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The US companies Moderna and Merck (MSD outside the US and Canada) have announced this week the results of their phase 2b trials of their skin cancer therapy. The results were shared in a press release stating that the risk of recurrence or death is reduced by 44%.
A team of researchers from the Health Institute Carlos III has published an article quantifying the diagnostic delay of rare diseases in Spain with data from the period 1960-2021. The study reveals that more than half of the patients experienced a delay in diagnosis, that the average delay exceeds six years, and that both the percentage of those affected by the delay and the average time have decreased over the years.
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have announced the success of an experiment at their National Ignition Facility. With analysis of the results still underway, it would be the first net energy gain from a nuclear fusion. The news was revealed on Sunday by the Financial Times newspaper with information provided by sources with knowledge of the experiment.
AlphaCode, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) system for developing computer code developed by DeepMind, can achieve average human-level performance in programming competitions, according to a study published in Science. This could shift the work of programmers to formulating problems for AI to solve.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a report with data reported by 87 countries in 2020 warning of increasing antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections in humans. The report shows resistance levels of more than 50 % in bacteria that frequently cause bloodstream infections in hospitals, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter spp.
An experimental malaria vaccine has shown protection for at least six months, according to a clinical trial in 112 adults in Burkina Faso. The results are published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
In recent weeks, the UK Health Safety Agency has detected an unusual increase in infections with Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria. At least 13 children under the age of 15 have died from this pathogen, which is responsible for mild infections but also for more serious conditions such as invasive disease. The Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases has reported that there have been some deaths in Spain - the Community of Madrid has reported two deaths - and is analysing whether there has been an unusual increase in cases.
A genetic association study using data from more than three million people has found nearly 4,000 variants associated with smoking and alcohol consumption. The results are published in the journal Nature.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) has detected an unusual increase in Streptococcus pyogenes infections in the last month. This bacterium is responsible for mild infections, but also for more serious conditions such as scarlet fever and, above all, invasive disease. The British authorities have raised the alarm after at least eight children died from this pathogen. In Spain, the Spanish Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases has reported that there have also been some deaths and is analysing whether there has been an unusual increase in cases.
Two studies published in the journal Nature Communications have found specific characteristics in the microbiota of people with depression, including populations of different ethnicities and habits.