A new $15-million cross-border research project is underway to monitor the movement of pathogens in Canada and the U.S. in the event of future pandemics. The federal government put up the money that will cover four years of equipment and research. The Integrated Network for the Surveillance of Pathogens: Increasing Resilience and Capacity in Canada’s … Read more
The Current23:09What dying people see in their dreams As Charlotte Good was dying of pancreatic cancer in a Toronto hospital in 2007, she experienced a dream or vision of her own mother — who had died years before. Charlotte’s daughter, Cynthia Good, was staying over that night and sensed that she’d sat up. “I got … Read more
The Bank of Canada is getting closer to cutting interest rates as inflation shows signs of coming down and staying down, the central bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem, told MPs Thursday. “We do see renewed downward momentum in underlying inflation. The message to Canadians is, we are getting closer. We are seeing what we need to … Read more
Regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer should start younger, at age 40, according to an influential U.S. task force. Women ages 40 to 74 should get screened every other year, the group said. Previously, the task force had said women could choose to start breast cancer screening as young as 40, with a stronger … Read more
The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats — half of them on one farm — had died suddenly. Within days, the Amarillo veterinarian was hearing about sick cows with … Read more
Location. Costs. Time and convenience. There are many reasons that people aren’t participating in the Loblaw boycott, a movement fuelled by customers fed up with high prices at the grocery retailer. The boycott was started by a Reddit group with about 70,000 members called “Loblaws is out of control.” It calls for shoppers to avoid the retailer’s Loblaws stores, along with its offshoot … Read more
MEXICO CITY — If a woman wins Mexico’s presidency on June 2, would she rule with gender in mind? The question has been raised by academics, humans rights organizations and activists ahead of the voting that will likely elect Mexico’s first female president for the term 2024-30. Out of three candidates, the frontrunner is Claudia … Read more
HOW RISKY ARE CHALLENGE STUDIES? Overall, the same ethical requirements that govern all medical research – obtain informed consent, minimise harms to participants, ensure scientific validity, receive appropriate institutional approvals – also apply to challenge studies. In a context where exposure to an infectious agent is integral to study design, harm minimisation is especially important. … Read more
New government statistics indicate that the U.S. maternal mortality rate is coming down, following a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. About 680 women died last year in pregnancy-related deaths, according to provisional CDC data. That’s a drop from 2022, when 817 maternal deaths … Read more
Cannabis advocates in Colorado cheered the Biden Administration’s reported move to reclassify marijuana and said the decision likely would reduce businesses’ tax burden significantly. Industry leaders cautioned that such a move — if finalized — would not resolve some major challenges facing the industry, such as limited access to banking. But they pointed to the … Read more
