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New CDC Guidelines: Pneumococcal Shots for 50+

The CDC’s new guidelines expand the pneumococcal vaccine protection to adults within 50-64 years of age, this being a high risk age group.

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New CDC Guidelines: Pneumococcal Shots for 50+


United States: U.S. CDC on Wednesday called for the extension of vaccines to people aged 50-64 years against pneumococcal disease.

An earlier call made by the agency was for the vaccination of adults older than 65 years, children less than five years, and clients with diseases.

Pneumococcal Disease Risk and Prevention

Pneumococcal disease is more likely to affect children, particularly those below five years of age, and individuals with over 65 years of age due to infections like lung pneumonia and if in contact with saliva or mucus, as reported by Reuters.

ACIP voted 14 to 1 to lower the age for adult immunization, which the CDC stated provides a chance of protection to more people during ages when the danger of contracting the infection is higher.

Available Vaccines

Currently, Merck has three licensed pneumococcal vaccines, of which Vaxneuvance is for people of ages 6 weeks and above, while Pneumovax 23 is for adults of 50 years and above and children above 2 years.

Earlier this year, in June, the US health regulator approved Capvaxive, Merck’s enhanced vaccine that maintains the ability to create immunity towards 21 serotypes of the bacteria for adults of 18 years and above.

There is further an adapted 13-valent version approved for people above six weeks, which is useful for protecting against the 20 serotypes; it goes under the brand name Prevnar 20 by Pfizer, as reported by Reuters.

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Recent Climate Records Shattered, Here’s What Happened

Global temperatures are rising at intimidating rates, surpassing records month after month, emphasizing the critical need for nippy action to alleviate climate change impacts

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Recent Climate Records Shattered, Here's What Happened


United States :The world’s temperatures are rising month after month to new heights. Scientists and climate policy experts advise that there’s adding chance that global warming may surpass the major Paris 2015 climate agreement.

For some, making sense of the recent spate of climate extremes may prove difficult. Check out what scientists have to say about this.

What are the climates records have broken recently?

Last month, the climate monitoring organization for the European Union, Copernicus, declared that May was the hottest on record, a record that has been broken for 12 consecutive months. at a separate assessment, the World Meteorological Organization calculated that there is nearly a twofold probability that average global temperatures from 2024 to 2028 will exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming target since pre-industrial times that was agreed upon at the Paris climate conference.

And here’s another: 57 scientists found that Earth warmed somewhat quicker in 2023 than in 2022 in a paper published in the journal Earth System Science Data.

Are climate scientist surprised?

Not really. Numerous climate scientists claim that warming trends are in line with their exploration and prognostications on the accumulation of carbon dioxide performing from increased operation of fossil energies.

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the attention of certain heat- enmeshing feasts in the atmosphere hit record highs in 2023. According to NOAA, the quantum of hothouse feasts created by mortal exertion — of which carbon dioxide is the most current and significant — rose by the third-loftiest position in 65 times in 2023.

What so the shattered records mean for humans?

More pain. Unpredictable storms, extreme weather fluctuations, and heat waves that linger over a region for extended periods of time are all results of human-caused climate change.

This spring, an Asian heat wave killed people in Thailand, set records in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, and Myanmar, and caused the closure of schools in the Philippines. Last month, weeks-long heat waves that affected many parts of India also caused school closures and fatalities.

Scientists predict that while life won’t cease if temperatures rise above the 1.5-degree mark, things will grow worse. According to earlier U.N. studies, global warming of 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius is more likely to cause drastic changes in Earth’s ecosystem, including the eventual loss of the planet’s coral reefs, Arctic sea ice, and some plant and animal species. Extreme weather events that cause fatalities and damage to infrastructure are also likely to occur.

What can be done?

Climate scientists that are always there to help with the worst effects of climate change, the usage of fossil fuels must be phased out. The primary cause of global warming brought on human by the human activity is the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and oil.

Francis predicted that “we will keep breaking temperature records, along with increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, until greenhouse gas concentrations level off.”

Although it has been developing quickly, renewable energy still needs to grow much quicker. Although efficiency is being researched, developed, and implemented throughout the economy—in the ways we cook our food, heat our homes and buildings, and manufacture cement, for example—scientists argue that adaptation is important.

There are several private foundations that provide financial assistance for the Associated Press’s coverage of climate change and biodiversity. All content is the exclusive responsibility of AP. Visit AP.org to view AP’s guidelines for collaborating with philanthropies, a list of supporters, and supported coverage areas.

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Lung Cancer Screenings Remain Low at 18% Among Eligible Patients

Lung cancer screenings remain low among high-risk Americans, with significant disparities based on age, insurance, and Medicaid expansion

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Lung Cancer Screenings Remain Low at 18% Among Eligible Patients


United States: According to new data, only a small percentage of Americans are undergoing the required lung cancer exams. This is a question of concern as people are not getting the proper treatment and for the screening they are not getting attention.

Low Screening Rates

The study, headed by the American Cancer Society, found that although overall rates are slightly higher, less than 1 in 5 individuals who are eligible for screening are current with it.

High in Risk Groups

People who are at high risk of developing lung cancer, the society and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advise a yearly computed tomography (CT) scan. People who are regular smoker consist of who have quit within the last 15 years and those who are currently between the ages of 50 and 80.

Importance of Early Detection

Priti Bandi, scientific director of screening surveillance research and cancer risk factors at the American Cancer Society (ACS), stated, “We, clearly, still have a long way to go.”

She noted that because lung cancer frequently exhibits no signs in its early stages, screening is essential. In an ACS news release, Bandi stated, “Survival is markedly improved when diagnosed and treated early.”

Study Findings

Researchers examined data from over 26,000 Americans who qualified for screening for lung cancer for the study. 64% of smokers were over 60, 54% were men, and over 61% were smokers. The majority, almost 80%, were Caucasian.

In total, 18% had undergone a lung cancer screening. State-by-state rates differed, with lower rates in the South (seven states have not expanded Medicaid eligibility).

Age and Screening Rates

As people aged, their screening rates increased: from 6.7% for those in their early 50s to 27.1% for those in their 70s.

Twenty percent of those without health insurance or without a regular provider had not been screened. States that have increased Medicaid eligibility have seen greater screening rates.

The results were released in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on June 10.

According to Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Action Network, “this research further amplifies the critical need for reducing all barriers to access to care, to ensure people can immediately utilise preventive and early detection screenings at no cost.”

Policy Implications

“Expanding Medicaid in the 10 states that have yet to do so would significantly improve access to these lifesaving screenings and decrease lung cancer deaths, as well as eliminating patient costs for screening and follow-up tests,” she stated.

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Nature’s Diabetes Experts: Bats

A new study reveals that bats have evolved unique mechanisms to survive incredibly high blood sugar levels that would be lethal to humans.

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Nature's Diabetes Experts: Bats


United States: Recent expert reports suggest that some bats possess the highest blood sugar levels as observed in any mammals, which would kill a human, but such bats survive or even survive with such levels.

More about the finding

According to experts, these bats could provide a way to look into treatments and the management of diabetes.

As per Jasmin Camacho, a co-lead investigator and a postdoctoral research associate with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri, “Our study reports blood sugar levels that are the highest we have ever seen in nature — what would be lethal, coma-inducing levels for mammals, but not for bats,” as US News reported.

“We are seeing a new trait we didn’t know was possible,” she added.

Study details

The study, which was published on August 28 in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal, performed tests related to blood sugar on almost two hundred wild bats belonging to twenty-nine species and fed them with sugars linked with diets of either insects, fruits, or nectar.

As per Andrea Bernal-Rivera, the co-lead investigator and a former researcher with the Stowers Institute, “We saw various ways sugar is assimilated — absorbed, stored and used in the body — and how this process has become specialized due to different diets,” as the US News reported.

As per the research reports, the results show that bats have evolved to survive better and make better strategies based on the diets they are presented in their environments.

Moreover, thirty million years ago, experts indicated that a Neotropical leaf-nosed bat could survive only on insects. These bats have now evolved into several other species of bat by changing their eating habits.

Different species of leaf-nosed bats also have different adaptation methods to help them control their blood sugar levels by munching on food ranging from fruits, nectar, meat, and even blood.

According to Camacho, “Fruit bats have honed their insulin-signaling pathway to lower blood sugar.”

“On the other extreme, nectar bats can tolerate high blood glucose levels, similar to what is observed in people with unregulated diabetes. They have evolved a different mechanism, and it does not seem to depend on insulin,” Camacho added.

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