Month: June 2021

ODENSE, Denmark — Aging and death can be uncomfortable topics for many people to talk about, especially as they grow older. While scientists have developed several ways to slow the aging process, a new study finds immortality is (not surprisingly) out of reach. An international team says, no matter how hard we try, every species on Earth has a generally fixed rate of aging that science can’t stop. “Human death is inevitable. No matter how many vitamins we take, how healthy our environment is or how much we exercise, we will eventually age and die,” says Fernando Colchero from the University of Southern Denmark in a release. Aging vs. life expectancy Colchero and his team applied statistics and mathematics to information on populations and life expectancy throughout history. Their fi...

Exactly what gets collected on your face mask after hours of use? Many medical experts have claimed there are no health drawbacks to wearing face masks for long periods of time, as long as you regularly clean them or use a new covering each time you mask up. But Florida parents, who are concerned about children wearing face masks at school, discovered recently that face masks actually catch a host of bacteria, many of which are "dangerous pathogens." What are the details? The Gainesville parents sent six recently worn face masks to the University of Florida for laboratory testing. They discovered that face masks collect numerous bacteria that cause, in many cases, serious illnesses. The parents wanted the face masks tested "because they were concerned about the potential of cont...

The CDC says to test for RSV if a patient with a respiratory illness tests negative for COVID-19. There's been an uptick in RSV cases across the Southern states.  Toddlers and older infants are susceptible. Symptoms include sneezing and wheezing.  Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Cases of a respiratory virus are rising across the Southern US, and it's not COVID-19. RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) typically circulates in the fall and winter months, mainly affecting children. But rates plummeted in 2020 — likely because of COVID-19 mitigation strategies, such as social distancing, according to an advisory warning fro...

Health officials in Connecticut announced the state’s first two cases of Powassan virus detected in 2021. The cases, which stem from an infected tick bite, involved patients between 50-79 years of age who fell ill during the third week of April and required hospitalization.  The patients, one from Fairfield County and one from New Haven County, were treated for central nervous system disease and have since been discharged and are recovering. The state reported just two cases last year, and 10 cases total spanning 2016-2020, two of which were fatal.  "The identification of two Connecticut residents with Powassan virus associated illness emphasizes the need to take actions to prevent tick bites while ticks are most active, from now through the late fall," Deidre S. Gifford, MD., MPH, the...

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