
Trump orders ban on federal funds for gain-of-function research seen as dangerous, Fox News reports
WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that bans federal funding for gain-of-function research seen as dangerous, Fox News reported, citing a White House statement.
The order bans federal funding towards such research in China, Iran and other countries and aims to improve the safety and security of biological research, Fox News reported.
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The reported quoted the White House as saying the order "will drastically reduce the potential for lab-related incidents involving gain-of-function research, like that conducted on bat coronaviruses in China by the EcoHealth Alliance and Wuhan Institute of Virology."

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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE UFC fighter loved by Donald Trump reveals 'miracle' $1 weight loss drug helped her cut 30lbs
UFC Champion Kayla Harrison revealed she used Zyn nicotine pouches to help with her brutal 30-pound weight cut. The $1 pouches have been hugely popular among young people and TikTokers for their appetite suppressing effects. But they've since entered the mainstream, capturing the attention of athletes and politicians. Harrison, 34, credited Zyn pouches with helping her cut down from 165lbs to 135lbs for her championship fight at the weekend. She secured the world title this weekend after tapping out her opponent, before wrapping the belt around President Donald Trump's waist in a viral photo. Harrison, who has historically struggled with weight cutting, has been vocal about her grueling regimen, which includes six miles of biking, running and swimming a day and eating only foods made by a professional chef. But days after her victory, the mixed martial artist revealed it wasn't just cardio or dieting that won her the title. She wrote on X: 'Shoutout to @zyn for getting me to 135. I'm not sponsored but I wanna be.' Zyn is a brand of tiny nicotine pouches no larger than a thumbnail that has emerged as an unlikely weight loss secret weapon. It's well known that nicotine suppresses your appetite by sending satiety signals to receptors in the brain, convincing your brain that you don't need to eat. It also ramps up your heart rate and sends in a flood of adrenaline, which activates the body's 'fight or flight' response. In this state, the body doesn't want food. For this reason, cigarettes have long been linked to weight loss, but the risks of lung cancer and heart attacks far outweighs the benefits. The same thing happens with Zyn, but the science is much murkier. After being inserted between the lips and gum, Zyn releases nicotine into the bloodstream slowly, with effects lasting up to an hour, compared to just minutes for cigarettes. This could stave off hunger for much longer than smoking. Experts told that while the $1 pouch can ward off hunger, it still contains highly addictive nicotine, which attacks arteries and increases the risks of heart attacks and stroke. It's also been shown to lead to gum disease and oral cancers, which are on the rise in the US and UK. Tucker Carlson launched his own brand of nicotine pouches called Alp. Health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr was also seen popping what looked like a Zyn during his confirmation hearings. The FDA approved Zyn as a smoking alternative earlier this year, citing evidence it would help wean smokers off traditional tobacco. So far, 10 flavors have been approved in the US, including coffee, cinnamon and menthol. However, the pouches have been available for over a decade, leading young people to boast improvements to their fitness, energy and sexual performance. Gen Z has also dubbed them 'O-Zyn-pic,' a reference to it being a significantly cheaper Ozempic alternative for weight loss. A pack of 15 Zyn pouches sells for $5-$10, whereas Ozempic can run up to $1,000 a month without insurance. The nicotine in Zyn is thought to activate the α3β4 receptors in the brain, which send signals promoting fullness, even if a user is actually hungry. It may also increase the production of leptin, a satiety hormone, and boost the body's ability to burn fat. There's little evidence on the long-term effects of Zyn, but the risks of nicotine have been well documented. Dr Hector Perez, lead bariatric surgeon at Renew Bariatrics, told 'I think it's safe to say that using Zyn as a weight loss drug is like using a chainsaw to slice bread. Yes, Zyn contains nicotine, and yes, nicotine is a known appetite suppressant. 'But let's be clear: using Zyn or any nicotine product as a weight loss tool is not safe, sustainable, or smart. To lose 30 pounds in a few months with nicotine as the main strategy would likely require near-constant dosing, and that's a chemical crutch verging on addiction, not simply hunger control.' Though Zyn doesn't contain tobacco, it still has highly addictive nicotine. Roughly 24million Americans over 12, nine percent of the population, are dependent on nicotine. Nicotine addiction leads to withdrawal symptoms like irritability, cravings, restless legs, anxiety and trouble sleeping. The adrenaline rush caused by nicotine also increases heart rate and blood pressure as part of the body's 'fight-or-flight' response. While this gives users a burst of excitement, repeated stress on the cardiovascular system makes the heart have to work harder to pump blood. The weaker the heart and its surrounding arteries get, the more likely they are to become blocked, leading to a heart attack. Nicotine also attacks the lungs and reduces their function, which could prove detrimental for elite athletes like Harrison. Dr Perez said: 'Zyn is the Wild West. You're playing with your heart rate, blood pressure, and potentially your long-term brain chemistry.' Nicotine may also lead to lasting dental issues. Dr Pia Lieb, cosmetic dentist at Cosmetic Dentistry Center in New York City, told 'Using [Zyn] more long term, users are putting themselves at risk of developing gum disease, as nicotine is a vasoconstricter.' This means is reduces blood flow to the gums, leading to swelling and bleeding. 'This can lead to gum recession, which can expose the roots of teeth, making them more vulnerable to decay and sensitivity,' Dr Lieb added. She also warns nicotine is still a carcinogen linked to oral cancers, which strike 60,000 Americans a year and kill 13,000.


The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
White House says it will spare some Aids programs that were on the chopping block
The White House is trying to reassure House Republicans that Donald Trump's plans to slash funding to Aids projects around the world will spare a number of key prevention programs. House Speaker Mike Johnson and his fellow GOP leaders in the lower chamber of Congress are racing to shore up support ahead of a vote on a $9.4bn package of spending cuts Thursday. Congressional Republicans have expressed particular concern over planned cuts to former commander-in-chief George W Bush 's signature President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), which has been credited with saving millions of lives across the globe since 2003. As part of an effort to allay those worries and rally the troops, the House GOP leadership has vowed to retain treatments offered under PEPFAR as well as a number of other prevention schemes, according to Capitol Hill sources cited by Politico. Speaker Johnson's whip team reportedly spent Monday evening frantically texting Republicans and calculating probable votes for the 'rescissions' package, which, in addition to cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign Aids funding, also targets public broadcasters like NPR and PBS, both of whom are currently suing Trump's administration over the withdrawal of federal funding. Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, told appropriators last week that the administration is seeking to take 'an analytical look' at Aids prevention and instead prioritize funding for 'life-saving treatment' for sufferers as part of its scaling back of PEPFAR. 'It is something that our budget will be very trim on,' he said of prevention funding. 'We believe that many of these nonprofits are not geared towards the viewpoints of the administration. And we're $37 trillion in debt. So at some point, the continent of Africa needs to absorb more of the burden of providing this healthcare.' Trump's cuts to Aids prevention funding, enacted under an executive order he signed within hours of returning to the Oval Office in January, have been forecast to have disastrous results. A crisis that had been on course to be brought under control by 2030 will now be extended at the cost of an estimated 4m more lives, according to forecasts from the United Nations Aids agency. The disruption to global HIV programmes by the U.S. is also projected to lead to more than 3m more Aids orphans than was previously anticipated by the end of the decade. But the president himself has insisted that it is Europe that needs to step up and invest more to help the nations worst-hit by the disease. 'Nobody does anything but the United States… Other countries should be helping us with that,' he told reporters onboard Air Force One last month. 'We're the only country. Where are the others? Where is France? Where is Germany? We've spent billions and billions of dollars.' documentary investigation by The Independent, which includes reporting from remote areas in Uganda and Zimbabwe, has recently demonstrated that Trump's brutal severing of aid – and abrupt halt in medication – is already tearing lives apart. Earlier this year The Independent revealed Trump's slashing of foreign aid has derailed the projected end of the Aids pandemic and could lead to four million extra deaths by 2030. Figures show the number of Aids-related deaths could jump from six million to 10 million in the next five years unless funding is reinstated, according to forecasts from the UN Aids agency (UNAIDS). The unprecedented disruption to global HIV programs by the U.S. is also projected to lead to more than three million more Aids orphans than previously expected by the end of the decade.


Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Reform's new chairman once called Farage an idiot
The new chairman of Reform UK once called its leader Nigel Farage an 'idiot' and criticised comments by him as 'dangerous'. The remarks by Dr David Bull have emerged after his appointment to the role was announced on Tuesday. He replaces Zia Yusuf, who resigned as Reform's chairman last week before rejoining the party just two days later to take up a different senior position. Dr Bull previously publicly disagreed with Mr Farage over comments he made in 2014 about migrants with HIV. He also shared several posts on his Twitter profile criticising Donald Trump, including calling his first inauguration speech in 2017 'awful'. During his time as Ukip leader, Mr Farage suggested HIV-positive immigrants should not be allowed to come to the UK and receive treatment on the NHS. He said it should not be used as a 'global health service' because of a lack of resources. Sharing an article about Mr Farage's comments, Dr Bull wrote: 'Nigel Farage's comments are ill-judged, prejudiced and dangerous. HIV can affect anyone regardless of sex, race and class'. In the post, still visible online, he added: '#idiot #unhelpful'. Dr Bull, 56, is a long-time ally of Mr Farage and has previously held roles in both Reform and its former iteration the Brexit Party. He served as an MEP for North West England between 2019 and 2020. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Yusuf said he was 'hugely excited' that Dr Bull was taking up the role, adding: 'This party is no longer a start-up. 'I think it's gone to a scale-up phase... the reality is what we need now in a chairman is someone who is an incredible communicator, someone who's loved universally across the party... someone who's going to I think do a better job than me at energising volunteers on the front line.' Mr Yusuf added: 'I wholeheartedly congratulate him, and I know he's going to do an incredible job for us.' Meanwhile, Mr Farage said Dr Bull would come to the chairman's role with 'terrific verve, energy, enthusiasm'. He described him as a 'terrific communicator' and said his 'job is not to get involved with the admin, is not to get involved in the tech' but to 'give leadership to that volunteer army out there of people'. Dr Bull's negative comments about Mr Trump, who is close to Mr Farage, included calling him a 'fool' for saying during the 2016 presidential campaign that he wanted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Commenting on the Republican's first inauguration speech in January 2017, he wrote: 'It's…… um….. awful'. He also condemned Lord Mackinlay, the former Conservative MP, for opposing LGBT-inclusive sex education in schools. Sharing an article by Pink News, an LGBT-led media outlet, in 2017, Dr Bull called him a 'total idiot' and said that 'inclusive' sex education 'must be compulsory'. In 2014, Ukip, when led by Mr Farage, proposed banning sex education in primary schools. But Mr Farage said at the time that he had ' never advocated that policy '. Last year, Mr Farage said there 'perhaps' was not a 'straightforward answer' to what age children should be taught about sex and relationships. In May last year, he told GB News that there was 'little doubt that there are some schools that have been teaching very inappropriate material'.