Ultrasounds show impact of COVID-19 on the heart

Cardiac ultrasounds (also known as echocardiograms) are providing a view of the heart and the impact of the COVID-19 virus on patients. A new study by researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai identifies different types of cardiac structural damage experienced by COVID-19 patients after cardiac injury that can be associated with deadly conditions including heart attack, pulmonary embolism, heart failure, and myocarditis. These abnormalities are associated with higher risk of death among hospitalized patients. The findings, published the October 26 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, offer new insights that may help doctors better understand the mechanism of cardiac injury, leading to quicker identification of patients at risk and guidance on future therapies.

Artificially sweetened drinks may not be heart healthier than sugary drinks

Sugary drinks and artificially sweetened beverages are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, which suggests artificially sweetened beverages may not be the healthy alternative they are often claimed to be, according to a research letter in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Facebook content moderators call for better treatment

As Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg prepares to be grilled by a Senate committee about the handling of politically-charged posts, content moderators are insisting that properly valuing their work is key.

Can I celebrate Halloween during the pandemic?

Can I celebrate Halloween during the pandemic?

Second-hand site Vinted happy to scare clothing retailers

With more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in sales last year on its platform and a new acquisition under its belt, second-hand clothes innovator Vinted believes it is starting to scare fashion retailers—for the good of the planet.

Asymptomatic virus sufferers lose antibodies sooner: study

Asymptomatic coronavirus sufferers appear to lose detectable antibodies sooner than people who have exhibited COVID-19 symptoms, according to one of the biggest studies of its kind in Britain published on Tuesday.

Australia's virus epicentre records second day with no cases

Melbourne on Tuesday recorded its second consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases, as bars and restaurants in the epicentre of Australia's second-wave outbreak prepared to reopen after a lengthy lockdown.

With new tools, Facebook aims to avoid election fiasco repeat

Facebook is leveraging its vast resources to help protect the 2020 election against the kind of massive manipulation and disinformation efforts that the platform failed to act on in 2016.

Lilly antibody drug fails in a COVID-19 study; others go on

U.S. government officials are putting an early end to a study testing an Eli Lilly antibody drug for people hospitalized with COVID-19 because it doesn't seem to be helping them.

Haunted house researchers investigate the mystery of playing with fear

Chainsaw-wielding maniacs and brain-munching zombies are common tropes in horror films and haunted houses, which, in normal years, are popular Halloween-season destinations for thrill seekers. But what makes such fearsome experiences so compelling, and why do we actively seek them out in frightful recreational settings?

'White matter lesion' mapping tool identifies early signs of dementia

A new tool for analyzing tissue damage seen on MRI brain scans can detect with more than 70 percent accuracy early signs of cognitive decline, new research shows.

Identifying hotspots of low mammography screening in Black, Hispanic women

A young cancer epidemiologist who has already helped identify hotspots for geographic, racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer mortality in the United States, is now looking at mammography screening rates in those hotspots.

Postpartum depression may persist three years after giving birth

A National Institutes of Health study of 5,000 women has found that approximately 1 in 4 experienced high levels of depressive symptoms at some point in the three years after giving birth. The rest of the women experienced low levels of depression throughout the three-year span. The study was conducted by researchers at NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It appears in the journal Pediatrics.

Why do certain chemotherapies increase the likelihood of blood cancer?

In recent years, improvements in cancer therapy have led to a significant increase in cancer survivorship. Experts estimate that by 2022, the United States will have 18 million cancer survivors, but a subset of those survivors will have long-term health problems to be addressed.

Vaping epidemic puts adolescents at risk for potentially fatal lung disease

Adolescent use of e-cigarettes and vaping products is at epidemic proportions, yet the adverse health effects are understudied, with almost no data on younger patients. The problem is sizable as children start vaping at a younger and younger age. Recent estimates show that 9.6 percent of eighth graders vape nicotine or THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient of cannabis), along with 19.9 percent of 10th graders and 25.5 percent of 12th graders. Many young people vape daily.

Study estimates exposure to air pollution increases COVID-19 deaths by 15% worldwide

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 and, for the first time, a study has estimated the proportion of deaths from the coronavirus that could be attributed to the exacerbating effects of air pollution for every country in the world.

Phytoplasma effector proteins devastate host plants through molecular mimicry

Phytoplasma are a type of bacteria that live within the cells and cause devastating diseases with damaging effects. For example, in many cases plants infected with phytoplasma are no longer able to develop flowers. These plants have actually been described as "zombies," since they allow the reproduction of phytoplasma but are unable to reproduce themselves anymore. A group of biologists based at Friedrich Schiller University and the Fritz Lipmann Institute in Germany are working to help better understand exactly how phytoplasma cells bring about the so-called zombification of plants.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-phytoplasma-effector-proteins-devastate-host.html

Vampire bats social distance when they get sick

A new paper in Behavioral Ecology, published by Oxford University Press, finds that wild vampire bats that are sick spend less time near others from their community, which slows how quickly a disease will spread. The research team had previously seen this behavior in the lab, and used a field experiment to confirm it in the wild.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-vampire-social-distance-sick.html