Covid-19 Bill Would Scale Up Ability to Spot Virus Mutations
A House bill headed for floor debate would provide $1.75 billion for genomic sequencing.
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diseases
Humans Spread Viruses to Wild Gorillas Through Selfies
Instagram selfies posted under #gorillatrekking reveal an alarming number of tourists shirking important disease prevention guidance for gorillas in the wild.
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France Recommends 1-Shot Vaccine for People Who Had Virus
France’s highest health authority recommended Friday that people who have had Covid-19 receive only one dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
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NY Expands Vaccine Access Based on Health Conditions
Adults of any age with conditions that can make Covid-19 symptoms severe or even deadly are eligible to get the vaccine in New York as of Feb. 15.
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WHO Team Visits Wuhan Virus Lab at Center Of Speculation
World Health Organization investigators on Wednesday visited a research center in the Chinese city of Wuhan that has been the subject of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus, with one member saying they’d intended to meet key staff and press them on critical issues.
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Drug Found to Reverse Cognitive Damage in Alzheimer’s Patients
Scientists believe they’ve found a way to reverse the damage to cognitive function caused by Alzheimer’s disease — a potential landmark treatment for a disease afflicting 35 million people worldwide.
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Guinea Worm Closer to Eradication as Cases Halve in a Year
Just over two dozen people in the world are infected with Guinea worm, according to a new report that says community programs are close to eradicating the disease in which a meter-long worm slowly emerges from a blister in a person’s skin.
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Turn Back Time? Study Hints at Way to Halt Decline as We Age
The march of time can be unkind to the human body, but new research hints at a cause — and possible solution — for some of the ailments and decline that often come with age.
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Fake US Leg Band Gets Pigeon a Reprieve in Australia
A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake.
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Australia to Kill Pigeon That Crossed Pacific From Oregon
A racing pigeon has survived an extraordinary 8,000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from the United States to find a new home in Australia. Now authorities consider the bird a quarantine risk and plan to kill it.
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France Plans Mass Duck Slaughter as Bird Flu Hits Foie Gras
French producers of foie gras called Thursday for a mass preventive cull of ducks to try to halt the spread of a severe strain of bird flu that is ripping through poultry farms in the southwest of the country.
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Traditional Medicines Show Promise Against Tropical Diseases in Ghana
Scientists on Thursday revealed a new hope for people affected by neglected tropical diseases, as research has uncovered traditional medicines from the African country of Ghana which could help treat some of those diseases.
Read moreValley Fever
The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of civil rights complaints brought by California state prison inmates who claim state officials violated their right to be protected from “heightened exposure” to Valley Fever spores.
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More Work Needed to Identify Risk From Nigeria Strain, Says Researcher
A researcher who identified a novel coronavirus variant in Nigeria has cautioned against automatic assumptions that it poses similar risks to strains that have emerged elsewhere.
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Virus Hunters Delve Into Gabon Forest in Search for Next Threat
ZADIE CAVES, Gabon (AFP) — The scene looks like something out of a science fiction movie, or maybe some dystopian
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Three Centuries of Smallpox Records Offer Insights on Progression of Infectious Diseases
Smallpox, responsible for the deaths of millions over three millennia, was declared eradicated 40 years ago. As Covid-19 continues to plague the world, scientists on Monday revealed new insights into smallpox and how lessons learned from it helped guide modern medicine to a vaccine for the latest virus.
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Spain’s Parliament Votes to Legalize Euthanasia
Spain’s parliament voted Thursday to approve a bill that will allow physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia for long-suffering patients of incurable diseases or unbearable permanent conditions.
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UK: Air Pollution Listed as Cause of 9-Year-Old’s Death
A British coroner ruled Wednesday that excessive air pollution from traffic fumes contributed to the death of a 9-year-old girl who died of a fatal asthma attack. The girl is believed to be the first person in the U.K. to have air pollution listed as the cause of death on their death certificate.
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Genetic Variants Linked to Severe Covid-19: Study
Scientists said Friday they had identified genetic variants that made patients more likely to develop severe Covid-19, in a breakthrough that could see new and existing drugs help patients survive the illness.
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