Researchers say the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in California elephant seals has spread to other marine mammals, including a sea otter and sea lion. However, wildlife officials are cautiously optimistic the outbreak will remain contained. It has so far only been detected on beaches in San Mateo County, although testing is being conducted along the … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone. Their extraordinary effectiveness in having … Read more
Most of the infectious diseases that trouble humans today actually began in animals. These are called zoonotic pathogens, meaning they jumped from animals to humans at some point in history. Long before the infamous Black Death swept through medieval Europe, killing a third of its population, another strain of the plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, haunted … Read more
Herpes simplex virus partially liquifies the tightly packed, gel-like interior of human cell nuclei to copy itself faster, a new study shows. The research centers on how the nucleus of each human cell houses the genetic machinery used to copy DNA-encoded instructions when it divides and multiplies as part of growth. Viruses invade human cells … Read more
INCLIVA Healthcare Research Institute-University Clinical Hospital of Valencia, the Universitat Politècnica de València – through its VRAIN Institute, the Valencia Anti-AIDS Committee and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS in Catalonia (CEEISCAT) have joined forces to develop a spatial intelligence platform to support health policy decisions aimed at optimizing the … Read more
Even after the virus disappears, some people continue to experience altered taste. New research suggests that subtle molecular changes in taste receptor cells, not visible damage, may explain why sweet, umami, and bitter flavors remain disrupted long after COVID-19 infection. Study: Taste dysfunction in long COVID. Image credit: DimaBerlin/Shutterstock.com Some people with long COVID-19 report … Read more
For people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), life-saving antiretroviral therapy keeps their HIV-infected immune cells from making new copies of the virus, preventing illness and transmission. Historically, these infected cells have been known as the “latent” HIV reservoir-implying that the HIV within the infected cells is completely inactive. But notion that the entirety … Read more
Coronaviruses not only use the machinery of the human cells they infect: they modify it to achieve optimal conditions to produce viral proteins and thus spread more quickly. This is the main conclusion of a study by Pompeu Fabra University published in Nature Communications. The study identifies enzymes that modify transfer RNAs (tRNAs) –small cellular … Read more
Approximately one in seven adults in the United States has kidney disease, where the organs responsible for filtering waste and excess water from the blood are damaged, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over time, this condition can lead to kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. But as many as 90% of people … Read more
Even a mild case of COVID-19 or the flu can impact the body long after the fever and cough fade, according to new Tulane University research that may help explain why some people struggle to feel fully recovered weeks or months later. Tulane researchers found that while both viruses can leave lasting lung damage, only … Read more