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This Japanese pill could kill the flu in a day, but theres a problem
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The drug maker Shionogi said that its new flu treatment only needs 24 hours to kill the flu, at least according to a late-stage trial it conducted on America and Japanese patients. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News special workflow
Published: Feb 14, 2018, 9:59 AM
A Japanese drug maker might have created a pill that could cure the flu in a single dose.

The drug maker Shionogi said that its new flu treatment succeeds in 24 hours, at least according to a late-stage trial it conducted on American and Japanese patients, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The cure works faster than any other medication and only needs a single dosage.

According to USA Today, Tamiflu, a popular anti-flu drug, requires two doses a day for five days three times longer to kill the flu virus.

The Swiss company Roche, which created the flu treatment Tamiflu, helped to develop the Japanese drug, too

However, this potential flu killer wouldnt be available at U.S. stores until at earliest 2019.

This years flu season has been particularly troubling for Americans, with numbers surging to levels comparable to the swine flu pandemic that ravaged the U.S. in 2009, according to The Washington Post.

Anne Schuchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Post that she is awaiting more information about the level of people affected.

This does not mean were having a pandemic, Schuchat said. But it is a signal of how very intense the flu season has been. We may be on track to break some recent records.

According to Fortune, more than 4,000 Americans died from pneumonia or influenza so far this year. That number will likely rise as more data becomes available.

It gets worse. The death toll in future weeks is expected to grow even higher because flu activity is still rising and the number of deaths follow the flu activity, Fortune reported.

In fact, Schuchat from the CDC told Fortune that the recent rise in flu activity will lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.

And, she said, the flu season may not end for months.

We have a lot to learn still about influenza, she said, according to Fortune. Its a wake-up call about how severe influenza can be, and why we can never let down our guard.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.