Study shows new 'warm vaccine' effective against all key virus variants

CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, played an important role in evaluating heat-tolerant COVID-19 vaccine formulations developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and biotech start-up Mynvax—against all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

A closer look at the cells combating a deadly lung disease

Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed a subset of cells that could provide protection from a rare, but severely debilitating and fatal, lung disease. The findings were published by Nagoya University researchers and colleagues in the European Respiratory Journal. Further research could lead to new therapeutic strategies for the disease, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Identification of over 200 long COVID symptoms prompts call for UK screening programme

Patients who experience long COVID have reported more than 200 symptoms across 10 organ systems, in the largest international study of 'long-haulers' to date, led by UCL scientists together with a patient-led research collaborative.

Thinking without a brain: Studies in brainless slime molds reveal that they use physical cues to decide where to grow

If you didn't have a brain, could you still figure out where you were and navigate your surroundings? Thanks to new research on slime molds, the answer may be "yes." Scientists from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University have discovered that a brainless slime mold called Physarum polycephalum uses its body to sense mechanical cues in its surrounding environment, and performs computations similar to what we call "thinking" to decide in which direction to grow based on that information. Unlike previous studies with Physarum, these results were obtained without giving the organism any food or chemical signals to influence its behavior. The study is published in Advanced Materials.

Vaccine deliveries rising as delta virus variant slams Asia

As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow-flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that low inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.

Foe to friend: Fishermen join fight to save endangered Pakistan dolphin

Freshwater dolphins are flourishing in a stretch of Pakistan's main river after a helping hand from fishermen mobilised to defend a rare species driven to near-extinction.

Mexico announces new plan to protect near-extinct porpoise

The Mexican government on Wednesday announced new measures that it said were aimed at saving the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the world's rarest marine mammal.

First US-based artificial heart implant for French firm

French company Carmat announced its first human artificial heart implant in the United States on Thursday, as part of a clinical study.

Rwanda locks down capital as COVID cases surge

Rwanda will put the capital Kigali and eight other districts across the country under lockdown from Saturday to rein in surging coronavirus cases and deaths, officials said.

China threatens to ban unvaccinated adults from schools, hospitals

Millions of Chinese people face bans from public spaces including schools, hospitals and shopping malls unless they get a COVID-19 vaccine, under new edicts covering nearly two dozen cities and counties.

Haiti gets 500K vaccine doses; its first of the pandemic

Haiti on Wednesday received its first coronavirus vaccine since the pandemic began, welcoming 500,000 doses as the country battles a spike in cases and deaths.

Argentina logs 100,000 virus deaths as Delta variant looms

Argentina on Wednesday reported more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, a heavy blow to a country that intermittently imposed some of the most severe lockdowns in the world, only to see erratic compliance by many people.

What pairs with beetle? Startups seek to make bugs tasty

Tiziana Di Costanzo makes pizza dough from scratch, mixing together flour, yeast, a pinch of salt, a dash of olive oil and something a bit more unusual—ground acheta domesticus, better known as cricket powder.

Worries over racism, waterways inspire push to rename fish

Minnesota state Sen. Foung Hawj was never a fan of the "Asian carp" label commonly applied to four imported fish species that are wreaking havoc in the U.S. heartland, infesting numerous rivers and bearing down on the Great Lakes.

Fires threaten Indigenous lands in desiccated Northwest

Karuk tribal citizen Troy Hockaday Sr. watched helplessly last fall as a raging wildfire leveled the homes of five of his family members, swallowed acres of forest where his people hunt deer, elk and black bear, and killed a longtime friend.

Will COVID-19 vaccines work if I have a weak immune system?

Will COVID-19 vaccines work if I have a weak immune system?

'Neuroprosthesis' restores words to man with paralysis

Researchers at UC San Francisco have successfully developed a "speech neuroprosthesis" that has enabled a man with severe paralysis to communicate in sentences, translating signals from his brain to the vocal tract directly into words that appear as text on a screen.

Pandemic layoffs pushed hospitality workers to leave industry

The psychological toll of losing a job due to COVID-19 caused many young hotel and restaurant workers to consider changing careers, according to a Washington State University study.

Evaluating peers' food choices may improve healthy eating habits among young adolescents

According to the World Health Organization, over 340 million children and adolescents (aged 5 to 10 years old) were classified as overweight or obese in 2016, a statistic that has risen from 14% since 1975. Childhood obesity is associated with a wide range of severe health complications and an increased risk of premature onset of illnesses, including diabetes and heart disease. Without intervention, children and young adolescents classified as obese are likely to remain so throughout adolescence and adulthood.

CHEST releases expert guidelines for lung cancer screening

The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) recently released a new clinical guideline, Screening for Lung Cancer: CHEST Guideline and Expert Panel Report. The guideline contains 16 evidence-based recommendations and an update of the evidence base for the benefits, harms, and implementation of low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) screening.

Pandemic of antibiotic resistance is killing children in Bangladesh

Resistance to antibiotics is common and often deadly among children with pneumonia in Bangladesh, according to a new study coauthored by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) with colleagues at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (abbreviated as icddr,b). This study, which appears in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases, offers an early warning that a pandemic of potentially deadly antibiotic resistance is under way and could spread around the globe.

Heart problems resolve in majority of kids with COVID inflammatory syndrome

Heart problems in children hospitalized with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C)—an inflammatory condition triggered by COVID—were mostly gone within a few months, a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian has found.

Teens with secure family relationships 'pay it forward' with empathy for friends

Teens' ability to empathize—to understand others' perspectives and emotions, and to care for their wellbeing—is an important contributor to their relationships, including with friends. Prior research shows that teens who have more secure family relationships report higher levels of empathy for others. But little research examines whether teens with more secure family relationships actually show greater empathy when observed in real-life interactions with peers, or whether their empathic capacities show different patterns of growth over time.