Efforts to create a COVID-19 vaccine are proceeding at an unprecedented pace, with eight different candidates now being tested in humans around the world. But to have a vaccine available for widespread use by early next year could entail bending some rules regarding safety and testing — actions that might put the health, and possibly… read on >
There’s good news for women: Getting a mammogram regularly can cut their odds of advanced and sometimes fatal breast cancers, a new study says. European researchers tracked data from nearly 550,000 women in Sweden who were eligible for mammography screening. The team compared rates of advanced and breast cancers that were fatal within 10 years… read on >
As pandemic-related restrictions ease and people return to parks and other outdoor spaces, remember to protect yourself against another threat — ticks. “With our latest mild winter, ticks have been active in much of the region on warmer days all winter long,” said Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an entomologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who said… read on >
It’s happened before: Couples stuck at home during blizzards, hurricanes or other natural disasters enjoy some “alone time” — and a baby boom follows. But a new survey from researchers at the University of Florence in Italy suggests the same probably won’t unfold during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why? “What we found the main reasons that… read on >
COVID-19 has directly claimed tens of thousands of U.S. lives, but conditions stemming from the novel coronavirus — rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future — could lead to 75,000 deaths from drug or alcohol abuse and suicide, new research suggests. Deaths from these causes are known as “deaths of despair.” And the COVID-19 pandemic… read on >
Adults who had rough childhoods have higher odds for heart disease. That’s the conclusion from a look at more than 3,600 people who were followed from the mid-1980s through 2018. Researchers found that those who experienced the most trauma, abuse, neglect and family dysfunction in childhood were 50% more likely to have had a heart… read on >
The latest addition to medical haute couture may be a necklace outfitted with a pendant that people can use to screen themselves for signs of an abnormal heart rhythm condition known as atrial fibrillation. Fashioned by a team of Finnish researchers, the pendant houses a portable electrocardiogram (EKG) designed to transmit heart readings to a… read on >
The new coronavirus is disproportionately striking minority populations — particularly urban blacks and Navajo Indians living on their reservation. Experts say social and economic factors that predate the COVID-19 crisis may help explain why. “We found that there were large disparities in the proportion of people at risk of COVID-19 from minority and low-income populations,”… read on >
A new analysis suggests there may be a simple, noninvasive technique that could delay, or even eliminate, the need for ventilation in COVID-19 patients. It’s called “proning.” And it appears to be remarkably effective at boosting “blood oxygen saturation” levels, often called sats, among COVID patients struggling with abnormally low levels (known as hypoxia). “Proning… read on >
The COVID-19 pandemic has done untold economic damage in the United States, with businesses shuttering and people self-isolating at home to try to slow the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. You might think hospitals and health care systems would be immune to this wave of financial ruin, since there’s no industry more crucial to… read on >
