Month: March 2021

The age of extinction Experimental animal jabs could stop spillover back to humans, says firm behind vaccines for primates At the start of 2021, four orangutans and five bonobos became the first great apes at a US zoo to receive Covid-19 vaccinations. An outbreak in San Diego zoo’s western lowland gorilla troop had caused panic among staff after the virus spread to the animals, probably from an asymptomatic zookeeper. Eight gorillas tested positive – with symptoms such as runny noses, lethargy and coughs – and there were fears the virus could spread to other primates.“We were approached by San Diego zoo asking if we had any vaccine because the primates were getting sick. Luckily, we had some that we thought would be appropriate,” recalls Dr Mahesh Kumar, a senior vice-president at the U...

"We must act now, and I am worried that if we don't take the right actions now, we will have another avoidable surge -- just as we are seeing in Europe right now and just as we are so aggressively scaling up vaccination," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday. And high levels of infection now could also mean problems for vaccines later on, one expert told CNN on Monday. "Not only does uncontrolled spread cause avoidable illness, hospitalization and death, but it increases the risk that an even more dangerous variant may emerge that could make the vaccine less effective," said Dr. Tom Frieden, the former CDC director. You asked, we answered: Your top questions about Covid-19 and vaccines Travels and crowds tend to lead to surges While vacc...

Though early research and anecdotal reports have documented tinnitus and sudden hearing loss in some covid-19 patients, audiologists emphasized that there is no conclusive evidence connecting the virus to the onset or worsening of tinnitus. The condition is “one of those things that is just so variable in every single person,” said Eldré Beukes, an audiologist and research fellow at Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom, who has published research on how individuals with tinnitus have been affected by the pandemic. In the United States, more than 50 million people experience some form of tinnitus, which is often linked to hearing loss. About 20 million struggle with a chronic condition, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases, according to the American Tinnitus Asso...

Covid-19 vaccines currently authorized in the United States are only available for adults, except Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine, which is authorized for people ages 16 and older. While there's a chance that a vaccine will be available to high school and middle school-age children by this fall, younger children may still be months away from vaccination when the upcoming school year begins. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said younger children may have to wait until the first quarter of 2022. Trials are getting underway, though. Last week, the first children were vaccinated in Moderna's Phase 2/3 KidCOVE pediatric trial, which includes children ages 6 months to 11 years. Dr. Buddy Creech, director of Vanderbilt University's Vaccine R...

Enlarge / The traditional cheese and charcuterie board is generally considered an excellent pairing for a classic bold red wine. A new study finds that the secret is an interaction between the tannins in wine and lipids in the cheeses and meats. Wine aficionados know that a well-paired wine enhances the flavors of whatever foods one consumes, while a poorly paired wine does the opposite. And some foods can, in turn, influence the flavors in a wine. Is there any better accompaniment to one's favorite cheeses and/or cured meats than a good bottle of Bordeaux or a California Cabernet? A team of French scientists specifically explored the role of interactions between the tannins in wine and fatty molecules known as lipids in foods to better understand...