feed info
20,072 articles from ScienceNOW
‘It’s inexcusable.’ WHO blasts China for not disclosing potential data on COVID-19’s origin
The infectious disease epidemiologist who oversees the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) program on emerging diseases and zoonoses began Sunday morning with a start: A researcher contacted her and said colleagues had uncovered crucial new data from China that speak to the origin of the pandemic. The researcher told Van Kerkhove—who was preparing to leave her home in Geneva for a...
FRIDAY 17. MARCH 2023
Nervous system may play role in severe allergic reactions
Peanuts have a dark side. In some people, they can cause a dangerous and sometimes deadly allergic reaction marked by a sharp drop in body temperature and blood pressure, as well as difficulty breathing. This anaphylactic shock has typically been blamed on the immune system going into overdrive. But a new study in mice pegs an additional culprit:
the nervous system
....
Growing number of high-security pathogen labs around world raises concerns
The number of high-containment labs studying the deadliest known pathogens is booming. A new analysis warns the growing number of labs is raising risks of an accidental release or misuse of germs such as the Ebola and Nipah viruses.
“The more labs and people working with dangerous pathogens, the risks go up,” says biosecurity expert Filippa Lentzos of King’s College London,...
Unearthed genetic sequences from China market may point to animal origin of COVID-19
A scientific sleuth in France has identified previously undisclosed genetic data from a food market in Wuhan, China, that she and colleagues say support the theory that coronavirus-infected animals there triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the researchers presented their findings on Tuesday to the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), an expert group...
THURSDAY 16. MARCH 2023
News at a glance: Removing race from genetics, rising U.S. death rates, and a very long neck
METEOROLOGY
Intensity scale for atmospheric rivers reveals global hot spots
Atmospheric rivers like those pummeling the West Coast now have a five-level intensity scale, which has enabled researchers to
chart the global prevalence of these sinuous bands of storms
. The scale, first developed in 2019 for the U.S. West Coast,...