Health & Fitness

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks about the Omicron coronavirus variant during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, December 1, 2021. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Omicron's more contagious subvariant, BA.2, has more than doubled in prevalence over the past two weeks in the U.S. and now represents more than 34% of Covid-19 infections that have undergone genetic sequencing, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week. BA.2 has been steadily growing as a proportion of the Covid variants circulating in the U.S. since Feb. 5, when it represented about 1% of genetically sequenced virus samples, according to the CDC. BA.2 probably already accounts for 50% of new infections in the U.S. because many people are taking tests at h...

Photo: Tomsickova Tatyana (Shutterstock) The term “brain fog” can mean many different things, from the afternoon sleepiness you get after a bad night of sleep to the short-term memory loss associated with dementia. Generally speaking, brain fog can consist of memory problems, an inability to focus, or a lack of mental clarity. Although brain fog isn’t a formal medical condition, these symptoms can be a sign that something is going on. Underlying medical issues that can cause brain fog  There are a number of different medical conditions that can cause brain fog. One major cause can be inflammatory conditions that affect the brain, such as a recent COVID-19 infection or an autoimmune disease. “When the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, gets affected...

WRAPS TOMORROW. SENATE DEMOCRATS ARE CONFIDENT THEY HAVE ENOUGH VOS TETO APPROVE HER NOMINATION. AFTER WEEKS OF DECLINE NEW COVID CASES ARE STARTING TO LEVEL OFF IN THE .US CARAY : HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS OMICRON VARIANT BE A TWO IS RAPIDLY SPRING AND PARTS OF ASIA AND EUROPE AND NOW MAKES UPOR ME THAN A THIRD OF REPORTED CASES IN THE . >>WE ARE SEEING AN UPTICK OF COVID CASES IN THE WASTEWATER, THE SEWAGE WATER SO WE KNOW THERE’S AN INCREASING TREND IN ITS MISSION IN THE COUNTRY. THE REAL QUESTION IS DOES IT TRANSIENT TO SEVERE DISEASE, HOSPITALIZATION AND ATDE CARAY : Highly contagious BA.2 coronavirus variant detected in Louisville: What we know about it Updated: 11:20 AM E...

At just 18-years-old, Jessica Pin believed she had an abnormal vagina. Despite having labiaplasty surgery performed by a respected obstetrician-gynecologist, it went wrong, leaving her with severed nerves. Because of this, Jessica has no sensation down below, as the dorsal nerves of her clitoris were damaged. Jessica, who lives in San Francisco said that her whole labia minora was removed – and that the surgeon also reduced the size of her clitoral hood – which she says was performed without her consent. Labiaplasty is a surgery which aims to reduce the size of the labia minora – the flaps of skin on either side of the opening of the vagina. The procedure is also known as a “designer vagina” and should not be done on girls younger than 18. While it...

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) announced on Tuesday that it has confirmed a case of the highly contagious bird flu in a commercial flock of 570,000 broiler chickens and that the birds will be "humanely depopulated and disposed of." NDA, in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), said in a press release the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in a chicken flock in Butler County, Neb.  "HPAI is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily among birds through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure," NDA said. "The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers." The virus was initiall...

LONDON — Cranberries are famous for their distinct tart taste. However, new research by a team at King’s College London suggests this delicious fruit should be just as synonymous with healthy hearts. Scientists report eating just 100 grams of cranberries per day contributes to particularly robust cardiac functioning in healthy men. Even better, the cardiac benefits of cranberry consumption appeared almost immediately! A group of 45 healthy men took part in this project. Half the group consumed whole cranberry powder equivalent to 100g of fresh cranberries per day (9 grams of powder), while the second half took a placebo each day. Both groups ate their assigned food item on a daily basis for one month. The participants assigned to the cranberry powder group displayed notable improvemen...

While health surveillance is weak, he acknowledged, Sierra Leoneans have the recent, terrible experience of Ebola, which killed 4,000 people here in 2014-16. Since then, he said, citizens have been on alert for an infectious agent that could be killing people in their communities. They would not continue to pack into events if that were the case, he said. Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, who is on the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Covid task force and who was part of the research team tracking excess deaths in South Africa, believes the death toll continentwide is probably consistent with that of his country. There is simply no reason that Gambians or Ethiopians would be less vulnerable to Covid than South Africans, he said. But he also said it was clear that large numbers of ...

Pharmacists are there for us when it’s time to refill our prescriptions or when we need a play-by-play on how best to take a new medication (complete with giant side effects pamphlets) — but if these are the only things you go to your pharmacist for, you’re missing out. Even though pharmacists in the community setting wear many hats, many people aren’t entirely familiar with what those hats are, especially because each state has its own laws that dictate what a pharmacist may legally be permitted to help you with. Before approaching your pharmacist to find out, preparation is key: Write down all of your health-related questions, as well as current medications you’re taking (including over-the-counter meds and supplements). Even if something seems irrelevant, share it with your pharmacist...

Heartland virus is circulating in ticks in Georgia, according to new research. People can get the Heartland virus after being bitten by an infected tick. There is no vaccine to prevent the Heartland virus. The Heartland virus is circulating in ticks in Georgia, researchers warned in a study published last week.   The findings, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases and led by researchers from Emory University, analyzed virus samples from ticks collected in central Georgia. But the Heartland virus, first identified in Missouri in 2009, has been documented in multiple states across the Midwest and Southeast.  But what does that mean for your next hiking or camping trip? Is it time to be on the lookout for ticks that could carry the virus?    Jonathan Larson, an extension en...

Researchers say it is the first time a paralysed person has been able to communicate in full sentences. A fully paralysed man suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can now communicate with his family after receiving microchip implants in his brain. It is the first time a completely locked-in person – someone who is conscious and cognitively able but fully paralysed – was able to communicate in full sentences, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications this week. “People have really doubted whether this was even feasible,” Mariska Vansteensel, a researcher at the University Medical Center Utrecht who was not involved in the study, told Science.org. The unidentified German man, 36, was diagnosed with ALS, a rare progressive nervous system dise...