Europe resumes AstraZeneca jabs, US to hit 100 million vaccines

France and Germany were set to resume AstraZeneca vaccinations Friday after EU regulators gave the jab the all-clear, and Joe Biden said his administration would meet its goal of inoculating 100 million Americans weeks ahead of schedule.

Europe pause of AstraZeneca sends ripple of doubt elsewhere

The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries over the past week could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic, especially in developing nations.

Brazil vaccine drive faces challenges in remote communities

Brazil's vast size and deficient infrastructure make getting coronavirus vaccines to far-flung communities of Indigenous peoples and descendants of slaves a particularly daunting endeavor.

Chip shortage forces Ford to build trucks without computers

A global semiconductor shortage and a February winter storm have combined to force Ford to build F-150 pickup trucks without some computers.

US charges Swiss 'hacktivist' for data theft and leaks

The Justice Department has charged a Swiss hacker with computer intrusion and identity theft, just over a week after the hacker took credit for helping to break into the online systems of a U.S. security-camera startup.

Facebook grows in Oregon with data center, fiber-optic cable

Facebook is growing its footprint in Oregon, announcing Thursday that it will expand its data center in Prineville—already the social media giant's largest in the United States.

Amazon gets Thursday night games, NFL nearly doubles TV deal

Much like they did with cable in the 1980s and satellite television in the 1990s, the NFL on Thursday made another significant transition in the way its games are viewed.

NASA completes engine test firing of moon rocket on 2nd try

NASA completed an engine test firing of its moon rocket Thursday, after the first attempt in January ended prematurely.

The golden ear-a of audio

Audio stimulates our brains more powerfully than video, and slots neatly into our new patterns of voracious cultural consumption—making this a revolutionary time for aural entertainment.

Mumbai logs most Covid cases since start of pandemic

India's wealthiest state Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai recorded on Friday the most daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, stoking a new nationwide wave.

Payment startups big winners of e-commerce boom

They were little known before the pandemic, but startups in the flourishing digital payment industry are now worth a fortune as COVID-19 has forced people to increasingly embrace e-commerce.

Philippines approves Russia's Sputnik V vaccine: developer

The developer of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said Friday its shot had been approved for use in the Philippines, becoming the 52nd country to give the green light to the Russian jab.

Zoos, scientists aim to curb people giving virus to animals

The coughing among the western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in January was the first warning sign. Soon the fears were confirmed: A troop of gorillas became the first apes known to test positive for the coronavirus.

Maintaining body weight won't save colorectal cancer survivors

Colorectal cancer survivors who maintained a stable body weight but lost muscle and developed fatty deposits in their muscles faced a 40 percent higher risk of premature death than patients who avoided both health issues.

Research finds surprising electron interaction in 'magic-angle' graphene

In 2018, physicists showed that something interesting happens when two sheets of the nanomaterial graphene are placed on top of each other. When one layer is rotated to a "magic angle" of around 1.1 degrees with respect to the other, the system becomes a superconductor—meaning it conducts electricity with zero resistance. Even more exciting, there was evidence that it was an unconventional form of superconductivity—a type that can happen at temperatures well above absolute zero, where most superconducting materials function.

Researchers identify DNA elements that affect MECP2 expression

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital (NRI) have identified and characterized two regions of DNA required for the proper expression of Mecp2/MECP2 in mice and humans.

SARS-CoV-2 circulated undetected months before first COVID-19 cases in Wuhan, China: study

Using molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the University of Arizona and Illumina, Inc., estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December 2019.

Starving tumors by blocking glutamine uptake

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a drug candidate that blocks the uptake of glutamine, a key food source for many tumors, and slows the growth of melanoma. The drug is a small molecule that targets a glutamine transporter, SLC1A5, which pumps the nutrient into cancer cells—offering a promising new approach for treating melanoma and other cancers. The study was published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

Illinois youth opioid use linked with other substance misuse, mental health issues

Opioid use has dramatically increased in the 21st century, especially among young adults. A new study from the University of Illinois provides insights on usage patterns among Illinois high school students to help inform prevention and treatment strategies.

Vaccination alone is unlikely to contain COVID-19 infections in UK: study

Vaccinating all adults in the UK is unlikely to achieve herd immunity and fully contain the virus, according to a modelling study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. Therefore, the gradual release of control measures, high vaccine uptake, and a vaccine with high protection against infection is essential to minimise future waves of infection.

Seroprevalence study suggests 6.9% of Wuhan population had COVID antibodies by April, 82% of cases were asymptomatic

The first long-term seroprevalence study of residents in Wuhan, China, has found that 6.9% of people in the city had antibodies against COVID-19 in April 2020, and 82% of these people had an asymptomatic infection. Additionally, 40% of people with antibodies developed neutralising antibodies, and these levels did not decrease between April and October-December 2020. The results are published in an observational study of 9,542 people in The Lancet.

In pandemic, potentially avoidable hospitalizations for non-COVID conditions fell more among whites

During the first six months of the pandemic, as people attempted to stay away from hospitals caring for those sick with COVID-19, potentially avoidable hospitalizations for non-COVID-19-related conditions fell far more among white patients than Black patients, according to a new study that looked at admissions to UCLA Health hospitals.

Study examines fermented milks' potential benefits for decreasing high BP through modulation of gut microbiota

In recent years, fermented dairy foods have been gaining attention for their health benefits, and a new review published in the Journal of Dairy Science indicates these foods could help reduce conditions like hypertension (high blood pressure). A team of investigators from the Center for Food Research and Development in Sonora, Mexico, and the National Technological Institute of Mexico in Veracruz reports on numerous studies of fermented milks as antihypertensive treatments and in relation to gut microbiota modulation. They also examine the potential mechanistic pathways of gut modulation through antihypertensive fermented milks.