Five things to know about bird flu
As a new virus takes center stage at the heart of a global outbreak, it's easy to get flashbacks of March 2020.
6 hours ago
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As a new virus takes center stage at the heart of a global outbreak, it's easy to get flashbacks of March 2020.
6 hours ago
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The bird flu has arrived in Colorado, and while it doesn't represent anywhere near the threat that COVID-19 did at the beginning of the pandemic, people should take some precautions with animals that could carry it, experts ...
May 8, 2024
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Neural tube defects (NTDs) rank as the second most prevalent congenital malformation in humans, impacting the central nervous system development in approximately 1 in every 1,000 live births. Over 300 genes, including the ...
May 7, 2024
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Pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including multi-drug resistant "superbugs" have been found on the floors, ceilings, door handles and other surfaces of hospital toilets in the UK, with patient toilets the worst affected, the ...
Apr 29, 2024
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Our lungs are bombarded by all manner of different particles every single day. While some are perfectly safe for us, others—known as pathogens—have the potential to make us ill. The immune system trains its response whenever ...
Apr 26, 2024
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When you think of eye infections, what comes to mind? Puffy, swollen bruised feeling eyelids that get glued together with gunk overnight? That feeling of having grit in your eye that can't be cleaned away? Eye infections ...
Apr 11, 2024
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The Department of Clinical Medicine at the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) leads research on the immune system's role in advanced chronic liver disease. Through various experiments on mouse cirrhosis models and ...
Apr 10, 2024
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Understanding the mutation and evolution of viruses (such as SARS-CoV-2) is crucial for effective public health management and response. Traditional epidemiological models often assume that viral transmissibility and pathogenicity ...
Apr 10, 2024
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An international research team led by RMIT University has designed and manufactured a virus-killing surface that could help control disease spread in hospitals, labs and other high-risk environments.
Mar 27, 2024
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Gut bacteria and a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan can play a protective role against pathogenic E. coli, which can cause severe stomach upset, cramps, fever, intestinal bleeding and renal failure, according to a study ...
Mar 13, 2024
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A pathogen (from Greek πάθος path "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι (γεν-) gignomai (gen-) "I give birth to"), infectious agent, or (more commonly) germ, is a biological agent that causes disease or illness to its host. There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring a pathogen.
The body contains many natural defenses against some of the common pathogens (such as Pneumocystis) in the form of the human immune system and by some "helpful" bacteria present in the human body's normal flora. However, if the immune system or "good" bacteria is damaged in any way (such as by chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or antibiotics being taken to kill other pathogens), pathogenic bacteria that were being held at bay can proliferate and cause harm to the host. Such cases are called opportunistic infection.
Some pathogens (such as the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which may have caused the Black Plague, the Variola virus, and the Maleria protozoa) have been responsible for massive numbers of casualties and have had numerous effects on afflicted groups. Of particular note in modern times is HIV, which is known to have infected several million humans globally, along with the Influenza virus. Today, while many medical advances have been made to safeguard against infection by pathogens, through the use of vaccination, antibiotics, and fungicide, pathogens continue to threaten human life. Social advances such as food safety, hygiene, and water treatment have reduced the threat from some pathogens.
Not all pathogens are negative. In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators, pathogens, and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress arthropod pest populations.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA