Daily Archives: December 22, 2021

FDA Gives Emergency Authorization to Pfizer Covid Pill

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of an antiviral COVID-19 pill, the pill’s maker Pfizer Inc. said Wednesday. The company says the pill, which is to be taken with another antiviral drug, ritonavir, is 90% effective in preventing hospitalization and death in high-risk people. “The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it’s oral. It checks all the boxes,” Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic told The Associated Press. “You’re looking at a 90% decreased risk of hospitalization and death in a high-risk group—that’s stunning.” The pill is the …

Australian Research Identifies Kidney-Protecting Gene

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Researchers in Australia have identified a gene that indicates the kidney has its own way of resisting damage. However, they have also identified a mutation of the gene that can in patients with, for example, diabetes, trigger the development of renal disease.  A gene called VANGL1 has been found to help stop the immune system from attacking the kidney. But Australian researchers say the genetic mutation, which is present in about 15% of the population worldwide, can cause renal disease in patients with diabetes and other autoimmune conditions.    The mutation is highly prevalent among indigenous people on the Tiwi Islands, 80 kilometers from the city of Darwin …

India Could Raise Marriage Age for Women from 18 to 21

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In India, the government has proposed legislation to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old, bringing it on par with men and saying it will empower women. But many women activists say the planned law would do little to address deep-seated societal problems that result in millions of young girls being married at an age even younger than 18. “We are doing this so that they can have time to study and progress. The country is taking this decision for its daughters,” Prime …

NHL Players Will Not Compete at Beijing Olympics: Reports 

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National Hockey League players will not compete in February’s Beijing Winter Olympics in the wake of 50 NHL games being postponed over COVID-19 issues, according to multiple reports Tuesday.  ESPN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and other newspapers cited unnamed sources in saying the league and the NHL Players Association had reached agreement not to send talent to China.  Without the NHL’s elite millionaire stars, national teams at the Olympics will likely resemble those at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games, when minor-league and recently retired players …

Mormon Billionaire Leaves Faith, Rebukes LGBTQ Rights Stance

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An advertising-technology billionaire has formally resigned his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and rebuked the faith over social issues and LGBTQ rights in an unusual public move.  Jeff T. Green has pledged to donate 90% of his estimated $5 billion advertising-technology wealth, starting with a donation to a LGBTQ-rights group in the state, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. In an unusual public step, Green said in a Monday resignation letter to church President Russell M. Nelson that he hasn’t been active in the faith widely …