Singapore is employing an unusual strategy to combat dengue fever by releasing ten million mosquitoes every week. These insects are not ordinary; they are specially bred male mosquitoes of the Aedes genus carrying the naturally occurring Wolbachia bacterium.
When these males mate with wild females, their eggs do not hatch, which helps reduce the mosquito population. This approach aims not just to eliminate insects but to use biological methods to disrupt their reproduction and decrease disease transmission.
This strategy is already showing promising results. In some areas of Singapore, the Aedes mosquito population has decreased by 90%, and a recent trial showed about 71% protection against dengue infection.
In the context of the situation in India, where 2.33 lakh cases of dengue were registered in 2024, the question arises about the possibility of applying this unconventional tactic to solve the dengue problem in India.
A sixty-one-year-old man was hospitalized in Japan suffering from prolonged neutropenia following backup chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia. On the thirty-seventh day of his hospital stay, he began to be examined due to persistent fever despite the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
During the examination, two suspicious lesions were found: a spot with central necrosis on the chest and a nodule on the right hand. Laboratory tests showed an increase in serum 1,3-β-D-glucan, which is an indicator of fungal infections. However, the galactomannan test, which serves as a sign of aspergillosis, was negative.
Contrast-enhanced CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis revealed multiple lung nodules, as well as areas of decreased density in the liver, spleen, and kidneys.
Doctors Hanna Osawa and Takahisa Fujino from St. Luke's International Hospital presented this clinical case in the scientific journal The New England Journal of Medicine.
The American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, expressed his disapproval of the diet adopted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This diet, which is based on vegetables and fermented meat, was described by Rubio as 'crazy' and unsustainable, stating that he would never try it.
Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, participated in Katie Miller's podcast last week. During the program, there was a discussion about various topics, including Kennedy Jr.'s diet, after Miller questioned whether he had adopted RFK Jr.'s diet, which consists of red meat and fermented vegetables.
It is important to note that the diet followed by Kennedy Jr., as well as U.S. Vice President JD Vance, is part of the program called Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Rubio declared: 'This diet is crazy. It is a diet consisting of eating sauerkraut and meat. It is not sustainable.'
He added that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would have to travel always with lunchboxes full of sauerkraut, which Rubio considered ridiculous, as he himself would not travel with such a meal.
The Secretary of State also shared his personal experience trying to follow a ketogenic diet, characterized by reducing carbohydrates and sugars. He reported that this attempt led him to a state of great mental alteration: 'You end up eating all that protein, and because of that, you go through a huge sugar and carbohydrate withdrawal during the first 72 hours. It was almost a psychotic break for me.'
Rubio continued by illustrating the impact of this diet on his work, saying that if he followed the ketogenic regimen, he would tell the president: 'Mr. President, we need to bomb Paraguay.' When asked why, the answer would be: 'I don't know, I'm upset, I haven't eaten sugar.'
For her part, Rubio's wife revealed some of her husband's habits, observing that the Secretary of State 'likes to eat everything he shouldn't,' emphasizing that he consumes any food containing sugar.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., American Health Secretary, is already known for his unusual eating habits. Last month, he announced plans to launch a cooking show with celebrities, inspired by Donald Trump's 'Make America Healthy Again' initiative. According to People magazine, this program aims to promote the inverted food pyramid, which favors items such as meat, whole milk, cheese, and vegetables, which, according to experts, contradicts decades of documented research and studies.
The Hospital del Mar is located at the southern end of the Mar Campus, bordered by the seaside promenade, the Ronda Litoral highway, railway lines, and the Barceloneta neighborhood.
The project faced several obstacles due to the complex nature of the terrain, which had only one access point, a water table situated eight meters deep, in addition to the fact that the hospital remained operational throughout the construction period.
Additionally, a tight schedule, with a delivery deadline reduced by six months after the project selection to receive funding from the Next Generation EU program, forced a complete restructuring of the construction system midway through the process.
This change involved replacing the traditional cast-in-place concrete structure with a prefabricated solution. The client's objective was to obtain a center capable of adapting to future health emergencies, resulting in a building that is flexible and evolutionary, able to keep pace with social changes and medical advancements.
