Sharon Peacock, Author provided The UK is a world leader in sequencing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Of all the coronavirus genomes that have been sequenced in the world, nearly half have been sequenced by COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (Cog-UK). The consortium began life on March 4 when Sharon Peacock, a professor of public […]
How safe is your baby food? Company reports show arsenic, lead and other heavy metals
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Heavy metals including lead, arsenic and mercury can be found in commercial baby foods at levels well above what the federal government considers safe for children, a new congressional report warns. Members of Congress asked seven major baby food makers to hand over test results and other internal documents after a […]
How to really fix COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain If you’ve tried to get a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, you know how frustrating the process can be. People are spending hours obsessively refreshing websites, hoping an appointment will open up somewhere. They scan Facebook groups for tips and insider information. One writer compared it to Soviet-style queues for cabbage. The competition […]
Americans less worried about dying from COVID-19 as support for vaccine mandate grows
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In a new ongoing panel survey by Northwestern University and The Ohio State University, researchers find Americans significantly less concerned they could die of COVID-19, while their overall perceived likelihood of contracting the virus remained relatively consistent from December through February. “Public Attitudes about COVID-19 Vaccination,” a study of 1,200 Americans […]
How you can help prevent teen suicide
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In a 2018 survey, about 16% of Kentucky students said they had considered ending their own life. During the pandemic, healthcare providers have seen an increase in psychiatric disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children as young as elementary school age. The increased feelings of isolation, loneliness, fear and uncertainty […]
These psychological traits might help identify people vulnerable to becoming radicalized
How the brains of people with extreme views work. Credit: Aexandros Michailidis The characteristics of peoples’ brains might offer clues about the political beliefs they hold dear. In a study of around 350 US citizens, we examined the relationship between individuals’ cognitive traits—the unconscious ways in which their brains learn and process information from the […]
With doses in short supply, thousands of frustrated COVID-19 vaccine seekers are turning to social media
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain In search of a COVID-19 vaccine for her dad, Amber Dow was hitting one dead end after another. Retail pharmacy websites declared “appointments unavailable.” Slots at local medical centers kept disappearing before she could type in any information. Then she received a private Facebook message from a stranger: Go to the […]
Nonconscious brain modulation to remove fears, increase confidence could offer relieve from PTSD and phobias
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Machine learning-based training of brain activity has led to exciting developments: reducing fears, changing preferences, and even increasing confidence. Unfortunately, data to better understand the mechanisms of brain self-regulation remain scarce. A group of researchers from Japan, the U.S. and Canada have joined forces to release the largest existing dataset of […]
Beta blockers can repair malformed blood vessels in the brain
Propranolol treatment contributes to reduced number and size of cerebral cavernous malformations. Panel A shows a brain section of vehicle treated mouse. The lesions are outlined in green. Credit: Joppe Oldenburg Propranolol, a drug that is efficacious against infantile haemangiomas (“strawberry naevi,” resembling birthmarks), can also be used to treat cerebral cavernous malformations, a condition […]
Fear of memory loss impacts well-being and quality of life
Credit: Trinity College Dublin Research from the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) at Trinity College suggests that experiencing high levels of fear about dementia can have harmful effects on older adults’ beliefs about their memory and general well-being. To date, few studies have measured the impact of dementia-related fear on daily functioning, despite its clinical […]