Health & Fitness

Nearly two weeks ago, staff relocated the birds inside. It's a temporary move they hope will protect against an outbreak of avian flu. DENVER — Where African penguins used to swim, a couple of wild geese were hanging out Thursday morning inside an otherwise empty exhibit at the Denver Zoo. Nearly two weeks ago, zoo staff cleared out the exhibit and moved the penguins inside to protect them from an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). “[HPAI] can cause respiratory disease, so we can see coughing and sneezing," said Lara Croft, associate veterinarian at the Denver Zoo. "It can also affect the brain, so we can see neurologic diseas...

An infection from the novel coronavirus increases your risk of serious blood clots months down the road, a new international study suggests. Driving the news: International scientists from the United Kingdom and Finland recently compared more than 1 million people in Sweden who caught COVID-19, per ABC News. What they found: The team of researchers discovered that patients who had COVID-19 were at an increased risk of blood clots in their legs or lungs about three to six months after infection. “Specifically, patients had a significantly increased risk of deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot that forms deep in the thigh or the lower leg,” ABC News reports. There was also an increased chance of experiencing a pulmonary embolism, which is when a blo...

The Roslin team's aim was not to create clones of sheep or indeed humans, but to use the technique to create so-called human embryonic stem cells. These, they hoped, could be grown into specific tissues, such as muscle, cartilage, and nerve cells to replace worn-out body parts.

A "shroom craze" may get even wilder after a new study that suggests a psychedelic drug found in some mushrooms may have protective benefits against addiction. Harvard University researchers found opioid use disorders were 30% less likely among people who used psilocybin compared with those who never had it, according to the study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. Psilocybin is a naturally occurring compound in certain types of mushrooms that are consumed for their hallucinogenic effects, according to the U.S. Drug enforcement Administration. The researchers analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 to 2019 to assess the association between psychedelics and opioid use disorders. More than 200,000 participants reported whether they had abused opioids o...

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer confirmed today what Deadline inferred last week: that the more-infectious BA.2 variant of Covid-19 is “now the predominant variant” in the county. The spread of the infectious variant is being blamed for increases in case numbers locally. Ferrer noted that over the last seven days, the county has been averaging 878 new cases per day, up from 660 per day the previous week — a roughly 33% increase. The most recent day’s data is even more stark, with 1,088 new cases being reported today, a number which Ferrer says is “undercount on test results” because many more people are using at-home antigen kits, the results of which are not reported. The rate of people testing positive has likewise slowly clim...

OMAHA, Neb. -- The spread of a bird flu that is deadly to poultry raises the grisly question of how farms manage to quickly kill and dispose of millions of chickens and turkeys. It's a chore that farms across the country are increasingly facing as the number of poultry killed in the past two months has climbed to more than 24 million, with outbreaks reported nearly every day. Some farms have had to kill more than 5 million chickens at a single site with a goal of destroying the birds within 24 hours to limit the spread of the disease and prevent animals from suffering. “The faster we can get on site and depopulate the birds that remain on site, the better,” Minnesota State Veterinarian Beth Thompson said. The outbreak is the biggest since 2015, when producers had to kill more than 50 mil...

Christine Spencer fills a syringe with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Salt Lake City on Dec. 29, 2021. Utah health officials on Thursday reported 699 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, as well as 16 additional deaths. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News) Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes SALT LAKE CITY — Utah health officials on Thursday reported 699 new COVID-19 cases in the past seven days, as well as 16 additional deaths. The new data comes as part of the Utah Department of Health's weekly updates posted Thursday on the coronavirus dashboard. Wastewater testing, which the state is relying on to gauge the current COVID-19 situation as fewer peop...

A study published Thursday found that while people in the friend zone are good for your mental health, when it comes to an infectious disease like Covid, your friends might make you even more vulnerable to it. It's what two scholars who happen to be BFFs found with the five studies they published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. Hyunjung Crystal Lee and Eline De Vries are assistant and associate professors and marketing specialists who specialize in consumer behavior and business psychology in the Department of Business Administration at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. It's long been known that friendship, while psychologically beneficial, can warp a person's perception of risk. Risk perception comes from a person's ability to judge the severity and probability of a neg...

The BA.2 omicron subvariant of the coronavirus has been on the country’s radar for months — scientists conducting wastewater surveillance noticed it back in January. BA.2 first received widespread attention in early February as it appeared to drive a large wave of infections in the United Kingdom. And ever since, some health experts have been warning that this new iteration of the virus — even faster-spreading than the super-contagious original omicron variant — could create another wave in the pandemic. So where is that wave? Case numbers, nationally and even at the state level, aren’t showing a surge. Across the US, the number of new cases reported every day has been flat for the last two weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths are still dropping from their peaks during the omicron wav...

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - According to PACC, a deadly rabbit disease has made its way to southern Arizona and they won’t be able to take in any more rabbits for a while. Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, also known as RHDV2, been detected in rabbits in the PACC system for the first time ever. PACC is urging owners of outdoor-housed rabbits to get them vaccinated “This is the third year that the virus has been detected in southern Arizona, but it’s the first time rabbits coming through PACC have tested positive,” said Dr. Jennifer Wilcox the PACC Director of Veterinary Services. PACC said a group of 15 pet rabbits were surrendered recently and all 15 died despite rapid vaccination. RHDV can cause fever, lethargy, hemorrhage, seizures and acute death in rabbits. PACC said the incubati...