‘Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles’ Review: Pastries of the Gilded Age, Made Modern

Did you know that drinkable chocolate predated the chocolate bar? It’s one of the many historical tidbits dropped for your delectation in “Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles,” a fun documentary directed by Laura Gabbert. In 2018, the renowned Israeli-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi (who contributes a column to The Times’s Food section) was commissioned by…

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The Future of Airbnb

In the travel wreckage caused by the pandemic, home-sharing has emerged as battered, but with a steady pulse, as rental houses became social-distancing refuges for the travel-starved. Home rentals have outperformed hotels in 27 global markets since the onset of Covid-19, according to a report by the hotel benchmarking firm STR and the short-term rental…

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A Manly Response to Disease

While learning this spring that the coronavirus was taking a disproportionate toll on men, I was reading David Lehman’s account of his bladder cancer, a disease that also disproportionately afflicts men. His brilliantly circumspect 2019 memoir, “One Hundred Autobiographies,” reminded me that a conventional model of masculinity inhibits some men from expressing their emotional responses…

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Carriers of two genetic mutations at greater risk for illness and death from COVID-19

Tel Aviv University researchers suggest that carriers of the genetic mutations PiZ and PiS are at high risk for severe illness and even death from COVID-19. These mutations lead to deficiency in the alpha1-antitrypsin protein, which protects lung tissues from damage in case of severe infections. Other studies have already associated deficiency in this protein…

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