Month: September 2021

by: Alix Martichoux, Nexstar Media Wire Posted: Sep 5, 2021 / 07:35 AM PDT / Updated: Sep 5, 2021 / 07:35 AM PDT FILE – A patient who has previously tested positive for the novel coronavirus is treated by paramedics for a separate issue in the cabin of an ambulance, on May 06, 2020 in Portsmouth, England. Researchers have identified 55 symptoms of long COVID that affect some people weeks or months after they’re rid of the virus. (Photo by Leon Neal – Pool/Getty Images) (NEXSTAR) – It’s something that makes COVID-19 especially scary: Even people who only get mild sickness, and don’t need to be hospitalized, report feeling side effects and symptoms long after they’re free of the virus. Long COVID, as it’s being called...

The United States has entered the fourth wave of the pandemic — or fifth, depending on which expert you ask. As the vaccination campaign lags and the contagious Delta variant spreads, cases and hospitalizations are at their highest since last winter. Covid-19 deaths, too, are on a steady incline. After every other peak has come a trough, however, often for reasons that were not immediately obvious. In Britain, where the variant is also the dominant form of the coronavirus, daily cases fell from a peak of 60,000 in mid-July to half that within two weeks, though they have since been climbing again. In India, the numbers spiked to more than 400,000 daily cases this spring; experts estimated that the true figure could be more than 20 times greater. The unimaginable toll shocked many who had ...

Masks have been politicized by some and derided by others throughout the pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, U.S. public health officials advised the public not to wear masks, in order to save then-scarce personal protective equipment for frontline workers. They quickly reversed their position and recommended masks — a seeming reversal that is still a sticking point for many citizens and politicians. Yet since those early days, scientific studies have shown time and time again that masks — cloth, surgical, N95 masks, sometimes a mix of two — are a key step in stopping the spread of COVID-19. While the size of these studies varied, the outcome was typically the same; yet in scientific research, the larger the study, generally the more conclusive the results.  Hence, the medical com...

by: K. Querry-Thompson/KFOR, Nexstar Media Wire Posted: Sep 5, 2021 / 09:00 AM EDT / Updated: Sep 4, 2021 / 04:23 PM EDT (Getty Images) OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Even though we’re more than a year into the global pandemic, it seems there is still debate about wearing a mask to prevent COVID-19 infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been encouraging Americans to wear masks in public in order to protect themselves and others from COVID-19. However, some people argue that certain types of masks don’t do much good since the virus particles are small enough to get through. While that is true, health experts say it is about how the particles travel and not just their size. “It’s one of the m...

When it comes to diet and nutrition, it seems like the only thing that all experts can agree on is that there is no universally accepted consensus about the best diet to follow for optimal health. There are so many schools of thought about which foods should and shouldn’t be eaten, how to best lose weight, what ratios of the different macronutrients to consume, and so on, which is why the Rolodex of popular diets is extensive and ever-expanding. From paleo to vegan, Whole30 to keto, the bevy of diets is not only diverse but also contradictory, with some popular diets demonizing the very foods and nutrients highlighted in others. Given the sheer number of options, the complexity of the characteristics of each diet, and the conflicting nutritional information and principles used to substant...

Stanford researchers have engineered a new miniature CRISPR system that should be easier to deliver into human cells. Bioengineers have repurposed a “non-working” CRISPR system to make a smaller version of the genome engineering tool. Its diminutive size should make it easier to deliver into human cells, tissues, and the body for gene therapy. The common analogy for CRISPR gene editing is that it works like molecular scissors, cutting out select sections of DNA. Stanley Qi, assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, likes that analogy, but he thinks it’s time to reimagine CRISPR as a Swiss Army knife. “CRISPR can be as simple as a cutter, or more advanced as a regulator, an editor, a labeler, or imager. Many applications are emerging from this exciting field,”...