US to phase out many synthetic food dyes, Kennedy and FDA head say
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South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
New York's ‘rat warriors' declare total war on prolific rodent population
New York is waging a war on multiple fronts to combat the near-ubiquitous rats that plague city streets and the subways, leaving some residents afraid to let their children walk on pavements. Faced with an overwhelming and ever-growing problem, officials have moved beyond gassing burrows to suffocate rodents and are now using hi-tech mapping tools to try and sterilise the population. Alongside targeted interventions, officials are mounting an effort to educate the public about the need to avoid leaving behind food waste that feeds and sustains the rat population. A rat scurries through a Harlem backstreet, in the Manhattan borough of New York City on August 1. Photo: AFP Caroline Bragdon, director of neighbourhood interventions for Pest Control Services within New York City's Department of Health, said the lack of food 'stresses' rats and other vermin. 'Perhaps this forces them to go further in search of food, but perhaps they simply have fewer offspring,' she said. 'That's usually what we're seeing. Fewer rats over time. Less breeding leads to less rat activity,' Bragdon added. The city is testing out an arsenal of different tools in the Harlem neighbourhood, aiming to find new products and methods to tackle the rats.
RTHK
a day ago
- RTHK
US health chief based vaccine cuts on misinformation
US health chief based vaccine cuts on misinformation US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has announced the cancellation of contracts worth around US$500 million. File photo: Reuters US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited false claims to justify terminating 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, researchers said Friday, a day after the World Health Organization called the decision a major blow. Kennedy on Tuesday announced the cancellation of contracts worth around US$500 million, marking his latest attempt to infuse vaccine scepticism into the core of US health policy. Citing medical experts, disinformation watchdog NewsGuard identified a series of false claims about the vaccines -- credited with saving millions of lives during the Covid-19 pandemic -- that Kennedy promoted to explain the termination. Kennedy claimed that mRNA vaccines were responsible for "new mutations" of the virus, thus creating new variants that can prolong pandemics. "Kennedy is mistaken in statements made when ceasing funding for mRNA vaccine development," Stephen Evans, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the London-based Science Media Centre. "No vaccine, including mRNA encourages new mutations." Kennedy also made two previously debunked claims about the effectiveness of the vaccines. He stated that mRNA vaccines "fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like Covid" and added that mRNA technology "poses more risks than benefits." Evans said the vaccines were "extremely effective against Covid, preventing deaths, hospitalisations and clinical or sub-clinical infection." "No vaccine has a zero incidence of side-effects, some of which can be serious, but the benefits of both mRNA vaccines and other types of vaccine -- lives saved and illness reduced -- hugely outweigh the risks," Charles Bangham, a professor of immunology at the Imperial College London, told the Science Media Centre. On Thursday, WHO immunisation figurehead Joachim Hombach called the US decision to terminate the contracts a "significant blow." "mRNA vaccines are a very important technology and platform which has served us extremely well for Covid. We also know there is very promising work going on in relation to influenza vaccines," he said. Echoing those comments, US experts have warned that the funding cuts threaten critical research and public health around the world. "This sets back vaccine science by a decade," Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote on X. "Of course they didn't read the science or listen to the experts... if they did, they wouldn't have made this decision." Kennedy, who spent two decades sowing misinformation around immunization, has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy since taking office. He has fired, for example, a panel of vaccine experts that advise the government and replacing them with his own appointees. In its first meeting, the new panel promptly voted to ban a longstanding vaccine preservative targeted by the anti-vaccine movement, despite its strong safety record. He has also ordered a sweeping new study on the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism. (AFP)
South China Morning Post
02-08-2025
- South China Morning Post
When a fear of thunderstorms becomes a phobia and how to deal with it
If the sound of thunder rumbling makes you panic or you dread a flash of lightning, you are not alone in worrying about thunderstorms. Advertisement Here is how to decide whether you need treatment, and how you can overcome this fear. 'Normal' nervousness during thunderstorms is common – people are often momentarily unsettled by a loud clap of thunder or a bright flash of lightning. The fear of thunder and lightning, known as astraphobia, or the fear of thunder – brontophobia – is diagnosed when that fear is excessively strong and disrupts your daily life. You may experience physical symptoms such as a racing heart, trembling, sweating or shortness of breath as a thunderstorm approaches. These symptoms can also appear when a storm is forecast. Advertisement Hallmarks of this condition are pronounced avoidance behaviour, such as avoiding outdoor activities, and constantly checking weather apps.
