(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved AbbVie Inc and Danish drugmaker Genmab's blood cancer therapy for adult

A runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing – whatever your hay fever symptoms, it’s no surprise if you’ve had a flare-up recently. During spring, both tree and grass pollen is released into the air. If you’re allergic to the proteins they contain, your nose, eyes, throat and sinuses can become swollen, irritated and inflamed. “Many people are suffering from hay fever just now because the pollen count is high, thanks in part to climate change,” says Dr Nisa Aslam, GP from Typharm’s Skin Life Sciences Foundation. “Plus the pollen season is getting longer.” The immune function plays an important role in an allergic reactions, she explains. “People who suffer from hay fever often have a family history of not just hay fever, but also skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, which can often be borne out of problems with the immune system.” The weather can also be a contributing factor in how badly you’re affected. “Some hay fever sufferers may be experiencing a sudden spike in their symptoms a bit earlier than usual, this may be due to the recent prolonged wet and windy weather,” says Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots. “On a daily basis, rainfall tends to decrease pollen, but over a period of months, intermittent wet days tend to produce a more severe hay fever season overall.” Conditions could be about to get even worse. A recent study by the University of Worcester, published in the Science of The Total Environment journal, warned that it could be one of the worst seasons for birch pollen on record. The severity is due to two things. “Firstly, higher than average temperatures last June, when the pollen is produced, allowed greater potential for high pollen levels,” says Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, senior pollen forecaster at the university. “Secondly, birch trees have a biennial pattern of pollen production, one mild year and one severe year, and this year was already expected to be a high year.” So what can you do if your hay fever is much worse than usual at the moment? The first step is to avoid exposure to the pollen that affects you the most. “Allergens responsible for hay fever include grass pollens and tree pollens [spring and summer], weed pollens and fungal mould spores,” says Dr Aslam. “Watch the daily pollen forecasts. Don’t go outside when the pollen count is high and keep all windows shut.” Preventive medicines can help to reduce symptoms if you know in advance when you’re going to be exposed to pollen. “This can be a steroid nasal spray one to two weeks before symptoms start,” says Dr Aslam. Alternatively, natural nasal sprays “can help to prevent the symptoms of hayfever and other types of allergic rhinitis by forming a protective film in our inner nose, stopping allergens that we breathe in from trying to enter our respiratory system”, she says. Similarly, ointments like Vaseline can act as a pollen trap. “Apply a barrier balm of petroleum jelly around your nose to trap the pollen and help relieve dry and uncomfortable skin from repetitive nose blowing,” Ms Nevinson says. “Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off and wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes.” Read More Seasonal allergies tips and tricks as pollen count rises What is the link between pollen and eye infections? Hay fever may be mistaken for Covid, warns expert Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad? The startling and grim discoveries unearthed by the climate crisis Earth’s CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history

Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after losing out to SpaceX

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2023--

Scientists have revealed they had found a way to combine the technology of brain scans and artificial intelligence to transcribe “the gist” of people’s thoughts. Alex Huth, an assistant professor of neuroscience and computing science at the University of Texas at Austin, and a co-author on the new study published in Nature Neuroscience, said that ‘this is a real leap forward.’ The study was led by Huth and Jerry Tang, a doctoral student in computer science. The main development from this study is that it’s non-invasive. This means that subjects do not require surgical implants. Instead, brain activity is measured using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the study, individuals listened to hours of podcasts in the scanner. Then, given the participant’s consent to have their thoughts decoded, they listened to a new story and the machine-generated corresponding texts from brain activity. It’s not a word-for-word transcript. For example, when an individual heard the phrase ‘I don’t have my driver’s licence yet’, the model decoded the individual’s thoughts to read as ‘she has not even started to learn to drive yet.’ Even when participants thought up their own stories, the machine was able to decode their thoughts still. Tang acknowledged that the advancements made in the study had the potential for negative aftermath. Tang said, ‘we take very seriously the concerns that it could be used for bad purposes and have worked to avoid that.’ They ran tests that highlighted that unless the machine had been trained on an individual’s particular brain activity, it could not decode its thoughts. An individual had to allow for the machine to train their brain activity over a long period of time inside a fMRI scanner for it to work. Researchers also found that it was easy to ‘sabotage’ the machine. Three participants were told to tell a different story in their mind, or count by seven, while listening to one of the podcasts. The study highlights even more development with artificial intelligence, after the popularity of OpenAI’s Chat GPT has sparked debate around the potential of AI. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Rheum, cerumen, and mucus are just a few of our gross bodily fluids.

A runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing – whatever your hay fever symptoms, it’s no surprise if you’ve had a flare-up recently. During spring, both tree and grass pollen is released into the air. If you’re allergic to the proteins they contain, your nose, eyes, throat and sinuses can become swollen, irritated and inflamed. “Many people are suffering from hay fever just now because the pollen count is high, thanks in part to climate change,” says Dr Nisa Aslam, GP from Typharm’s Skin Life Sciences Foundation. “Plus the pollen season is getting longer.” The immune function plays an important role in an allergic reactions, she explains. “People who suffer from hay fever often have a family history of not just hay fever, but also skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, which can often be borne out of problems with the immune system.” The weather can also be a contributing factor in how badly you’re affected. “Some hay fever sufferers may be experiencing a sudden spike in their symptoms a bit earlier than usual, this may be due to the recent prolonged wet and windy weather,” says Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots. “On a daily basis, rainfall tends to decrease pollen, but over a period of months, intermittent wet days tend to produce a more severe hay fever season overall.” Conditions could be about to get even worse. A recent study by the University of Worcester, published in the Science of The Total Environment journal, warned that it could be one of the worst seasons for birch pollen on record. The severity is due to two things. “Firstly, higher than average temperatures last June, when the pollen is produced, allowed greater potential for high pollen levels,” says Dr Beverley Adams-Groom, senior pollen forecaster at the university. “Secondly, birch trees have a biennial pattern of pollen production, one mild year and one severe year, and this year was already expected to be a high year.” So what can you do if your hay fever is much worse than usual at the moment? The first step is to avoid exposure to the pollen that affects you the most. “Allergens responsible for hay fever include grass pollens and tree pollens [spring and summer], weed pollens and fungal mould spores,” says Dr Aslam. “Watch the daily pollen forecasts. Don’t go outside when the pollen count is high and keep all windows shut.” Preventive medicines can help to reduce symptoms if you know in advance when you’re going to be exposed to pollen. “This can be a steroid nasal spray one to two weeks before symptoms start,” says Dr Aslam. Alternatively, natural nasal sprays “can help to prevent the symptoms of hayfever and other types of allergic rhinitis by forming a protective film in our inner nose, stopping allergens that we breathe in from trying to enter our respiratory system”, she says. Similarly, ointments like Vaseline can act as a pollen trap. “Apply a barrier balm of petroleum jelly around your nose to trap the pollen and help relieve dry and uncomfortable skin from repetitive nose blowing,” Ms Nevinson says. “Shower and change your clothes after you have been outside to wash pollen off and wear wraparound sunglasses to stop pollen getting into your eyes.” Read More Seasonal allergies tips and tricks as pollen count rises What is the link between pollen and eye infections? Hay fever may be mistaken for Covid, warns expert Why do heatwaves in the UK feel hotter than abroad? The startling and grim discoveries unearthed by the climate crisis Earth’s CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history

OKLAHOMA CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2023--

The Cambridgeshire festival returns with its biggest line-up to date.

The content pile is vast, and you've got the whole weekend to decide how you

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A team led by Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin won a coveted NASA contract

Deadly floods that have engulfed the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, killing at least 14 people, are another sign of the accelerating climate crisis, according to researchers.