The first scientific analysis of probable human-to-human transmission of a deadly new strain of bird flu that emerged in China this year gives the strongest evidence yet that the H7N9 virus can pass between people, scientists said on Wednesday. Research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) analyzing a family cluster of cases of H7N9
Study of human transmission of new bird flu raises worries
Scientists cook world’s first in-vitro beef burger
A corner of west London saw culinary and scientific history made Monday when scientists cooked and served the world’s first lab-grown beef burger. The in-vitro burger, cultured from cattle stem cells, the first example of what its creator says could provide an answer to global food shortages and help combat climate change, was fried in
New bird flu poses ‘serious threat,’ WHO says
A new strain of bird flu causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said Wednesday. The H7N9 strain has killed 24 people and infected more than 125, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), which has described it as “one of
Mystery of Chinese bird flu outbreak grows
Health officials are trying to find out how a new strain of bird flu is infecting people in China — more than half of patients have had no contact with poultry. By late last week, 87 people, mostly in eastern China, have contracted the H7N9 virus, and 17 had died. It is not clear how
Scientists confirm new H7N9 flu comes from chickens
Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu which has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens. In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese officials that there
WHO says new bird strain ‘one of most lethal’ flu viruses
A new bird flu strain that has killed 22 people in China is “one of the most lethal” of its kind and transmits more easily to humans than another strain that has killed hundreds since 2003, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday. The H7N9 flu has infected 108 people in China since
Mystery of Chinese bird flu outbreak grows
Health officials raised further questions on Friday about the source of a new strain of bird flu infecting humans in China, after data indicated more than half of patients had had no contact with poultry. The H7N9 virus has been found in 87 people, mostly in eastern China, and killed 17. But it is not
Scientists race to gauge pandemic risk of new bird flu
Genetic sequence data on a deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people show the virus has already acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic, scientists say. But there is no evidence so far that the H7N9 flu — now known to have infected nine people in
Study on rats fed Roundup-tolerant corn draws skepticism
In a study that prompted sharp criticism from other experts, French scientists said on Wednesday that rats fed on Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed to its top-selling weedkiller suffered tumours and multiple organ damage. The French government asked the country’s health watchdog to investigate the findings further, although a number of scientists questioned the
Diseases from animals hit over two billion people a year
A global study mapping human diseases that come from animals, such as tuberculosis, AIDS, bird flu or Rift Valley fever, has found that just 13 such diseases are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths a year. The vast majority of infections and deaths from so-called "zoonotic" diseases are in
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