The Unvaxxed and a History of Cynicism
The vitriol that characterizes discussions about vaccines, masking, and school policies has been deeply disturbing. I am a physician who is concerned about COVID. At first, I thought that everyone would want to be vaccinated. I thought that the pandemic would cause everyone to isolate and socially distance to protect themselves, their families, and their […]
Time until dementia symptoms appear can be estimated via brain scan: Alzheimer’s dementia predicted by brain amyloid levels, age
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an approach to estimating when a person who is likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, but has no cognitive symptoms, will start showing signs of Alzheimer’s dementia. The algorithm, available online in the journal Neurology, uses data from a kind of brain scan known […]
Pennsylvania Doctor Issued Blanket Mask Exemptions for School
As children return to school — many of whom are too young to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — Pennsylvania, among other states, is requiring that masks be worn inside K-12 buildings and other early learning programs. But the public health measure hasn’t been without pushback, including anti-mask action taken by members of the medical community. […]
Will Guidelines on Safe Return to Youth Sports Make a Difference?
As high school and youth sports leagues return to action — some for the first time since 2019 — national medical societies and committees have tinkered with existing guidelines to prevent COVID-19 spread and issued some new calls. But, given the wide variance in local situations and vaccination rates, they are largely avoiding new national […]
Large genetic analysis identifies numerous gene variants linked with differences in food intake
A team of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), and other institutions have identified more than two dozen genetic regions that may affect individuals’ food intake. The investigators hope that the discovery, which is described in Nature Human Behaviour, will point to new treatment strategies to curb the […]
Yup, End-Of-Summer Tantrum Season Is Here, And It’s No Fun
For so many kids, summer really is bliss. There’s the initial joy of school being over that soon gives way to sunshine-filled days, later bedtimes, and generally loosened-up routines. But as summer slips away, things tend to go south. Kids who just a month or two ago couldn’t believe how lucky they were to spend […]
Scientists identify live immune cells in a coral and sea anemone
A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Ben Gurion University of the Negev has identified specialized immune cells in the cauliflower coral and starlet sea anemone that can help fight infection. The findings are important to better understand how reef-building corals […]
Metasurfaces control polarized light at will: New research unlocks the hidden potential of metasurfaces
For years, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have engineered metasurfaces to manipulate light based on its polarization state. That research has contributed to advances in polarization technology — but metasurface technology has proven more powerful than even the researchers themselves realized. Now, researchers have uncovered hidden […]
3D ‘assembloid’ shows how SARS-CoV-2 infects brain cells
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine have produced a stem cell model that demonstrates a potential route of entry of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, into the human brain. The findings are published in the July 9, 2021 online issue of Nature Medicine. […]
Common medication used to reduce cholesterol levels may reduce COVID-19 severity
In a new study from University of California San Diego School of Medicine, researchers have confirmed that patients taking statin medications had a 41 percent lower risk of in-hospital death from COVID-19. The findings were published July 15, 2021 in PLOS ONE and expand upon prior research conducted at UC San Diego Health in 2020. […]