- By Kara Manke
For some individuals with COVID-19, recovering from the acute phase of the infection is only the beginning, John Swartzberg warns.
Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house...
- By Mikayla Mace
While research has shown masks are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19, not all masks or mask materials are equally effective, according to new research.
When someone coughs, talks or even breathes, they send tiny respiratory droplets into the surrounding air. The smallest of these droplets can float for hours, and there is strong evidence that they can carry live coronavirus if the person is infected.
Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still learning what the disease can do. There are now detailed reports of brain illness emerging in people with relatively mild lung illness, in those who are critically ill and also in those in recovery.
Food cravings often stem from basic unmet needs for fun, excitement, or love -- issues most would consider "normal" and within our power to self-heal. Some people's food cravings remain constant; for example, they always crave ice cream. Other people go through "food kicks" in different weeks.
The coronavirus pandemic has meant sudden changes to our daily lives, with restrictions on free movement, imposed lockdowns and social distancing. Many of these measures will have taken a toll on people’s mental health.
As the number of people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus grows, so does our knowledge of how it spreads, how it affects the body, and the range of symptoms it causes.
Researchers have found a new strain of flu virus with “pandemic potential” in China that can jump from pigs to humans, triggering a suite of worrying headlines.
- By Dana Ullman
How you feel about yourself may actually affect the way your body defends itself against the various stresses and infective organisms that surround it. A high level of self-esteem, or a stronger sense of self, can lead to more vigorous immune response.
Whether you’re an ultra-marathoner or have just started, injuries and muscle soreness from running are inevitable. But instead of taking a break, many runners reach for ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to get through injuries or pain.
If you’ve had a surgery postponed due to the pandemic, or one is on the horizon, there may be some work you can do right now to prepare and to help improve your postoperative outcome.
- By Henry Taylor
Imagine being completely blind but still being able to see. Does that sound impossible? Well, it happens.
What is known about which treatments work, and which don’t, for the new coronavirus infection.
We’re all exhausted and pushed to the limit by months of social distancing, and the recent news that cases are climbing in many states is especially scary.
Nesta recently highlighted how the pandemic has spurred an incredible number of collective intelligence initiatives – combining crowd insight, data and machine intelligence to mitigate the crisis. These range from scientists inviting citizens to help them design virus-fighting proteins, to DIY biology communities collaborating to design open-source testing kits.
The increase of COVID-19 cases across the country calls for quick action. Sure, you and your family are exhausted from distancing, you miss your loved ones and you want to get back to your support groups or church.
Screening for symptoms of COVID-19 and self-quarantine are good at preventing sick people from spreading the coronavirus. But more and more evidence is suggesting that people without symptoms are spreading the virus too.
If healthcare workers wear surgical masks, there is good evidence that it limits the spread of respiratory viral infections in hospitals.
Recent studies from England and other countries have suggested that adults with both types 1 and 2 diabetes have an increased risk of death if they catch COVID-19, especially if they have poor glucose control. The weight of evidence is building up to support this theory.
The influenza pandemic became the most severe pandemic in recent history, infecting about one-third of the world’s population between 1918 and 1920 and killing between 50 and 100 million people. It was caused by an H1N1 virus that originated in birds and mutated to infect humans.
- By Lena Ciric
What constitutes a safe distance when it comes to the spread of COVID-19? The answer depends on where you live.
From the first reports coming out of Wuhan, Iran and later Italy, we knew that losing your sense of smell (anosmia) was a significant symptom of the disease.