If you have a dog or cat, chances are you’ve given your pet a flavored chewable tablet for tick prevention at some point. What if you could take a similar pill to protect yourself from getting Lyme disease? Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing such a pill for humans—minus the tasty flavoring—that could provide protection against the … Read more
We need to make the exterior parts of buildings that people focus on more interesting, so that people want to protect rather than replace them. But most people aren’t architects or city planners—they can’t change the designs of what’s being made. Indeed, we have a public who feel utterly powerless, and a construction industry that … Read more
A 62-year-old man in Germany decided to get 217 Covid-19 vaccinations over the course of 29 months —for “private reasons.” But, somewhat surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to have suffered any ill effects from the excessive immunization, according to a newly published case study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The case is just one person, of … Read more
But Cole’s progress was short-lived. Her blood infection returned, and her doctors determined the phage-antibiotic combination was no longer effective. She passed away from pneumonia in March 2022, seven months after phage therapy was stopped. Cole’s case demonstrates both the hope and limitations of phage therapy. The problem this time wasn’t just bacterial evolution. When … Read more
Malaria expert Brian Greenwood had once resigned himself to the possibility that a successful vaccine for the disease might not become available in his lifetime. Now, at 86 years old, the moment he’s spent four decades working toward has arrived. “It’s been a long journey with many ups and downs,” says Greenwood, still an active … Read more
In June last year, a series of devastating wildfires tore through the Canadian province of Quebec, sending huge plumes of acrid smoke drifting across North America. Three hundred miles away in Boston, dermatologist Shadi Kourosh noticed something strange. “We had an unusual spike in dermatology visits,” says Kourosh, who is director of community health in … Read more
Greece’s health ministry is seeking police help against hoaxers who tried to scare foreign tourists out of several Athens short-term rental apartments by inventing a bedbug crisis ByThe Associated Press December 5, 2023, 12:00 PM FILE – A bedbug is displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, March 30, 2011. Greece’s health ministry is seeking … Read more
India’s capital, New Delhi, is preparing a new weapon in the fight against deadly air pollution: cloud seeding. The experiment, which could take place as early as next week, would introduce chemicals like silver iodide into a cloudy sky to create rain and, it’s hoped, wash away the fine particulate matter hovering over one of … Read more
The current trial was sponsored by Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, and tracked patients for two years at locations worldwide. Half of the participants received weekly injections of semaglutide while the other half received a placebo. Neither group knew which they were getting. More than three-quarters of the patients had previously experienced … Read more
But vampire bats represent a new threat because they feed on the blood of other animals. Their usual victims are livestock, and occasionally wild mammals and birds. Using their sharp front teeth, they make a small incision in their victim’s skin and lap up a teaspoon or two of blood with their tongues. The bites … Read more