Humans sweat more and move more than chimpanzees and other apes, but new research shows people are actually more water-efficient than their primate cousins. For the first time, scientists say they measured precisely how much water humans lose and replace each day compared with their closest living animal relatives. The investigators found that the human…  read on >  read on >

About 7 out of 10 Alzheimer’s patients wound up free of the brain plaques that are a hallmark of the disease after treatment with a potentially breakthrough experimental drug, clinical trial results show. The drug, donanemab, also significantly slowed the patients’ brain decline, according to findings published March 13 in the New England Journal of…  read on >  read on >

A single measles outbreak cost one U.S. county $3.4 million, a new government study estimates, underscoring the societal burden of inadequate vaccination rates. The outbreak occurred in Clark County, Wash., in early 2019, and ultimately infected 71 people — mostly children younger than 10 who hadn’t received the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The county’s low MMR…  read on >  read on >

One in four U.S. households use smart speakers to check the weather, play music and query search engines. But a new technology may soon have folks asking, “Hey Google, how’s my heart?” Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, have developed a skill for Amazon Alexa and Google Home that allows the devices to check…  read on >  read on >

Does COVID-19 help create heart problems, or are people with preexisting heart issues simply more prone to getting the illness? The issue remains unclear, with a new British study finding that people with heart problems appear to have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19. “In this research, we’ve discovered that poorer heart structure and function…  read on >  read on >

Cotton masks provide better protection against the new coronavirus than those made with synthetic fabrics, researchers say. In a new study, investigators tested different mask fabrics under conditions that mimic the humidity of a person’s breath in order to assess how the fabrics perform in actual use. Under humid conditions, filtration efficiency (a measure of…  read on >  read on >