Notices by Flipboard Science Desk (sciencedesk@flipboard.social)

Measles cases are rising in the U.S. Do adults need a vaccine booster?

@npr explains why some adults may need to get revaccinated: https://flip.it/_Jh2La

#Measles #Disease #Vaccines #PublicHealth #Science

Fish species thought to be extinct for 85 years rediscovered.

@abc reports: "The last sighting of the Chel snakehead ... [was] recorded from specimens collected between 1918 and 1933 in the Himalayan region of India, leading scientists to believe the species had died out."

https://flip.it/8vzfsw

#Fish #Animals #Endangered #Himalayas #Science

Why emus might not be the "world’s dumbest bird" after all.

From @PopularScience: "A small study found that some large birds are also capable of innovation."

https://flip.it/krVivl

#Birds #Emu #Animals #Wildlife #Evolution

Meet the capuchin monkey: Curious, creative and vengeful.

From @KnowableMag: "UCLA’s Susan Perry has devoted decades to studying the fast-motion life of these New World primates and learning how the young acquire the skills they need to thrive."

https://flip.it/5Lm.Pu

#Monkey #Animals #Science #Evolution

@CStamp Absolutely!  Per the article, 90% of cancers are diagnosed when they are already advanced. In addition, this study only included folks with operable tumors, which comprise only around 20% of pancreatic cancers. There's definitely a fairly narrow application for the treatment — but as you say, hopefully it will have broader use. The technology is currently being explored for melanoma and colorectal cancers as well.

AI cracks superbug problem in two days that took scientists years.

@BBCNews reports: https://flip.it/FzBl0Y

#Superbug #Disease #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Science

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, with fewer than 13% of people living more than five years after diagnosis. Personalized mRNA vaccines could be a new option in improving outcomes. In a trial published in Nature, 16 patients with operable pancreatic cancer were given personalized mRNA vaccines after their tumors had been removed. These vaccines were designed to teach the patients' immune systems to attack their cancer cells. Half of the people in the study responded to the vaccine, producing T cells that targeted their tumors. While it was a small phase 1 trial and there are many unknown factors, experts consider the results to be encouraging. “If we can see this response stand up in bigger trials, that’s really significant,” Dr. Shubham Pant, a professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology, told NBC News.

https://flip.it/ZFAxl2

#Science #Medicine #Vaccines #MRNA #Cancer #PancreaticCancer

Science under siege in the U.S.: Trump cuts threaten to undermine decades of research.

NBC News reports: "Sweeping layoffs, funding freezes and executive orders have provoked outcry among federal researchers and their university partners."

https://flip.it/U2TdxB

#Science #Research #USPolitics #Trump

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities announced Tuesday the discovery of the tomb of ancient King Thutmose II, who is thought to have reigned from about 1493 BC to 1479 BC. @BBCNews reports:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ym30v356po

#Egypt #Archaeology #Pharaoh #Tomb

Over the weekend, the Trump administration fired several frontline responders to the ongoing H5N1 bird flu outbreak—then quickly backpedaled, rescinding those terminations and attempting to reinstate the critical staff. @ArsTechnica @flipboard.com reports:
https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/02/trump-admin-fires-usda-staff-working-on-bird-flu-immediately-backpedals/

#Trump #BirdFlu #H5N1 #Outbreak #USDA

Personalized mRNA vaccines show promise as pancreatic cancer treatment, a phase 1 clinical trial published Wednesday in Nature found. @NBCNews reports:
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/pancreatic-cancer-vaccine-mrna-treatment-trial-rcna192702

#Cancer #Health #mRNA #Vaccines

A new study confirms that people using semaglutide for diabetes or weight loss have also reported experiencing a reduced desire for alcohol. @ScienceAlert reports:
https://www.sciencealert.com/ozempic-reduces-desire-to-binge-alcohol-suggests-amazing-new-study

#Ozempic #WeightLoss #Alcohol #Semaglutide

Trump’s sweeping layoffs, funding freezes, and executive orders have provoked outcry among federal researchers and their university partners, who fear that science itself is under siege. @NBCNews reports:
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/trumps-nih-budget-cuts-threaten-research-stirring-panic-rcna191744

#Trump #NIH #Science #Health #Layoffs

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the U.S. Senate during his confirmation hearings that he would not change America's childhood vaccination schedule. Now, he's vowed to investigate it, telling thousands of U.S. Health and Human Services agency employees: "Nothing is going to be off limits." Here's more from @AssociatedPress.

https://flip.it/pkDZrM

#Health #USPolitics #RFKJr #Vaccination #Measles #Children #Parenting

Archaeologists in London have uncovered a section of Roman masonry that belongs to a nearly 2,000-year-old town hall, in what historians say is one of the most significant discoveries in the British capital since an ancient amphitheater was unearthed in the 1980s. @npr reports:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/18/g-s1-49317/london-roman-basilica-archaeology-roman-empire-discovery

#Archaeology #London #RomanEmpire #Basilica #Britain

Sagittarius A*, our galaxy's supermassive black hole, is constantly producing strange eruptions. Astronomers are using the James Webb Space Telescope to find out why.
@LiveScience reports:
https://www.livescience.com/space/black-holes/our-galaxys-monster-black-hole-is-spitting-out-mysterious-flares-james-webb-telescope-reveals

#Astronomy #Space #JWST #NASA #BlackHole

Air pollution is linked to some seven million deaths across the globe each year. Vehicle emissions are a commonly named culprit. But new research shows that dust from brake pads could be even more harmful to our lungs. Read more from @ScienceAlert:

https://flip.it/4ReUpa

#Science #Health #Pollution #Cars

Many believe in love at first sight, but how long does it really take to fall in love? Scientifically speaking, it’s an incredibly difficult question to answer. Yet that didn’t stop @sciencefocus from trying:

https://flip.it/PiOUnE

#Science #Humans #Relationships #Love

Is the past prologue in the fight against climate change? Scientists are looking back to the Miocene Era (about 23 to 5 million years ago) for clues of what we might expect as fossil fuels heat up the planet. Read more from @Salon:

https://flip.it/FLsOMr

#Science #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming

Things move fast in the Milky Way. About 24,000 light-years from Earth, a peculiar pair of objects appears to be hurtling through space at a speed of at least 1.2 million MPH. @ScienceAlert has more:

https://flip.it/nl9eVz

#Science #Space #MilkyWay #Planets #Astronomy