Month: June 2021

A medical illustration of Candida auris fungiIllustration: Stephanie Rossow/CDC Late last year, a deadly yeast known as Candida auris was found in Brazil for the first time. In a new paper this week, the scientists who treated and investigated these initial cases say the covid-19 pandemic helped create a breeding ground for the fungus to emerge and spread inside a hospital’s intensive care unit. C. auris was first discovered by doctors from Japan in 2009, though it’s likely been infecting people since at least the 1990s. Its origins are still a mystery, but the leading theory is that it only recently began to cause trouble for humans. What makes the yeast so dangerous is that strains are often (or quickly become) resistant to multiple antifungal drugs. Its milder symptoms can include...

Naser, 43, tells Men's Health how stepping back into the gym after 12 years led to him completely transforming his body, and getting into the best shape of his life. Prior to my recent fitness journey, I didn't exercise in any form for 12 years, and I had not ventured into a gym since before I was married. During this time, while I didn't gain a huge amount of weight, any definition that I once had gradually became lost. About three years ago I started playing tennis regularly, but it made little difference to my body shape as I didn't change my diet. Pre-pandemic, my job required me to travel a lot. I was away two weeks out of every month for a year and a half. Hotel and airplane food, combined with the inability to maintain any type of consistent schedule for sports or exercise...

Media top headlines June 15 The New York Times admitting The Babylon Bee is satire, not ‘misinformation’ in a correction, the media ignoring Biden’s attack on GOP while abroad, despite criticizing Trump for violating political norm and ABC’s Terry Moran getting panned for suggesting GOP would end the filibuster ‘in a heartbeat’ round out today’s top media headlines The Boston Globe received mixed reactions on Monday for publishing a piece that fretted over the "downside of ditching masks," with many social media users fuming that some media seem determined to keep normal life at bay now that nearly 145 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and states have begun to lift prior lockdown and mask mandates. "Masks have started to come off — and stay off," The Boston Gl...

A new treatment triggered immune cells to clear out toxic plaque buildup and slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease in monkeys, researchers claim. NYU Grossman School of Medicine published findings Tuesday in the journal Brain, stemming from an investigation with elderly squirrel monkeys with significant signs of neurodegeneration. Results indicated up to 59% fewer amyloid beta plaque deposits in the animals’ brains following treatment with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN), versus untreated animals. Treated animals also saw a decline in toxic tau levels, a nerve fiber protein that can inflict damage to nearby tissue when disease alters its chemical structure. "Our findings illustrate that this therapy is an effective way of manipulating the immune system to slow neurodegeneration,...