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Factors That May Predict Next Pandemic
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Factors That May Predict Next Pandemic

Humans are creating or exacerbating the environmental conditions that could lead to further pandemics, new University of Sydney research finds. Modelling from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science suggests pressure on ecosystems, climate change and economic development are key factors associated with the diversification of pathogens (disease-causing agents, like viruses and bacteria). This has potential...

Fear of COVID-19 Is Killing Patients with Other Serious Diseases
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Fear of COVID-19 Is Killing Patients with Other Serious Diseases

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joseph S. Alpert, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Medicine, has observed that although non-COVID inpatients suffered from the usual mix of conditions such as heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, the Internal Medicine inpatient population was distinctly different from what he had seen over the past decades. They were...

In America, Covid Vaccine Eligibility Is a ‘Crazy Quilt’ of State Rules
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In America, Covid Vaccine Eligibility Is a ‘Crazy Quilt’ of State Rules

In North Carolina, the nation’s leading tobacco producer, any adult who has smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime can now be vaccinated against covid. In Florida, people under 50 with underlying health conditions can get vaccinated only if they have written permission from their doctor. In Mississippi, more than 30,000 covid vaccine appointments...

Lots of Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law — But Do Your Homework First
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Lots of Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law — But Do Your Homework First

There’s something for everyone with private health insurance in the American Rescue Plan Act, but determining the best way to benefit may be confusing. The $1.9 trillion covid relief law that President Joe Biden signed this month will make coverage significantly more affordable for millions of people who either who have marketplace coverage, are uninsured...

Democrats Gave Americans a Big Boost Buying Health Insurance. It Didn’t Come Cheap.
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Democrats Gave Americans a Big Boost Buying Health Insurance. It Didn’t Come Cheap.

When Democrats pushed through a two-year expansion of the Affordable Care Act in the covid-relief bill this month, many people celebrated the part that will make health insurance more affordable for more Americans. But health care researchers consider this move a short-term fix for a long-term crisis, one that avoids confronting an uncomfortable truth: The...

A Strong Coffee Half an Hour Before Exercising Increases Fat-Burning
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A Strong Coffee Half an Hour Before Exercising Increases Fat-Burning

Scientists from the Department of Physiology of the University of Granada (UGR) have shown that caffeine (about 3 mg/kg, the equivalent of a strong coffee) ingested half an hour before aerobic exercise significantly increases the rate of fat-burning. They also found that if the exercise is performed in the afternoon, the effects of the caffeine...

COVID-19 Denial Depends on a Population’s Trust in Social Institutions
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COVID-19 Denial Depends on a Population’s Trust in Social Institutions

An international team of scholars studied how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Europeans’ stress levels and their trust in their national governments and the healthcare systems. They found that respondents were most stressed by the state of the national economy, and only after that, by the risk of catching COVID-19 and possibly being hospitalized. The...

COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Mental Health Worldwide
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COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Mental Health Worldwide

A study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health reports a high global prevalence of both depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and shows how implementation of mitigation strategies including public transportation and school closures, and stay-at-home orders impacted such disorders. The results are published in Psychological Medicine. “Our research found an elevated...

Study Shows Stronger Brain Activity After Writing on Paper Than on Tablet or Smartphone
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Study Shows Stronger Brain Activity After Writing on Paper Than on Tablet or Smartphone

A study of Japanese university students and recent graduates has revealed that writing on physical paper can lead to more brain activity when remembering the information an hour later. Researchers say that the unique, complex, spatial and tactile information associated with writing by hand on physical paper is likely what leads to improved memory. “Actually,...

Novel Coronavirus Circulated Undetected Months Before First COVID-19 Cases in Wuhan, China
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Novel Coronavirus Circulated Undetected Months Before First COVID-19 Cases in Wuhan, China

Using molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the University of Arizona and Illumina, Inc., estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December...