All Sauce from Weekly Sauce:

While chronic stress is a key risk factor for heart disease and stroke, most cat and dog owners say pets help them chill out and stay active. A new American Heart Association (AHA) survey of 1,000 pet owners found 95% relying on their animal companions for stress relief. About 7 in 10 said they’d rather…  read on >  read on >

Women are far more likely than men to suffer from long COVID, according to a broad new research review. The review, published June 21 in the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, included 1.3 million patients, and revealed women were 22% more likely to develop persistent symptoms after a COVID infection. For women, lingering symptoms…  read on >  read on >

The Omicron variant is less likely to give you long COVID than a previous strain of the virus, British researchers say. What was described as the first peer-reviewed report to investigate Omicron and patients’ risk of persistent symptoms found 4.4% of Omicron cases resulted in long COVID. That’s well below the nearly 11% associated with…  read on >  read on >

In a cancel culture where there’s zero tolerance for prejudice, at least one form of discrimination appears to be alive and well. Ageism involves prejudice based on people’s advancing age. It can be as overt as not hiring someone because they are older, or as subtle as giving a loved one a meant-to-be funny “you’re…  read on >  read on >

Getting your tongue or lips pierced? Don’t be surprised when your dentist is unhappy about it. These piercings can do damage to your teeth and gums, a new study warns. “Our study found that many people with oral piercings had deep pockets and gaps around their teeth, and receding and bleeding gums,” said study author…  read on >  read on >