H7N9 influenza is both lethal and transmissible in animal model for flu.

H7N9 influenza is both lethal and transmissible in animal model for flu. In 2013, an influenza virus began circulating among poultry in China. It caused several waves of human infection and as of late July 2017, nearly 1,600 people had tested positive for avian H7N9. Nearly 40 percent of those infected had died. In 2017, a medical researcher received a sample of H7N9 virus isolated from a patient in China who had died of the flu. He and his research team subsequently began work to characterize and understand it. In early 2017, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, received a sample of H7N9 virus isolated from a patient in China who had died of the flu. He and his research team subsequently began work to characterize and understand . For the first time, Kawaoka says, his team has identified an influenza virus strain that is both transmissible between ferrets (the best animal model proxy for human influenza infections) and lethal, both in the animal originally infected and in otherwise healthy ferrets in close contact with these infected animals.

On-and-off fasting helps fight obesity, study finds.

On-and-off fasting helps fight obesity, study finds.Researchers investigate why periods of sporadic fasting can be beneficial for the metabolism. Up to sixteen weeks of intermittent fasting without otherwise having to count calories helps fight obesity and other metabolic disorders. Such fasting already shows benefits after only six weeks. This is according to a study by Kyoung-Han Kim and Yun Hye Kim in the journal Cell Research which is published by Springer Nature. Intermittent fasting in mice helped to kick-start the animals' metabolism and to burn fat by generating body heat. The research team was led by Hoon-Ki Sung of The Hospital for Sick Children in Ontario, Canada. Research has shown that our unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles are playing a major role in the development of lifestyle-related metabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. For this reason, dietary interventions like intermittent fasting are gaining popularity to treat conditions such as obesity.

Be concerned about how apps collect, share health data, expert says.

Be concerned about how apps collect, share health data, expert says.As of 2016 there were more than 165,000 health and wellness apps available though the Apple App Store alone. According to Rice University medical media expert Kirsten Ostherr, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates only a fraction of those. Americans should be concerned about how these apps collect, save and share their personal health data, she said. "Members of the general public, including patients, have begun to play a newly important role in collecting data about health and disease," Ostherr said. "With the rise of mobile apps and the growth of smartphone and wearable-device use, people's daily lives have become experiments 'in the wild.'" The data collected through these devices offer new opportunities and challenges to researchers who want to gather information about human behavior outside the controlled settings of lab-based studies, she said. However, what the researchers can achieve with the user-generated health data relies heavily on participants' willingness to share their data, even when doing so may not serve their own best interests.

Combination of El Niño and 2016 Ecuador earthquake likely worsened Zika outbreak.

Combination of El Niño and 2016 Ecuador earthquake likely worsened Zika outbreak.A Zika virus outbreak in coastal Ecuador in 2016 was likely worsened by a strong El Niño and a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region in April, according to a new study. A new research commentary suggests the earthquake left more people exposed to disease-carrying mosquitos, and climate variability associated with the 2014-2016 El Niño event created more favorable mosquito breeding grounds. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, combined with destruction of the region's infrastructure and a population influx into large cities, likely caused the number of Zika cases to increase 12-fold in just three months, according to the study's authors.

Five new malaria targets that could lead to an effective vaccine.

Five new malaria targets that could lead to an effective vaccine.Scientists have identified five targets that reduce the parasite's ability to invade red blood cells.In the largest study of its kind, five new malaria vaccine targets have been discovered. Researchers studied the malaria parasite at its most vulnerable stage -- when invading human red blood cells -- and identified five targets that lead to a reduction in the parasite's ability to enter red blood cells. Nearly half of the world's population is at risk of malaria and more than 200 million people are infected each year. The disease caused the deaths of almost half a million people globally in 2015*. Despite the large number of deaths, there is no highly effective vaccine currently available for malaria. Over the last 50 years, most attempts to develop vaccines have only focussed on single targets. In the new study, scientists have discovered five targets for future malaria vaccine development, which they suggest should be targeted in combination. An effective vaccine is urgently needed due to an expanding problem of drug resistance in the parasite.

Dogs are more expressive when someone is looking.

Dogs are more expressive when someone is looking.Dogs produce more facial expressions when humans are looking at them, according to new research.Dogs produce more facial expressions when humans are looking at them, according to new research from the University of Portsmouth. Scientists at the University's Dog Cognition Centre are the first to find clear evidence dogs move their faces in direct response to human attention. Dogs don't respond with more facial expressions upon seeing tasty food, suggesting that dogs produce facial expressions to communicate and not just because they are excited. Brow raising, which makes the eyes look bigger -- so-called puppy dog eyes -- was the dogs' most commonly used expression in this research.

'Antelope perfume' keeps flies away from cows.

'Antelope perfume' keeps flies away from cows.Researchers involved in research shows how the tsetse fly can be tricked in Africa In Africa, tsetse flies transfer the sleeping sickness also to cattle. The damage is estimated to be about 4.6 billion US dollars each year. Experts have developed an innovative way of preventing the disease. Tsetse flies avoid waterbucks, a widespread antelope species in Africa. The scientists imitated the smell of these antelopes.If the cattle were equipped with collars containing the defense agent, more than 80 percent of the cattle were spared from the feared infection. Tsetse flies are widespread in Africa. They feed on blood and can transfer the dreaded sleeping sickness. The infection can be lethal and damages the nervous system and, in the final stage, causes a dozy state, which gave the disease its name. Many people in tropical Africa are directly endangered, but the transfer to cattle also has drastic consequences for agriculture by reducing the production of milk, meat and labor.