Author: Claudinne Miller
Supernova or Coronavirus: Can You Tell the Difference?
New York Times A scientist finds beauty in the “visual synonyms” that exist in images seen through microscopes and telescopes. For Kim Arcand, a visualization scientist for NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, visual symmetry reveals how basic physics and chemistry thread through everything in the universe, from the tiniest organisms to […]
May 21, 2024
I was there when bird flu first appeared. It’s different today.
Washington Post The H5N1 flu virus and I go way back. In 1997, I watched as more than a million chickens were slaughtered in Hong Kong to combat the first major global outbreak of the disease. Eighteen people were sickened by the virus and six died, all of whom had close contact with the birds. They were the […]
May 21, 2024
Measles Is Preventable. How Did the World End Up Back Here?
MedPageToday I remember being very sick when I had measles as a child. I was confined to a darkened room for more than a week, and there was concern that it would affect my vision. Decades later, I work with patients who have had encephalitis as a result of measles, and families who are left […]
May 21, 2024
Body lice may have spread plague more than thought, science suggests
NBC News Lab experiments support the possibility that the blood-sucking bugs may have played a role in the rapid spread of the plague in the Middle Ages. Scientists have long debated whether human body lice might have helped drive the rapid spread of the bacteria responsible for the deadly plague in the Middle Ages, known as […]
May 21, 2024
Severe COVID-19 Lung Disease Linked to Ferroptosis
Genetic Engineering and Biotech News Over the past few years, researchers have uncovered countless details about how SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19. However, the mechanisms underlying how SARS-CoV-2 infection causes severe pulmonary manifestations remain poorly understood. This, in turn, limits treatment options. In some severe cases of COVID-19, the lungs undergo extreme damage, resulting in a range […]
May 21, 2024
CDC asks states and cities to keep flu surveillance at peak levels because of bird flu threat
STAT The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked local and state health officials Tuesday to maintain flu surveillance operations at peak-season levels over the summer in a bid to remain watchful for any signs of human-to-human spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus. Flu surveillance activity is generally conducted at low levels during the […]
May 21, 2024
Public Health Preparedness for Bird Flu Varies Widely Across the U.S.
MedPageToday Survey responses not always in line with CDC recommendations. U.S. states and territories varied widely in their capacity to monitor people exposed to the H5N1 avian influenza virus, and in how they would recommend use of antivirals and the H5N1 vaccine, according to a joint survey from the CDC and the Council of State […]
May 21, 2024
Move over, wastewater. Store-bought milk could be another way to track the bird flu outbreak in cows
STAT Scientists from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center have managed to generate a full genetic sequence of H5N1 virus from milk, a development they suggest means commercially purchased milk products could be used to monitor the progress of the bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle and to check for important […]
May 21, 2024
5 new dairy cow herds contract bird flu in Michigan
The Toledo Blade Five more dairy herds in Michigan have been diagnosed with bird flu, according to an announcement Friday by Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The herds are located in Allegan, Clinton, Gratiot, and Ingham counties with an additional herd in Isabella County. That brings the total […]
May 15, 2024