These days, risk assessment is a calculation all of us make every time we go out the front door.
Wherever we are headed, we think about the chances that we may be exposed to the coronavirus.
But not even experts can tell us with any certainty which public places are safe and which are not. A new study reveals one place you should absolutely avoid if you possibly can.… Read More
This spring, there was hope that summer would save us from the coronavirus.
The theory was that cold and flu viruses dwindle in warm weather, and so would COVID-19.
Of course, it didn’t happen. Summer did nothing to slow the spread.
Now, a new study shows that it’s not temperatures that affect the spread of coronavirus as much as another factor.… Read More
These days, the message is everywhere…
Wear a face mask to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus.
But a new study shows that one of the most common types of masks may actually be worse than wearing no mask at all.[1]
Researchers at Duke University created a box-shaped device that could track the tiny respiratory particles that escape from people’s mouths when they speak.… Read More
Penicillin has been called the greatest advancement in the history of medicine.[1]
Since its discovery in 1928, penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic, has saved millions of people from dying of pneumonia, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, strep, and other previously untreatable bacterial illnesses.
One researcher estimated that penicillin has prevented some 200 million deaths. That’s the equivalent of saving the life of every American living east of the Mississippi River.… Read More
Since the earliest days of the pandemic, doctors have known that masks prevent people infected with the coronavirus from spreading it to others.
But it was not clear whether masks stopped uninfected wearers from getting the disease.
Now, a new analysis definitively shows that masks do protect the wearer. They not only lower the chances of infection, but if a wearer does get COVID-19, a mask can lessen the severity of the illness.… Read More
Most people think of COVID-19 as a lung disease. That’s a big part of the story. But now, as the pandemic stretches on, it’s clear there is another danger to worry about.
Many doctors assumed that once people recovered from COVID, they could carry on with their lives normally.
Two new studies show this may not be true. The disease may leave patients with lasting heart damage.… Read More