Video: An overview of the monkeypox virus

Video: An overview of the monkeypox virus

Kalpana Pot walks us through the latest information on the monkeypox outbreak.

Leaps.org

Click below for an overview of everything you need to know about the latest status of monkeypox - in 58 seconds.



An Overview of Monkeypox with Kalpana Pot

An Overview of the Monkeypox Virus youtube.com

Kalpana Pot
Kalpana Pot is the youngest of three girls in a family full of doctors. Science and education were always of great value in her home. But performing arts was another passion for her, which is why she moved to LA to pursue acting after decades of dancing and singing. She’s appeared on numerous TV shows and national commercials, and will soon be co-hosting Wheel of Fortune Live. At the same time, Kalpana got to express her nerd love of astronomy by working weekends at Griffith Observatory. It was there that she found her love and skill in communicating science to people from all over the world, and has since continued to host space/science series. She has translated that onto digital platforms as well- running an outspoken space-page on TikTok, called TokNerdyToMe, and style and science page on Instagram. Unfortunately, much of her science communication these days is about debunking anti-science conspiracies. But she’s confident that the rise of educational content on social media will help this unfortunate problem in society. Outside of work, Kalpana loves her dogs and volunteers for animal organizations.
New drug for schizophrenia could meet desperate need for better treatments

The field of treating schizophrenia with drugs has been stuck in a long drought but, this month, a late-stage clinical trial found a new drug called KarXT could treat a range of symptoms.

Adobe Stock

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental health condition that affects around 24 million people worldwide. Patients experience hallucinations and delusions when they develop schizophrenia, with experts referring to these new thoughts and behaviors as positive symptoms. They also suffer from negative symptoms in which they lose important functions, suffering from dulled emotions, lack of purpose and social withdrawal.

Currently available drugs can control only a portion of these symptoms but, on August 8th, Karuna Therapeutics announced its completion of a phase 3 clinical trial that found a new drug called KarXT could treat both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. It could mean substantial progress against a problem that has stymied scientists for decades.

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Sarah Philip
Sarah Philip is a London-based freelance journalist who writes about science, film and TV. You can follow her on Twitter @sarahph1lip.
Podcast: The Friday Five weekly roundup in health research

This week's Friday Five covers promising research on a potential saliva test for post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer detection with a microchip, resilient food for climate change, the best posture for pill taking, and more.

Jacob Lund

The Friday Five covers five stories in research that you may have missed this week. There are plenty of controversies and troubling ethical issues in science – and we get into many of them in our online magazine – but this news roundup focuses on scientific creativity and progress to give you a therapeutic dose of inspiration headed into the weekend.

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Matt Fuchs
Matt Fuchs is the host of the Making Sense of Science podcast and served previously as the editor-in-chief of Leaps.org. He writes as a contributor to the Washington Post, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, WIRED, Nautilus Magazine, Fortune Magazine and TIME Magazine. Follow him @fuchswriter.