WHO declares end to global mpox emergency; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The World Health Organization (WHO) ended the global health emergency for mpox, on 11 May, 10 months after it was declared, as cases have fallen dramatically in Europe and the Americas. www.science.org/content/article/who-ends-mpox-emergency? Caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), the painful and

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Omicron sub-variant now sweeping India; The latest health stories from around the world

An Omicron sub-variant that is spreading rapidly in India and has been detected in several European countries may be more effective than other coronavirus strains at overcoming immunity provided by prior infection and vaccines. BA.2.75, which has been nicknamed Centaurus, appeared to have mutated in a way that could indicate “major immune escape”, said the

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New COVID-19 variant emerges; the latest health stories from around the world

As we stagger towards 2022, the words of that old Carpenters’ song come back suddenly: “Its yesterday once more!” Unlike that song, this is a nightmare, not nostalgia. COVID-19 devastated the world back in 2020 when vaccines were a faint glimmer at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel. The vaccines arrived at the threshold

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Pandemic preparedness: better late than never

Billion-dollar plan  Almost as if to make up for the lost Trump year during the pandemic, the White House has put together an ambitious new plan with a $65.3 billion price tag that could transform the way the United States responds to pandemics by vastly accelerating vaccine development, testing, and production. But is the plan big enough?  Announced on 03 September, the scheme hopes to launch with

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