Category: Coping with COVID
Skin compounds associated with attractiveness to mosquitoes
(NIH) Better knowledge of why some people are more attractive to mosquitoes could lead to new ways to prevent mosquito bites. In turn, this could help prevent mosquito-borne illnesses, which sicken hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Mosquitoes use four types of molecules called co-receptors to […]
Nov 20, 2022
The Swiss Cheese Model 5.3
Twitter is a wondrous place to find all kinds of news, information, disinformation, and conspiracy theories on nearly every topic. I jumped into the twitterverse back in 2009 following mostly infectious disease experts, reporters, academics, and the like. One of my long time favorites to follow is Ian Mackay from Australia. Ian posted an infographic […]
Nov 15, 2022
True story about farming, itchy straw mites, and a misdiagnosis
Travelling this week, went to Denver to help out a friend recovering from a total knee replacement. My friend’s husband traveled to our farm to help my husband with farm chores in my absence. The guys were busy on the farm all weekend prepping the lavender fields for winter, to include seeding some grass, and […]
Nov 8, 2022
One In Five CPR Survivors Remember The Experience Of Dying, And It’s Not So Bad
(IFL Science) The inevitability of death causes us mortals a great deal of anxiety, yet new research involving those who have come back from the brink reveals that the experience of passing away may be less distressing than many of us think. After interviewing patients who had undergone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) following a cardiac arrest, researchers found […]
Nov 8, 2022
Humans May Have Abnormalities in the Future Due to Excessive Use of Technology, Research Claims
(Tech Times) As reported first by Interesting Engineering, the team examined scientific studies and professional viewpoints on the subject, focusing on the detrimental impacts technology can have on the human body, particularly over an extended length of time.
Nov 4, 2022
Common Kids’ Antibiotic Amoxicillin Is in Short Supply in US, FDA Says
(Bloomberg) Amoxicillin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat conditions like ear infections and strep throat in children, is in shortage in the US, the Food and Drug Administration said. Four drugmakers that sell nearly all the amoxicillin in the US have limited supply of some doses of the liquid form of the medicine, which is […]
Nov 2, 2022
How Brains Send a Signal That It’s Time to Vomit
(NYT) In a study of mice, researchers worked out a neural pathway that could help researchers alleviate nausea symptoms from chemotherapy drugs. Anyone who’s had a shady oyster or a mushroom soup that didn’t sit well remembers the ominous queasiness heralding impending bad times. Bacteria release toxins that start the body’s process of speedily evacuating […]
Nov 1, 2022
Wait, why are there so few dead bugs on my windshield these days?
(Washington Post) After a long drive, the only thing that makes our stomachs churn faster than a windshield smeared with bug guts is a windshield bearing no evidence of insect life whatsoever. It feels like a fundamental pillar of the planet’s ecology has snapped. You’ve probably noticed it, too. On long summer road trips, tiny […]
Oct 25, 2022