As city leaders across the country scramble to find space for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, some are looking at a seemingly obvious choice: former hospital buildings, sitting empty, right downtown. In Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, where hospitalizations from COVID-19 increase each day, shuttered hospitals that once served the city’s poor and...
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How at Risk Are You of Getting a Virus on an Airplane?
Historic research based on group movements of humans and animals suggest three simple rules: move away from those that are too close. move toward those that are far away. match the direction of the movement of their neighbors. This research is especially used for air travel where there is an increased risk for contagious infection...
Study Suggests Marijuana May Impair Female Fertility
Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. The abstract will be published in the Journal of the...
COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps: 8 Privacy Questions Governments Should Ask
As part of their efforts to slow the outbreak of coronavirus, governments, research institutions and industry are developing contact tracing apps to record interactions between people. The apps warn users if one of the people they have been recorded as being in contact with is later diagnosed with COVID-19 so they can take appropriate steps...
Effective Options for Quitting Smoking During the Coronavirus Pandemic
As novel coronavirus cases continue to increase across the nation, health professionals on the front lines face frightening realities, rising anxiety and the very real potential for burnout. “Health care providers are under tremendous pressure right now,” said Dr. Jud Brewer, director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. “Physician burnout...
Risk of HIV-Related Heart Disease Risk Varies by Geography, Income
People living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to people without HIV. Data linking HIV and CVD, CVD risk factors and CVD risk assessment come predominantly from North America and Europe. However, of the estimated 37.9 million people living with HIV worldwide, two-thirds (25.6 million) live...
Urban Dogs Are More Fearful Than Their Cousins from the Country
Fearfulness is one of the most common behavioural disorders in dogs. As an emotion, fear is a normal and vital reaction that helps individuals survive in threatening circumstances. When the fearfulness is excessive and disturbs the dog’s life, it is referred to as a behavioural problem. Excessive fearfulness can significantly impair the dog’s welfare, and...
California Hospitals Face Surge With Proven Fixes And Some Hail Marys
California’s hospitals thought they were ready for the next big disaster. They’ve retrofitted their buildings to withstand a major earthquake and whisked patients out of danger during deadly wildfires. They’ve kept patients alive with backup generators amid sweeping power shutoffs and trained their staff to thwart would-be shooters. But nothing has prepared them for a...
How to Identify Factors Affecting COVID-19 Transmission
Much remains unknown about how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads through the environment. A major reason for this is that the behaviors and traits of viruses are highly variable – some spread more easily through water, others through air; some are wrapped in layers of fatty molecules that help them avoid their host’s...
‘Red Dawn Breaking Bad’: Officials Warned About Safety Gear Shortfall Early On, Emails Show
A high-ranking federal official in late February warned that the United States needed to plan for not having enough personal protective equipment for medical workers as they began to battle the novel coronavirus, according to internal emails obtained by Kaiser Health News. The messages provide a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s statements at the...