Emily Cooke

CDC data reveal plummeting rate of cervical precancers in young US women — down by 80% New CDC data on falling rates of precancerous cervical lesions in the U.S. underscore the benefits of HPV vaccination.

Far fewer cervical cancer screening tests are coming back positive for precancer in the United States thanks to the widespread adoption of the human papillomavirus vaccine
www.livescience.com/health/cance...

'Speech gene' seen only in modern humans may have helped us evolve to talk A specific gene variant seen in people is likely one of many that contributed to the development of language in modern humans, scientists say. And it changes how mice squeak.

Lovely article by @emilyfcooke.bsky.social describing role of human-specific NOVA1 amino acid variant as impacting vocalization when “knocked in” to mouse genome, suggests key role in human language development
www.livescience.com/health/genet...

AI 'brain decoder' can read a person's thoughts with just a quick brain scan and almost no training An improvement to an existing AI-based brain decoder can translate a person's thoughts into text without hours of training.

ICYMI: A couple highlights from the @livescience.com health desk this week 🧪🧠

1) An improvement to an existing AI-based brain decoder can translate a person's thoughts into text without requiring hours of training. www.livescience.com/health/mind/...

By @skylerdware.bsky.social /1

People with this rare genetic condition can't repair damage to their DNA LIG4 syndrome is an exceptionally rare disorder caused by a genetic mutation that prevents the body from repairing damaged DNA.

At Live Science, we now have a regular series that spotlights a rare disease every Thursday.

This week, I delve into an extremely rare genetic condition
that impairs DNA damage repair 🧬👇 @livescience.com
www.livescience.com/health/genet...

A Second Type of Bird Flu is Circulating in U.S. Ducks—What to Know Nearly 119,000 birds have been culled at a farm in California after a bird flu called H5N9 was detected among the poultry

A new strain of bird flu is circulating in the U.S., raising concerns that it may cause another pandemic.

Great to see my explainer for @livescience.com covered in @sciam.bsky.social
www.scientificamerican.com/article/firs...

Bat poop used to grow cannabis kills 2 in New York in unusual cases Two men from Rochester, New York, who grew their own cannabis died from pneumonia after being exposed to a harmful fungus in bat poop they'd used as fertilizer.

ICYMI: This unusual case report that @livescience.com's @emilyfcooke.bsky.social covered on Monday has been making the rounds this week...

TLDR, be very careful around bat poop. 🦇💩🧪

www.livescience.com/health/virus...

What's the difference between a cold and the flu? Common colds and the flu differ in many ways, including their causes, some of their symptoms and their treatments.

"Flu" and "cold" are two words that are used quite a lot this time of year (thank you, winter!❄️)

People may confuse the two, but they're actually separate types of infection. Here's how they differ:

www.livescience.com/health/virus...

'Electronic' scalp tattoos could be next big thing in brain monitoring Electrodes can now be printed directly onto the scalp to measure brain activity.

Scientists have developed a new technology that can measure brain waves using electronic, temporary tattoos.
www.livescience.com/health/neuro...

If you have a story idea please reach out at emily.cooke@futurenet.com

I also make videos on various science topics for the Livescience TikTok channel:
www.tiktok.com/@livescience

I cover everything from novel therapies to disease outbreaks, genetic analyses, medical case reports and the discovery of body parts we never knew about.

A bit about myself - I am a health reporter at Livescience.com based in London 💊🫀

Hi there! Finally made the move from X so brand new to Bluesky 🧵