Go ahead, put your credit card away: Handling cash and coins isn’t likely to give you COVID-19. European researchers treated various coins and paper money with different concentrations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. A stainless steel surface was used as a control. “Under realistic conditions, infection with SARS-CoV-2 from cash is very unlikely,”…  read on >  read on >

U.S. gun sales increased early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of those firearms ended up in homes with teens, researchers say. “This finding is concerning because we know that the single biggest risk factor for adolescent firearm injuries is access to an unsecured firearm,” said study co-author Dr. Patrick Carter. He is co-director of…  read on >  read on >

Better health and self-image might just be a samba or some funky moves away. That’s true for postmenopausal women who, a new study says, can dance their way to better physical and emotional health. “In addition to the positive effects on physical, metabolic and mental health aspects, dance promotes a moment of leisure, fun, socialization,…  read on >  read on >

Exactly what symptoms of early COVID-19 infection you suffer may depend on both your age and gender, a new study finds. “As part of our study, we have been able to identify that the profile of symptoms due to COVID-19 differs from one group to another. This suggests that the criteria to encourage people to…  read on >  read on >

Millions of women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to ease their transition through menopause may be unknowingly upping their risk for asthma. The concern follows a study that spent more than two decades tracking a potential link between HRT and late-onset asthma among roughly 380,000 Danish women. Two New York City physicians who were…  read on >  read on >

Americans who get their COVID-19 news and information solely from Facebook have much lower vaccination rates than the general population. That’s the takeaway from a new survey of nearly 20,700 people across the United States. The researchers asked them in June which of six sources they use for COVID-19 news and info. The six included:…  read on >  read on >

Kids who are around people who use marijuana may be at risk for more colds and respiratory infections due to secondhand smoke, according to a new study. In a survey of 1,500 parents and caregivers, those who regularly smoked or vaped marijuana reported more respiratory viruses among their children in the preceding year, compared to…  read on >  read on >