The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday declined to approve two proposed new cancer drugs that were developed in China. One of the two companies, Hutchmed — which is controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠 Lǐ Jiāchéng) — said the FDA sent a letter denying approval of its new drug used to…
Greek hero Heracles, who defeated the multi-headed Hydra by cutting off each of the beast’s nine heads and cauterising the remaining stumps so they couldn’t grow new heads, would have had a far tougher fight if his mission had been to vanquish Earth’s real-world Hydra. This freshwater creature may be only half a thumb tall, but…
Natural disasters worldwide caused substantially higher losses in 2021 than in the previous two years, according to Munich Re’s 2021 Nat Cat report. Based on provisional data, Munich Re found that storms, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and other extreme weather events destroyed assets totalling US$280 billion in 2021, a dramatic increase from US$210 billion in 2020 and…
Kuala Lumpur, 15 October 2021 — During the launch of the “Improving Access To Cancer Treatment And Care” Virtual Conference and of the White Paper “Cancer Care: Challenges, Gaps And Opportunities In Malaysia”, Health Minister YB Khairy Jamaluddin highlighted the importance of identifying and adopting reforms in cancer care to address gaps and respond to challenges…
The Thai General Insurance Association has predicted that more insurance companies may collapse next year, due to the surging number of claims for compensation for COVID-19 infections, if the Omicron variant spreads across the country. The association’s president, Anon Wangvasu, said yesterday (Wednesday) that insurance companies as a whole have sustained losses, amounting to 37…
(CNN)The BA.2 virus — a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant — isn’t just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests. New lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make…
Nearly a dozen countries resumed use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday as EU and British regulators said the benefits of immunisation outweighed any risks. Many governments had temporarily paused inoculations, citing an abundance of caution while they waited for health regulators to investigate reports of rare blood clotting in people who had received the…
What to Know About Blood Clots, Anaphylaxis and Other Vaccine Fears What to Know About Blood Clots, Anaphylaxis and Other Vaccine Fears A vaccine is intended to prevent a specific disease, but many people who receive a Covid-19 inoculation are either elderly or suffer from other severe, chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and…
How to Keep Safe from COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) – Self Care Tips Frequent and proper hand washing is still the most effective protection against infectious outbreaks. Assoc Prof Piotr Chlebicki, Senior Consultant from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), explains. HANDWASHING frequently with soap and water is still the…
Coronavirus: Long-lasting disinfectant and 1,000 more hand sanitisers among measures introduced at Changi Airport SINGAPORE – Lift buttons, automated check-in kiosks and other commonly-touched surfaces in Changi Airport are now coated with a disinfectant that lasts up to six months with a single application. Changi Airport Group (CAG) has also increased the number of hand…