The Download: testing wastewater for measles, and the price of nature

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The Download: testing wastewater for measles, and the price of nature


Measles is again with a vengeance. In the UK, the place solely 85% of school-age kids have obtained two doses of the MMR vaccine, as many as 300 individuals have contracted the illness since October. And instances are creeping up throughout the US too.

Catching measles outbreaks early is hard, although. Like many different respiratory viruses, it begins off with a cough, runny nostril, fever, and achy physique. The telltale rash doesn’t seem for 2 to 4 extra days. By then, an individual is already infectious. Very infectious, actually. Measles is among the most contagious ailments round.

Maybe there’s an answer. The US developed an unlimited wastewater sampling community to detect covid throughout the pandemic. Could we leverage that community to supply an early warning system for measles? Read the total story.

—Cassandra Willyard

This story is from The Checkup, our weekly biotech and well being e-newsletter. Sign up to obtain it in your inbox each Thursday.

Meet the economist who desires the sector to account for nature

What is the true worth of a honeybee? A mountain stream? A mangrove tree?

Gretchen Daily, cofounder and school director of the Stanford Natural Capital Project, has devoted her profession to answering such complicated questions. Daily and her group assist governments, worldwide banks, and NGOs to not solely quantify the worth of nature, but in addition decide the advantages of conservation and ecosystem restoration.

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