Health
Did COVID-19 stress, uncertainty stall anti-smoking push?
A year after COVID-19 upended life for millions of Americans, there are troubling signs that the coronavirus may have also slowed progress against another deadly health threat: smoking. Fewer smokers called quit-smoking hotlines last year and some smoked more, contributing to an unusual bump in cigarette sales — all in… Read
UK variant hunters lead global race to stay ahead of COVID
On March 4, 2020, when there were just 84 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK, Professor Sharon Peacock recognized that the country needed to expand its capacity to analyze the genetic makeup of the virus. The Cambridge University microbiologist understood that genomic sequencing would be crucial in tracking the… Read
Taste and smell gone forever? The anguish of COVID survivors
Three days after testing positive for COVID-19, "everything tasted like cardboard," recalls 38-year-old Elizabeth Medina, who lost her sense of taste and smell at the start of the pandemic. A year later, she fears she will never get them back. Medina consulted ear, nose and throat doctors and neurologists, tried… Read
By catching bats, these 'virus hunters' hope to stop the next pandemic
Researchers wearing headlamps and protective suits race to untangle the claws and wings of bats caught up in a big net after dark in the Philippine province of Laguna. The tiny animals are carefully placed in cloth bags to be taken away, measured and swabbed, with details logged and saliva… Read
Scientists say IVF means more twins being born now than ever before
More twins are being born now than ever before, largely due to rising use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproduction techniques, the first global study of human twinning has found. With about 1.6 million twins born each year worldwide, the global twinning rate has risen by a… Read
Lilly Alzheimer's drug shows benefit on cognition, function in mid-stage trial
Eli Lilly and Co says its experimental Alzheimer’s drug slowed the rate of decline in a measure of cognition and function by 32% compared with a placebo in a mid-stage trial of patients at an early stage of the mind wasting disease. The drug, donanemab, also showed positive trends that… Read
Contraceptive cost of COVID: a million unplanned pregnancies
Nearly 12 million women in poorer countries lost access to contraception in the pandemic, leading to 1.4 million unplanned pregnancies, the United Nations says. Estimates by the U.N. sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, showed women lost access to contraception as the pandemic drew resources away from family planning or… Read
As vaccine nationalism deepens, governments pay to bring production home
In the German town of Dessau, one of the sites of the Bauhaus art school, an institute was set up in 1921 to mass-produce vaccines that later helped strengthen the German Democratic Republic. Exactly 100 years later, the site is gearing up to be a one-stop shop to produce COVID-19… Read
If you die from the COVID-19 vaccine in Japan, the government will give your family over ¥44 mil
Japan began distributing the COVID-19 vaccine on Feb 17. While a little behind other developed countries, they seem to be trying to do it in as organized fashion as possible, staggering vaccinations to medical staff, the elderly, people with health conditions, and everyone else in that order. It’s not without… Read
Manage your weight and promote health with oolong tea
Despite all the advertisements for pills and potions in Japan citing strange sounding ingredients for weight loss, it is not often that I am intrigued to delve into these types of products. However when I saw an ad with Miranda Kerr eating a croquette and drinking a Suntory Kuro Oolong… Read
