In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, while many of us remained in the safety of our own homes, frontline healthcare workers faced a sudden influx of patients with the new, highly contagious, life-threatening disease. This undoubtedly caused a great deal of stress among hospital staff. But what exactly were the most difficult aspects...
Health
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Facial Filler Is Not a DIY Project; Covid Shutdown Led to Rise in Self-Administered Cosmetic Procedures
The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for a nationwide healthcare and economic slowdown. Surprisingly, even during months of quarantine and isolation as masks and face coverings became the norm, people continued to spend money on products to enhance their attractiveness and to seek out cosmetic procedures. “During the lockdown, doctor-patient interactions slowly resumed largely in the...
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Covid Gets Airborne
In May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control officially recognized that SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—is airborne, meaning it is highly transmissible through the air. Now University of California San Diego Professor and Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry Rommie Amaro, along with partners across the U.S. and around the world, has modeled the delta...
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Covid Tech Took a Toll on Work-From-Home Moms
It’s no secret that being a work-from-home mom during the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic was a drag. And those tech tools – video meetings and texting – designed to make remote work easier? They just added to the stress and exacerbated the mental health toll on burnt out moms trying to hold everything together....
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Wealthier Nations Should Stump Up for Covid-19 Jab Tax to Drive Vaccine Equity
Wealthier nations should pay a COVID-19 vaccine tax as part of the price they pay to manufacturers, to ensure a fairer distribution of the jab to poorer nations, argues a political scientist in the Journal of Medical Ethics. Taxation is fairer than the current donation model because it better reflects the ability of a country to...
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Pregnancy Stretch Marks Cause Stress and Emotional Burden
While stretch marks are commonly associated with pregnancy, the permanency of the skin lesions causes pregnant women and pregnant individuals substantial embarrassment that can negatively impact pregnancy and their quality of life, according to a new study. Researchers at Michigan Medicine surveyed more than 100 pregnant patients with stretch marks who were considering delivery at...
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Three Ways to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Food Purchased by U.S. Households
Most consumers want to make food purchases that are smart for their wallets, their health and the environment. And while switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet can lower one’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions, it may not be realistic or healthful for everyone. Now, researchers in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology report three ways that Americans...
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Can Eating Alone Be Bad for Your Heart?
As women age, their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) exceeds men’s largely because of decreased levels of estrogen that regulate vascular function. As a result, much research is focused on various risk factors. A new study suggests that eating alone may contribute to an increased risk of heart disease in older women. Study results are...
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Stimulus Designed to Help Restaurant Workers Led to More Covid Cases
A new paper in The Economic Journal indicates that a large-scale government subsidy aimed at encouraging people to eat out in restaurants in the wake of the first 2020 COVID-19 wave in the United Kingdom accelerated a second COVID19 wave. The COVID19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus hurt economies around the world. The hospitality sector was...
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Africa Tries to End Vaccine Inequity by Replicating Its Own
In a pair of Cape Town warehouses converted into a maze of airlocked sterile rooms, young scientists are assembling and calibrating the equipment needed to reverse engineer a coronavirus vaccine that has yet to reach South Africa and most of the world’s poorest people. The energy in the gleaming labs matches the urgency of their...
