21st century outbreaks
  Which diseases have generated the highest number of cases from outbreaks during the first two decades of the 21st century?  In this blog, we can use GIDEON’s data to find out. ‘Disease outbreak’ is a scary term for many, but every year we suffer dozens, if not hundreds, of localized and international disease outbreaks across the world. While these outbreaks are always significant to those affected, they rarely generate headlines,  and can sometimes go unnoticed outside of the Healthcare Industry. An “outbreak” is often defined as an increase in case numbers for a particular disease in a defined place and...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 3, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Outbreaks Source Type: blogs

Top 10 most prominent diseases of the 21st Century
Which diseases have generated the highest number of cases from outbreaks during the first two decades of the 21st century?  In this blog, we can use GIDEON’s data to find out. ‘Disease outbreak’ is a scary term for many, but every year we suffer dozens, if not hundreds, of localized and international disease outbreaks across the world. While these outbreaks are always significant to those affected, they rarely generate headlines,  and can sometimes go unnoticed outside of the Healthcare Industry. An “outbreak” is often defined as an increase in case numbers for a particular disease in a defined place and time. ...
Source: GIDEON blog - December 1, 2020 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Kristina Symes Tags: Epidemiology News Outbreaks Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 23rd 2020
In conclusion, the study indicates that HBOT may induce significant senolytic effects that include significantly increasing telomere length and clearance of senescent cells in the aging populations. Data on the Prevalence of Liver Fibrosis in Middle Age https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/11/data-on-the-prevalence-of-liver-fibrosis-in-middle-age/ Fibrosis is a consequence of age-related disarray in tissue maintenance processes, leading to the deposition of scar-like collagen that disrupts tissue structure and function. It is an ultimately fatal issue for which there are only poor treatment options ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 22, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Kimer Med is Crowdfunding Early Stage Work to Commercialize DRACO Antiviral Technology
Kimer Med is a New Zealand biotech startup in the very early stages of work on improvement and commercialization of the DRACO antiviral technology. This approach works by selectively destroying cells that host viral replication, and has been shown to be effective for a few presently challenging viral infections in animal models. In principle it is a platform extensible to any viral infection. Unfortunately DRACO fell into the usual chasm, made up of a lack of funding for later stage academic research, a lack of strong-willed iconoclasts willing to go to bat for it, and a lack of interest in the pharmaceutical industry for ...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 16, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs

TWiV 633: Singapore viral
From DukeNUS Medical School, Vincent speaks with Ashley, Sheemei, Eng Eong and Dahai about their careers and their research on flaviviruses and sensing of viral RNA. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 633 (56 MB .mp3, 93 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - June 30, 2020 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology dengue virus DukeNUS flavivirus interferon RIG-I RNA sensor viral viruses yellow fever virus Source Type: blogs

The Itchy, Bumpy Blues: How to Treat and Prevent Mosquito Bites and Related Conditions
Mosquito bites may be a nuisance, but fortunately, in the U.S., they tend to amount to nothing more than that. Upon being bitten, most Americans experience a bit of swelling and itchiness, and nothing more. However, there are exceptions to this, including stronger allergic reactions to bites and cases of mosquito-borne illness.  Insect and arachnid bites, including ticks, account for approximately 2,000 cases of malaria and 30,000 cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. annually. In addition, millions of people worldwide die of malaria each year. It is helpful to protect yourself against insect bites, not only to avoid pesk...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - June 7, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog Environmental Health Insect Bites & Stings Insects & Animals Outdoor Safety Source Type: blogs

Lessons from Zika in the Era of COVID-19
By CHADI NABHAN, MD, MBA, FACP If you are a soccer fan, watching the FIFA World Cup is a ritual that you don’t ever violate. Brazilians, arguably more than any other fans in the world, live and breathe soccer—and they are always expected to be a legitimate contender to win it all. Their expectations are magnified when they are the host country, which was the case in 2014. Not only did the Germans destroy Brazilian World Cup dreams, but less than a year after a humiliating loss on their turf, Brazilians began dealing with another devastating blow: a viral epidemic. Zika left the country scrambling to understand how t...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 23, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy Chadi Nabhan epidemic Pandemic Zika Source Type: blogs

Improved PCR Flu Diagnostic for Pandemic Response: Interview with Chris Hole of TTP
TTP, a technology company based in Melbourn, UK, is developing a handheld PCR (polymerase chain reaction) diagnostic device that can rapidly detect influenza viruses, and one day other viruses, in samples of nasal mucus. The company claims that the system, which uses a high speed version of traditional RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), incorporates several breakthroughs that translate to improved speed, cost, and size when compared with existing molecular diagnostics systems. Such technology could be crucial in providing diagnostic and surveillance capability for infectious disease outbreaks such as...
Source: Medgadget - February 20, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Exclusive Public Health Source Type: blogs

TWiV 577: Virologie structurale with F élix Rey
Vincent speaks with Félix Rey about his career and his work on solving structures of a variety of viruses and the insights learned about viral membrane fusion and antibody-mediated neutralization. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 577 (46 MB .mp3, 75 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - December 8, 2019 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology antibody neutralization cryo-EM dengue virus flavivirus fusion loop glycoprotein Semliki Forest virus tick borne encephalitis virus viral viral membrane fusion viruses X-ray crystallography zika virus Source Type: blogs

DNA Nanoarchitecture Used to Construct Dengue Fever Virus Traps
Dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes that carry the Dengue virus. Early detection of an infection is important, but currently it is difficult to achieve in the field. Moreover, treatment options are limited and blood transfusions are required to save many patients. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have now employed “DNA nanoarchitecture,” which is a way to bind short pieces of DNA into structures, to create traps for the Dengue virus to fall into. These traps also fluoresce when they catch the target virus, allowing for incredibly sensitive detection of Dengue. Moreover, the technology may be ...
Source: Medgadget - November 26, 2019 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Diagnostics Public Health Source Type: blogs

On the RISE: Joshua and Caleb Marceau Use NIGMS Grant to Jump-Start Their Research Careers
A college degree was far from the minds of Joshua and Caleb Marceau growing up on a small farm on the Flathead Indian Reservation in rural northwestern Montana. Their world centered on powwows, tending cattle and chicken, fishing in streams, and working the 20-acre ranch their parents own. Despite their innate love of learning and science, the idea of applying to and paying for college seemed out of reach. Then, opportunities provided through NIGMS, mentors, and scholarships led them from a local tribal college to advanced degrees in biomedical science. Today, both Joshua and Caleb are Ph.D.-level scientists working to imp...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - October 23, 2019 Category: Research Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Being a Scientist Infectious Diseases Scientific Process Training Source Type: blogs

TWiV 569: Smolt ’ in iron
The TWiV pro-vaxxers reveal viruses that infect endangered wild salmon, and how iron in host serum modulates dengue virus acquisition by mosquitoes. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 569 (67 MB .mp3, 110 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - October 13, 2019 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aedes aegyptii dengue virus endangered salmon host iron iron deficiency mosquito reactive oxygen species salmon viruses viral virus discovery Source Type: blogs

Digital Health And The Ebola Epidemic: How Not To Let It Go Viral
More than 1,500 deaths and 2,500 people sickened – that’s the recent account of the ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) raging in the country since last August, and recently declared a public health emergency of international concern. Experts say efforts to contain the virus are hindered by biological, public health, political, and cultural issues, but we looked around what digital health technologies could do to mitigate the spread and the devastation of the infectious disease. The Spaghetti-like virus… The lethal Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 around a river in Congo – it was named ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - August 1, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Future of Medicine Africa AI artificial intelligence Congo digital digital health digital maps disease disease outbreak ebola epidemic Innovation technology Source Type: blogs

How Could Digital Health Fight Against The Climate Catastrophe?
Climate change is the greatest health challenge of the 21st century, and threatens all aspects of society, says the WHO in its COP24 Special Report. What could digital health technologies do to support the fight against the climate crisis? How could healthcare processes, facilities, medical devices become more sustainable? As it is humanity’s priority to mitigate the worsening as well as the impact of rising temperatures and extreme weather events, we tried to figure out what role digital health could assume here. We found many options – and even more possibilities for future development. The climate crisis is our ...
Source: The Medical Futurist - July 11, 2019 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Future of Medicine air asthma climate climate catastrophe climate change climate crisis digital digital health efficient Healthcare mosquito optimize resilience solar sustainability technology Source Type: blogs

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Deaths in the Line of Duty
Last week, President Trumptweeted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were going to soon launch a major operation to arrest and deport illegal immigrants inside of the United States.   On Saturday, President Trump reversed himself and said that he is going todelay the operation.   TheWashington Examiner is now reporting that the operation is canceled permanently because acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan leaked the details, thus removing the element of surprise and putting the “public at risk and law enforcement officers in harm ’s way” according to Brandon Judd, the ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 26, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs