It started with headaches but then I became so unsteady I couldn't leave the house... Do you have this common condition that can lead to chronic dizziness?
But when he developed a new, disorientating 'rocking' sensation last summer, which persisted even after his migraine had passed, he was worried.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
RFK Jr's health department to halt $500m in mRNA vaccine research
The US Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday it would terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, questioning the safety of a technology credited with helping end the Covid pandemic and saving millions of lives. The unit, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats, and had provided billions of dollars for development of vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic. HHS said the wind-down includes cancellation of a contract awarded to Moderna for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine for humans and the right to purchase the shots, as previously reported in May. The US health agency said it was also rejecting or canceling multiple pre-award solicitations, including proposals from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone and others. In total, the affected projects are worth 'nearly $500 million', the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said. Certain late-stage projects were excluded from the move 'to preserve prior taxpayer investment'. This is the latest development under US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic who has been making sweeping changes to reshape vaccines, food and medicine policies. 'We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted,' Kennedy said in a statement. Kennedy said the HHS is terminating these programs because data show these vaccines 'fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu', but did not offer scientific evidence. 'We're shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate,' Kennedy said. HHS said the decision follows a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the Covid-19 public health emergency. Since taking office, Kennedy, who spent two decades sowing misinformation around immunization, has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy – firing, 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. Unlike traditional vaccines, which often use weakened or inactivated forms of the target virus or bacteria, mRNA shots deliver genetic instructions into the host's cells, prompting them to produce a harmless decoy of the pathogen and train the immune system to fight the real thing. Though in development for decades, mRNA vaccines were propelled from lab benches to widespread use through Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed – a public-private partnership led by Barda that poured billions into companies to accelerate development. The technology's pioneers, Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, were awarded the 2023 Nobel prize in medicine for their work contributing 'to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times'.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
4 people die in crash of medical transport plane on Navajo Nation in northern Arizona
A small medical transport plane crashed and caught fire Tuesday on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, killing four people, the tribe said in a statement. A Beechcraft 300 from the CSI Aviation company left Albuquerque, New Mexico, with four medical personnel on board, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies. It crashed in the early afternoon near the airport in Chinle, about 300 miles (483 kilometers) northeast of Phoenix. 'They were trying to land there and unfortunately something went wrong,' district Police Commander Emmett Yazzie said. The crew was planning pick up a patient who needed critical care from the federal Indian Health Service hospital in Chinle, said Sharen Sandoval, director of the Navajo Department of Emergency Management. She said the plan was to return to Albuquerque. The patient's location and condition were not known Tuesday evening. Tribal authorities began receiving reports at 12:44 p.m. of black smoke at the airport, Sandoval said. The cause of the crash wasn't known, the tribe said. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a social media post that he was heartbroken to learn of the crash. 'These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others, and their loss is felt deeply across the Navajo Nation,' he said. Medical transports by air from the Navajo Nation are common because most hospitals are small and do not offer advanced or trauma care. The Chinle airport is one of a handful of airports that the tribe owns and operates on the vast 27,000 square-mile (70,000 square-kilometer) reservation that stretches into Arizona, New Mexico and Utah -- the largest land base of any Native American tribe. In January, a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia, killing eight people. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, has said the voice recorder on that plane was not working. ___ Associated Press journalists Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, contributed to this report.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
OpenAI stops ChatGPT from telling people to break up with partners
ChatGPT will not tell people to break up with their partner and will encourage users to take breaks from long chatbot sessions, under new changes to the artificial intelligence tool. OpenAI, ChatGPT's developer, said the chatbot would stop giving definitive answers to personal challenges and would instead help people to mull over problems such as potential breakups. 'When you ask something like: 'Should I break up with my boyfriend?' ChatGPT shouldn't give you an answer. It should help you think it through – asking questions, weighing pros and cons,' said OpenAI. The US company said new ChatGPT behaviour for dealing with 'high-stakes personal decisions' would be rolled out soon. OpenAI admitted this year that an update to ChatGPT had made the groundbreaking chatbot too agreeable and altered its tone. In one reported interaction before the change, ChatGPT congratulated a user for 'standing up for yourself' when they claimed they had stopped taking their medication and left their family – who the user had thought were responsible for radio signals emanating from the walls. In the blog post, OpenAI admitted that there had been instances where its advanced 4o model had not recognised signs of delusion or emotional dependency – amid concerns that chatbots are worsening people's mental health crises. The company said it was developing tools to detect signs of mental or emotional distress so ChatGPT can direct people to 'evidence-based' resources for help. A recent study by NHS doctors in the UK warned that AI programs could amplify delusional or grandiose content in users vulnerable to psychosis. The study, which has not been peer reviewed, said the programs' behaviour could be because the models were designed to 'maximise engagement and affirmation'. The study added that even if some individuals benefited from AI interactions, there was a concern the tools could 'blur reality boundaries and disrupt self-regulation'. OpenAI added that from this week it would send 'gentle reminders' to take a screen break to users engaging in long chatbot sessions, similar to screen-time features deployed by social media companies. OpenAI also said it had convened an advisory group of experts in mental health, youth development and human-computer-interaction to guide its approach. The company has worked with more than 90 doctors, including psychiatrists and paediatricians, to build frameworks for evaluating 'complex, multi-turn' chatbot conversations. 'We hold ourselves to one test: if someone we love turned to ChatGPT for support, would we feel reassured? Getting to an unequivocal 'yes' is our work,' said the blog post. The ChatGPT alterations were announced amid speculation that a more powerful version of the chatbot is imminent. On Sunday Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, shared a screenshot of what appeared to be the company's latest AI model, GPT-5.
