South Africa passes its first sweeping climate change law South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law a broad climate change act that will set caps for large emitters and require every town and city to publish an adaptation plan. Nellie Peyton Reuters

...

US targets nitrous oxide in new phase of climate fight The Biden administration on Tuesday announced it would seek to curb U.S. emissions of powerful industrial greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide as it enters a new phase in the national strategy to fight climate change under the Paris agreement. Valerie Volcovici Reuters

...

Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place—the picture is unsettling (medicalxpress.com)

Map Shows States With "Very High" Covid Rates A map of levels of Covid in wastewater suggests a higher rate of infections in a swathe of states. Newsweek

Some 17 US states have detected "very high" levels of Covid in their wastewater, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A rise in levels of Covid found in wastewater can signal that more people are getting infected.

ICU-acquired infections more common in COVID patients than those with flu Compared to influenza, COVID-19 patients had longer ICU stays. CIDRAP

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who required intensive care unit (ICU) treatment were more likely to acquire infections than those hospitalized with influenza, according to a new study in Scientific Reports.

Rescue From Above: How Drones May Narrow Emergency Response Times - KFF Health News Public safety and health care organizations are using drones to speed up lifesaving treatment during medical emergencies in which every second counts. khnkytjaw KFF Health News

...

Learning from the COVID pandemic: On the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions against pathogens In the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effectiveness of government-ordered measures to contain the pandemic, such as regular testing and the wearing of medical masks, was repeatedly called into question. Science X Medical Xpress

...

Why Covid-19 is spreading this summer Covid-19 doesn't follow normal seasonal patterns, like other respiratory viruses – waves of infection can happen at any time of year. David Cox BBC

...

US COVID-19 activity continues to rise steadily Two wastewater systems show high levels across most of the country. CIDRAP

The latest COVID indicators from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today showed more rises, with wastewater detections trending upward in all regions of the country, especially the West and South...

Rapid test for bird flu developed A rapid Avian influenza molecular test, detecting the latest H5N1 variants in cattle and the recent human inflections in Colorado, is now available News Desk Food Safety News

...

The rapid test is the latest scientific advancement against bird flu and comes from Alveo Technologies Inc. (California), a leader in molecular sensing and diagnostics with a proprietary technology platform.

...

Two more bird flu cases reported in Colorado, but elsewhere a study finds no asymptomatic infections U.S. health officials have announced two more bird flu cases among farmworkers. But here’s some good news: A new study in Michigan suggests the virus is not causing asymptomatic infections in people. AP News

...

123 House and Senate Republicans deny climate science: Analysis A total of 123 members of the House and Senate deny the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activity, according to an analysis from the liberal Center for Ame… rfrazin The Hill

A total of 123 members of the House and Senate deny the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activity, according to an analysis from the liberal Center for American Progress. 

Our power grid can’t take the heat — can cooler heads in DC fix the problem? Amid all the horrors of last week’s assassination attempt against former President Trump is a dangerous ongoing heat wave that is engulfing the nation, making temperatures — and tempers — soar. … ckulat The Hill

...

The question is, will we lose electricity in the days and years ahead at a faster and more dangerous rate due to factors like climate change? And what can be done about it? 

Researchers draw insights from COVID-19 to inform improved health care in times of crisis (medicalxpress.com)

In research recently published in Nature Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Jianxi Gao, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science, and his team measured the resilience and adaptability of our health care system to disruptions caused by COVID-19. Resilience is a system's ability to absorb and recover from disruptions. Adaptability is a system's ability to learn from previous disturbances where there are recurrent disruptions. ...

"We found that our health care systems in the United States exhibit substantial adaptability, but only a moderate level of resilience," said Gao. "Our findings can inform the design of resilient and sustainable health care systems to prepare for future disruptions, whether they are caused by pandemics, climate change, conflicts, or anything else."

...