Biology & Medicine News and Discussions

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RFK Jr.’s first month as health secretary: Touting French fries and casting doubts on vaccines

https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-rober ... 480e996ac0

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Scientists Say NIH Officials Told Them To Scrub mRNA References on Grants

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/ ... n-hhs-rfk/

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Microdosing LSD for ADHD is no better than a placebo, clinical trial shows

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03- ... nical.html

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Researchers make progress toward non-hormonal treatment for endometriosis
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03- ... iosis.html
by Dalin Clark, Michigan State University

Roughly 200 million women around the world suffer from endometriosis, a condition that causes tissue from the lining of the uterus to grow in places outside of the uterus. The condition can be exceptionally painful and contributes to infertility.

Endometriosis is as common as Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and migraines in the U.S., although there is less awareness of this condition. This lack of familiarity with endometriosis among the general population and health care providers means this condition is not well understood.

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Japanese scientists use stem cell treatment to restore movement in spinal injury patients

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03- ... tment.html

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Fucking movement of morons

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Smarter drug delivery system stores doses under your skin as crystals
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
March 25, 2025
https://newatlas.com/medical-tech/slim- ... -crystals/

For many people, injection needles can be scary – and the larger ones for specialized longer-term medications are far more intimidating.

Many long-lasting drugs typically need to be delivered through alarmingly large needles. That's because they are administered in large doses, containing polymers which help create medication depots under the skin; those polymers can make up anything from 23% - 98% of the injectable solution by weight.

Reducing the amount of polymer needed would mean you could deliver the necessary dose using a less frightening narrow-gauge needle. That's why a diverse team of researchers set out to create a better way to deliver drugs into patients' systems, and it involves turning those drugs into tiny crystals that self-assemble into clusters.

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[Vakanai]

Sadly it's hard for me to worry for them as access to vaccines in this country is on the chopping block. Several states or working towards laws to ban vaccines, at least MRNA vaccines, outright. And as someone stuck in an insane MAGA state I'm worried if I've already seen my last covid booster or flu shot, never mind losing access to any new vaccines when some new pandemic comes, like maybe bird flu.

[weatheriscool]

I wasn't kidding when I said that medical science is fucked in this country if these idiots got into power. Well, here we're. My only hope is other countries like China, india and europe take up the slack.

We're witnessing the fall of the United states as a world power in science.

[firestar464]

Sadly it's hard for me to worry for them as access to vaccines in this country is on the chopping block. Several states or working towards laws to ban vaccines, at least MRNA vaccines, outright. And as someone stuck in an insane MAGA state I'm worried if I've already seen my last covid booster or flu shot, never mind losing access to any new vaccines when some new pandemic comes, like maybe bird flu.

Both are worrying. Also must note that diseases know no borders- they can and will spread internationally.

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Microneedles extract harmful cells, deliver drugs into chronic wounds
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
March 27, 2025

https://newatlas.com/diabetes/microneed ... ic-wounds/
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have hit upon new technologies to deliver a double whammy to chronic wounds in diabetics, using tiny needles barely visible to the human eye.

These approaches, published in two papers that appeared in the journals Biomaterials and Advanced Functional Materials last July, could drastically improve the quality of life for people with diabetes who suffer from some of the worst complications this condition brings on – and prevent expensive, life-altering amputations.

The challenge with diabetic wounds is that they're affected by persistent inflammation, and they don't heal because the critical proteins that aid in recovery – known as growth factors – are broken down by enzymes called proteases.

NUS assistant professor Andy Tay stumbled upon microneedles as a way to tackle these when he faced a skin issue of his own. "I first heard of it when I had pimples and went to buy a 'microneedle' patch from Sephora," he explained in a LinkedIn post. "My pimples went away and I wanted to explore using microneedles for skin related conditions."

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Bioinspired sensor monitors your metabolism in real time
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
March 28, 2025

Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have developed a tiny sensor that can help keep tabs on metabolites – substances produced or used when your body breaks down food, medication, or even its own fat and muscle in metabolic processes – far more extensively than current methods.

This tech could unlock new ways to detect and manage diseases and disorders, track patients' responses to treatment, and accelerate the development of more effective drugs. What's particularly interesting is how the sensor follows natural biochemical processes, like the way molecules are transformed and interact inside our bodies.

https://newatlas.com/medical-tech/bioin ... olism-tmr/

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RFK Jr. Forces Out Top Vaccine Official
by
March, 2025

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr. war on vaccines just landed another major blow as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services successfully forced one of the nation’s top vaccine officials out of his position.

Dr. Peter Marks, who was given the choice by HHS officials to either be fired or step down as the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, announced his resignation on Friday.

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks reportedly wrote in his letter of resignation. He added that leaving his position was a “weight lifted from me” as working in this environment “was spiraling deeper and deeper into danger.”

For nearly a decade, Marks led the FDA’s regulation of vaccines, including playing an instrumental role in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. So it should come as no surprise that his presence would cause conflict with the starkly anti-vaccine head of the HHS.

In response to Marks’ departure, an HHS official said in a statement, “If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of secretary Kennedy

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... es-fda/

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Thread

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Antiviral chewing gum shows promise in reducing influenza and herpes spread
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04- ... erpes.html
by University of Pennsylvania

In today's interconnected world, infectious diseases pose an escalating threat, as demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic and outbreaks of H1N1, SARS, Ebola, Zika, and H5N1 (bird flu) viruses—all of which have had significant global health and economic impacts.

But more common viral diseases also contribute to global health challenges and economic costs. For example, seasonal influenza epidemics occur annually, causing a substantial global disease burden and economic losses exceeding $11.2 billion each year in the United States alone. Meanwhile, herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), spread primarily through oral contact, infects over two-thirds of the global population and is the leading cause of infectious blindness in Western countries.

Low vaccination rates for influenza viruses and the lack of an HSV vaccine underscore the need for a new approach—one that targets reducing viral loads at the sites where transmission occurs. And for viruses like these, which are transmitted more efficiently through the mouth than the nose, this means focusing on the oral cavity.

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Exposure to antibiotics as a newborn can impair immune response to vaccines, study finds

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04- ... mmune.html