Culture
Underlying conditions that increase risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 are much more common among Black, Native American, and lower-income people in the United States.
The new coronavirus does not discriminate, but discrimination and inequality have shaped the risk of severe illness and death, according to a new Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) study.
New Rochelle, NY, April 28, 2020--Experts in Indian traditional medicine, including the chair of the Government of India's committee charged to lead that nation's efforts on the potential uses of traditional medicine relative to COVID-19, describe how the approach of Ayurveda and yoga may help strengthen host immunity and provide an effective, accessible, and affordable means of prophylaxis of COVID-19 infection.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Miniature biological robots are making greater strides than ever, thanks to the spinal cord directing their steps.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers developed the tiny walking "spinobots," powered by rat muscle and spinal cord tissue on a soft, 3D-printed hydrogel skeleton. While previous generations of biological robots, or bio-bots, could move forward by simple muscle contraction, the integration of the spinal cord gives them a more natural walking rhythm, said study leader Martha Gillette, a professor of cell and developmental biology.
ITHACA, NY, April 17, 2020 -- Citrus greening disease, also called huanglongbing (HLB), is a bacterial infection of citrus trees that results in small, misshapen and sour fruits that are unsuitable for consumption, ultimately killing the tree. Because there is no cure, HLB is a major threat to the $10 billion citrus industry in Florida, where it was first detected in 2005, and to the $7 billion industry in California, where it appeared last year.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers with the sharpest view yet of the breakup of Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). The telescope resolved roughly 30 fragments of the fragile comet on 20 April and 25 pieces on 23 April.
Chestnut Hill, Mass. (4/28/2020) - The biases individuals harbor against people they see as physically dirty emerge in children as young as five years old and persist into adulthood, according to a new study by researchers from Boston College and Franklin & Marshall College, who found these prejudices extend to the sick and may hold implications for people diagnosed with Covid-19.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Trees, shrubs and woody vines are among the top food sources for honey bees in urban environments, according to an international team of researchers. By using honey bees housed in rooftop apiaries in Philadelphia, the researchers identified the plant species from which the honey bees collected most of their food, and tracked how these food resources changed from spring to fall. The findings may be useful to homeowners, beekeepers and urban land managers who wish to sustain honey bees and other bee and pollinator species.
These two Hubble Space Telescope images of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), taken on April 20 and 23, 2020, provide the sharpest views yet of the breakup of the fragile comet.
WASHINGTON--Short-term cold exposure may help people with brown fat burn 15 percent more calories than those without, according to a small study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
Unlike white fat, brown fat burns calories through fatty acid oxidation and heat production and is considered a promising target in the fight against the obesity epidemic. The biggest activator of brown fat is moderate cold exposure.
Bethesda, Maryland (April 28, 2020) -- Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the esophagus triggered by allergens that causes difficulty with swallowing in adults, which grows more frequent and intense over time, affecting patients' quality of life. Children experience varied symptoms that include feeding difficulty, pain, vomiting, as well as dysphagia. EoE affects an estimated one in 2,000 people.
What The Viewpoint Says: The importance of minimizing COVID-19 transmission in prisons and jails is described and policies and programs for doing so are detailed.
Authors: Laura Hawks, M.D., Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1856)
WASHINGTON, Tuesday, April 28, 2020 -- Biological robots, or biobots, draw inspiration from natural systems to mimic the motions of organisms, such as swimming or jumping. Improvements to biobots to better replicate complex motor behaviors can lead to exciting biorobotic engineering applications to help solve real world challenges. However, this requires the creation of biohybrid robots -- biobots made up of both organic and artificial materials -- which is a challenge.
What The Viewpoint Says: This Viewpoint describes the relevance of a palliative care approach to surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
Authors: Zara Cooper, M.D., M.Sc., of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding author.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2020.1698)
Australian researchers have revealed for the first time that males infected with the Toxoplasma parasite can impact their offspring's brain health and behaviour.
Studying mice infected with the common parasite Toxoplasma, the team discovered that sperm of infected fathers carried an altered 'epigenetic' signature which impacted the brains of resulting offspring. Molecules in the sperm called 'small RNA' appeared to influence the offspring's brain development and behaviour.
New Rochelle, NY, April 27, 2020--A mobile telehealth system (MTS) has been used in a hospital in China where COVID-19 patients were treated in isolation wards set off from other healthcare providers. Click here to read the article free in the peer-reviewed journal Telemedicine and e-Health. This just-published paper provides a full description of the MTS, its components, and how it maintains the security of patient information.