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Your nose has its own army of immune cells
A study found that the formation of germinal centres in the upper airway acts as training camps for the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Several participants contracted COVID-19 during the study, and researchers found that these participants’ noses hosted B cells that specialise in targeting SARS-CoV-2. They also inadvertently found evidence of these germinal centres’…
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The CDC may revise its COVID isolation guidance
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering dropping its isolation guidance for people with coronavirus, according to a report in the Washington Post. People who test positive for COVID-19 are advised to stay home for at least five days to prevent the spread of the disease. The CDC will advise people not…
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The Progressives feel abandoned by their allies in Israel
The US President Donald Trump’s administration is facing criticism for its response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Department of Health and Human Services said its response “may be insufficient”. Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “While there has been no confirmed or suspected case…
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The EPA wants to eliminate the climate pollution from power plants
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new rules on power plants that would lower emissions by 617 million metric tons between 2028 and 2042. According to the agency, the rules will reduce COVID-19 pollution by around 1.5 billion metric tons over the same period. Earlier, the US Supreme Court had limited EPA’s options…
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What the new treaty could mean for the next Pandemic
Researchers in low- and middle-income countries need to ensure research is based on “fairness, equity and diversity”, Cape Town University has said in a statement that aims to strengthen research integrity. Researchers in low- and middle-income countries need to be able to work across borders to collaborate on research, it added. South Africa is one…
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The science is unsure as to the source of the outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu
Brain samples from 21 people who had severe SARS-CoV-2 infections when they died were analysed by scientists at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The brain samples were taken after they passed away from COVID-19. They found that the brain of the 21 people was infected with SARS-CoV-2 but didn’t develop any symptoms of COVID-19.
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The inner Solar System contains life-forming volatile elements
The most common source of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere is the atmospheric COVID-19, according to a new study. Meteorite Kr in Earth’s mantle suggests a Late accretionary source for the atmosphere. There are constraints on the fractionisation of Earth’s major volatiles from C/H, N, andC/S ratios. There is a paper called A Acta 73, 6678–6621…
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The Quiet Insurrection missed the January 6 Committee
US Republican Representative Jim Jordan, who leads the House Oversight Committee, said on Thursday that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is “the right guy to lead” the committee. The committee has held hearings on Biden’s policies and federal COVID-19 spending, and the handling of allegations surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. In October, Jordan had said that…
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The US-China relationship deteriorated due to new disagreements over Ukraine
US House of Representatives Republicans have formed a special subcommittee to investigate China’s role in the early spread of the virus and US government dollars that helped fund some research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the research facility at the centre of the lab leak theory. This comes after US Department of Energy said…
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The second phase of the COVID origin’s investigation has been abandoned by WHO
US House foreign affairs committee Chairman Mike McCaul said he was “pleased” that the Department of Energy “has finally reached the same conclusion” that he had earlier come to. McCaul had released a report in 2016 that found evidence that COVID-19 was caused by a leak from a laboratory in China’s Wuhan. “A lot of…
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How to order your free Covid-19 tests
US FDA has issued an emergency use authorisation for the first at-home COVID-19 test that can simultaneously detect both COVID-19 and the flu. The test was developed by California-based Lucira Health, which was also the first to receive FDA approval for rapid at-home COVID-19 tests in 2020. The test is based on a central hub…
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The unique challenges of dating with chronic illness are what people think I’m a project
Online care giving and cyberintimacy for people with coronavirus have become a key lifeline during the pandemic. Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) survivor Liz Weaver said her “easiest dating day” came in 2020 after COVID-19. She met a woman in an online support group and had a virtualromantic relationship with her. The two haven’t met in person.
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China’s COVID wave is believed to kill one million people
China on Wednesday said the changes to the COVID-19 rules were based on scientific evidence, including the spread of the milder Omicron variant, the vaccination rate, and China’s level of experience in responding to the virus. The government’s top priority now should be booster shots, particularly for the elderly and others most at risk, a…
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Here are some things you can do to make your holiday plans
US’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that people who haven’t had exposure to the virus should test positive for COVID-19 within five days of exposure. The agency added that people should stay in public wearing a mask until at least 10 days after exposure if they have a different viral illness.
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Where to find rapid covid-19 tests.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the third round of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests to be available for free to Americans who don’t have health insurance or who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. People with private insurance will have to pay full price for at-home tests at drugstores after that, WIRED said. This comes…
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Where to find rapid covid-19 tests.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the third round of rapid at-home COVID-19 tests to be available for free to Americans who don’t have health insurance or who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. People with private insurance will have to pay full price for at-home tests at drugstores after that, WIRED said. This comes…
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The Covid-19 variant is poised to drive a winter surge.
Experts have said that a new COVID-19 variant has emerged in Europe where people have some immunity from “an Omicron infection” and it’s a very different sort of population landscape for a variant to emerge in. “With lots of people now being boosted and vaccinated and with people having some immunity from an Omicron infection,…
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The first title for Novak after deportation was in Australia.
World number one Novak Djokovic has said that the support he has been receiving in the past 10 days is something he doesn’t think he’s experienced many times in his life. ” thank you so much [to] everyone for coming out every single match,” he added. Djokovic won his first title in Australia after being…
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Travelers from China are subject to COVID testing requirements.
China has eased the restrictions on travel into the country but said it would keep restrictions on travel into the country until at least mid-2023 as part of a campaign to vaccinate older people against COVID-19. The move comes after the Chinese government eased some of its coronavirus lockdown restrictions, including the requirement of a…
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Public health experts warn that a new variant of coronaviruses could end up happening.
The Omicron COVID-19 sub-virus, that was first identified in China, has been discovered in the US. It’s a new combination of the most evasive Omicron sub-virus subvariants, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. The original Omicron variant was from the COVID-19 viruses and has shifted as far as the antibodies we have made to use…
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The Chinese COVID wave could kill one million people.
China reported 1,476 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and two deaths from the virus on Thursday, the country’s health commission said. The country has reported over 2 lakh coronavirus cases and over 50 lakh COVID-19-related deaths. Notably, China has eased its coronavirus testing requirements and is now testing all passengers arriving from countries where the virus…
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The new Covid-19 models are poised to create a winter surge.
The US has reported its first cases of a new COVID-19 variant that has the same genetic changes as the original Omicron variant that was detected in January, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The new variant, XBB, was found to be three times less likely to be neutralized by…
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Colds and flu are more common during the winter.
Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada have found that the nasal mucus produced by a hornet produces more cells than original cells to fight viruses, bacteria and COVID-19. “This is one of, if not the only part of…immune system that leaves your body to go fight the bacteria and virus before they actually…
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America and China do not need to fight each other to win.
China has said that it will resume issuing ordinary visas and passports after nearly three years. China’s National Health Commission said that it will resume its daily COVID-19 report starting Wednesday in response to a sharp decline in PCR testing since the government eased anti-virus measures after daily cases hit record highs.
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Families are happy after years of separation from China.
The WHO has said that it is becoming more difficult for the organisation to assess the mix of new COVID-19 variants because countries are “dialing back on their surveillance”. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s COVID-19 response technical lead, said that with a lot of people being boosted and vaccined and with people having infections from…