Reference Terms
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Avian flu
Avian flu (also "bird flu", "avian influenza", "bird influenza"), means "flu from viruses adapted to birds", but is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to both other flu subsets (such as H5N1 flu) or the viruses that cause them (such as H5N1).
"Bird flu" is a phrase similar to "Pig flu", "Dog flu", "Horse flu", or "Human flu" in that it refers to an illness caused by any of many different strains of flu viruses such that the strain in question has adapted to the host. "Avian flu" differs in being named after an entire vertebrate class with 8,800–10,200 species. All known avian flu viruses belong to the species of virus called Influenza A virus. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of Influenza A virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the Influenza A virus (note that the "A" does not stand for "avian").
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Health & Medicine News
December 28, 2025
Dec. 28, 2025 Tiny lab-grown brains are offering an unprecedented look at how schizophrenia and bipolar disorder disrupt neural activity. Researchers found distinct electrical firing patterns that could identify ...
Dec. 28, 2025 Weight loss restored healthy metabolism in both young and mid-aged mice, but the brain told a different story. In mid-aged animals, slimming down actually worsened inflammation in a brain region tied to appetite and energy balance. While this ...
Dec. 28, 2025 A major new review has put hundreds of alternative autism treatments under the microscope—and most didn’t hold up. Scientists analyzed decades of research and found little reliable evidence that popular approaches like probiotics, acupuncture, ...
Dec. 27, 2025 Stanford scientists have uncovered how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can very rarely trigger heart inflammation in young men — and how that risk might be reduced. They found that the vaccines can spark a ...
Dec. 27, 2025 UBC Okanagan researchers have uncovered how plants create mitraphylline, a rare natural compound linked to anti-cancer effects. By identifying two key enzymes that shape and twist molecules into their final form, the team solved a puzzle that had ...
Dec. 27, 2025 Researchers have discovered how cells activate a last-resort DNA repair system when severe damage strikes. When genetic tangles overwhelm normal repair pathways, cells flip on a fast but error-prone emergency fix that helps them survive. Some cancer ...
Dec. 26, 2025 Vitamin C doesn’t just belong in skincare products—it works even better when you eat it. Scientists discovered that vitamin C from food travels through the bloodstream into every layer of the skin, boosting collagen and skin renewal. People who ...
Dec. 26, 2025 Scientists discovered that common food emulsifiers consumed by mother mice altered their offspring’s gut microbiome from the very first weeks of life. These changes interfered with normal immune system training, leading to long-term inflammation. ...
Dec. 25, 2025 A new study suggests temporal lobe epilepsy may be linked to early aging of certain brain cells. When researchers removed these aging cells in mice, seizures dropped, memory improved, and some animals avoided epilepsy altogether. The treatment used ...
Dec. 25, 2025 Tramadol, a popular opioid often seen as a “safer” painkiller, may not live up to its reputation. A large analysis of clinical trials found that while it does reduce chronic pain, the relief is modest—so small that many patients likely ...
Dec. 25, 2025 A new study suggests that dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain. Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive, disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue. When the missing ...
Dec. 24, 2025 Alzheimer’s has long been considered irreversible, but new research challenges that assumption. Scientists discovered that severe drops in the brain’s energy supply help drive the disease—and restoring that balance can reverse damage, even in ...
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Dec. 24, 2025 A four–amino acid peptide called CAQK has shown powerful brain-protective effects in animal models of traumatic brain injury. Delivered through a standard IV, it zeroes in on injured brain tissue, ...
Dec. 24, 2025 Researchers have created tiny metal-based particles that push cancer cells over the edge while leaving healthy cells mostly unharmed. The particles work by increasing internal stress in cancer cells ...
Dec. 23, 2025 Scientists studying thousands of rats discovered that gut bacteria are shaped by both personal genetics and the genetics of social partners. Some genes promote certain microbes that can spread ...
Dec. 23, 2025 Scientists at MIT and Stanford have unveiled a promising new way to help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells more effectively. Their strategy targets a hidden “off switch” that ...
Dec. 23, 2025 A deadly hospital fungus that resists nearly every antifungal drug may have an unexpected weakness. Researchers discovered that Candida auris ...
Dec. 23, 2025 A new imaging technology can distinguish cancerous tissue from healthy cells by detecting ultra-weak light signals. It relies on nanoparticles that bind to tumor markers, making cancerous areas ...
Dec. 22, 2025 MIT scientists have achieved the first-ever lab synthesis of verticillin A, a complex fungal compound discovered in 1970. Its delicate structure stalled chemists for decades, despite differing from ...
Dec. 22, 2025 New research suggests Alzheimer’s may start far earlier than previously thought, driven by a hidden toxic protein in the brain. Scientists found that an experimental drug, NU-9, blocks this early ...
Dec. 22, 2025 How you walk may matter just as much as how much you walk. A large UK study tracking more than 33,000 low-activity adults found that people who grouped their daily steps into longer, uninterrupted ...
Dec. 22, 2025 A new study shows dopamine isn’t the brain’s movement “gas pedal” after all. Instead of setting speed or strength, it quietly enables movement in the background, much like oil in an engine. ...