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Protest in France has tapered off since the Yellow Vests mass demonstrations in late 2018 and early 2019 but this week a spirited nationwide protest by farmers emerged. Larg conglomerates and global businesses the target of farmers anger since their policies threaten the ability of French farmers to make a living... French political leader Florian Philippot ("Les Patriots") saying that deal with the South American countries: "will kill our agriculture"... As the protests spread to highways in the Paris area Friday Prime Minister Gabirel Attal appearing at a cattle farm. He announced measures including the cancellation of a planned tax...

Our respiratory systems are lined with a thin fluid layer called mucus on the inside. The mucus protects us from inhaling harmful and unwanted airborne agents from germs to pollutants due to its unique gel-like texture imparted by proteins called mucins. By extension, over- or under-secretion of mucins can lead to abnormal respiratory mucus—a pathological manifestation in many respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and asthma, among others. Although multiple clinically approved drugs are available that can combat abnormal respiratory mucus, many of them cause unwanted and potentially serious side effects. Researchers repurposed an available drug called meclofenamate to...

The mucus in the airways is not as sticky, and inflammation in the lungs is significantly reduced: Triple combination therapy can achieve these positive, lasting effects in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Researchers have just recently published their findings. According to their research, this form of medication improves the symptoms of CF in many patients. Two years ago, a research group showed that combination therapy involving three drugs—elexacaftor, tezacaftor, and ivacaftor—is effective in a large portion of patients with cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease, meaning that the treatment noticeably improves both lung function and quality of life. Now, the team...

To efficiently infect human cells, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is able to use a receptor called Neuropilin-1, which is very abundant in many human tissues including the respiratory tract, blood vessels and neurons. The breakthrough discovery was made by a German-Finnish team of researchers led by neuroscientists Mika Simons, Technical University of Munich, Germany and virologist Giuseppe Balistreri, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland. Why is the new coronavirus so infectious? "That SARS-CoV-2 uses the receptor ACE2 to infect our cells was known, but viruses often use multiple factors to maximize their infectious potential"...

Beware of the blob—this time, it's for real. As sea temperatures have risen in recent decades, enormous sheets of a mucus-like material have begun forming more often, oozing into new regions, and lasting longer, a new Mediterranean Sea study says. Up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, the mucilages appear naturally, usually near Mediterranean coasts in summer. The season's warm weather makes seawater more stable, which facilitates the bonding of the organic matter that makes up the blobs. Now, due to warmer temperatures, the mucilages are forming in winter too—and lasting for months. Until now, the light-brown "mucus" was seen...

Before seeking out Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Kathy Hammons could barely care for her children as a result of the effects of lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks itself. She had been on oxygen for two years, was constantly fatigued, and was overweight from the steroids used to control her disease. "I would say before this option, they [lupus patients] hit a brick wall," Burt said. "They had nothing more, no further treatments." Burt's pioneering research, however, offered a new option. His breakthrough procedure uses a patient's stem cells to treat extremely severe cases...

MIAMI (AP) -- Devotees of a Miami man who claims to practice a traditional African religion say they were sickened when they drank the mucus of a giant African snail. Federal authorities in January raided Charles L. Stewart's home after receiving complaints. Stewart has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The giant African snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval.

Beware of the blob—this time, it's for real. As sea temperatures have risen in recent decades, enormous sheets of a mucus-like material have begun forming more often, oozing into new regions, and lasting longer, a new Mediterranean Sea study says (sea "mucus" blob pictures). And the blobs may be more than just unpleasant. Up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, the mucilages appear naturally, usually near Mediterranean coasts in summer. The season's warm weather makes seawater more stable, which facilitates the bonding of the organic matter that makes up the blobs (Mediterranean map). Now, due to warmer temperatures, the mucilages...

Former "Moonlighting" star Cybill Shepherd is way too picky!

Giant Balls of 'Snot' Explain Ocean MysteryBy Bjorn Carey LiveScience Staff posted: 10 June 2005 06:22 am ET Scientists have discovered giant sinking mucus "houses" that double the amount of food on the sea floor. The mucus houses, or "sinkers," are produced by tadpole-like animals not much bigger than your index finger. As sinkers drop to the sea floor, small sea critters and other food particles get stuck to the mucus and end up on the bottom of the ocean. For years scientists have observed loads of life at the bottom of the ocean. But they weren’t able to find...