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A dangerous new coronavirus discovered in China could spark the next pandemic, scientists warn. American researchers say the new HKU5-CoV-2 virus is just one 'small' mutation away from being able to infect and cause outbreaks in humans. The discovery is causing alarm because the pathogen is closely related to MERS, a highly lethal virus that kills up to a third of those it infects. Adding to the controversy is the fact HKU5 was first documented in bats by researchers from the Chinese lab where Covid is feared to have leaked from. For the latest study, a team from Washington State...

Leading health experts have warned that the US is staring down the barrel of another pandemic as bird flu spirals out of control on US farms. So far, the H5N1 outbreak has affected nearly 1,000 dairy cow herds and resulted in more than 70 human cases, including the first confirmed death. The US poultry industry is at significant risk, say experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN), particularly in areas with high-density farming and where personal protective practices may be lacking. Since 2022, more than 168 million poultry in the US has been lost or culled due to the bird...

The amount of water stored on lands across Earth’s continents has declined at such staggering levels that changes are likely irreversible while humans are alive, a study published Thursday found. The losses in soil moisture — a result of the planet’s climate conditions and prolonged droughts — already pose issues for farming, irrigation systems and critical water resources for humans. But it also affects sea-level rise and Earth’s rotation — datasets the research team used to better track water storage for decades longer than previous studies. “What we were looking for was evidence of changing hydrology around the world,” said...

Last year was the hottest year on record, the top 10 hottest years were all in the past decade and planet-heating carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at an 800,000-year high, a report Wednesday said. In its annual State of the Climate report, the World Meteorological Organization laid bare all the markings of an increasingly warming world with oceans at record high temperatures, sea levels rising and glaciers retreating at record speed. “Our planet is issuing more distress signals,” said António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General. The report attributed the heating to human activity — like the burning of coal,...

America is bracing for a brutal Arctic blast as a massive polar vortex smashes the country bringing deep freeze and catastrophic winter storms. Meteorologists are warning this will be the most punishing Arctic invasion yet, cementing this period as one of relentless, record-breaking cold. Frigid forces in the Arctic are converging, pushing what should be confined to the North Pole deep into the US, several meteorologists tell The Associated Press. This will be the 10th time this winter the polar vortex - which keeps the coldest air at the top of the world - stretches like a rubber band to...

Dozens of US states will endure the lowest temperatures they have felt in years as a polar vortex brings 'life-threatening' cold next week The National Weather Service (NWS) said that much of the Lower 48 should brace for 'the coldest air-mass of the season to date' from Friday to January 24. Meteorologists predict temperatures could plunge up to 45 degrees below average, engulfing at least 20 states across the Plains, the Great Lakes and the interior Northeast in below-zero temperatures. States in the polar vortex path include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin,...

Researchers have discovered the mechanism linking the overconsumption of red meat with colorectal cancer, as well as identifying a means of interfering with the mechanism as a new treatment strategy for this kind of cancer. Meat is a significant source of protein and fat, as well as essential vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, and vitamins A and B. However, as is the case with many things, eating too much of it is bad for you. Despite the strong evidence associating red meat with some cancers, the underlying mechanism is less clear. Now, researchers from the National Cancer Center Singapore...

The XEC strain was first detected in Germany back in June and is predicted to become one of the dominant strains this winterScientists are warning that the latest emerging Covid variant is spreading across Europe, with three key symptoms to watch out for. The XEC strain was first detected in Germany back in June and has since been confirmed in 15 different countries. Experts believe the variant is "just getting started" and could become the dominant strain over the winter. Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious diseases for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, told the LA Times last month...

Higher intake of heme iron, the type found in red meat and other animal products—as opposed to non-heme iron, found mostly in plant-based foods—was associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a new study. The researchers assessed the link between iron and T2D using 36 years of dietary reports from 206,615 adults enrolled in the Nurses' Health Studies I and II and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The researchers also analyzed the biological mechanisms underpinning heme iron's relationship to T2D among smaller subsets of the participants. They looked at 37,544 participants' plasma metabolic biomarkers, including...

Popular produce from blueberries to potatoes poses a 'very high risk' of unhealthy pesticides linked to cancer and diabetes, a new report has revealed. Nonprofit Consumer Reports analyzed seven years of Department of Agriculture data to identify the fruit and vegetables with the most pesticides that pose the most 'unacceptable health risks'. They found pesticides posed a 'significant risk' in a shocking 20 percent of the 59 common fruits and vegetables they studied. Blueberries, potatoes and bell peppers were deemed very high risk while green beans, kale and watermelon were high risk - meaning pregnant women and children should limit...

A bird flu pandemic could be '100 times worse than Covid' and kill up to half of everyone it infects, experts have warned — as the White House says it is 'monitoring' the situation. Speaking at a briefing, virus researchers said the H5N1 strain of bird flu may now be getting 'dangerously close' to triggering a pandemic. Multiple cases of the infection in a variety of mammals, including cows, cats and, more recently, humans, are all raising the risk of the virus mutating to become more transmissible, they said. But others attending the briefing said it was too early to...

Research in mice shows limited intakes of one particular essential amino acid can slow the impacts of aging and even lengthen their lifespan. Scientists are now wondering if these findings could help people improve their longevity and quality of life. Isoleucine is one of three branched-chain amino acids we use to build proteins in our bodies. It is essential for our survival, but since our cells can't produce it from scratch, we have to get it from sources like eggs, dairy, soy protein and meats. But there can always be too much of a good thing. Earlier research using data...

In the shadows of the ongoing health challenges, a silent but deadly adversary is swiftly making its presence known across the United States: Candida auris. This rare and drug-resistant fungal infection, marked by a chilling 60% fatality rate, is sending shockwaves through the healthcare community due to its rapid spread and defiance against traditional antifungal treatments. Recent reports confirm its arrival in Washington State, underscoring the urgent need for proactive measures. With a death rate as high as 60%, Candida auris has become a formidable adversary in the realm of infectious diseases.

Extreme global warming is likely to wipe out all mammals – including humans – in 250 million years, according to a brand new first-ever scientific study. It has been reported that temperatures on Earth could skyrocket to around 70C (185F) which would ultimately transform the planet from what we know it to be like now, into a ‘hostile environment devoid of food and water’, the researcher who conducted this study has warned everyone. If this study is to come true, then it would mean Earth’s temperature would simply become too hot for mammals to live and would no longer be...

A second American tested positive for the new highly-mutated BA.2.86 Covid variant that has been causing global alarm over its rapid transmission. The positive case was detected in an asymptomatic patient in Virginia who was tested August 10 after returning to the US from Japan. Scientists identified the case in a database that contains test samples from a small number of travelers entering the US. Independent experts told DailyMail.com they believe the new strain is spreading more widely and in more US states. The new variant, also spotted in Michigan last week, is causing concern because it stems from an...

Experts have warned that the dark region, which is cooler than the surrounding area, could release energetic explosions capable of knocking out our planet's power grids. The exact measurements of the sunspot are unknown, but NASA's Perseverance rover snapped images of the spot as it sits more than 152 million miles from the sun. The rover observed the sunspot on August 17 through August 20 while exploring the Jezero Crater on the Red Planet.

The best possible future — the one with fewer climate disasters, extinctions, and human suffering — involves limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But for this to happen, a new report warns, greenhouse gas levels must start dropping by 2025. “We are on a fast track to climate disaster,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday while announcing the new report by the United Nation’s preeminent climate body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “This is not fiction or exaggeration,” he added. “It is what science tells us will result from our current energy policies. We are on...

White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci is warning vaccinated Americans of a coming “double whammy” as winter approaches and the Delta variant of the Chinese coronavirus spreads, citing “waning immunity” and essentially warning that vaccinated individuals are not fully protected. Speaking in an interview debuted at the 2021 STAT Summit Tuesday, Fauci said: The somewhat unnerving aspect of it is that if you keep the level of dynamics of the virus in the community at a high level — obviously the people who are most most vulnerable are the unvaccinated — but when you have a virus as transmissible...

As the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus gained traction around the world, the World Health Organization urged vaccinated people to continue to wear masks and social distance, according to reports. “Vaccine alone won’t stop community transmission,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said during a briefing in Geneva, according to CNBC. “People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene … the physical distance, avoid crowding. This still continues to be extremely important, even if you’re vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing.”

The worldwide COVID death toll is more than double the official count of 3.24 million, a controversial new study estimates, the U.S. is no exception. More than 905,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S., 57% more than the official tally, researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington said Thursday in a new analysis. That’s more than any other country. The official U.S. toll is about 580,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. Worldwide the total is close to 7 million, which is more than double the official toll of 3.24 million,...