Health

Study Finds - The next frontier in the battle against respiratory infections isn’t a pill or a shot – it’s a spray. Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed PCANS, a nasal spray that could potentially shield us from a wide range of airborne threats, from everyday colds to pandemic-causing viruses.It’s a breakthrough that would be music to the ears — and lungs — of those who find themselves battling colds and coughs frequently during flu season. This multi-modal nasal spray is designed to capture, neutralize, and prevent the transport of various respiratory pathogens.

The study, published in the journal Advanced Materials, details the creation of PCANS (Pathogen Capture and Neutralizing Spray). If successful, it could protect individuals from COVID-19, influenza, the common cold, and even pneumonia-causing bacteria.“The COVID pandemic showed us what respiratory pathogens can do to humanity in a very short time. That threat hasn’t gone away,” says co-senior author Jeffrey Karp, PhD, distinguished chair in Anesthesiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in a statement. “Not only do we have the flu to deal with seasonally, but we now have COVID, too.”

CNN - More than a third of children around the world were nearsighted in 2023, and that percentage is expected to keep rising, according to new research. This is what parents can do to help protect their children’s vision.