Looking For Antibodies To Fuel Universal Flu Vaccine, Researchers Turn To Llamas
A team from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla has taken a major step toward the long-sought goal of developing a universal vaccine against influenza. “From a scientific and technical standpoint, this is really a very elegant study — the highest quality of science,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Other public health news focuses on cellphone cancer risks, cannabis-derived medication, psychedelic drugs and PTSD, rehab and running, growing burdens on food pantries.
The New York Times:
How To Turbocharge Flu Protection (Llamas Required)
On Thursday, an international team of researchers offered a glimpse at something better than the seasonal flu shot. With a sophisticated combination of immunotherapy and gene therapy, they created an artificial antibody that protected mice against dozens of flu strains. It’s an important step toward a type of flu shot that scientists have long sought: a shield against whatever flu strain people happen to pick up. (Zimmer, 11/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Scientists May Have Found The Key Ingredient For A Universal Flu Vaccine, And It Comes From Llamas
Along with soulful eyes, endearingly long necks and and warm fuzzy coats, llamas have a far less appreciated feature: They make an array of immune system antibodies so tiny they can fit into crevices on the surface of an invading virus. That feat could one day protect humans from entire families of flu viruses that bedevil scientists with their unpredictable and shape-shifting ways. All, potentially, with a once-a-year puff up the nose. (Healy, 11/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Scientists Find ‘Clear Evidence’ Cellphone Radiation Can Cause Cancer In Rats
Their final reports, for example, concluded that there is “clear evidence” that male rats exposed to high levels of cellphone radiation developed cancerous heart tumors, after initially saying there was just “some evidence”—a less certain classification. They also said there was “some evidence” of brain and adrenal gland tumors in male rats that were exposed to cellphone radiation after characterizing that evidence as “equivocal” earlier this year. (Krouse, 11/1)
The Associated Press:
Cross Talk: Federal Agencies Clash On Cellphone Cancer Risk
Two U.S. government agencies are giving conflicting interpretations of a safety study on cellphone radiation: One says it causes cancer in rats. The other says there’s no reason for people to worry. No new research was issued Thursday. Instead, the National Toxicology Program dialed up its concerns about a link to heart and brain cancer from a study of male rats that was made public last winter. The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees cellphone safety, disagreed with the upgraded warning. And “these findings should not be applied to human cellphone usage,” said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, FDA’s chief of radiological health. (Neergaard and Borenstein, 11/1)
The New York Times:
Study Of Cellphone Risks Finds ‘Some Evidence’ Of Link To Cancer, At Least In Male Rats
For decades, health experts have struggled to determine whether or not cellphones can cause cancer. On Thursday, a federal agency released the final results of what experts call the world’s largest and most costly experiment to look into the question. The study originated in the Clinton administration, cost $30 million and involved some 3,000 rodents. The experiment, by the National Toxicology Program, found positive but relatively modest evidence that radio waves from some types of cellphones could raise the risk that male rats develop brain cancer. (Broad, 11/1)
The Hill:
First FDA Approved Cannabis-Based Drug Now Available By Prescription
The first cannabis-derived medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration is now available by prescription in every state, according to its manufacturer. Epidiolex, manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals, is intended to treat seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy that begin in childhood. The drug is made of cannabidiol (CBD), a component of marijuana that doesn’t give users a high. (Weixel, 11/1)
The Associated Press:
Long Trip: Psychedelic Advocate Nears Goal Of Legal Ecstasy
The Food and Drug Administration has labeled the drug a potential “breakthrough” for post-traumatic stress disorder and cleared late-stage studies of up to 300 patients. The studies are to be conducted by [Rick] Doblin’s nonprofit group dedicated to promoting mind-altering drugs, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS. Researchers will begin screening patients this month. The goal is to win FDA approval by 2021. MDMA would become the first psychedelic drug — currently in the same ultra-restrictive category as heroin and cocaine — to make the leap to prescription medicine. (Perrone, 11/1)
The New York Times:
They Were Addicted To Opioids. Now They’re Running The New York Marathon.
John Tavolacci, Odyssey House’s chief operating officer, said he has run 22 marathons. He started the running group in 2001 as a supplement to treatment, based on a strong belief that running can be effective in helping overcome addiction. He has watched the Odyssey House team build self-esteem among participants, create a cooperative environment, and fill time for runners that otherwise might have been spent on negative pursuits. New York City saw a nearly fivefold increase in heroin overdose deaths per 100,000 residents between 2010 and 2015. Similarly, opioids were linked to more than 42,000 deaths nationwide in 2016, five times the 1999 rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Shannon, 11/1)
The Washington Post:
‘They’ve Shifted The Burden To Us’: A Food Pantry Struggles To Feed An Increasingly Hungry Ohio Community
For a nonprofit in an impoverished town, the day had all the makings of a success. Every family went home with food that would help them get through the next month: tuna mac and cheese, boxes of cereal, long-grain rice, potatoes, peaches, corn on the cob, a large watermelon, chicken legs and loaves of bread. But [Margaret] Sheskey and [Larry] Lafferty were already focused on a question that has increasingly come to shape the work they do: Could they find enough food before the pantry reopened? Finding food has always been a challenge, but the task is getting even tougher — a consequence of an ongoing shift in how states distribute federal grants to help the poor. (Samuels, 11/1)
