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Category: health – Page 219

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, PhD — Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head — World Health Organization

Preparedness For Emerging Diseases & Zoonoses — Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head, World Health Organization, (WHO)

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Ph.D., (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/m.vankerkhove) is an infectious disease epidemiologist who serves as the technical lead for the COVID-19 response at the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/en/), where she develops guidance, training programs, and information products for the continuously evolving state of the pandemic, as well serving as the Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses Unit Head.

Dr. Van Kerkhove began her journey in global health given her interest in viruses and how they infect and impact both humans and animals. She received her undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Cornell University, her master’s degree in epidemiology from Stanford University, and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine where she authored her PhD on pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in Cambodia.

Following her PhD, Dr. Van Kerkhove was a postdoctoral researcher with the WHO and acted as a liaison for the Imperial College London’s Medical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis.

Dr. Van Kerkhove continued working with the WHO and prior to COVID-19, was serving as the MERS-CoV Technical Lead in addition to being the Unit Head for the Emerging Disease and Zoonoses Unit. Her focus in these areas includes developing prevention and control programs around high threat respiratory pathogens.

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Blackouts possible this summer due to heat and extreme weather, officials warn

We should really be looking to nuclear power FAR more than we have been. Until fusion finally comes of age anyway. It’s one of the most annoyingly counterproductive issue with many environmentalists I tend to have.

Extreme temperatures and ongoing drought could cause the power grid to buckle across vast areas of the country this summer, potentially leading to electricity shortages and blackouts, a US power grid regulator said Wednesday.

NERC, a regulating authority that oversees the health of the nation’s electrical infrastructure, says in its 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment that extreme temperatures and ongoing drought could cause the power grid to buckle. High temperatures, the agency warns, will cause the demand for electricity to rise. Meanwhile, drought conditions will lower the amount of power available to meet that demand.

“Industry prepares its equipment and operators for challenging summer conditions. Persistent, extreme drought and its accompanying weather patterns, however, are out of the ordinary and tend to create extra stresses on electricity supply and demand,” said Mark Olson, NERC’s manager of Reliability Assessments.

1st monkeypox case in US this year reported in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts resident has tested positive for monkeypox, health officials confirmed Wednesday, making it the first case of the rare virus detected in the United States this year.

According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the patient is an adult male who recently traveled to Canada. The department completed initial testing Tuesday and was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition,” MDPH stated in a press release. “DPH is working closely with the CDC, relevant local boards of health, and the patient’s health care providers to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient while he was infectious.”

Almost as contagious as measles: Coronavirus spins out worrisome new mutations

The relentless evolution of the coronavirus, which has spawned new variants to fuel fresh surges of disease every four to six months, could in the not-distant future propel the virus to overtake measles as the most contagious of all known infections.

Increasing infectiousness does not necessarily make the virus deadlier, but it could make it harder to control, and leave communities vulnerable to the repeated waves of illness that have defined the pandemic.

The variants now dominating around the world may be five to 10 times more infectious than the original virus that sparked the pandemic in China in late 2019, health experts believe. Lately each variant has outpaced its parent — omicron, with its massive evolutionary jump, was about three times more infectious than delta. Its subvariants — BA.2 and BA.2.12.1, which are driving the latest surge in the Bay Area — are each more infectious still, by 20% to 30%.

First 2022 US case of Monkeypox confirmed

Massachusetts health officials on Wednesday confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male who health officials said recently traveled to Canada.

The Department of Public Health said monkeypox is a rare but potentially serious viral illness that typically begins with flu-like symptoms and swelling of the lymph nodes. It progresses to a rash on the face and body, with most infections lasting two to four weeks.

U.S. health officials say a third of people live in areas with so much virus they should consider masks indoors

Len RosenFalcon 9 has been a spectacular success for SpaceX. The purpose of the Falcon Heavy is likely to be superseded by Starship which likely means the Heavy will be discontinued sooner than later.

Eric KlienAuthor.

Len Rosen Actually, Starship will rapidly grab all of the Falcon 9 payloads, except for humans which will be much slower to transition. In fact, it looks like the first orbital Starship launch will try to launch some Starlink satellites.

View 1 more reply.

Len Rosen shared a link.

No one should think we are over COVID.

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New astronauts have changes in their brains after their first long-duration mission

The findings could have implications for long-duration space missions.

The researchers found that the total PVS volume of novice astronauts increased after their trips to space. The PVS of experienced astronauts, by contrast, did not show this growth — in fact, their total PVS volume actually decreased. This may indicate that their brains “reached some kind of homeostasis,” Piantino said in a statement. In other words, their brains may have adjusted more to microgravity after previous spaceflight.

In fact, the researchers found that the total PVS volume of experienced astronauts before their current flight tended to be higher, and that this baseline volume correlated with previous amount of time spent in space. Though neither of these trends were statistically significant, meaning they could have happened by chance, they fit with previous research suggesting that changes in the brains of astronauts depend on the total time spent in space and the frequency of space missions.

Although PVS volume gradually increases as people age, the members of the Earth-based control group did not experience the kind of PVS changes that the novice astronauts showed. The PVS are part of the glymphatic system, which clears out waste from the brain, mostly during sleep. Other health conditions — such as dementia and hydrocephalus, or the buildup of too much fluid in the brain’s ventricles — can affect these spaces. The results of the new study may help to address the effects on these brain structures that result from health conditions on Earth.

Organic Transistors Explained. Printing CPUs at Home. What is Smart Skin

Slow processing… but good for display devices, interacting with other systems, bio-sensors/health monitoring, etc.

In this video I explain Organic Flexible CPUs and Organic Transistors. What is the-state-of-the-art of Organic Electronics? If this technology can replace Silicon Chips or not?
#CPU #OrganicCPU #FlexibleCPU

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WATCH NEXT:

➞ Silicon Quantum Computer from Intel: [https://youtu.be/j9eYQ_ggqJk](https://youtu.be/j9eYQ_ggqJk)
➞ New WoW Processor explained: [https://youtu.be/-NeRIrRSFs4](https://youtu.be/-NeRIrRSFs4)
➞ DOJO AI Accelerator: [https://youtu.be/QurtwJdb5Ew](https://youtu.be/QurtwJdb5Ew)

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How Soul Machines is making new-gen avatars life-like

In the not-too-distant future, many of us may routinely use 3D headsets to interact in the metaverse with virtual iterations of companies, friends, and life-like company assistants. These may include Lily from AT&T, Flo from Progressive, Jake from State Farm, and the Swami from CarShield. We’ll also be interacting with new friends like Nestlé‘s Cookie Coach, Ruth, the World Health Organization’s Digital Health worker Florence, and many others.

Creating digital characters for virtual reality apps and in ecommerce is a fast-rising new segment of IT. San Francisco-based Soul Machines, a company that is rooted in both the animation and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, is jumping at the opportunity to create animated digital avatars to bolster interactions in the metaverse. Customers are much more likely to buy something when a familiar face — digital or human — is involved.

Investors, understandably, are hot on the idea. This week, the 6-year-old company revealed an infusion of series B financing ($70 million) led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2, bringing the company’s total funding to $135 million to date.