Wednesday 30 June 2021

Mental health toll from isolation affecting kids on reentry

After two suicidal crises during pandemic isolation, 16-year-old Zach Sampson feels stronger but worries his social skills have gone stale.

One-third of elderly caregivers from gray market

Gray market care represents a substantial proportion of paid, long-term care for older adults, according to a study published online June 11 in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.

Nonpharmacologic interventions effective for pediatric migraine

Components of nonpharmacologic interventions may be effective for treating pediatric migraine, according to a review recently published in Pediatrics.

In US, experts make case for vaccine mandates

Neither the threat of dying from COVID nor an array of inducements from lottery tickets to guns and marijuana have been enough to sway America's staunchest vaccine holdouts.

Norway salmon farming moves to cleaner waters: indoors

Hundreds of thousands of salmon swim against the current in southeast Norway—in massive indoor tanks away from the nearest river as the controversial industry increasingly embraces greener land-based facilities.

Russia launches cargo ship to space station

Russia on Wednesday successfully launched an unmanned space freighter carrying supplies to the International Space Station from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

US newspaper woes deepened in pandemic year: survey

The troubled US newspaper sector cut thousands more jobs as circulation losses extended in a pandemic year, but saw some positive signs with growth in digital readers, a Pew Research Center report showed Tuesday.

Colombia catches hacker wanted in the U.S. for 'Gozi' virus

Colombian officials say they have arrested a Romanian hacker who is wanted in the U.S. for distributing a virus that infected more than a million computers from 2007 to 2012.

Japan's SoftBank says Pepper robot remains 'alive' and well

Japanese technology company SoftBank denies it's pulling the plug on its friendly, talking, bubble-headed Pepper robot.

Virus infections surging in Africa's vulnerable rural areas

For Pelagia Bvukura, who lives in a rural part of north-central Zimbabwe, COVID-19 had always been a "city disease," affecting those in the capital, Harare, or other, distant big towns.

Variant surge at border forces Bangladesh into new lockdown

In a state-run hospital near Bangladesh's border with India, Shahinul Islam prays his father does not become one of the facility's more than 300 patients who've died this month from the coronavirus.

Scores dead as record-breaking heat wave grips Canada, US

Scores of deaths in Canada's Vancouver area are likely linked to a grueling heat wave, authorities said Tuesday, as the country recorded its highest ever temperature amid scorching conditions that extended to the US Pacific Northwest.

2 Australian states urge against under 40s taking AZ vaccine

The Queensland and Western Australia state governments on Wednesday advised people under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, despite the Australian government making those shots available to all adults.

Postmenopausal bleeding may be a sign of endometrial cancer in obese Asian women

The link between obesity and the risk of endometrial cancer has been well documented. A new study, however, shows that an even lower body mass index (BMI) than previously thought can signal an increased risk in Asian women with postmenopausal bleeding. Study results are published online today in Menopause.

Wildfire changes songbird plumage and testosterone

Fire can put a tropical songbird's sex life on ice.

Securing decent living standards for all while reducing global energy use

Fundamental changes in our economies are required to secure decent living standards for all in the struggle against climate breakdown, according to new research.

A promising new pathway to treating type 2 diabetes

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a scientific breakthrough that transformed Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, from a terminal disease into a manageable condition.

Scientists intensify electrolysis, utilize carbon dioxide more efficiently with magnets

For decades, researchers have been working toward mitigating excess atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. One promising approach captures atmospheric CO2 and then, through CO2 electrolysis, converts it into value-added chemicals and intermediates—like ethanol, ethylene, and other useful chemicals. While significant research has been devoted to improving the rate and selectivity of CO2 electrolysis, reducing the energy consumption of this high-power process has been underexplored.

Gene therapy breakthrough offers hope to children with rare and fatal brain disease

Scientists and doctors at University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOS ICH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have given hope of a gene therapy cure to children with a rare degenerative brain disorder called Dopamine Transporter Deficiency Syndrome (DTDS).

Novel heat-management material keeps computers running cool

UCLA engineers have demonstrated successful integration of a novel semiconductor material into high-power computer chips to reduce heat on processors and improve their performance. The advance greatly increases energy efficiency in computers and enables heat removal beyond the best thermal-management devices currently available.

Study provides insights into cardiovascular disease risk among people living with HIV

The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, today announced that findings from a sub-study of REPRIEVE (A5332/A5332s, an international clinical trial studying heart disease prevention in people living with HIV) have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open (JAMA Network Open). The study found that approximately half of study participants, who were considered by traditional measures to be at low-to-moderate risk of future heart disease, had atherosclerotic plaque in their coronary arteries.

Analysis of 58 studies finds male sex and obesity are not associated with COVID-19 ICU mortality, but many factors are

A new analysis of 58 studies and 44305 patients published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) shows that, contrary to some previous research, being male and increasing body mass index (BMI) are not associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 in patients admitted into intensive care (ICU).

Diaries of infection preventionists give inside look at the unsung heroes of the pandemic

Much has been rightfully made of the valiant work of doctors and nurses during the coronavirus pandemic. But what of infection preventionists (IP), whose job was to keep those workers and their facilities safe, and who many Americans do not even know exist?