The Microsoft founder will double the amount of money he gives away and close the Gates Foundation earlier than planned.
Category: health – Page 28
Bird flu in cats points to risk of another pandemic
It’s spring, the birds are migrating and bird flu (H5N1) is rapidly evolving into the possibility of a human pandemic. Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health have published a comprehensive review documenting research on bird flu in cats and calling for urgent surveillance of cats to help avoid human-to-human transmission.
The work is published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
“The virus has evolved, and the way that it jumps between species—from birds to cats, and now between cows and cats, cats and humans—is very concerning. As summer approaches, we are anticipating cases on farms and in the wild to rise again,” says lead and senior author Dr. Kristen Coleman, assistant professor in UMD School of Public Health’s Department of Global, Environmental and Occupational Health and affiliate professor in UMD’s Department of Veterinary Medicine.
Multiple studies show that children face elevated health risks after COVID infection
Long COVID can result in increased risk for a variety of serious health problems for young people, including those affecting the kidney, gut, and cardiovascular system, according to a group of new studies led by investigators at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
“While most public attention has focused on the acute phase of COVID-19, our findings reveal children face significant long-term health risks that clinicians need to monitor,” said senior author Yong Chen, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology. The studies were conducted under the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, a special project including more than two dozen health care institutions.
These medical centers pooled de-identified data from electronic health records dating back to the start of the COVID pandemic.
Soundwave recycling technology turns ‘forever chemicals’ into renewable resources
A new technique that uses soundwaves to separate materials for recycling could help prevent potentially harmful chemicals leaching into the environment.
Researchers at the University of Leicester have achieved a major milestone in fuel cell recycling, advancing techniques to efficiently separate valuable catalyst materials and fluorinated polymer membranes (PFAS) from catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs). The articles are published in RSC Sustainability and Ultrasonic Sonochemistry.
This development addresses critical environmental challenges posed by PFAS—often referred to as “forever chemicals”—which are known to contaminate drinking water and have serious health implications. The Royal Society of Chemistry has urged government intervention to reduce PFAS levels in UK water supplies.
NHS rolls out 5-minute ‘super-jab’ for 15 cancers
Thousands of patients will benefit from a new cancer jab for more than a dozen types of the disease, with the NHS the first in Europe to offer the new injection. The health service is rolling out an injectable form of immunotherapy, nivolumab, which means patients can receive their fortnightly or monthly treatment in 5 […]
Urban rats spread deadly bacteria as they migrate, study finds
Urban rats spread a deadly bacteria as they migrate within cities that can be the source of a potentially life-threatening disease in humans, according to a six-year study by Tufts University researchers and their collaborators that also discovered a novel technique for testing rat kidneys.
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by a type of bacteria often found in rats. It’s spread through their urine into soil, water, or elsewhere in the environment, where it becomes a source of infection and contamination for humans, dogs, and other species. While it’s prevalent worldwide, it’s more common in tropical regions, though a changing climate means it could become more common in colder regions as they warm.
In Boston, leptospirosis persists in local rat populations, and different strains of the bacteria move around the city as groups of rats migrate, according to a new study by Marieke Rosenbaum, M.P.H., D.V.M., assistant professor in the Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, along with co-authors at Northern Arizona University (NAU), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, their genetic analysis of a 2018 human leptospirosis case in Boston strongly suggests a link to rats as the source.
One timed-release capsule could replace taking multiple pills
Managing complex medication schedules could soon become as simple as taking a single capsule each day. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a capsule that can be packed with multiple medications and release them at designated times throughout the day.
The advance, published in Matter, could help improve medication adherence and health outcomes by eliminating the need for patients to remember taking multiple drugs or doses at various times each day. It could potentially reduce the risk of missed doses or accidental overdoses.
“We want to simplify medication management with a single capsule that is smart enough to deliver the right drug at the right dose at the right time,” said study first author Amal Abbas, who recently earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. She spearheaded this work with Joseph Wang, a professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at UC San Diego.
Immune System Overactivity May Drive Mental Illness
New research from the University of Bristol has uncovered striking links between immune system proteins and neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. By analyzing large genetic datasets using Mendelian randomisation, scientists identified 29 immune-related proteins potentially playing a causal role in these disorders.
The findings suggest that mental health conditions may not be isolated to the brain but involve the entire body, potentially reshaping future treatment strategies. This video explores how inflammation and immune pathways could be the next frontier in neuropsychiatric care.
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