The year has been a rough one for the health beat. Surges in cases and deaths were caused by the COVID Pandemic. mpox, flu, andRSV were forgotten until recently. The right to reproductive freedom was overturned by the U.S. supreme court.
It wasn't all bad news in the future. Artificial intelligence, human evolution and epidemiology are just some of the exciting advances in biology and medicine. Some of the discoveries gave us hope for a better world.
The development of COVID vaccines within a year of the discovery of the coronaviruses that cause the disease is one of the greatest achievements in recent memory. Two of the most effective vaccines were found to protect against severe disease and death from the coronaviruses. The virus continued to evolve as newer versions found a way around human immune defenses. New shots were developed to target the Omicron variant. It's a good idea to make sure everyone in your family is up-to-date with their vaccinations.
The winner of this year's prize was Svante Pbo, for his discoveries about the genetics of our ancestors. The methods for reconstructing ancient DNA were pioneered by Pbo. The genomes of Neandertals and Denisovans were found by him and his colleagues. The research showed that early humans interbred with the extinct species. The primeval trysts gave us the ability to survive at high altitudes and a vulnerability to infections such as COVID.
A team of scientists at Yale University have developed a system that can restore function to pigs after they have died. Each animal had a mixture of blood and fluid pumped through it. The animals didn't wake up. More human organs could be kept alive by the technology.
Human waste contains a lot of useful information. Researchers were able to spot COVID cases before they caused a surge. In New York State and the U.K. sewage systems were found to have the virus that causes the disease that has been wiped out in much of the world.
Most of us probably didn't pay much attention to the air we breathe inside before the COVID Pandemic. Over the past few years, it has become clear that the disease can be spread through airborne droplets, which can make us sick. Ventilating buildings and filters the air we breathe can help reduce that risk. The benefits of cleaner indoor air include reducing the risk of respiratory diseases and helping us think more clearly.
Predicting the three-dimensional structure of a molecule is one of the hardest things biologists can do. AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence program built by DeepMind, was able to solve the 3-D structures of 200 million genes. These structures could lead to new pharmaceutical drugs and more sustainable crops.
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