Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
H7N9 Virus in Humans in China: Just How Big is This? (
Virology Down Under) As far as I can make out--the tally could be at 1,378 cases--that dwarfs any of the previous 4 waves of H7N9. Dwarfs by quite a lot. Coming into this season there were about 808 human cases, so there could have been as many as 570 cases this season.
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H7N9 Analyses Hint at Genetic Mutations, Drug Resistance (
CIDRAP) In the latest H7N9 avian influenza developments, analysis of virus samples from China and Taiwan hint at mutations including resistance to the antiviral class of drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors, and the WHO said today that the burgeoning number of cases this season now account for a third of all cases reported since the outbreak began in 2013.
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The Next Pandemic Could Be Dripping on Your Head (
Goats and Soda) Welcome to the bat cave. No, we're not talking about the secret headquarters of a superhero. This is Gomantong--an ancient cave carved out of 20 million-year-old limestone in the middle of the Borneo rain forest in Malaysia. It's part of a vast network of tunnels and caverns. And it's the perfect hideout for bats.
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Domestic Preparedness & Response
Government Affairs & National Security
Global Health Security
The Mission to Stop Ebola: Lessons for UN Crisis Response (
International Peace Institute) The Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016 was a fast-moving, multidimensional emergency that presented unprecedented challenges for the multilateral system. In response to the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, the UN established the first-ever emergency health mission, the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response.
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Medicine & Public Health
What Ails the Flu Vaccine (
Trib Live) Each year during the flu season, I am bombarded by patients and friends telling me that despite receiving the flu shot, they end up catching the flu. While many of those individuals may have actually had an infection with another respiratory virus that mimics some of the symptoms of influenza or contracted influenza before the vaccine had enough time--about 2 weeks is needed--to provoke immunity, some people truly have vaccine failure.
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Science & Technology
Over 80 Percent of New CRISPR Users are Conducting Gene Editing for the First Time (
Synthego) Synthego, a leading provider of genome engineering solutions, today announces the results of its 2017 Future of CRISPR Research, a survey of scientists and researchers about CRISPR trends and experimentation. The survey revealed that 87 percent of new CRISPR users are also new to gene editing--showing the tremendous interest and effect of CRISPR's simplicity over other gene editing methods.
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Scientists Revive Weird Microbes after Freeing Them from Ancient Cave Crystals (
Geek Wire) It sounds like a sci-fi tale: Scientists manage to revive strains of microbes that have been trapped inside giant cave crystals for tens of thousands of years, and find out that they seem positively alien. But this tale is totally real. And although these organisms are so unlike anything else on Earth that they haven't yet been given a genus or species name, they're totally terrestrial.
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Other
21st Century Threats
