Biology Digest

  Auckland has seen a spike in reported stomach bugs in recent weeks. Gastroenteritis illnesses,  commonly caused by contaminated food and water , have been reported more than 100 times a week to the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS). The most common forms of gastroenteritis are Campylobacter and Salmonella. Cases of Campylobacter, more than half of which are typically linked to a bug in the gut and faeces of chickens, have more than doubled in the past two weeks. Dr Jay Harrower, a spokesman for ARPHS, said though the illness could be serious, there were ways  to reduce the risk . “Most importantly chill, prepare and cover poultry properly – store it in containers, keep it chilled, defrost it thoroughly, keep it separate, cook it fully and wash your hands regularly when preparing it,” said Harrower. “And avoid the common mistake of washing raw chicken - it’s a recipe for spreading and spraying the nasty bugs.” New Zealand has one of the highest rates of Campylobacter in

  Here is the best Youtube show today when it comes to documentaries. Youtube channels had taken the void of what Discovery, History and National Geographic were at one point.  

 

  I remember this at one point being named as the next pandemic prior to COVID-19. However COVID-19 just grabbed attention away from this then pandemic. I hope vaccines for antibiotic resistant pathogens are out at some point.

 

 

  Brazzaville/Kinshasa –  The Ebola outbreak that erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province in October – the second in 2021 – was today declared over, the national health authorities announced after no new cases were reported at the end of a 42-day countdown, or two incubation periods after the last confirmed case was discharged. In total, 11 cases (eight confirmed, three probable), including six deaths were reported in the outbreak that was declared on 8 October after a new case was confirmed in Beni health zone in the country’s North Kivu Province. This was the country’s 13th outbreak and occurred in the same area as the 2018 outbreak which lasted two years. More than 1800 people were vaccinated in a campaign that kicked off just five days after the first case was detected. The outbreak marks the first time the recently-licensed ERVEBO vaccine against Ebola was used in the country. ERVEBO is the same as the compassionate-use vaccine, but as a licensed vacc

  Bristol Myers Squibb is doubling down on Immatics with $150 million upfront to get access to a preclinical bispecific targeting solid tumors. This will be the pair's second collaboration, technically speaking. Immatics inked a deal with Celgene in August 2019 prior to its acquisition by BMS. That collaboration is focused on T-cell therapies for solid tumors and is still in the preclinical phase. Now, BMS is  putting up  $150 million and could dole out up to another $770 million in biobucks to the German biotech to license, develop and commercialize a T cell-redirecting, or TCR, bispecific, the companies said Tuesday. Immatics asked German regulators last month to approve a clinical trial of the drug, dubbed IMA401, in various solid tumors that is slated to begin in the first half of next year. Immatics  retains the option to co-fund U.S. development of IMA401 in return for enhanced U.S. royalty payments and/or will co-promote the medicine in the U.S.  The bispecific, as its name

 

  SAN FRANCISCO — The president of California’s medical board, which issues medical licenses and disciplines doctors, says a group of anti-vaccine activists stalked her at home and followed her to her office — where four men confronted her in a dark parking garage in what she described as a terrifying experience. Kristina Lawson, a former mayor of Walnut Creek who was appointed to the board by former Gov. Jerry Brown, said in social media on Wednesday she grew concerned Monday after she noticed the people in a white SUV parked near her home and saw someone flying a drone over her house. “They watched my daughter drive herself to school and watched me walk out of my house, get in my car, and take my two kids to school,”  she wrote in a Tweet . The white SUV then followed her to work and parked “head-to-head” with her car in a parking garage, she said. Lawson said that when she left the office building and entered the parking garage later that evening, four men jumped out of the SUV with

 

  NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc could have a COVID-19 booster shot targeting the Omicron variant tested and ready to file for U.S. authorization as soon as March, the company's president said on Wednesday.    Moderna President Stephen Hoge said he believes booster shots carrying genes specifically targeting mutations in the newly-discovered Omicron variant would be the quickest way to address any anticipated reductions in vaccine efficacy it may cause.  We've already started that program," he told Reuters.    The company is also working on a multi-valent vaccine that would include up to four different coronavirus variants including Omicron.    That could take several more months, he said.    The United States identified its first COVID-19 case caused by the Omicron variant in California, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.    Omicron, dubbed a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization, is being studied to s

  Pfizer said it will be able to manufacture and distribute an updated version of its COVID-19 vaccine within 100 days if the new variant Omicron is found to be resistant to its current vaccine.  Scientists first detected the new variant in South Africa. It has since spread to several other countries, including Israel and Belgium, prompting  a spate of travel restrictions  across Europe, Asia, and  North America , Insider's Aria Bendix  reported . A health official said on Saturday that two cases of the variant have been  detected in the UK . The variant itself has multiple mutations that might make it easier for it to evade antibodies that developed in the body after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The mutations might also cause the variant to spread easily —  even among vaccinated people .  The World Health Organization has labeled Omicron a " variant of concern ," a distinction given to the most threatening coronavirus variants. Delta, the variant that surged all through

  A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain. Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild symptoms.” A person in California who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 became the first in the U.S. to have an identified case of the omicron variant, the White House announced Wednesday as scientists continue to study the risks posed by the new virus strain. Dr. Anthony Fauci told reporters that the person was a traveler who returned from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive on Nov. 29. Fauci said the person was vaccinated but had not received a booster shot and was experiencing “mild sympt