Fever

• “If you aim at the driver’s side, you will hit the driver full-on,” Chris Lincoln-Jones told the newspaper.
• It is also thought probable that they were launched from a Hermes drone, made by Elbit Systems – also an Israeli manufacturer.
• The letter, which the newspaper reports amounts to a legal opinion, says UK arms sales to Israel breach international law and must stop.
• One obvious way to do that is to stop selling them weapons.

Now many of the aid agencies operating in Gaza have suspended their activities. As Stavropoulou and Schiffling write here, the difficulty of getting aid to the population threatens to make the famine that is engulfing the Gaza Strip worse than it already is.

Read more:
More than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, making famine more likely

UN resolution

• We spoke with John Strawson, an expert in Israeli politics at the University of East London, who kindly answered our questions about the politics of the situation, especially the US decision not to use its veto to block the resolution after decades of faithfully supporting successive Israeli governments in the security council.
• Expert Q&A

  Given that Netanyahu has indicated that Israel will not abide by security council resolution 2728 – and the US has said that it’s a non-binding resolution in any case – what does international law say about the enforceability of US resolutions?

• There appears no reason why resolution 2728 is not legally binding and, if push comes to shove, the security council could order that UN members “take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security”.

Starvation behind the ‘Iron Wall’

• According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry the total has now passed 33,000 people.
• Nnenna Awah, whose PhD research at Sheffield Hallam University is in optimising food supply chains, walks us through the different classifications of food insecurity.
• Kaplan says it is the embodiment of Israel’s “Iron Wall” ideology, developed even before statehood was declared in 1948.
• Kaplan says that Jabotinsky’s ideological heirs in Likud (including Netanyahu) have rejected more liberal Israeli compromise positions ever since.

• Although most cases are relatively mild, flu can cause more severe illness in young children and older people.
• Influenza virtually disappeared from Australia during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic when public health restrictions reduced contact between people.
• Since 2022, it has returned to a seasonal pattern, although the flu season has started and peaked a few months earlier than before 2020.

What goes into a flu vaccine?

• Influenza strains are constantly changing due to genetic mutation, with the pace of genetic change much higher than for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID).
• Read more:
  Flu vaccine won't definitely stop you from getting the flu, but it's more important than you think

  All current influenza vaccines in Australia contain four different strains (known as quadrivalent vaccines).

What’s different about new flu vaccines?

• These include egg-based vaccines (Vaxigrip Tetra, Fluarix Tetra, Afluria Quad, FluQuadri and Influvac Tetra), cell-based vaccines (Flucelvax Quad), adjuvanted vaccines (Fluad Quad) and high-dose vaccines (Fluzone High-Dose Quad).
• Until recently, the process of manufacturing flu vaccines has remained similar.

• In some flu vaccines, adjuvants (components that stimulate the immune system) are included with the influenza antigens.
• For example, an adjuvant is used in the Fluad Quad vaccine, recommended for over 65s.
• Studies suggest adjuvanted influenza vaccines are slightly better than standard egg-based vaccines without adjuvant in older people.
• Read more:
  Should I get the flu shot if I'm pregnant?

What should I do this year?

• Influenza vaccines are also recommended in pregnancy to protect both the mother and the baby for the first months of life.
• Influenza vaccines are widely available, including at GP clinics and pharmacies, while many workplaces have occupational programs.

In older people, a number of vaccines are now recommended: COVID and influenza, as well as one-off courses of pneumococcal and shingles vaccines. In general, most vaccines can be given in the same visit, but talk to your doctor about which ones you need.

Are there side effects?

• These are expected and reflect the immune system reacting appropriately to the vaccine, and are mostly mild and short-term.
• People with egg allergies should discuss this with their doctor, but in general, studies suggest they can safely receive any (including egg-based) influenza vaccines.
• Serious side effects from the influenza vaccine, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, a neurological complication, are very rare (one case per million people vaccinated).

Allen Cheng receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care. He is a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.

• An experimental study, released today, looks into whether apple cider vinegar could be effective for weight loss, reduce blood glucose levels and reduce blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides).
• The results suggest it could reduce all three – but it might not be as simple as downing an apple cider vinegar drink a day.

What did they do?

• A control group consumed an inactive drink (a placebo) made (from lactic acid added to water) to look and taste the same.
• The study was also double-blinded, which means neither the participants or the scientists involved with collecting the data knew who was in which group.

So, what did they find?

• After a period of three months apple cider vinegar consumption was linked with significant falls in body weight and body mass index (BMI).
• On average, those who drank apple cider vinegar during that period lost 6–8kg in weight and reduced their BMI by 2.7–3 points, depending on the dose.
• The authors also report significant decreases in levels of blood glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol in the apple cider groups.

Is this good news?

• Firstly, study participants were aged from 12 to 25, so we can’t say whether the results could apply to everyone.
• And while the researchers kept records of the participants’ diet and exercise during the study, these were not published in the paper.
• This could be important and influence results if people who did not lose weight quit due to lack of motivation.

Read more:
Turns out the viral 'Sleepy Girl Mocktail' is backed by science. Should you try it?

Any other concerns?

Apple cider vinegar is acidic and there are concerns it may erode tooth enamel. This can be a problem with any acidic beverages, including fizzy drinks, lemon water and orange juice. To minimise the risk of acid erosion some dentists recommend the following after drinking acidic drinks:

Read more:
Apple cider vinegar: is drinking this popular home remedy bad for your teeth? A dentist explains

Down the hatch?

• This study provides us with some evidence of a link between apple cider vinegar and weight loss.
• This would provide more robust evidence that apple cider vinegar could be a useful aid for weight loss.

Evangeline Mantzioris is affiliated with Alliance for Research in Nutrition, Exercise and Activity (ARENA) at the University of South Australia. Evangeline Mantzioris has received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, and has been appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Dietary Guideline Expert Committee.

• BALTIMORE, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- March is National Kidney Month, and the Urology Care Foundation, the official foundation of the American Urological Association (AUA), wants to help share all the tools and information you need to take charge of your kidney health.
• The kidneys also make hormones that help to keep blood pressure stable, make red blood cells and help keep bones strong.
• Kidney health deserves equal awareness,” said Dr. Timothy Averch, chair of the Urology Care Foundation’s Kidney and Adrenal Health Committee.
• For National Kidney Month, the Urology Care Foundation is focusing on information about kidney cancer and kidney stones:
  It is estimated that there will be over 81,000 new kidney cancer cases and over 14,000 cancer deaths in the United States in 2024.