Архив автора: Admin

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday that it will start winding down mRNA vaccine development efforts under a federal health agency focused on developing medical countermeasures to address public health emergencies.

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mRNA vaccines have been credited by public health experts with saving millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many infectious disease experts have stressed that years of research have shown the shots are both safe and effective. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, claimed in a statement accompanying HHS’s announcement that “data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”

The move, which HHS said comes after “a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency,” will involve canceling and de-scoping various contracts under the Biomedical Advanced ..

Nearly 60 people have become sick and two have died in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City. Health officials there issued an alert on July 30 warning residents of Central Harlem who have flu-like symptoms to see a health care provider immediately.

Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. (The bacteria and the disease get their name from the first outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.) The bacteria tend to grow in water, including cooling towers that service buildings in the summer, as well as air conditioning systems, hot tubs, and decorative water displays like fountains. About 6,000 cases are reported in the U.S. each year, and about 200 to 800 of these occur in New York City.

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The likely sources of the current outbreak are cooling towers, the New York City Health Department said on Aug. 4, which helps to control the temperature of cooling systems like refrigerati..

AI chatbots have become a ubiquitous part of life. People turn to tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot not just for help with emails, work, or code, but for relationship advice, emotional support, and even friendship or love.

But for a minority of users, these conversations appear to have disturbing effects. A growing number of reports suggest that extended chatbot use may trigger or amplify psychotic symptoms in some people. The fallout can be devastating and potentially lethal. Users have linked their breakdowns to lost jobs, fractured relationships, involuntary psychiatric holds, and even arrests and jail time. At least one support group has emerged for people who say their lives began to spiral after interacting with AI.

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The phenomenon—sometimes colloquially called “ChatGPT psychosis” or “AI psychosis”—isn’t well understood. There’s no formal diagnosis, data are scarce, and no clear protocols for treatment exist. Psychiatrists and re..

AI chatbots have become a ubiquitous part of life. People turn to tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot not just for help with emails, work, or code, but for relationship advice, emotional support, and even friendship or love.

But for a minority of users, these conversations appear to have disturbing effects. A growing number of reports suggest that extended chatbot use may trigger or amplify psychotic symptoms in some people. The fallout can be devastating and potentially lethal. Users have linked their breakdowns to lost jobs, fractured relationships, involuntary psychiatric holds, and even arrests and jail time. At least one support group has emerged for people who say their lives began to spiral after interacting with AI.

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The phenomenon—sometimes colloquially called “ChatGPT psychosis” or “AI psychosis”—isn’t well understood. There’s no formal diagnosis, data are scarce, and no clear protocols for treatment exist. Psychiatrists and re..

Thousands in southern China have been infected with a mosquito-borne illness in the past few weeks, in what’s considered one of the most notable outbreaks of the disease since it was first detected in the country nearly two decades ago.

The latest outbreak of chikungunya has infected more than 7,000 in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, with sporadic cases in other neighboring cities and municipalities in Guangdong province.

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So severe is the outbreak that a vice premier visited a massively affected district in the city last week and “urged efforts to curb imported cases and prevent the spread of Chikungunya both within and outside affected regions,” according to state-run news organization Xinhua. The rapid rise of infections in the province also prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel warning to caution visitors earlier this month.

Read More: Why Mosquitoes Are So Dangerous Right Now

Local officials are no..

At least eight people along the Gulf Coast have died and 22 others have been infected in what local health officials are warning is a rise in cases involving “flesh-eating” bacteria.

The Louisiana Department of Health issued an alert last week saying that there had been 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus in the state so far this year. All of those patients were hospitalized, and four died.

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“This represents a higher number of Vibrio vulnificus cases and deaths than are typically reported,” the department said. “During the same time period over the previous 10 years, an average of seven Vibrio vulnificus cases and one death were reported each year.”

Meanwhile, health officials in Florida have reported 13 cases this year, as of July 24. Four of those cases have resulted in death.

Public health experts have generally attributed the rise in cases to climate change.

Here’s what to know about the bacteria.

What is Vibrio vulnificus?

Vibrio vulnificus is a t..

A few years back, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez started noticing the extreme brightness of car headlights in rural Washington, where she lives—and felt bombarded. “You come around a curve and get these headlights smack in your face,” she says. “They make you lose reaction time. It’s a real safety risk.”

As a U.S. Representative, she’s working to change federal regulations to limit how bright headlights can be. Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez—who is also co-founder of an auto repair shop in addition to her political service—points out that even though vehicle safety has improved in the past decade, total road fatalities have gone up. Deadly accidents occur disproportionately at night, as headlight brightness has increased.

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It’s not just headlights. Our eyes are increasingly assailed by ultra-bright billboard ads, dazzling street lights, and glowing personal screens. The resulting glare could affect long-term vision. “High-intensity lights are potentially harmful bec..