u/Crabbexx

>“For about a decade, scientists have had remarkable success curing some blood cancers by modifying a patient’s own immune cells to recognize and kill the malignant cells.

>That same approach may help control H.I.V., among the wiliest of viruses, scientists will report on Tuesday. After a single infusion of immune cells engineered to recognize the virus, two people in a new study have suppressed their H.I.V. to undetectable levels, one of them for nearly two years.

>The data is scheduled to be presented at a gene therapy conference in Boston, but the researchers shared an early copy with The New York Times.

>The treatment is years, if not decades, from being widely available, but the study offers what scientists call “proof of concept,” and the tantalizing hope that a single shot could one day offer lifelong relief from H.I.V.”

>From New York Times.

>“The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Tunisia as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem…

>Trachoma is closely linked to limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and hits vulnerable populations hardest. In the early to mid-20th century, trachoma was endemic in Tunisia, affecting at least half of the population, especially in its southern regions…

>Trachoma is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and spreads through close contact with infected individuals, contaminated surfaces, and flies that carry eye and nose discharge. Repeated infections can lead to scarring of the eyelids, turning eyelashes inward, and ultimately causing blindness if untreated.”

>From World Health Organization.

>“The arrival of the RTS,S malaria vaccine was a landmark moment; Ghana, Kenya and Malawi were the first countries in the world to offer it to their populations as part of a pilot project launched in 2019, and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended it for wider use in 2021.

>Early studies indicated that the vaccine had a 13% drop in all-cause mortality, and a comprehensive new study of the last four years of vaccine roll-out published in The Lancet has confirmed this figure. That translates to roughly one in eight deaths prevented…

>The study tracked 158 clusters across the three countries, with 79 areas introducing the vaccine in 2019 and 79 serving as comparison areas that received it later. Surveillance was built on a network of more than 26,000 local reporters who notified researchers of child deaths in their communities, followed by home visits to confirm details.

>The findings carry particular weight because of how the study was designed. Clusters were randomly assigned, baseline characteristics were balanced, and coverage of other interventions, including bed-nets, routine vaccines and care-seeking for fever, remained similar across implementation and comparison areas throughout the four years.

>This means, say the researchers, that the drop in deaths can be  ‘confidently attributed’ to the vaccine itself rather than to other shifts in malaria care.”

>From Gavi.

>“Recent advances in autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle technologies promise substantial cost savings for goods shipped by truck. In this study, we quantify the impacts of these transport cost reductions on the US interstate trade using a structural gravity model of domestic trade. Based on projected cost savings from the widespread adoption of self-driving technologies, we estimate significant increases in total interstate trade value. State-level impacts vary from 40.3% of GDP in Mississippi to 5.9% in Florida, while the largest impacts in dollar value are observed in Texas and New York. The sectoral analysis highlights motorized vehicles, mixed freight, and electronics as the industries experiencing the largest trade value growth. Additionally, goods with low value-to-weight ratios—where shipping costs represent a large share of the delivered value—are expected to benefit most in relative terms. These findings underscore the transformative potential of autonomous vehicle technologies in reshaping US trade patterns and sectoral dynamics.”

>From Journal of Regional Science.

>“Violent crime fell sharply across the largest U.S. cities in early 2026, extending a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.

>Why it matters: Data from 67 major U.S. law enforcement agencies show violent crime fell across major categories during the first quarter compared with the same period in 2025.

>The declines show up across every major region, suggesting a systemic, nationwide trend.

>The quarterly reports collected by the Major Cities Chiefs Association have been a good measure of trends that are reflected in the annual FBI crime data released in the fall.

>By the numbers: Homicides dropped 17.7%.

>Robberies fell 20.4%.

>Rapes declined 7.2%.

>Aggravated assaults decreased 4.8%.

>Zoom in: Some of the nation’s biggest cities posted especially dramatic homicide declines in the first three months of 2026.

>Among those that saw sizable percentage drops in homicide were Washington, D.C. (64.7%), Philadelphia (54%), and Memphis (34.4%).

>New York City experienced a 31.7% drop in homicides during Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first months in office.

>Los Angeles (23%) and Houston (36.4%) also posted homicide declines during the same period.”

>From Axios.

>“Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch today announced that the NYPD delivered the fewest murders in recorded history for the first four months of the year and the month of April. During the four-month stretch, there were 76 murders, shattering the previous record of 86 set in 2018. April also saw the fewest murders in recorded city history with 19, beating the previous record of 21 set in 2014 and 2017.

>Shooting incidents and shooting victims are down double digits compared to last April with an 18.6% and 19.3% decline, respectively.

>Major crime continued to fall in April, down 9.5% citywide. These historic reductions extended to the city’s public housing developments, where the NYPD delivered the safest start to any year in recorded history with the fewest murders, shooting incidents, shooting victims, and robberies.”

>From New York City Police Department.

>“Minister of National Security and Peace Dr Horace Chang says that after a massive slash in major crimes last year, Jamaicans are now set to reap a ‘peace dividend’, putting the benefits of safer communities at the forefront of the country’s progress.

>He explained that this ‘peace dividend’ refers to the tangible social, economic, and developmental gains flowing directly to communities as crime declines, including safer streets, stronger families, expanded opportunities for young people, and an overall improved quality of life.

>Chang underscored the important role Jamaican citizens have played in reducing crime, noting that the 2025 murder tally of 673 was the first time the figure fell below 700 since 1993.

>Part of this impact has involved citizens providing tips to the police about criminal activities. While the number of tips has increased nearly tenfold over the past decade, most tipsters – 94 per cent – have not collected the promised reward…

>The 673 murders recorded in 2025 represented a 40 per cent decline from the 1,139 recorded the previous year. This meant the homicide rate fell from 40 per 100,000 residents to 23.7 per 100,000.”

>From The Gleaner.

>“Most people in the world would think very little before flicking on the lights, charging a mobile phone or turning on a laptop to read this.

>But that’s a very different reality from the almost 700 million people in the world who have no access to electricity. While this number is large, it has halved this century, falling from 1.35 billion to 675 million. You can see this in the chart.

>However, this progress has been far from even. The number has fallen across all regions except Sub-Saharan Africa, where it has increased.

>That doesn’t mean no progress has been made: the share of people in Sub-Saharan Africa with electricity has doubled, rising from 26% to 53%. But population growth has outpaced this expansion, meaning the number of people without electricity has still risen.”

>From Our World in Data.

>“By the time doctors detect pancreatic cancer, it’s often too late to treat effectively. But a new study suggests that artificial intelligence might be able to find signs of the disease before tumors are visible on a scan.

>An AI model developed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, detected abnormalities on patients’ CT scans up to three years before they were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to research published this week in the journal Gut.

>The scientists behind the model, which is now being evaluated in a clinical trial, trained it by feeding it CT scans from patients who had been screened for other medical conditions then were later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The team then had radiologists review the scans and compared their ability to find early signs of cancer to that of the AI model. The model was found to be three times better at identifying the early signs.”

>From NBC News.

>“The first malaria treatment for babies has been approved by the World Health Organization, opening the door to widespread use around the globe.

>In parts of Africa, up to 18% of children under six months will be infected with malaria, but there has historically been no safe treatment for the smallest of them. There were 610,000 deaths from malaria in 2024, about three quarters of which were under-fives in Africa…

>Medical leaders hope that Coartem Baby, which can be used to treat infants as small as 2kg (4.4lb), will fill the treatment gap. The drug comes as sweet cherry-flavoured tablets that can be dissolved into liquids, including breast milk…

>Coartem Baby now has WHO prequalification, which indicates it meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy, and will enable public-sector procurement for many countries with high rates of malaria, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.”

>From The Guardian.

>En minderårig pojke som ingår i en nazistisk grupp på nätet har omhändertagits i Malmö. Polisen slog till mot hans bostad i mars efter uppgifter om att han planerat ett allvarligt våldsdåd mot personer med utländsk bakgrund, rapporterar Sydsvenskan.

>Pojken har tvångsomhändertagits och placerats på ett låst ungdomshem.

>I domstolsbeslutet om fortsatt inlåsning står det att han rört sig i högerextrema miljöer och haft långtgående planer på att genomföra ett våldsdåd.

>I utredningen finns uppgifter om att han uppmanats av personer på nätet att genomföra våldsdåd. Det förnekar pojken, enligt hans juridiska ombud Anders Elvingsson. I övrigt bekräftar ombudet det som framkommit i socialtjänstens utredning.