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Noncommunicable diseases

Genetic editing, the answer to bad cholesterol? The latest health stories from around the world

A technique for precisely rewriting the genetic code directly in the body has slashed “bad” cholesterol levels—possibly for life—in three people prone to dangerously high levels of the artery-clogging fat. The feat relied on a blood infusion of a so-called base editor, designed to disable a liver protein, PCSK9, that regulates cholesterol. https://www.science.org/content/article/base-editing-a-new-form-of-gene-therapy-sharply-lowers-bad-cholesterol?  “It is …

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Malaria vaccine resulted in 13% drop in deaths; The latest health stories from around the world

In a major analysis in Africa, the first vaccine approved to fight malaria cut deaths among young children by 13% over nearly 4 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week. Data from a pilot rollout of the vaccine, called RTS,S or Mosquirix and made by GSK, also showed a 22% reduction in severe …

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Strain of flu eradicated during pandemic? The latest health stories from around the world

An influenza virus variant that circulated widely before the COVID-19 pandemic has disappeared, leading an expert group that advises the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend last week that it no longer be included in flu vaccines. https://www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-more-success-fusion-medical-tests-under-scrutiny-and-grizzly-reintroduction?  The strain, known as Yamagata, has not been detected since March 2020, and some scientists suspect it …

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Nobel Prize awarded for COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development; The latest health stories from around the world

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2023/press-release/  The discoveries by the two Nobel Laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 during the pandemic …

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New monovalent COVID-19 vaccines approved in US; The latest health stories from around the world

After the US Food and Drug Administration authorized new monovalent COVID vaccines on early last week, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices backed the decision a day later with a nearly unanimous vote in favour of universal XBB-containing shots. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/996378?  Reports of a mutating virus and COVID hospitalisations of about 17,000 people a …

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USAID slashes funding for scheme identifying zoonotic diseases; The latest health stories from around the world

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has prematurely ended a $125 million program aimed at identifying viruses that might harm humans in animals. Many see this as a fallout from the concern that researchers studying bat viruses may have triggered the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.science.org/content/article/u-s-cancels-program-aimed-identifying-potential-pandemic-viruses? USAID launched the program, known as the Discovery & Exploration …

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US to negotiate on prices for a number of prescription drugs; The latest health stories from around the world

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its first list of 10 prescription drugs whose prices will be open for negotiation in 2023 and 2024. Any settled price will become effective in 2026. The HHS will be working through the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the provisions of …

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UK COVID-19 surveillance “flying blind”; The latest health stories from around the world

The UK is nearly “flying blind” when it comes to COVID this autumn, experts have said, amid an increase in cases. While the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to track some metrics of COVID, including hospitalization numbers, many of the community surveillance studies tracking infection levels have finished. www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/05/uk-almost-flying-blind-on-COVID-this-autumn-experts-say? Now experts have said the …

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US Senate approves budget increase for biomedical research; The latest health stories from around the world

To the relief of biomedical research advocates, a US Senate spending panel has approved a modest budget increase of 2% for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The bump to $47.8 billion roughly matches President Joe Biden’s request for the 2024 fiscal year that begins this fall. Although below the rate of biomedical inflation, it …

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More affordable tuberculosis medication on the horizon; The latest health stories from around the world

The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in mid-July agreed to help make a therapy critical to fighting drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) more widely available and affordable. J&J said it would allow competitors to market generic versions of the lifesaving drug, bedaquiline, in 44 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where the company has active patents. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-ben-franklin-s-anticounterfeiting-science-s-english-language-barrier? …

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