The current measles outbreak has gripped US states like Texas and New Mexico leaving people worried whether it would become a new pandemic. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services as of February 21, 90 cases were diagnosed in the last month in the South Plains area, with at least 77 of them were reported in children and teens under 17.

Measles is highly contagious and can be deadly. The outbreak, which started spreading in late January, has resulted in multiple hospitalizations, with at least nine confirmed cases and three probable cases as of early February. Health officials caution that at least one in five infected individuals will have to be hospitalized, highlighting the severity of the situation.

Misinformation surrounding vaccines and with the new Trump administration anti-vaccine campaigs, has causing parents to hesitate or refuse vaccination.

Furthermore, the country down under Australia is also witnessing a surge in measles cases as health officials in Sydney have issued an urgent alert, urging residents to watch for measles symptoms after an infected individual visited several places in Sydney over the last seven days.

Authorities report that the traveller had returned from South East Asia where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles.

What Are The Symptoms Measles?

Key symptoms of measles include fever, a runny nose, sore eyes, and a cough. Typically, a red, blotchy rash appears three to four days later, spreading from the head down to the body. Symptoms can manifest between 7 and 18 days after exposure.

Anyone who experiences these symptoms after potential exposure should immediately contact their doctor or emergency department. It is crucial to call ahead before visiting to avoid potentially exposing others in the waiting room. Dr. Selvey also highlighted that ongoing measles outbreaks are occurring in various parts of the world, making awareness and prompt action essential.

Why It Is Important To Get Vaccinated?

According to CDC everyone should get the MMR vaccine. It protects you from measles, mumps, and rubella. Getting vaccinated helps stop these diseases from spreading. There are two safe MMR vaccines available. They work the same way, so it doesn't matter which one you get. Kids can also get a shot that protects against chickenpox too, but this is only for children.

Who Should Get Vaccinated?

Kids Need Two Shots

All children should get two MMR shots. The first shot should be given when they are between 12 and 15 months old. The second shot should be given when they are between 4 and 6 years old. If needed, the second shot can be given earlier, but it must be at least 28 days after the first shot.

College Students Need to Be Protected

Students going to college or other schools after high school, need two shots if they are not already immune. The shots must be at least 28 days apart.

Adults Need at Least One Shot

Most adults need at least one MMR shot. Some adults need two shots, especially those who work in healthcare, travel a lot, or go to college. These people should get two shots, with 28 days between them.

Travelers Need to Be Extra Careful

Anyone traveling to other countries should make sure they are protected. Babies 6 to 11 months old should get one shot before traveling. Kids 12 months and older, teens, and adults need two shots, with 28 days between them.

Healthcare Workers Must Be Immune

People who work in healthcare should have proof that they are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella. If they are not immune, they need two MMR shots, spaced 28 days apart.

Women Thinking About Having Babies

Women who might get pregnant should talk to their doctor about the MMR vaccine. It's safe to get the shot while breastfeeding.

Snakebites are a common problem, globally, while to people in the urban areas, it may not seem like an issue. However, those, living in rural, or areas connected with forest, snakes are a common occurrence, and thus snakebites are a significant global health problems. Antivenom in such cases has been crucial in saving lives, but the traditional method of making them has remained largely unchanged, for over the century.

Recently, however, scientists have developed a new antivenom that could offer broad protection against a wide range of venomous snakes. It thus is a groundbreaking advancement in snakebite treatment. This new antivenom is based on antibodies from a human donor, who has been self-immunized against snake venom over several years. This has also opened doors to potentially universal treatment for venomous snakebites.

Traditional Antivenom Development

The process of creating antivenoms typically involves immunizing animals like horses or sheep with venom from a single species of snake. These animals then produce antibodies that are harvested and used to treat envenomated patients.

While this is an effective treatment, the method has some limitations. It includes the possibility of adverse reactions to non-human antibodies. The fact that treatments tend to be species-specific, it could then mean that if a person is bitten by one type of snake, then it may not benefit from an antivenom developed from a different species.

Human Donor and Self-induced immunity

This breakthrough came when scientists discovered a human donor Tim Friede, who had developed hyper-immunity to snake venom. Over nearly 18 years, he had exposed himself to venom from 16 species of highly venomous snakes, which includes black mamba, king cobra, and taipan.

Through this process of self-immunization, he had developed antibodies that were effective against a wide range of snake neurotoxins. His unique immune history has made him an ideal candidate for this study. This has also offered researchers the chance to develop a more broadly effective antivenom.

A Broad Spectrum Antivenom

The team of researchers, led by Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, Inc., set out to create a new antivenom by isolating antibodies from Friede’s blood. They focused on venomous snakes from the Elapidae family, which includes some of the deadliest species, such as cobras, mambas, and kraits. Using these antibodies, the researchers created a cocktail that was effective against venom from 13 out of 19 species in their testing panel. The cocktail was made up of three key components:

LNX-D09 Antibody: This antibody protected mice from a lethal dose of venom from six different snake species.

Varespladib: A small-molecule toxin inhibitor that enhanced the protection and covered an additional three species.

SNX-B03 Antibody: A second antibody that extended the protective coverage to the full range of snake species in the study.

These components worked together to neutralize the neurotoxins in snake venom by binding to conserved sites on the toxins, preventing them from interacting with their targets in the nervous system. This innovative combination provided broad protection against multiple venomous snakes.

Promising Result From Mouse Trials

In initial mouse trials, the cocktail showed excellent results, providing full protection against the venom of 13 of the 19 tested species, and partial protection against the remaining species. However, some challenges remain, such as the short half-life of the small-molecule inhibitor, which may require redosing for full protection. Despite this, the results are promising, suggesting that the cocktail could be effective against many elapid snakes and potentially other species not included in the study.

While this new antivenom shows promise for treating bites from elapid snakes, further work is needed to extend its effectiveness to other venomous snakes, particularly the viperids, a family that includes species like rattlesnakes and vipers. The researchers are now focusing on developing a similar antivenom for viperid venom, with the goal of creating a universal antivenom that could treat bites from most venomous snakes worldwide.

In many new things, there has been a groundbreaking new tool developed by the scientists of Ankara University (AU) in Turkey. This tool promises to detect lung cancer in its early stages. The best part? The tool uses nothing more than just your voice. This AI-powered application is used to analyze speech patterns in order to identify structural changes caused by the diseases. This is a great way of testing, as it is non-invasive in nature, thus is a low-cost method of screening for such a deadly disease.

Detecting Through Speech

The project is being led by Associate Professor Dr Haydar Ankishan of AU's Stem Cell Institute. The idea centered to the research was: changes in a person's voice could reflect anatomical or functional disruption in the lungs, especially those caused by cancer.

“In our study, we considered the structure of the voice, the anatomical structure of the lungs, and the circulatory system,” Ankışhan said at a press conference held at AU’s Ibn-i Sina Hospital. “We proposed that the voice could provide information about lung cancer.”

The study took a span of 18 months, with the team being able to develop a system that can detect stage-one lung cancer with an accuracy rate exceeding 90%.

How Does This Work?

The technology is able to capture a person's voice in a natural environment. Then the voice is processed using advanced signal analysis techniques and machine learning. The AI model is trained on these audio samples to differentiate between healthy individuals and those with early-stage lung cancer.

Faculty member of AU's Faculty of Medicine, who is also a key contributor in the study, Dr Bülent Mustafa Yenigün emphasized the importance of such early detection. “The later lung cancer is diagnosed, the harder it becomes to treat. We aimed for a method that’s non-invasive, low-cost, and doesn’t expose patients to harmful radiation,” he explained.

If one has to understand the science behind it, then one must understand what the AI listens for. The science behind this method is actually rooted in how tumors affect airflow and resonance in the lungs. As masses form, they can disrupt the natural vibrations and frequencies that are part of normal speech. Thus, the AI is trained to detect these variations, regardless of how subtle they may be. Many of these variations, in fact, may not be noticeable to the human ear.

“Our application identifies deviations in frequency and sound resonance that can indicate a pathological mass in the lungs,” Yenigün explained.

Is It Accessible?

The researchers are optimistic about the future. If legal approvals are secured and larger datasets are collected, they estimate that the technology could be integrated into standard lung cancer screening programs within two to three years. In a best-case scenario, it could be available in as little as one to two years.

If successful, this voice-based screening tool could become a revolutionary step in early cancer detection—accessible, painless, and potentially life-saving.

What Is Lung Cancer?

As per the NHS UK, Lung Cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer, which has affected more than 43,000 people in UK, annually.

In many cases there are no symptoms, however, you must look out for these:

• a persistent cough
• coughing up blood
• persistent breathlessness
• unexplained tiredness and weight loss
• an ache or pain when breathing or coughing

When cancer begins in the lungs, it is referred to as primary lung cancer. In contrast, if cancer originates elsewhere in the body and spreads to the lungs, it is known as secondary lung cancer. This explanation focuses specifically on primary lung cancer.

Primary lung cancer is broadly categorized based on the type of cells where the cancer develops. The two main types are:

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): This is the most common form, making up about 80–85% of all cases. NSCLC includes three subtypes:

• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma
• Large-cell carcinoma

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC): Less common than NSCLC, this type tends to grow and spread more quickly.

Understanding the type of lung cancer is essential for determining the appropriate treatment approach.

A new study titled The Global Flourishing Study, conducted by researchers from Baylor and Harvard universities have thrown light on the meaning of "flourishing" and how it does not mean being happy. The study has looked at how some countries are doing significantly better in terms of the broader sense of well-being than other countries. The study is based on responses from over 207,000 participants across 22 countries and Hong Kong. The study also assessed six core aspects of flourishing, which includes happiness, health, meaning, character, relationships, and financial stability.

What Does Being "Flourished" Really Mean?

While there are traditional happiness indexes that measures an individual's or a group's subjective well-being or happiness, the study about being "flourished" includes not just how happy people feel, but also their health. The study looks at whether people are leading a healthy life, whether they are mentally well and feel like they do have a purpose in life. The study also takes in account for strong relationships, acting with character and feeling financially secure.

The participants of this study were asked to respond to 12 key questions. They were aimed at measuring these components. The questions varied from "How satisfied are you with life?" to "Do you worry about meeting monthly expenses?"

Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor University, who led the study, said the scale of the research is what makes it especially unique. “We are following 207,000 participants around the world in over 40 languages. This gives a voice to approximately 64% of the world’s population,” he explained.

Indonesia Leads, But Traditionally 'Happy' Nations Lag

The results too have been unexpected, unlike what we seen in the happiness indexes. Countries which were often seen as happy in global rankings did not perform as well when it came to flourishing. Indonesia, however, topped the list, followed by Mexico and the Philippines. However, nations like Sweden and the United States, which are usually high ranking in the World Happiness Report, were found to be average in terms of flourishing.

Interestingly, some of the most flourishing countries, such as Nigeria and Indonesia, did not make it to the top 20 in the World Happiness Report, indicating a crucial distinction between simple happiness and a deeper sense of well-being.

Youth Is Struggling

One of the most concerning findings of the study was that flourishing tends to increase with age. According to Dr. Tyler VanderWeele of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, young people across most countries reported the lowest levels of flourishing, often citing a lack of purpose.

"In most countries, the youngest individuals are the ones struggling the most,” VanderWeele noted. However, there were exceptions—Tanzania and Poland showed relatively better flourishing scores among their younger populations.

The researchers suggest that in more developed countries, increased competition, job stress, and social comparison may be contributing to this generational dip. “Young people are telling us something is wrong,” added Felix Cheung, a co-author of a separate study in the World Happiness Report.

Rich, Not Flourishing

While wealthier countries usually scored higher in the financial security section, they lacked in the sections where they were asked questions on meaning and relationships.

This gap has raised questions about modern development. “How can we carry out economic growth without compromising meaning and relationships?” VanderWeele asked.

In contrast, countries with fewer economic resources but stronger community bonds and clearer cultural or spiritual values often performed better on overall flourishing metrics.

According to researchers, people can take active steps to improve their own flourishing. VanderWeele shared how one participant, after reflecting on the study’s 12 questions, decided to volunteer to find greater purpose. “Flourishing can be guided by reflection,” he said.

Still, systemic issues like conflict, inequality, and poor governance remain significant barriers. As Cheung summed it up: “When one person is unhappy, that’s an individual issue. But when a population isn’t happy, that’s a structural problem—and it requires structural solutions.”