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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UNH receives $1.8 million for biomolecular research in diabetes and cancer

DURHAM, N.H.– The University of New Hampshire will receive $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will further molecular research to better understand drug interactions at the cellular level and help lead to the development of new targeted drugs to treat wide-spread metabolic, growth, neurological and visual disorders including diabetes and cancer.…

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Intersecting social inequities increase the likelihood of severe illness due to COVID-19

Black, South Asian and Aboriginal populations from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in Canada are nearly four times more likely to have three or more medical conditions that have been identified as risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19. Shen (Lamson) Lin, a doctoral candidate in gerontology and course instructor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty…

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COVID-19 infected workers return to work faster using time and symptom-based protocols

BOSTON – One of the of the most important questions in managing a hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is determining when healthcare workers infected with COVID-19 can return to the job. Recently, investigators from Mass General Brigham (MGB) assessed the experience of using a test-based protocol in over 1000 infected health care workers. Their…

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Waste generation by hospital emergency departments is highlighted for first time

BOSTON – Emergency departments of hospitals generate significant amounts of environmentally harmful waste which could be reduced through basic changes to disposal policies and practices, while producing lower operating costs, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have found. Efforts to optimize the daily waste stream through improvements such as switching from disposable to reusable items…

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