Month: February 2023

Black and Hispanic adults on dialysis experience more staph bloodstream infections than white patients receiving the treatment for kidney failure, U.S. health officials said Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing 2017-2020 data, said adults on dialysis for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) were 100 times more likely to have a Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection than adults not receiving the treatment. According to the CDC, more than 800,000 people in the United States live with ESKD. Seventy percent are being treated with dialysis and 30% have a functioning kidney transplant. African Americans constitute some 33% of all U.S. dialysis patients although they make up only 12% of the population. About one in every five dialysis patients is Hispanic. Members of both groups have significantly higher rates of…

South Africa has recorded two confirmed imported cases of cholera, the health department said Sunday, as it called for vigilance.  The cases were of sisters who had in January traveled to Malawi, where a cholera outbreak since last year has claimed more than 1,000 lives as of January, the highest on record in the country.  "Both patients had developed symptoms on their return to Johannesburg," the health department said in a statement.  "A close contact (household family member) of one of the patients was admitted to hospital on 4 February with diarrhea and dehydration, and is considered a possible case," it said, adding laboratory test results were pending.  Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae and can be deadly if left untreated. It is mainly…

The thermometer sinks below zero as a blizzard of fine snow descends on two houses freshly built inside a massive laboratory in northern England. Despite the icy conditions, the two energy-efficient homes remain cozy and warm due to their use of cutting-edge heating and insulation technology. Welcome to Energy House 2.0 -- a science experiment designed to help the world's housebuilders slash carbon emissions, save energy and tackle climate change. The project, based in a laboratory resembling a giant warehouse on Salford University campus near the center of Manchester, opened last month. Rain, wind, sunshine and snow can be recreated in temperatures ranging from 40 degrees Celsius to –20 Celsius, operated from a control center. Replicating weather "What we've tried to achieve here is to be able to replicate the…

As it marks World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to tackle breast cancer, the most common and leading cause of cancer deaths among women.   Every year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 700,000 die of the disease, which disproportionately affects women living in low- and middle-income countries.   WHO officials say women who live in poorer countries are far less likely to survive breast cancer than women in richer countries.      “Breast cancer survival is 50 percent or less in many low- and middle-income countries, and greater than 90 percent for those able to receive the best care in high income countries,” says Bente Mikkelsen, director of the Noncommunicable Diseases Department at the WHO.   She says…

Editor's note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.  Two years since Myanmar military coup The U.N. special rapporteur for Myanmar warned Tuesday that two years after its coup, Myanmar’s military will try to legitimize its hold on power through sham elections this year, and he urged the international community not to recognize or engage with the junta. Humanitarians await ‘guidelines’ from Afghan Taliban on women aid workers The U.N. humanitarian chief said Monday he is awaiting a list of guidelines from Taliban authorities to allow Afghan women to work in the humanitarian sector, following a decree last month that has restricted their work. Martin Griffiths said he also asked Taliban officials if…

Logistics manager Nicholas Rehak was visiting his parent's home in Baltimore County, Maryland, several years ago. He was standing on the back deck one night when he noticed a bluish white light. "It was shaped in a damn near perfect oval and it started to rise," Rehak told VOA. "I'm talking straight up vertical, no deviation. It sat there for nearly 30 seconds and then suddenly it vanished — like a lamp when someone pulls the plug. Just sudden darkness." Perhaps it was a drone. Rehak said that was his first thought. "But I've never seen a drone take off perfectly vertical like that, from ground to sky without so much as a wobble," he continued. "It was far too low to the ground to be a larger aircraft. So…

More than 200 years after Napoleon met defeat at Waterloo, the bones of soldiers killed on that famous battlefield continue to intrigue Belgian researchers and experts, who use them to peer back to that moment in history. "So many bones -- it's really unique!" exclaimed one such historian, Bernard Wilkin, as he stood in front of a forensic pathologist's table holding two skulls, three femurs and hip bones. He was in an autopsy room in the Forensic Medicine Institute in Liege, eastern Belgium, where tests are being carried out on the skeletal remains to determine from which regions the four soldiers they belong to came from. That in itself is a challenge. Half a dozen European nationalities were represented in the military ranks at the Battle of Waterloo, located 20…

The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided "substantial" information that grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. But federal officials rejected claims by Idaho that protections should be lifted beyond those areas, and they raised concerns about new laws from the Republican-led states that could potentially harm grizzly populations. "We will fully evaluate these and other potential threats," said Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Friday's move kicks off at least a year of further study before final decisions about…

Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills defensive back, needed to be resuscitated after making a tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Bills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington performed CPR on Hamlin on the field. "Being able to deliver care in emergency situations is not just important at sporting events, but in all walks of life," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. People who visit the mobile training unit will receive hands-only CPR training from experts and receive CPR information that can be…

Australia's drugs watchdog on Friday announced that psychedelic substances MDMA and psilocybin -- more commonly known as ecstasy and magic mushrooms -- will soon be used in the treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress. Psychiatrists will be able to prescribe the two substances from July, the Therapeutic Goods Administration said after finding "sufficient evidence for potential benefits in certain patients." The two drugs are currently "prohibited substances" and can only be used in closely controlled clinical trials. The administration said they had been found to be "relatively safe" when administered in a medical setting and provided an "altered state of consciousness" that could help patients. Mike Musker, a mental health and suicide prevention researcher at the University of South Australia, welcomed the move as "long-awaited." "There are many people in…

At a nuclear waste site in Normandy, robotic arms guided by technicians behind a protective shield maneuver a pipe that will turn radioactive chemicals into glass as France seeks to make safe the byproducts of its growing reliance on atomic power. The fuel-cooling pools in La Hague, on the country's northwestern tip, could be full by the end of the decade and state-owned Orano, which runs them, says the government needs to outline a long-term strategy to modernize its aging facilities no later than 2025. While more nuclear energy can help France and other countries to reduce planet-warming emissions, environmental campaigners say it replaces one problem with another. To seek solutions, President Emmanuel Macron, who has announced plans to build at least six new reactors by 2050, on Friday chairs…

U.S. health officials said Thursday a company is recalling its over-the-counter eye drops that have been linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week sent a health alert to doctors, saying the outbreak included at least 55 people in 12 states. One died and at least five others had permanent vision loss. The infections, including some found in blood, urine and lungs, were linked to EzriCare Artificial Tears. Many said they had used the product, which is a lubricant used to treat irritation and dryness. The eye drops are sold under the name EzriCare and are made in India by Global Pharma Healthcare. The Food and Drug Administration said the company recalled unexpired lots of EzriCare Artificial Tears and another product, Delsam…

A legendary U.S. groundhog, from the (east central U.S.) town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, was pulled from his burrow early Thursday, with local officials declaring he saw his shadow, indicating, according to legend, there will be at least six more weeks of winter. The annual observance of Groundhog Day on February 2 brings thousands of revelers to the town—located about 105 kilometers northeast of Pittsburgh—each year. Local officials, dressed in top hats and long coats, make a show of pulling the famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil from his underground burrow to get his forecast. The event is held shortly after dawn, around 7:15am, but the festivities begin as early as early as 3:30am with live entertainment and fireworks. According to the organizer’s website, the tradition of seeking a weather forecast from a…

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Personal possession of a small amount of hard drugs is now legal in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The controversial move is intended to reduce deaths from drug use. The personal possession of 2.5 grams of hard drugs, including cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and morphine, has now been decriminalized. This temporary exemption means a person found with a small quantity of these drugs will not have them seized nor face arrest or any criminal charges.  An average of six people a day die in British Columbia from illicit drug use, mostly men in their private residences.  The day the three-year pilot program went into effect, the provincial coroner announced 2,272 people had died in 2022 from drug overdose. That was the second highest on record, topped only…

For thousands of years, ancient Egyptians mummified their dead in the search for eternal life. Now, researchers have used chemistry and an unusual collection of jars to figure out how they did it. Their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, is based on a rare archaeological find: An embalming workshop with a trove of pottery around 2,500 years old. Many jars from the site were still inscribed with instructions like "to wash" or "to put on his head." By matching the writing on the outside of the vessels with the chemical traces inside, researchers uncovered new details about the "recipes" that helped preserve bodies for thousands of years. "It's like a time machine, really," said Joann Fletcher, an archaeologist at University of York who was not involved with the…

Two mass shootings in California in one week have highlighted the complex mental health issues faced by older Asian Americans who may have been traumatized in their homelands and who — after building new lives in the United States — now find themselves facing additional challenges as they age. Some first-generation Asian immigrants, especially those who emigrated from conflict zones, arrive with trauma issues that often go untreated during the push to find work, housing and a community, according to experts. Depression and loneliness are major problems among elderly retired immigrants whose limited English skills impose limits on developing social circles of friends and acquaintances. Generational differences between the immigrants and their children, who are native or near-native Americans, create another layer of isolation for older immigrants, according to numerous…

Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule smaller than a coin that was lost in the vast Outback after nearly a week-long search along a 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) stretch of highway, officials said.  The Caesium-137 capsule was discovered when a vehicle travelling at 70 kms per hour equipped with specialist detection equipment picked up the radiation, according to officials from the state of Western Australia.  The search team then used portable detection equipment to find the capsule, which was located about 2 meters from the side of the road, they added.  "I do want to emphasize this is an extraordinary result," Western Australia's Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said in a news conference.  "When you consider the scope of the research area, locating this object was a monumental…