In the past months, Ebola has received a lot of attention. As of December 3, 2014, the Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) counted 17,145 reported cases and 6,070 reported deaths. However, another viral disease deserves the same level of attention — dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is sickening up to 100 […]
A few months ago, Zmapp made its way across the ocean — from the United States to Liberia, where it was administered to Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. Both of them had contracted Ebola while doing missionary aid work, helping people infected with the virus. Both of them recovered. However, we don’t know the exact […]
During the past few years, we’ve come to appreciate how beneficial our microbiome is to us. The trillions of bacteria and other microbes that reside on and in our bodies complement each other and the human host, thus playing important roles in a variety of biological processes. Indeed, the microbiome may represent a newly recognized organ, […]
On October 24, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced plans to produce millions of doses of experimental Ebola vaccines by the end of 2015, with hundreds of thousands ready halfway through the year. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, said that although vaccines are not magic bullets, they may be a good part […]
Diesel exhaust particles are one of the major components of air pollution. These particles are suspended in the air, and are microscopic — less than one-fifth the thickness of a human hair. As we breathe, they are drawn deep into the lungs. Because diesel-powered engines are everywhere, it is almost impossible to avoid them. People […]
In March 2013, a new flu virus — the H7N9 — was identified in China. By early May, before retreating and disappearing, it had infected 131 people and killed 26 of them. However, a few months ago (January 17, 2104), the New York Times reported that “China is disclosing a steadily growing number of cases of H7N9 bird flu, including […]
Stress is part of life — but while a little bit of it (good stress) may keep us active and alert, and sometimes even motivate us, the long-term type (bad stress) can have negative effects on our health. Elevated blood pressure and heart disease are just some examples of the so-called “stress-related diseases”. In addition […]
Visceral leishmaniasis, known in India as kala-azar or black fever, is a parasitic disease that kills an estimated 500,000 people a year, 90 percent of them in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brazil and Sudan. In India, the disease is endemic in the northeastern Indian State of Bihar – the epicenter of kala-azar in the region – and in Jharkhand, Uttar […]
Odorless and tasteless, arsenic lurks everywhere – in rice and in chicken breasts, in apple juice and in drinking water. It’s all around, but not in amounts sufficient to cause acute (short-term) poisoning. On the other hand, chronic (long-term) exposure to lower arsenic doses occurs way too often, and may lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers and other human disorders. Contamination of drinking water by […]
Injuries and infections are facts of life, and we need to deal with them. Thus, it’s not surprising we have developed efficient and magnificent sets of mechanisms that defend us from whatever is perceived as a danger, for example micro-organisms and irritant substances. Inflammation (or inflammatory response) is one of these sets of mechanisms, and not only […]