Ed Cara

Earther

Wildlife Officials Warn Contaminated Aquarium Moss Balls May Unleash a Zebra Mussel Plague

Balls of moss commonly found in aquariums are threatening to push the zebra mussel invasion further across the U.S., wildlife officials are warning. Contaminated moss balls have been found in pet stores in 21 states in recent weeks, and both officials and the pet supply industry are scrambling to contain the problem before it’s too … Continued

ScienceHealth

A Common Yeast May Cause Trouble For Crohn’s Patients

A fungal yeast found in cheese and other foods may wreak havoc in the guts of people with Crohn’s disease, according to new findings. In a study published Thursday, researchers have found evidence that Crohn’s patients are more likely to carry that yeast than people without the disease, and that this yeast is linked to … Continued

ScienceHealth

Covid-19 Survivors Might Only Need One mRNA Vaccine Dose

For people who have survived a past encounter with covid-19, only one dose of a mRNA vaccine may be needed for full protection, research released Wednesday suggests. The findings add weight to the proposed idea by some experts that survivors should only get one shot in order to help stretch out the vaccine supply. Researchers … Continued

ScienceBiology

Gene Therapy Might One Day Treat Chronic Pain

A group of scientists say they’re on the verge of developing a promising treatment for chronic pain that works by turning down, but not permanently altering, a gene that helps us sense pain. Their new research with mice suggests that the gene therapy could offer months of pain relief at a time without any major … Continued

ScienceHealth

Expert Panel Calls for More Smokers to Get Tested for Lung Cancer Starting at 50 Years Old

More people with a long history of smoking should be tested annually for lung cancer, even if they’ve quit in recent years, according to new guidance released Tuesday by a government-backed panel of health experts. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force routinely reviews and guides preventative health care services in the country. Though officially a … Continued

ScienceHealth

The Next Generation of HIV Drugs Is Looking Really Promising

The next generation of medications and preventative treatments for HIV/AIDS continues to look promising. New research released Tuesday suggests that people can safely wear a vaginal ring-based treatment meant to prevent HIV infection for as long as three months. A monthly version of the same drug is already being weighed for approval in African countries … Continued

ScienceHealth

CDC Says Fully Vaccinated People Can Socialize Indoors Unmasked, With a Few Exceptions

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have come out with new guidelines for people who are vaccinated against covid-19. Chief among them is the reassurance that fully vaccinated people can safely spend time indoors unmasked with other vaccinated people and even unvaccinated people in certain situations. It still calls for these people to practice … Continued

ScienceHealth

Scientists Warn Diphtheria Is on the Rise, Could Become Major Global Threat Again

A nearly vanquished infectious disease looks to be making a comeback. In a new paper this week, scientists warn that cases of diphtheria have gradually increased in recent years, while there are signs that antibiotics and vaccines against the bacteria could be in danger of losing their potency as the germ continues to evolve. Diphtheria … Continued

ScienceHealth

U.S. Traffic Deaths Spiked in 2020, Even as People Stayed Off the Road

The covid-19 pandemic had a surprising effect on road fatalities in 2020, new data released this week suggests. Despite people staying at home more and driving less overall, more than 42,000 Americans were estimated to have been killed during a car crash last year—a higher death toll than seen in 2019. It’s likely that increased … Continued

ScienceHealth

A Boy’s Smelly Nose Was Caused by a BB Pellet Stuck Inside for Years

A young teen boy’s years of nasal congestion and other bizarre symptoms had an unusual culprit. His doctors say that the boy unknowingly had a BB gun pellet lodged in his nasal cavity for nearly a decade, which eventually caused him to give off an awful odor every time he blew his nose. Fortunately, they … Continued

ScienceHealth

Scientists Find Link Between Bipolar Disorder and Neuroinflammation

Scientists may be closer to understanding how the brain can function differently in people who have bipolar disorder. In a new study, researchers say they’ve found evidence that certain brain cells trigger inflammation more easily in those who have bipolar disorder, and that these wayward cells can be linked to decreased neural activity that could … Continued

ScienceHealth

Microdosing Benefits Might Be Largely Placebo, Experimental Study Suggests

The sometimes hyped benefits of microdosing—regularly using small amounts of psychedelic drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)—might be overstated, new research this week suggests. The study found that people who microdosed did experience psychological benefits, including greater sense of well-being, but that these benefits weren’t substantially different from how others felt when they took a … Continued

ScienceHealth

Merck Will Help Johnson & Johnson Make Its New Covid-19 Vaccine With Biden Push

Johnson & Johnson is getting some help to make their newly available covid-19 vaccine. On Tuesday, the White House confirmed that pharmaceutical company Merck has agreed to step in and produce some of J&J’s vaccines, in order to address a potential shortfall in supply. The single dose vaccine was authorized for emergency use by federal … Continued

ScienceHealth

Kids Are Being Exposed to a Lot of Concerning Chemicals Through Plastic Toys

Children’s toys contain many potentially toxic chemicals, recent research suggests. The study highlights over 120 concerning chemicals commonly found in plastic toys that could possibly raise a person’s risk of health problems, including cancer. Scientists have been worried about chemicals found in plastic for a while now, including those in plastic toys. Many of these … Continued

ScienceBiology

Cats Are Just as Disloyal as You Suspected, New Study Suggests

New research points to an important distinction between cats and dogs when it comes to reading certain social cues. It found that cats, unlike dogs, won’t necessarily avoid people who have wronged their owners. In 2015, a group of researchers in Japan published a study looking at how dogs would respond to people who had … Continued

ScienceHealth

FDA Authorizes J&J Covid-19 Shot, Adding Millions of Doses to Total Vaccine Supply

Yet another vaccine is now part of our arsenal of weapons against the covid-19 pandemic. On Saturday, the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to the one-dose shot developed by Johnson & Johnson. It joins the two-dose mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. The regulatory agency made the decision following … Continued

ScienceHealth

Americans Are Warming Up to Covid-19 Vaccines, Poll Finds

More Americans are willing to get a covid-19 vaccine, new polling suggests. According to a survey run by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are more likely to have been vaccinated or to want vaccination in February than they were a month ago, while the percentage of people who want to wait and see has declined … Continued

ScienceHealth

Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Ready to Test Out Their Vaccine Updates Against Covid-19 Variants

The arms race between the coronavirus and humanity continues to pick up steam. This week, Moderna announced that its modified vaccine meant to target a worrying variant first found in South Africa is now ready for testing. Pfizer/BioNTech is also set to test out their own contingency plan for new variants soon. The variant discovered in … Continued

ScienceHealth

What to Know About Johnson & Johnson’s One-Shot Covid-19 Vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon grant an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Johnson & Johnson’s covid-19 vaccine, possibly as early as this weekend. That decision would make it the third such vaccine to become available to Americans. So it’s as good a time as any to go through the similarities and … Continued

ScienceHealth

Covid-19 Survivors Have a Low Risk of Reinfection, Study Suggests

New government-funded research this week should offer some comfort to people who have survived covid-19. It suggests they have a low risk of reinfection from the coronavirus, at least around three months later. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute teamed up with commercial testing labs and two healthcare data collection companies for this study, published … Continued