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Photomicrograph of T. cruzi parasites among circular red blood cells

Chagas disease is a parasitic disease which occurs in the Americas, particularly in South America. It is caused by a protozoan named Trypanosoma cruzi (pictured), which is transmitted to humans and other mammals primarily by blood-drinking insects of the subfamily Triatominae. Other forms of transmission are possible, such as ingestion of food contaminated with T. cruzi, blood transfusion and maternal–fetal transmission. After an initial stage of infection that is usually mild or asymptomatic, untreated individuals enter the chronic phase of the disease. People with chronic Chagas disease may develop organ dysfunction, which most commonly involves the heart or the digestive system. Chagas disease can be treated using the antiparasitic drugs benznidazole and nifurtimox, which are most effective in the early stage of infection. It is estimated that 6.5 million people worldwide are living with the disease, and it is responsible for about 9,490 annual deaths. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Siddington Locks, on the Thames and Severn Canal

... that the lock flight (pictured) in Siddington, Gloucestershire has lain abandoned for almost 100 years, but restoration is now planned?
... that Eleonore Schönborn, who had to leave Czechoslovakia in 1945 with two young children, received an Austrian award in 2013 for cultural and social improvement?
... that Indigo Swing was described as "one of the name bands" of its genre?
... that Turkish world-champion para-archer Yiğit Caner Aydın stayed in hospital for eight months after a stand fell on his head, broke his neck, and paralyzed him?
... that when Russia joined the Council of Europe in 1996, "no serious observer believed that it met the criteria for membership"?
... that David Wheeler was running for re-election to the Alabama House of Representatives unopposed in the Republican primary when he died in 2022?
... that historians do not agree on whether the Battle on the Irghiz River took place in 1209 or 1219?
... that the creator of Comic Sans also designed a levitating man in a business suit?

In the news

Sian Heder

CODA (writer and director Sian Heder pictured) wins Best Picture and Dune wins in six categories at the Academy Awards.
The Labour Party, led by Robert Abela, wins the most seats in the Maltese general election.
Al-Shabaab kill at least 48 people in a series of attacks in Mogadishu and Beledweyne, Somalia.
Mathematician Dennis Sullivan is awarded the Abel Prize for his work in topology.

On this day

March 28

Vienna Philharmonic, 2019

1802 – German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers discovered Pallas, the second asteroid ever identified, though it was considered to be a planet at the time.
1842 – The Vienna Philharmonic (pictured) held its first concert, conducted by Otto Nicolai.
1918 – World War I: British and Australian troops soundly defeated German forces at the First Battle of Dernancourt in northern France.
1942 – Second World War: The port of Saint-Nazaire in occupied France was disabled by British naval forces.
1979 – British prime minister James Callaghan was defeated by one vote in a vote of no confidence after his government struggled to cope with widespread strikes during the Winter of Discontent.

Flodoard (d. 966)
Solomon Foot (d. 1866)
John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice (b. 1955)

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From today's featured list

Halle Berry

The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2001 and took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the fourth time. A Beautiful Mind won four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Denzel Washington and Halle Berry (pictured) won lead acting honors, with the latter becoming the first African-American to win the award for Best Actress. The telecast garnered nearly 42 million viewers in the United States. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Wheat Fields is a series of dozens of paintings by the Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh, borne out of his religious studies and sermons, connection to nature, appreciation of manual laborers and desire to provide a means of offering comfort to others. In this 1890 oil-on-canvas landscape painting, entitled Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds or Wheat Fields Under Clouded Sky, Van Gogh depicts the loneliness of the countryside and the degree to which it is "healthy and heartening". The work is in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Painting credit: Vincent van Gogh

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