September 19, 2026

05a Health

Scientists charged with bringing deactivated mpox virus into the US, lying to authorities– nypost.com

pgnewser June 3, 2026 0

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Two scientists at a U.S. government lab were charged with smuggling vials of deactivated mpox virus into the country from Africa and lying about it during interviews with investigators at a Michigan airport, authorities said Tuesday.

A criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Detroit against Vincent Munster, who is chief of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, and Claude Kwe, who works with him.

Munster and Kwe were stopped at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in January after a flight from Paris and nine days in the Republic of Congo. An outbreak of the mpox disease has been linked to more than 2,000 deaths in Congo, a vast region in central Africa, though a two-year outbreak was declared over in April.

A criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Detroit against Vincent Munster, who is chief of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Ebola cases in Congo reach 282 as Brazil investigates 2 suspected cases – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser June 2, 2026 0

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At least 282 confirmed cases of Ebola have now been reported in Congo’s ongoing outbreak as authorities in Brazil said they were looking into two suspected cases.

The two patients who recently arrived in Brazil from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak is ongoing, exhibited symptoms such as fever and chills.

The first patient is a Belgian traveller who came from Uganda to Rio de Janeiro. The Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), administered initial testing, which came back positive only for malaria. The patient remains isolated and the people who had contact with him are being monitored, according to health officials.

‘Ebola case’ in European country as ‘catastrophe’ warning issued for deadly disease | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser May 28, 2026 0

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A suspected Ebola case has sparked concern in Austria amid fears the deadly disease may have already spread to Europe. Health officials in Austria said the patient became ill shortly after returning from Uganda, where they are believed to have contracted the newly identified Bundibugyo strain.

It comes as the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is hampering the Ebola outbreak response. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Ituri province in the east of the country was at the centre of a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict”. In a statement posted on X, Tedros said the WHO could not “build community trust or isolate the sick while bombs are falling”.

Brain Spray Could Reverse Brain Aging – scitechwire.com

pgnewser May 27, 2026 0

Texas A&M Scientists have developed a nasal spray that reduces inflammation in the brain. The spray is being heralded as a potential effective treatment for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. Research leader Dr. Ashok Shetty said, “Brain age-related diseases like dementia are a major health concern worldwide. What we’re showing is brain aging can be reversed, to help people stay mentally sharp, socially engaged and free from age-related decline.”

Go Deeper

Scientists discover ancient single-celled ancestors still live on in your blood– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 27, 2026 0

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Nearly every animal species, including humans, has blood cells. But blood is not the same across the animal kingdom. Different species have evolved different types of blood and immune cells, reflecting millions of years of adaptation against infection and disease.

Scientists already understand a great deal about the makeup and function of blood cells in humans and mice thanks to advances in hematology and immunology. What has remained unclear is how these cells first appeared and evolved over time. To answer those questions, researchers at Kyoto University set out to trace the origins and diversification of blood cells across the animal world.

China just launched a bunch of fake human embryos into space on a new research mission– www.scientificamerican.com

pgnewser May 27, 2026 0

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China just launched fake human embryos to its space station for a new research mission

China’s artificial embryos are part of an experiment to learn more about how human pregnancies could develop under microgravity conditions

By Adam Kovac edited by Claire Cameron

Science Photo Library–ZEPHYR/Getty Images

A clutch of artificial human embryos on China’s Tiangong space station could help researchers better understand whether human pregnancies in space are possible and safe.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences says the experiment marks the first study on human artificial embryos in space. The artificial embryos are actually structures derived from stem cells, and they mimic how embryos form during the early days of pregnancy. These structures wouldn’t be able to develop into humans even if they were implanted into a uterus. Researchers originally conceived these artificial embryolike structures as a model to study the earliest moments of development because of widespread international rules aimed at restricting research on real human embryos that are older than two weeks after fertilization.

Doctors may soon be able to check your red blood cells by filming your eyeball– www.livescience.com

pgnewser May 26, 2026 0

Rare genetic disease makes scientists reconsider what the ‘seat of fear’ in the brain really is– www.livescience.com

pgnewser May 26, 2026 0

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The wind picks up dust from the unpaved road one afternoon in December as Jack van Honk turns into a ramshackle neighborhood in Lambert’s Bay, on the west coast of South Africa. A stocky woman in a red patterned sundress steps out of a small home painted palest sea green, her ochre-dirt yard crowded with potted plants, many medicinal. She smiles broadly, deep wrinkles creasing a face that is cherubic and yet careworn beyond her 47 years. “Doctor! I missed you,” she beams, her husky voice barely more than a hoarse whisper.

Maria carries a rare genetic mutation that is almost unknown outside of southern Africa. Its effects have been to calcify a part of the brain called the basolateral amygdala, and to thicken and scar the vocal cords. A friend of Maria with the same condition lives several hours inland, and sometimes they meet when van Honk brings them to Cape Town for brain scans and other tests. “It helps to know I’m not alone,” Maria says.

China will put a unique ID code on humanoid robots, just like citizen ID for us humans– www.digitaltrends.com

pgnewser May 26, 2026 0

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China has launched a national programme that will assign every humanoid robot manufactured in the country a unique digital identity code, effectively a citizen ID, but for bipedal machines (those that can balance and walk/run on two legs).

The initiative, called the Humanoid Full Lifecycle Management Service Platform, was announced on Friday. It is led by the Humanoid Robotics and Embodied Intelligence Standardization committee, which is under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (via South China Morning Post).

Scientists reversed biological age in older adults with a 4-week diet change– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 15, 2026 0

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Older adults who cut back on dietary fat or reduced the amount of animal-based protein they consumed showed signs of becoming biologically younger, according to new research from the University of Sydney.

The study, published in Aging Cell, found that adults between the ages of 65 and 75 experienced reductions in their estimated ‘biological age’ after following specific diets for just four weeks. Researchers say the findings suggest dietary changes later in life may quickly improve markers linked to aging and overall health.

The research was led by Dr. Caitlin Andrews from the University of Sydney’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences. While the results are promising, the scientists emphasized that the study provides only an early indication rather than definitive proof that diet can reverse aging. They say larger and longer studies are needed to determine whether these biological changes lower disease risk over time and whether the same effects occur in other age groups.

Living Longer Through Other Mammals’ Genes – extinctwire.com

pgnewser May 11, 2026 0

An experiment at the University of Rochester shows the long-life genes of moles could be transplanted to mice, producing mice that live longer than average mice.

Rochester University’s Biology and Medicine Professor Vera Gorbunova explained, “Our study provides a proof of principle that unique longevity mechanisms that evolved in long-lived mammalian species can be exported to improve the lifespans of other mammals.”

Go Deeper

Scientists reversed liver aging with young gut bacteria in stunning study– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 11, 2026 0

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Scientists may have discovered a powerful new link between the gut microbiome, aging, and liver cancer. New research presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2026 suggests that restoring gut bacteria to a more youthful state could help protect the liver, reduce age related damage, and potentially lower cancer risk.

The findings come from a mouse study focused on the microbiome, the vast community of bacteria and other microbes living in the digestive system. Researchers found that giving older mice back their own younger gut microbes produced striking effects throughout the body, especially in the liver.

Brain scans reveal a shocking difference between psychopaths and other people– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 11, 2026 0

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Neuroscientists have identified a measurable brain difference between people with psychopathic traits and those with few or none. In a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the University of Pennsylvania, and California State University found that a brain region involved in reward and motivation was larger in individuals with psychopathic traits.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the team found that the striatum was about 10 percent larger on average in psychopathic individuals compared with a control group. The striatum sits deep in the forebrain and plays a role in movement planning, decision-making, motivation, reinforcement, and how the brain responds to rewards.

Scientists discover the brain’s hidden “stop scratching” switch– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 11, 2026 0

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When an itch strikes, scratching usually brings relief after a few moments. Scientists have now uncovered part of the biological system that tells the brain when enough scratching has occurred. The discovery reveals how the nervous system naturally limits scratching and may help explain why this process breaks down in people with chronic itch disorders. The findings were presented at the 70th Biophysical Society Annual Meeting.

Researchers from the laboratory of Roberta Gualdani at the University of Louvain in Brussels identified an unexpected role for a molecule known as TRPV4 in itch triggered by mechanical stimulation, such as scratching.

“We were initially studying TRPV4 in the context of pain,” Gualdani explained. “But instead of a pain phenotype, what emerged very clearly was a disruption of itch, specifically, how scratching behavior is regulated.”

Affirmative Action In NIH Grants Revealed– www.science20.com

pgnewser May 7, 2026 0

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The Supreme Court recently issued another ruling that seeks to end racial discrimination. most recently in specially-created political districts. What has not been an issue, because it was not obvious like universities and Louisiana politics, is how grants get chosen.A new study says that there was a component of racial favoritism in science funding as well, and it’s only been revealed in the wake of NIH grant cuts.

To the public, science is like sports – a meritocracy. The best win. The reality is more like politics. It helps to have friends, and it’s important that you say you will do what they want you to do. After the COVID-19 vaccine saved millions of lives and got a Nobel Prize, for example, both the NIH and the University of Pennsylvania attached themselves to it. Both were blatantly lying. The NIH had refused to fund the mRNA work of Katalin Karikó, Ph.D. Penn not only refused her tenure, they demoted her because she believed in mRNA but the federal government did not. She quit academia specifically because she knew the private sector funded nearly all actual basic research(1) while government often wanted to engage in cultural agendas or fund ‘safe’ studies guaranteed to show a positive result before the grant was up.

Scientists reverse diabetes in mice with lab-grown insulin cells– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser May 7, 2026 0

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Scientists in Sweden have developed a more reliable way to create insulin-producing cells from human stem cells, bringing new momentum to efforts to treat type 1 diabetes. The research, published in Stem Cell Reports, shows that these lab-grown cells can effectively control blood sugar in tests and even reverse diabetes in mice.

Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system attacks and destroys the pancreas’s insulin-producing cells. Without insulin, the body cannot properly absorb glucose from the bloodstream, leading to dangerous blood sugar levels. Replacing these lost cells has long been seen as a promising solution, but earlier attempts to grow them from stem cells have produced inconsistent results.

“We have developed a method that reliably produces high-quality insulin-producing cells from multiple human stem cell lines. This opens up opportunities for future patient-specific cell therapies, which could reduce immune rejection,” says Per-Olof Berggren, professor at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, and corresponding author alongside Siqin Wu, researcher at Spiber Technologies AB

Even brief AI use could hurt your ability to think, a new study finds– www.digitaltrends.com

pgnewser May 7, 2026 0

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A new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Oxford, and UCLA suggests that using an AI chatbot for just 10 minutes could negatively impact your ability to think and problem-solve. And honestly, the findings are a little alarming.

As reported by Wired, the researchers asked participants to solve problems, including simple fractions and reading comprehension tasks. Some participants were given access to an AI assistant that could solve the problem for them.

When the AI was suddenly removed, those participants were far more likely to give up or get the answer wrong. In other words, the moment the AI crutch was gone, people struggled.

Planned Parenthood Gender Drugs Raise Fertility Concerns– www.standingforfreedom.com

pgnewser May 6, 2026 0

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Pro-life advocates have long warned about Planned Parenthood’s role in ending innocent lives through abortion, but now the threat has expanded. The abortion giant is not only ending lives in the present but it is advancing practices that may prevent future generations of children from ever being conceived.

How? By targeting minors with medical interventions that can lead to permanent sterility.

This is not speculation. It can be clearly seen in Planned Parenthood’s expanding involvement in providing so-called gender-transition services.

A review by Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee found that 14 Planned Parenthood regional reports – the regions that consistently publish comparable data – recorded a more than 40 percent increase in reported ‘gender-affirming care,’ visits, or services from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025. Because Planned Parenthood’s national 2024-2025 annual report does not provide a national total for ‘gender-affirming care,’ CWALAC aggregated figures from regional reports that publish comparable data. Planned Parenthood’s national gender-care page lists estrogen and anti-androgen therapy, testosterone therapy, puberty blockers, surgery referrals, and transition support, while noting that not every health center offers every service.

“This is several years in a row now that this number has increased despite society for the most part turning its back and reversing course on a lot of this,” Macy Petty, a legislative strategist for CCA, told the Daily Wire. “Planned Parenthood has found a way to continue this harmful and destructive business.”

Schools are struggling to afford costs of free school lunches, and MAHA guidelines may make it worse– fortune.com

pgnewser April 29, 2026 0

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As more than two-thirds of U.S. public schools say they already can’t sustain free meals for their students, one economist is sounding the alarms and says the Trump administration’s updated dietary guidelines may make these financial troubles even worse.

For the 2023-2024 school year, the government provided 4.8 billion lunches to the nearly 29.4 million students belonging to the National School Lunch Program, at a cost of $17.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Part of this sum takes the form of cash reimbursements to schools serving free or reduced-cost food to students, with free lunch costing roughly $4.70 per student per meal.

Many schools, however, say the assistance they receive to feed students the subsidized meals are not enough. A recent survey of more than 1,170 school nutrition directors from the trade group the School Nutrition Association (SNA) found this year, 69.6% reported insufficient reimbursement rates to cover the cost of school lunches, an increase from 67.4% the previous year. More than half of the directors said there is “serious concern” about the financial sustainability of their school nutrition programs over the next three years, up from 46% from the 2024-2025 school year.