BioMedWire Stocks Archives - BioMedWire (BMW)

TuesdayOct 27, 2026 10:00 am

Mutated Flu Version is Spreading on the West Coast

Many people have been taken by surprise as the flu season gets underway a lot earlier than had been expected in the U.S. The driver of this outbreak, especially on the West Coast, is a mutated flu version. Experts are calling for urgent vaccination drives to safeguard more people against this new threat. Doctor Alex Greninger, The University of Washington’s Infectious Diseases Diagnostics chief, says flu outbreaks have been recorded on the West Coast before regions that usually experience flu season first. This is unusual, and has experts alarmed. The season has started nearly three months earlier than is typically…

FridayOct 23, 2026 10:10 am

Peter Thiel, OpenAI Back Brain Implant Firm Targeting Cancer

Coherence Neuro, a startup making implants designed to fight brain cancer, recently raised $45 million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and the OpenAI Startup Fund. Other notable participants included Lux Capital, Olive Capital and 8VC. In a post, Coherence explained that the funds collected would enable the firm to conduct their first chronic human trial to test their implant as a treatment option for glioblastoma. The firm will also seek FDA designation of the implant as a breakthrough device. The company added that they would expand their tests to other…

ThursdayOct 22, 2026 10:00 am

Researchers Discover That Brain Cancers Mutate Differently When Exposed to Treatment

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that as brain cancers become more resistant to treatment, they develop a variety of mutations that differ from one type of brain cancer to another. This study could pave the way for developing more targeted treatments and allowing clinicians to switch from one-size-fits-all approaches to more personalized therapies. The researchers focused on oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas, common types of gliomas that afflict humans. The team found that as these sub-categories of brain cancer become more aggressive, they develop mutations that are radically different. For a long time, scientists have worked based on the…

TuesdayOct 20, 2026 10:00 am

Bangladesh’s Measles Outbreak Provides Global Cautionary Tale

Bangladesh is currently grappling with a major measles outbreak that has seen more than 200,000 suspected cases of the disease recorded in the country, so far. Of those suspected cases, 22,000 have been confirmed by laboratory tests. These statistics cover mid-March to early October, according to the World Health Organization. WHO says 1,147 fatalities due to the disease have so far been recorded in the country, and 94% of those reported deaths are of kids aged five years or less. The Bangladesh situation underscores how challenging it can be to contain a measles outbreak at a time when vaccination uptake…

FridayOct 16, 2026 10:00 am

Experts Draw Attention to the Long-Term Effects of Measles Infections

At a time when lots of Americans have been bombarded with misinformation and disinformation about childhood vaccines and vaccination in general, it has come to light that measles infections trigger lasting vulnerabilities in the immune system that cause survivors to be susceptible to lots of other infections. For a long time, doctors have observed that when someone gets infected with measles and the condition is successfully treated, that person tends to get infected with a variety of other diseases for several years, sometimes even their entire lifetime. Measles outbreaks have even been known to be early predictors of subsequent waves…

ThursdayOct 15, 2026 10:00 am

Experimental Vaccine Delivers Promising Results in Brain Cancer Trial

For more than two decades, no meaningful progress in the way glioblastoma is treated has been made. However, a recent clinical trial testing an experimental vaccine has shown promise by increasing the survival time of GBM patients, particularly those younger than 65 years. The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, was conducted through a collaboration between the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Roswell Park and a biotech firm, MimiMax. A press release announcing the results of the trial explains that patients who were given the SurVaxM shots survived longer by 2.5 months when compared to those given a placebo. For…

TuesdayOct 13, 2026 10:00 am

Eliminating “Immune Fog” Shows Promise in Cancer Interception

As scientists race to find effective treatments against cancer, others are working to address tumors before they progress into full-blown cancers. A recent study conducted in the UK has found a possible way to stop cancer in its tracks during its initial stages. A team of researchers at UCL (University College London) conducted this preclinical study. Led by Prof. Sam Janes and Asst. Prof. James Reading, the team found that an “immune fog” forms long before cancer can be detected. This fog, made up of Tregs or regulatory T cells, develops in the lungs and its elevated activity blocks other…

FridayOct 09, 2026 10:00 am

Flu Infections Start Ticking Up Across the US

It is not yet mid-October, but the number of people getting flu is rising across the U.S. Health authorities are warning that the flu season this year could start early, especially in the west of the country. Health authorities usually recommend that people get vaccinated against flu towards the end of October, but the current infection patterns suggest now may be a good time to get your shot. The rationale behind the October recommendation is that full protection from the virus takes approximately two weeks after one gets vaccinated. That duration enables the body to develop a robust immune response…

ThursdayOct 08, 2026 10:00 am

Trump Administration Sends Out $500 Checks for Health Insurance

With the midterms just a few weeks away, the Trump administration has sent $500 checks to individuals that are enrolled on the Healthcare.gov website, a website that is used to select a health insurance policy provider. 30 U.S. states have this site as an option for people who are shopping for a health insurance policy. Ellen Allen, aged 65, is one of the people who received these checks. She resides in West Virginia, one of those 30 states in which the Healthcare.gov site is available. She says she was surprised to receive the check, but adds that the amount is…

TuesdayOct 06, 2026 10:00 am

The Skull Could Be Playing an Immune System Role for the Brain

Conventionally, the skull has largely been known as a structure which forms a protective casing around the brain. However, a recent study conducted by a team at WashU Medicine has found structures similar to lymph nodes inside the bone marrow in the skull, suggesting that the brain may have a local defense system that mobilizes an immune response in case a disease develops in the brain. The study, together with a few other recent discoveries, challenges the long-held view that the immune system and the brain operate separately. Prof. Jonathan Kipnis, an immunology and pathology specialist at WashU Medicine, was…