Public health & disease | Good News for Humankind

Person happily holding a trans pride flag

Maryland to cover unprecedented number of gender-affirming procedures in “groundbreaking” win

By Peter Schulte / January 11, 2024 / Good news links

A new law in Maryland requires Medicaid to cover “medically necessary” gender-affirming care for residents — including care well beyond hormones or surgery. The law went into effect on January 1. It requires coverage for “gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner.” Gender-affirming care is considered safe and essential to the well-being of trans people by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and other major U.S. and world health organizations.

Novel nasal COVID-19 vaccine offers longer, better immunity than jabs

By Peter Schulte / January 10, 2024 / Good news links

Researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore have developed an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine that enhances the immune system’s response to the virus, providing longer-lasting, greater protection than vaccine injections, even against new and emerging variants. The novel vaccine candidate could mean fewer boosters in future.

New protein test can detect 18 early stage cancers, scientists say

By Peter Schulte / January 9, 2024 / Good news links

The team from U.S. biotech firm Novelna wrote: “At stage I (the earliest cancer stage) and at the specificity of 99%, our panels were able to identify 93% of cancers among males and 84% of cancers among females.” It believes its cheaper, less invasive multi-cancer screening test could be a ‘gamechanger.’

Tourists on Main Market Square in Krakow

Poland’s Clean Household Energy Initiative projected to prevent 20,000 deaths annually by 2030

By Peter Schulte / January 7, 2024 / Good news links

A new Polish national program plans to replace half the country’s 2.7 million wood and coal-fired furnaces with natural gas furnaces or even more efficient heat pumps by 2030. The policy is projected to save more than 21,000 lives a year in Poland, increase the number of people breathing clean air 15-fold, and help Poland reach new E.U. air quality standards.

Australian scientists regenerate diabetics’ damaged cells to produce insulin

By Peter Schulte / January 3, 2024 / Good news links

For many years, research has focused on identifying novel therapies that stimulate beta-cell growth and function to restore insulin production in type 1 diabetics. Now, researchers at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne have brought us a step closer to making this a reality, regenerating damaged pancreatic cells so they can produce insulin and functionally respond to blood glucose levels. The novel therapeutic approach has the potential to become the first disease-modifying treatment for type 1 diabetes.

Doctor dermatologist examines skin of patient

mRNA skin cancer therapy halves risk of death in clinical trial

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

Following promising results from this recent trail, the combination of Moderna’s new mRNA-4157 and KEYTRUDA has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA in the U.S., and accepted into the Priority Medicines scheme by the European Medicines Agency, for the treatment of high-risk melanoma.

Person sitting on a bench overlooking sunset

Mindfulness program proves a secret weapon against post-traumatic stress, according to new study

By Peter Schulte / December 28, 2023 / Good news links

A new study from Australia’s Murdoch University evaluating the effectiveness of an eight-week program focusing on self-compassion and mindfulness found that it reduced symptoms of post-traumatic stress and improved quality of life and connectivity in parts of the brain that regulate emotions.

MIT scientists discover the first new antibiotics in over 60 years using AI

By Peter Schulte / December 20, 2023 / Good news links

The discovery of a new compound that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that kills thousands worldwide every year could prove to be a turning point in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

Psilocybin effectively treats depression in cancer patients, new study finds

By Peter Schulte / December 19, 2023 / Good news links

New research from Maryland-based Sunstone Therapies found that psilocybin-assisted therapy for cancer patients induced a clinically meaningful improvement in depression symptoms, with 80% of participants demonstrating a sustained response and 50% showing full remission of depression symptoms at week one, which was sustained for eight weeks.

Self-portrait of a woman with cancer and her children

Triple-negative breast cancer vaccine shows good response in first clinical trial of patients

By Peter Schulte / December 15, 2023 / Good news links

A drug that targets the deadliest form of breast cancer was administered to 16 women in three separate doses in a trial conducted at the Cleveland Clinic with funding from the Pentagon. The trial found that the drug elicits no side effects and triggered an immune response in 75% of patients.