New York opens its first legal recreational cannabis dispensary
The lower Manhattan store is the first of 36 recently licensed dispensaries to open, with an additional 139 licenses yet to be issued and 900 applicants still awaiting word.
Public health & disease
In a world first, Japenese scientists use artificial DNA to kill cancer cells
By creating a hairpin-shaped pair of DNA molecules, the researchers expose cancer to the immune system’s targeting procedure, and thus stop and even reverse cancer in mice.
University of Houston researchers create “game-changer” vaccine for deadly street drug
In a study published in Pharmaceutics, scientists tested their vaccine on 60 rats. The immunized animals could produce antibodies that stop the deadly drug’s effects.
3M to end ‘forever chemicals’ output at cost of up to $2.3 bn
The U.S. conglomerate has set a 2025 deadline to stop producing PFAS, the “forever chemicals” used in anything from cell phones to semiconductors that have been linked to cancer and other health problems.
Singapore eradicates rubella
Over the past decade, rubella cases have decreased dramatically in the Western Pacific Region, as millions of babies and young children have been reached with vaccines.
New blood cancer therapy successful in three-quarters of trial patients
The Phase 1/2 trial data from Janssen Research & Development covered hundreds of myeloma patients. Based on preliminary trial data, the FDA has granted it “Breakthrough Therapy” designation.
Experimental Naloxone vending machine in Cincinnati has reversed nearly 1,000 overdoses in two years
The machine dispensed more than 3,000 doses of naloxone and 10,000 drug test strips in the first year after it was installed in February 2021.
Bangladesh slashes infant mortality rate by 85% over five decades
According to health experts, Bangladesh has achieved unprecedented success in every health index in the last 50 years since independence, including infant and maternal mortality rates.
Vaccine prolongs life of patients with aggressive brain cancer in new trial
The world’s first vaccine to treat deadly cancerous brain tumors can potentially give patients years of extra life, a global clinical trial from Maryland’s Northwest Biotherapeutics has concluded.
India’s maternal mortality ratio declines 25% between 2016 and 2020
The country’s maternal mortality ratio (MMR) witnessed a decline by 6 points at 97 per lakh live births in 2018-2020, from 130 in 2014-16.