The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited interest in wastewater surveillance, where sewage systems are monitored for the presence of viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.
Vaccines for COVID-19 are now being rolled out, but this good news has been tempered by the emergence of new, potentially more infectious strains of the virus.
It is important to scrutinise the reasons for our success. In particular, what parts are due to good policy, and what parts to luck?
- By Leon Litvack
A strange and frightening disease is killing people across the world. Medical opinion is divided and it’s very difficult to get an accurate picture of what is going on.
Earlier this fall, many of the nation’s restaurants opened their doors to patrons to eat inside, especially as the weather turned cold in places.
- By Ian Musgrave
“You’re cooking with gas” is a familiar term associated with doing the right thing and doing it well. But is cooking with gas doing the wrong thing for our health?
Many of us have heard: “Don’t go outside without a coat; you’ll catch a cold.”That’s not exactly true. As with many things, the reality is more complicated.
Smell loss – called anosmia – is a common symptom of COVID-19. For the past nine months, the two of us – a sensory scientist and an infectious disease epidemiologist – have applied our respective expertise to develop smell-based screening and testing programs as part of a response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
- By Kara Gavin
Surviving a case of COVID-19 that is bad enough to land you in the hospital is hard enough. But the problems don’t necessarily end when COVID-19 patients leave the hospital, a new study shows.
- By Karl Bates
A group of middle-aged adults had some small but significant changes in brain structure more than three decades after lead exposure in childhood, research found.
Participants in a new study who used e-cigarettes in the past were 21% more likely to develop a respiratory disease, and people who currently used them had a 43% increased risk, researchers report.
COVID-19 can do some pretty scary things to the human heart. It can trigger blood clots in severe cases and cause inflammation and scarring.
Of all frightening ways that the SARS-COV-2 virus affects the body, one of the more insidious is the effect of COVID-19 on the brain.
A close friend – let’s call him John – recently called, asking for advice. He woke up with severe muscle aches and fatigue. Understandably worried that it could be COVID-19, he asked whether he should go to work, run to get a test or stay home.
I live in a democracy. But as Thanksgiving approached, I found myself longing for the type of freedom I am seeing in China.
Adults with the healthiest sleep patterns in a new study had a 42% lower risk of heart failure regardless of other risk factors compared to adults with unhealthy sleep patterns.
As the northern hemisphere moves into winter, coronavirus rates are rising in parts of Europe and the USA. Experts are warning of a long winter ahead as COVID-19 and influenza put the squeeze on hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
- By Eldre Beukes
We learn more about the effects of COVID-19 on our health every day. We now know that contracting the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 can have a long-term impact on our heart and lungs, and the infection can even persist for months in some people.
- By Adam Taylor
Almost all of us will complain of being cold at some point, especially as lower temperatures arrive. But some people feel cold no matter the weather – and there are a number of reasons why this might be case.
Ten decibels more daytime neighborhood noise is associated with 36% higher odds of mild cognitive impairment and 30% higher odds of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
- By Simon Bratt
For many people, using a substance can be the way they cope – or mask mental health difficulties. Asking them to stop using drugs or alcohol means taking away their coping strategy and without immediate support it’s likely that person will return to using substances to cope with psychological distress.
Smoking is the most common cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an often fatal respiratory condition that afflicts millions of Americans. But for many patients living with COPD, stopping smoking isn’t the end of the battle.
- By Sarah Pitt
Many countries ended their full lockdowns at the start of the summer, but it wasn’t until the autumn that most places began to see a significant increase in the spread of the virus again.