Of the many heartbreaking stories I’ve read or heard during this ghastly pandemic, one stands out as especially distressing, almost criminal. The headline, on Page 1 of The Times on April 12, read: “Empty Shelves, But Farms Put Food to Waste — Milk, Eggs and Produce Buried and Dumped.” That day I was researching food…
Women born by cesarean section are at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. The report, in JAMA Network Open, included 33,226 women born between 1946 and 1964, and followed for up to 25 years. More than a third were obese, and 6 percent had a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes.…
Peter Beard, a New York photographer, artist and naturalist to whom the word “wild” was roundly applied, both for his death-defying photographs of African wildlife and for his own much-publicized days — decades, really — as an amorous, bibulous, pharmaceutically inclined man about town, was found dead in the woods on Sunday, almost three weeks…
An exploratory randomized, controlled study on the safety and efficacy of either lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or Arbidol–antivirals that are used in some countries against HIV-1 and to treat influenza , respectively–as treatments for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, suggests that neither drug improves the clinical outcome of patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate cases…
To find out more about birds such as the black-tailed godwit, ecologists have been conducting long-term population studies using standardized information on reproductive behaviour–such as dates of egg-laying or hatching and levels of chick survival. New information gathered using geolocators on godwits in the Netherlands shows that traditional observation methods can lead to inaccurate data.…
An estimated 25,000 to 28,000 youth transition out of foster care each year in the United States. In a new study, interviews with hundreds of 17-year-olds in the California foster care system reveal not only elevated mental health counseling and medication use, but also that youth with indicated mental health needs feel less prepared to…
New evidence published in the Cochrane Library today finds MMR, MMRV and MMR+V vaccines are effective and that they are not associated with increased risk of autism. Measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (also known as chickenpox) are infectious diseases caused by viruses. They are most common in children and young adults, and can lead to…
When people suffer debilitating injuries or illnesses of the nervous system, they sometimes lose the ability to perform tasks normally taken for granted, such as walking, playing music or driving a car. They can imagine doing something, but the injury might block that action from occurring. Brain-computer interface systems exist that can translate brain signals…
DURHAM, N.C. — As droughts become more frequent and intense, the fragmentation of water service in the U.S. among tens of thousands of community systems, most of which are small and rely on local funding, leaves many households vulnerable to water contamination or loss of service, a new Duke University analysis finds. These vulnerabilities aren’t…
April 20, 2020–New guidance is available for physicians who must go through a number of steps to provide a probable diagnosis of sarcoidosis – an inflammatory disease that affects the lungs, lymph glands, and other organs. The American Thoracic Society has published an official clinical practice guideline in which a panel of experts strongly recommended…