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Swine Flu Hits Hardest Among Young Adults

Excessive immune reaction may be at fault in Mexican deaths

(Newser) - The swine flu sweeping through Mexico is wreaking havoc among young adults in particular, reports the Washington Post, with the entire death toll as of yesterday comprised of those between 25 and 50. Some believe the trouble for young adults is an overpowering immune reaction that ravages throat and lung...

Perry Asks Feds for Swine Flu Meds

Seems like only yesterday he was talkin' 'bout a secession

(Newser) - Turning sharply from tea party-inspired talk of secession, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is responding to three known cases of swine flu in his state by asking the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hand over 37,430 precautionary doses of antiviral meds, the San Marcos Daily Record reports....

8 NYC Students Have Swine Flu, CDC Says

Bloomberg confirms suspicions, awaits tests on more students

(Newser) - The CDC has confirmed that eight New York City schoolchildren were infected with swine flu, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today, stressing that the cases were mild and many are recovering. The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more students are infected. Some students at St....

Swine Flu Spreads as Far as New Zealand

10 students infected with mild strain after returning from Mexico

(Newser) - Ten students from New Zealand who just returned from Mexico have tested positive for influenza, and the country's health minister said the cases are "likely" to be swine flu. The students were quarantined after returning to New Zealand yesterday, and one student had to be hospitalized. The minister added...

Swine Flu Cases Rise to 11 in US; 8 Probable in NYC

'We don’t think we can contain the spread of this virus:' CDC official

(Newser) - Swine flu pandemic fears grew today as three new cases surfaced in Kansas and California, bringing the US total to 11. Meanwhile, doctors diagnosed eight "probable" cases among New York City schoolchildren, MSNBC reports. The US victims appear to be recovering, in contrast to Mexico, where 81 people have...

CDC Prepares Swine Flu Vaccine

(Newser) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prepared a seed stock of vaccine for the swine flu that has killed dozens in Mexico and infected a handful of Americans, Time reports. The CDC has not begun mass production of the vaccine, opting instead to see if the outbreak reaches...

WHO Chief Sees 'Pandemic Potential'

(Newser) - The World Health Organization believes the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico and the southwestern United States could grow into a pandemic, the Washington Post reports. “It has pandemic potential,” said WHO’s director-general. “It is infecting people.” Margaret Chan cautioned that the WHO is still...

'Mikeyy' Worm Snarls Twitter
 'Mikeyy' Worm Snarls Twitter 
Apr 13, 2009 12:49 PM CDT

'Mikeyy' Worm Snarls Twitter

(Newser) - A series of viruses have been wreaking havoc on Twitter, the South Florida Business Journal reports, sending out unwanted messages promoting StalkDaily.com. Click on one, and your account will be infected as well, and begin sending out the malicious tweets. According to Twitter’s official blog, the “Mikeyy”...

Scientists Map Common Cold's Genome
Scientists Map Common Cold's Genome
Feb 12, 2009 4:43 PM CST

Scientists Map Common Cold's Genome

Makes creating a cure possible, but still pricey and unlikely

(Newser) - Researchers have completed a “family tree” for the common cold, paving the way for an eventual cure to one of mankind’s most stubborn ailments, the New York Times reports. Scientists mapped the genomes of the 99 variations of rhinovirus, which causes most colds, and have cataloged the weaknesses...

Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly
Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly
Dec 30, 2008 2:58 PM CST

Three Genes Made 1918 Flu So Deadly

They cause pneumonia by letting virus into lungs

(Newser) - Researchers have pinpointed the reason the flu pandemic of 1918 was “the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease in human history,” Reuters reports. The key is a combination of three genes that allowed the virus to enter the lungs and cause pneumonia. Typically, the flu affects only the...

3 Virologists Share Medicine Nobel Prize

Discoverers of HIV, human papilloma virus win $1.4M award

(Newser) - The Nobel Prize for medicine was awarded today to three scientists who discovered two of the world's deadliest sexually transmitted viruses. Half the prize goes to Harald zur Hausen, a German who discovered the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer in women. The other half goes to Françoise...

Docs Tout Safer, Non-Embryonic Stem Cells

Virus, used in mice, repurposes adult cells with no risk of cancer

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a safer way to turn adult cells into stem cells, the Boston Globe reports. The cells, similar to those harvested from embryos, are called induced pluripotent stem, or iPS, cells; Japanese researchers introduced the method 2 years ago. But the Japanese used retroviruses, which can cause cancer;...

Thomas Weller, Who Won Nobel for Polio Work, Dead at 93

Work paved way for Salk, Sabin vaccines

(Newser) - Thomas Weller, whose research on polio won him a share of a Nobel Prize in 1954, died this weekend at 93, the Boston Globe reports. Weller, along with colleagues John Enders and Frederick Robbins, discovered that the polio virus preyed on muscles, not nerve tissue as had been previously thought....

Brits Warn of Devastating Pandemic

World ill-prepared for massive outbreak

(Newser) - The world is in danger of losing up to 50 million people to an "inevitable" flu pandemic, and global response agencies aren't ready for such a test, the British government warns. A report rates early-warning systems as "poorly coordinated" and calls for an overhaul of the World Health...

CDC: Older Americans Need Shingles Vaccines

Drug cuts risk of getting disease in half

(Newser) - The CDC is recommending that all adults age 60 and older get vaccinated against shingles, a common condition that can result in chronic plan, the Washington Post reports. Research has found that the recommended Merck vaccine reduces the occurrence of shingles by some 50% in this age group. Only those...

Deadly China Virus Not Seen as Olympic Threat

But cases are expected to rise with warm weather

(Newser) - The outbreak of a deadly virus in China hasn’t peaked yet—but it won’t affect the Beijing Games, a World Health Organization rep said. “I don't see it at all as a threat to the Olympics or any upcoming events,” he noted. Enterovirus 71 has killed...

Cold Virus Joins Cancer Fight

Brain tumors may yield to targeted infection

(Newser) - Scientists are trying to beat some of the most untreatable forms of cancer by employing another undefeated ailment: the common cold. A research team in Seattle has "modified the viruses so they can selectively target the tumor cells, replicate inside them and kill them," says one of the...

This Year's Flu Vaccine Missing the Mark

Only 40% effective as unexpected virus strains hit the public

(Newser) - Flu season peaks in early February and experts say this could be a very bad year. Health officials say that is partly because this year's flu vaccines aren't effective enough, the AP reports. "Every area of the country is experiencing lots of flu right now," said a doctor...

Lasers Able to Zap Viruses
Lasers Able to Zap Viruses 
Feb 6, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Lasers Able to Zap Viruses

Find the right frequency, and they shatter like a wine glass

(Newser) - Laser pulses tuned to the right frequency can be used to zap viruses, researchers have found, the way a soprano can shatter a wine glass, LiveScience reports. Scientists have developed computer models to determine a virus's lowest resonant frequency, and then destroy it with a laser pulse. "Like pushing...

New Virus Linked to Virulent Skin Cancer

Genome analysis helps make the connection

(Newser) - A new virus has been linked with a rare but particularly aggressive form of skin cancer that affects as many as 1,200 Americans a year. Scientists have yet to definitively prove a causal relationship between the newly discovered polyoma virus and Merkel cell carcinoma, but evidence strongly suggests that...

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