http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Mexico began a five-day shutdown Friday to try to halt the spread of swine flu as the country was approved for three billion dollars in international loans to fund its battle against the virus. http://phys.org/news160387775.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 May 2009 09:10:49 EST news160387775 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers from Iowa State University is putting flu vaccines into the genetic makeup of corn, which may someday allow pigs and humans to get a flu vaccination simply by eating corn or corn products. http://phys.org/news160327633.html Biology Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:28:24 EST news160327633 A disease spread simulation has emphasized that flu interventions must be imposed quickly, if they are to be effective. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have shown that staying at home, closing schools and isolating infected people within the home should reduce infection, but only if they are used in combination, activated without delay and maintained for a relatively long period. http://phys.org/news160311362.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:56:32 EST news160311362 In 1918 a human influenza virus known as the Spanish flu spread through the central United States while a swine respiratory disease occurred concurrently. A Kansas State University researcher has found that the virus causing the pandemic was able to infect and replicate in pigs, but did not kill them, unlike in other mammalian hosts like monkeys, mice and ferrets where the infection has been lethal. http://phys.org/news160309140.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:24:04 EST news160309140 A French study of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, which analysed mortality rates in approximately three-quarters of the European population, has concluded that it is unlikely that the virus, often described as Spanish Flu, originated in Europe. http://phys.org/news160307159.html Medicine & Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:46:33 EST news160307159 Google.org on Wednesday began using flu-related Internet search traffic in Mexico to create an online map that might provide clues to how influenza is spreading in that country. http://phys.org/news160239104.html Technology Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:52:06 EST news160239104 As the number of swine flu cases grows, so do the questions about how the virus is transmitted and what people can do to prevent it. Here are answers from interviews with doctors and from public-health Web sites. http://phys.org/news160218868.html Medicine & Health Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:15:01 EST news160218868 (AP) -- The cloth patches in green, blue and white are everywhere, clamped tight over the mouth and nose of teachers, toddlers, policemen and drunks. Even the statue at the church of St. Jude, patron of lost causes, has been fitted with a light-blue surgical mask to ward off swine flu. http://phys.org/news160163158.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:54:11 EST news160163158 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by University of Maryland researchers suggests that the potential for an avian influenza virus to cause a human flu pandemic is greater than previously thought. Results also illustrate how the current swine flu outbreak likely came about. http://phys.org/news160159862.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:52:49 EST news160159862 InDevR, a small biotech company in Boulder, CO, announced today that they have licensed the FluChip technology from the University of Colorado. The FluChip was invented by a joint team of scientists at the University of Colorado and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in an NIH sponsored effort led by Professor Kathy Rowlen. http://phys.org/news160146203.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:03:55 EST news160146203 A pandemic of swine flu has edged nearer but the threat can be avoided if governments and individuals join in limiting the contagion, The Lancet said in an editorial on Tuesday. http://phys.org/news160141132.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:39:11 EST news160141132 Flu vaccine delivered through skin patches containing microneedles has proven just as effective at preventing influenza in mice as intramuscular, hypodermic flu immunization. A team of researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology believes the new microneedle skin patch method of delivering flu vaccine could improve overall seasonal vaccination coverage in people because of decreased pain, increased convenience, lower cost and simpler logistics over conventional hypodermic immunization. http://phys.org/news160072120.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:29:04 EST news160072120 New research published today (Monday April 27) from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust warns of a six-month time lag before effective vaccines can be manufactured in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. http://phys.org/news160071628.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:20:55 EST news160071628 An influenza vaccine that protects against death and serious complications from different strains of flu is a little closer to reality, Saint Louis University vaccine researchers have found. http://phys.org/news160071564.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:19:50 EST news160071564 (AP) -- Mexico canceled school nationwide Monday and warned the death toll from a swine flu epidemic believed to have killed 149 people would keep rising before it can be contained. Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said 20 of the deaths have been confirmed to be from swine flu and the government was awaiting results on the others. http://phys.org/news160070739.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:06:27 EST news160070739 (AP) -- A never-before-seen strain of swine flu has turned killer in Mexico and is causing milder illness in the United States and elsewhere. While authorities say it's not time to panic, they are taking steps to stem the spread and also urging people to pay close attention to the latest health warnings and take their own precautions. http://phys.org/news159861216.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:03:47 EST news159861216 The top agency for health in farm animals on Monday said Mexico's outbreak of deadly influenza was unleashed by a pathogen mixed from bird, human and hog viruses and branded the term "swine flu" as wrong and harmful to pig farmers. http://phys.org/news160054720.html Medicine & Health Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:39:08 EST news160054720 Asian health officials went on alert Sunday as a flu strain that has killed dozens of people in Mexico appeared to have spread to New Zealand, underscoring warnings of a potential pandemic. http://phys.org/news159946928.html Medicine & Health Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:42:35 EST news159946928 (AP) -- As Mexico struggled against the odds Saturday to contain a strange new flu that has killed 68 and perhaps sickened more than 1,000, it was becoming clearer that the government hasn't moved quickly enough to head off what the World Health Organization said has the potential to become a global epidemic. http://phys.org/news159899262.html Medicine & Health Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:28:23 EST news159899262 World health authorities on Friday rushed to tackle flu outbreaks in the United States and Mexico that have killed at least 60 people and have pandemic potential. http://phys.org/news159778101.html Medicine & Health Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:48:59 EST news159778101 Influenza patients between ages 10 and 17 who took Tamiflu were 54 percent more likely to exhibit serious abnormal behavior than those who did not take the antiflu drug, according to a final report, released Saturday, from a Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team. http://phys.org/news159440823.html Medicine & Health Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:07:48 EST news159440823 The Hong Kong flu pandemic was responsible for more than 700,000 deaths worldwide in the late 1960s, with major disease outbreaks in Europe in the winter of 1969-1970. A number of studies have been conducted to determine if prenatal exposure to the influenza virus may result in mental disorders that affect a small portion of the population, but no studies have explored the possible effects of prenatal exposure on the mean intelligence in the general population. A new study found that early prenatal exposure to the Hong Kong flu may have interfered with fetal cerebral development and caused reduced intelligence in adulthood. The study is published in Annals of Neurology. http://phys.org/news159024625.html Medicine & Health Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:31:00 EST news159024625 (PhysOrg.com) -- New findings from research performed on the influenza virus using X-rays generated by the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory may help pave the way for the development of a new, more effective vaccine that could combat a wide range of strains of the common and frequently deadly illness. http://phys.org/news157383064.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:32:12 EST news157383064 A vaccine to protect humans from a bird flu pandemic is within reach after a new discovery by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia. http://phys.org/news155237062.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:24:51 EST news155237062 A mutation of the influenza A(H1N1) virus that is resistant to the drug oseltamivir may pose a serious health threat to hospitalized patients who have a weakened immune system, according to a study to be published in the March 11 issue of JAMA, and being released early online because of its public health importance. http://phys.org/news155223597.html Medicine & Health Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:41:06 EST news155223597 Vaccines against H5N1 influenza will be critical in countering a possible future pandemic. Yet public health experts agree that the current method of growing seasonal influenza vaccines in chicken eggs is slow and inefficient. http://phys.org/news155142871.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:15:15 EST news155142871 The discovery of the molecule, an antibody known as CR6261, is good news for researchers who hope to design a flu vaccine that would give humans lifelong protection against a majority of influenza viruses. The antibody also has the potential to treat those who are unvaccinated and become infected with the flu. http://phys.org/news154880861.html Chemistry Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:28:18 EST news154880861 As influenza season shifts into high gear, with 24 states now reporting widespread activity, the nation's infectious diseases experts are urging supermarket pharmacies with free-antibiotics promotions to educate their customers on when antibiotics are the right prescription—and when they can do more harm than good. http://phys.org/news154789898.html Medicine & Health Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:16:03 EST news154789898 Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported the identification of human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that neutralize an unprecedented range of influenza A viruses, including avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, previous pandemic influenza viruses, and some seasonal influenza viruses. http://phys.org/news154540721.html Biology Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:00:18 EST news154540721 Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have completed a study to better understand the impact of infection control measures during a possible flu pandemic. Their study focused on the likelihood of the transmission of flu from individuals showing no symptoms (asymptomatic) or from individuals who are infected but have not yet exhibited symptoms. The researchers call on the scientific community to better understand the transmission of influenza in order to provide guidelines for effective pandemic flu planning. Their findings are published in the March-April 2009 edition of Public Health Reports. http://phys.org/news154192370.html Medicine & Health Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:13:27 EST news154192370