Measles, Psilocybin Treatments, and America's Guide Dogs

Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known to science. It was responsible for almost 100,000 deaths worldwide in 2024, and most of those deaths occurred among unvaccinated children under the age of 5. In the United States, there were three confirmed measles-related deaths in 2025, and in 2026, there has been a surge of measles cases in the country driven by declining vaccination rates. The virus attacks the human immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to secondary complications. The disease was described in medical texts as early as the ninth century.

> Visualize America's confirmed measles cases and the vaccination rates in those respective areas. (More)
> See how measles affects the body. (More)
> More than 1,000 years ago, measles was described as "more to be dreaded than smallpox." (More)

On average, just one infected person can spread the disease to up to 18 others in a population that's not fully vaccinated, and the virus can remain airborne for up to two hours. Vaccination coverage of at least 95% prevents measles outbreaks. While direct deaths from measles are less common, as many as three in 1,000 young children who contract the virus will die—typically from pneumonia or encephalitis.

> How herd immunity works—and what it means for measles. (More)

> Decades after infection, a rare complication can fatally break down the central nervous system. (More)
> Some experts suggest a counterintuitive way to build trust in measles vaccines. (More) 

Prior to the mid-20th-century development of a measles vaccine, nearly every child had contracted the disease by the age of 15. The first measles vaccine became available in the US in 1963, and vaccination has saved an estimated 94 million lives globally since the mid-1970s.

> How measles leaves people vulnerable to secondary infections. (More)

> Measles spread dramatically with global trade. (More)

Discover more: 

> This heat map shows disease numbers following vaccine deployment. (More)

> Disease contagiousness is calculated based on a hypothetical scenario in which everyone was vulnerable to infection. (More)

> This year, Pennsylvania has had roughly four times as many measles cases as the previous three decades—combined. (More)
>... explore everything we've learned about Measles.

 News in Context 

1440 brings you the knowledge and context behind recent intriguing stories:

A man with a compromised immune system died after he contracted a livestock disease recently detected in Europe; he was the first known human case of the virus. (More)

> Shamonda virus appears to be transmitted by tiny flies called midges.

> Biting midges also spread an emerging virus called Oropouche, which can cause body aches, fever, and rarely leads to meningitis.

Nearly 17% of children with autism meet a new, more precise definition of the condition's most severe form, down from the CDC's previous estimate of 27%. (More)

> Autism numbers are climbing as more patients with mild symptoms are diagnosed.

Daylight saving time ends this weekend, reigniting the debate about making daylight saving time permanent; Russia already tried it for several years, and people reportedly hated it. (More)

> The candy industry lobbied for Halloween daylight saving changes.

> "Springing" forward is linked to elevated heart attack and stroke risks.

The FDA approved a generic dual-hormone therapy patch to treat menopause symptoms and help prevent osteoporosis, a step toward meeting recent increased demands. (More)

> FDA removed its black box warning on hormone replacement therapy for menopause last year, which led to spikes in use.

> Estrogen therapy alone can elevate endometrial cancer risk, so doctors often prescribe progestogen, too.

 Medical Developments Spotlight 

We love spending time learning about the latest medical breakthroughs and spotlighting research that piques our interest, may influence future research directions, or inform healthcare conversations. Here's what we found this week.

A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, called intismeran, reduced melanoma tumor recurrence, and researchers are continuing to watch how it affects survival. 

AP | Lauran Neergaard. The vaccine, delivered after tumor-removal surgery and in conjunction with standard immunotherapy, teaches the body to hunt for proteins arising from gene variants unique to the patient's tumor and to attack them. Two years after the multidose regimen, 82% of the vaccinated were tumor-free, compared with 70% of those receiving standard care. (More)

> See how mRNA vaccines work and can be adapted for different conditions.

Roughly 1 in 4 Americans say they are MAHA supporters.

Annenberg Public Policy Center | Staff. Recent surveys of more than 3,500 adults indicate that 26% of Americans support the Make America Healthy Again movement, and that regulating chemical additives in food, banning the herbicide glyphosate, and removing highly processed foods from school lunches were among their top MAHA priorities. (More)

> The administration released a MAHA strategy in September 2025 containing 128 proposals for its intended actions and approach.

Psilocybin shows early promise for combating inflammation, which may help improve treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's.

NPR | Will Stone. Blood tests from a dozen Parkinson's patients after two experimental treatments with psilocybin detected "significantly lower" levels of inflammation a month after the final dose of the psychedelic. Researchers scoured the blood for specific signaling molecules involved in inflammation. The psychedelic users also had short-term mitochondrial improvements. Researchers plan to study the drug treatments in expanded trials. (More)

> Parkinson's patients often appear to have distinct gut microbiome changes.

 Etcetera 

> Most of today's guide dogs are Labradors or a Labrador-golden retriever mix.

> A coalition of 21 pharmaceutical and chemical companies readied 2.3 million doses of penicillin ahead of D-Day.

> Researchers linked a spike in car accidents in Asia to fans staying up too late to watch major European soccer games.

> Around 500 cemeteries in the US and Canada allow "green" burials.

> Malaria can spread widely because it doesn't kill human hosts quickly.

> See how goose bumps form, featuring the skin of a real human cadaver.

> Watch how GLP-1s affect the human body.
 

> Discover how scientists can make "three-parent babies."

> About 1 in 5 patients with an MS diagnosis is misdiagnosed.

> Cornea transplants are rarely rejected because that eye tissue has no blood supply.

> Scientists have watched rodents' literal gut reactions to understand food aversion.

> Learn how an engineer's mood tracking led to our understanding of SAD.