All Sauce from Weekly Sauce:

Long-term exposure to polluted air could increase the risk of severe COVID-19 in people with respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), new research shows. For the study, researchers at the University of Cincinnati examined the backgrounds and health outcomes of more than 1,100 COVID-19 patients diagnosed at UC Health between…  read on >  read on >

Meatpacking plants were the source of an estimated 334,000 COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to a new study. It puts the economic toll stemming from those cases at $11.2 billion. And study author Tina Saitone, a livestock and rangeland economics cooperative extension specialist at the University of California, Davis, said those numbers are…  read on >  read on >

In news that should reassure many pregnant women, having an epidural during childbirth won’t increase the child’s risk of autism, researchers report. The new findings refute a widely criticized 2020 study that said epidurals were associated with a 37% higher risk of autism. Experts said that study didn’t account for numerous socioeconomic, genetic and medical…  read on >  read on >

People who eat plenty of vegetables, fish and fiber may have more inflammation-fighting bacteria in their guts, but fast-food lovers may be feeding inflammatory microbes. That’s the conclusion of a new study that looked at people’s diet habits and the makeup of their gut “microbiome.” The term refers to the vast collection of bacteria and…  read on >  read on >

Bye-bye Zoom meetings: As America begins to emerge from the pandemic, many companies are welcoming employees back into physical work spaces. But Taylor Villanueva, an entrepreneurship specialist at the Girl Scouts of Orange County, counts herself among the millions of Americans who might be feeling just a little anxious about that transition. “Initially, I was…  read on >  read on >