How Confident Can You Be in a Coronavirus Test?

‘Not detected’ doesn’t mean it’s not there Many coronavirus test results already say “detected” or “not detected” as their default readout, a distinction that several experts call more useful. “‘Not detected’ really points to the moment,” said Dr. Valerie Fitzhugh, a pathologist at Rutgers University. “It wasn’t detected today. That doesn’t mean I won’t have…

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Sugary Drinks May Be Bad for Aging

Sweetened drinks are not generally considered healthy for anyone, but they may be particularly harmful for the elderly. Researchers report that consumption of both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks is associated with an increased risk for frailty in women over 60. The scientists defined frailty as meeting at least three of five criteria: fatigue, reduced…

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Physician-led Spanish-speaking volunteers address health care inequities during a crisis

BOSTON — In a perspective published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, experts from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Medicine, Office of Equity and Inclusion and Center for Diversity and Inclusion call for a more inclusive and culturally competent ap-proach to clinical care based on best practices developed during the COVID-19 surge in…

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What does ‘do not resuscitate’ mean? Varying interpretations may affect patient care, reports American Journal of Nursing

December 23, 2020 – When patients have a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, it means they have chosen not to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). But hospital nurses report significant variations in the way DNR orders are perceived or acted on in clinical practice, reports a survey study in the January issue of the American Journal of Nursing…

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AI-designed serotonin sensor may help scientists study sleep and mental health

Serotonin is a neurochemical that plays a critical role in the way the brain controls our thoughts and feelings. For example, many antidepressants are designed to alter serotonin signals sent between neurons. In an article in Cell, National Institutes of Health-funded researchers described how they used advanced genetic engineering techniques to transform a bacterial protein…

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