Amid the global spread of COVID-19 we are witnessing an increased focus on gathering food and supplies. We’ve seen images of supermarket shelves emptied of basics such as toilet paper, pasta, and tinned foods. Messages to reassure people there would be continued supply of provisions has done little to ease…
Japan city seeks raincoats as emergency protection for virus staff
Japan’s third-biggest city has appealed for donations of raincoats to be used as personal protection gear by hospital workers dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. The shortage of proper protective clothing in Osaka is so acute that some health workers are resorting to wearing garbage bags over their scrubs. “Please send…
Little scientists: Children prefer storybooks that explain why and how things happen
Children have an insatiable appetite to understand why things are the way they are, leading to their apt description as “little scientists”. While researchers have been aware of children’s interest in causal information, they didn’t know whether it influenced children’s preferences during real-world activities, such as reading. A new study…
Why is it so hard to make a reliable coronavirus antibody test?
Why is it so hard to make a coronavirus antibody test? Even experts don’t know how many protective proteins give you immunity or how long it lasts Officials have pointed to blood antibody tests that indicate when someone has been infected with coronavirus as the best hope for ‘reopening’ the…
Czech govt plans to start easing lockdown from April 20
The Czech government on Tuesday introduced a five-stage plan to ease lockdown measures to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, starting on April 20 and ending June 8. “The scenario reckons with the coronavirus being under control as is currently the case. There might be changes,” deputy prime minister…
How four U.S. cities helped slow coronavirus spread
(HealthDay)—Stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures have kept people from going out in four key U.S. cities, likely blunting the spread of COVID-19, federal health officials report. The number of people leaving their homes fell gradually but persistently as officials closed schools, restaurants and bars in New York City,…
Turning cold tumors hot: Drug delivery system makes immunotherapy more effective
Immunotherapy, which unleashes the power of the body’s own immune system to find and destroy cancer cells, has shown promise in treating several types of cancer. But the disease is notorious for cloaking itself from the immune system, and tumors that are not inflamed and do not elicit a response…
Psychiatrist and suicide expert emphasizes need for emotional closeness
We’re to keep a physical distance to reduce the risk of infection, but it’s now on an emotional level that we need to get closer,” says Danuta Wasserman, director of the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP) at Karolinska Institutet. How is mental health affected…
PTSD and moral injury linked to pregnancy complications
Elevated symptoms of PTSD and moral injury can lead to pregnancy complications, found a Veterans Affairs study of women military veterans. Both PTSD and moral injury were predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth and gestational diabetes, while PTSD symptoms also predicted postpartum depression, anxiety, and a self-described…
Switching on a key cancer gene could provide first curative treatment for heart disease
Researchers trying to turn off a gene that allows cancers to spread have made a surprising U-turn. By making the gene overactive and functional in the hearts of mice, they have triggered heart cell regeneration. Since adult hearts cannot usually repair themselves once damaged, harnessing the power of this gene…