To mask or not to mask – and which mask to use? With public health guidance about masks in the United States confused by political hedging, clarity around mask use is increasingly important, especially as the western U.S. battles the twin crises of wildfire smoke and COVID-19. “The CDC is the gold standard of where...
Nationalistic behaviour by governments may exclude some countries from gaining access to COVID-19 vaccines and cost the global economy up to $1.2 trillion a year in GDP, according to a new study from the not-for-profit research organisation RAND Europe. If countries demonstrate ‘vaccine nationalism’ – prioritising their own citizens and insisting on first access to...
Nearly one-third of students who reported misusing prescription opioids as high school seniors between 1997 and 2000, but did not have a history of medical use, later used heroin by age 35, according to a University of Michigan study. The research also found that 21% of seniors in the same period, who misused prescription opioids and later...
In mid-March, Karla Monterroso flew home to Alameda, California, after a hiking trip in Utah’s Zion National Park. Four days later, she began to develop a bad, dry cough. Her lungs felt sticky. The fevers that persisted for the next nine weeks grew so high — 100.4, 101.2, 101.7, 102.3 — that, on the worst...
One in four adults reported a change in alcohol use almost immediately after stay-at-home orders were issued, according to a study of twins led by Washington State University researchers. The study, published recently in Frontiers in Psychiatry, surveyed more than 900 twin pairs from the Washington State Twin Registry from March 26 to April 5, 2020, just...
One potential cause of cancer is circadian disruption, the misalignment of environmental cues (light, food intake, etc.) and our endogenous circadian rhythms. It is established that regular physical activity throughout lifetime can reduce cancer risk. This protective effect could be the most beneficial when physical activity is done in the morning -this is the main...
People with eating disorders are 12 times more likely to be preoccupied with perceived flaws in their physical appearance than those without, according to new research published in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders. Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) surveyed more than 1,600 health club members recruited via social media. They found the number of...
Empathy for vulnerable people in risk groups motivates us to use face masks and keep our distance, so that we help to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the study, which has just been published in the journal Psychological Science. “We show that empathy for the most vulnerable is an important factor, and that it...
Until a vaccine and/or effective cure for COVID-19 becomes available, battling the current pandemic strongly relies on how well people follow behavioural advice, such as adhering to local restrictions, social distancing rules, and engaging in effective personal hygiene. However, overcoming the relationship between risk perceptions and comparative optimism during the pandemic is a major hurdle...
A new study of beliefs and attitudes toward COVID-19 in five different countries – UK, US, Ireland, Mexico and Spain – has identified how much traction some prominent conspiracy theories have within these populations. The research reveals “key predictors” for susceptibility to fake pandemic news, and finds that a small increase in the perceived reliability...
