What do we know about the new coronavirus strains?

Experts continue to identify new coronavirus strains—some more contagious than the prevalent strain—around the globe. David Cennimo, a pediatric infectious disease expert and assistant professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, discusses what we know about the new variants and how to stay safe: The post What do we know about the new coronavirus...

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Fast blood test flags patients at risk for severe COVID-19

A relatively simple and rapid blood test can predict—within a day of a hospital admission—which patients with COVID-19 are at highest risk of severe complications or death. One of the most vexing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is doctors’ inability to predict which newly hospitalized patients will go on to develop severe disease, including complications...

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Can an immune cell fix ‘de-age’ the brain?

Researchers have identified a key factor in mental aging. They’ve also shown that it might be prevented or reversed by fixing a glitch in the immune system’s front-line soldiers. Certain cells of our immune system become increasingly irascible as we grow older. Instead of stamping out embers, they stoke the flames of chronic inflammation. Biologists...

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Low-income families struggled to pay energy bills in 2020

Nearly 4.8 million low-income American households couldn’t pay an energy bill last year, a problem that intensified during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-income Black and Hispanic households were especially vulnerable to energy insecurity, as were households with small children or people who relied on electronic medical devices, and...

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Hyperimmune response model could clarify severe COVID-19

Researchers have identified and replicated a hyperimmune response in nonhuman primates that could one day lead to treatments for people with severe cases of COVID-19. “This may be an important first step in understanding why some people become critically ill from COVID-19,” says senior author Jay Rappaport, director of the Tulane National Primate Research...

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1965 Klan crackdown has lessons for fighting white supremacy

Sociologist David Cunningham advocates for the arrest and prosecution those who engaged in violence or other criminal action during the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol—even though there could be unintended consequences. In his inauguration speech, President Joe Biden said his administration would confront and defeat the rise of...

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‘Smiling eyes’ aren’t a perfect gauge of emotions

Smiles that lift the cheeks and crinkle the eyes aren’t necessarily a window to a person’s emotions, research finds. In fact, these “smiling eye” smiles, called Duchenne smiles, seem to be related to smile intensity, rather than acting as an indicator of whether a person is happy or not, says Jeffrey Girard, a former postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie...

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Ancient Mars was more like Iceland than Idaho

New research indicates that, more than 3 billion years ago, seasons in Gale Crater on Mars were probably something like those in Iceland. The ancient Martian crater is the focus of a study comparing data from the Curiosity rover to places on Earth where similar geologic formations have experienced weathering in different climates. Iceland’s basaltic...

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Drinking is up for people with depression during COVID

People with anxiety and depression are more likely to report an increase in drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic than those without mental health issues, according to a new study. While drinking grew the most among younger people, older adults with anxiety and depression also saw a sharper increase in their risk for harmful alcohol use. “This increase...

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Watch a glass frog get funky when mating croaks are too quiet

Glass frogs that live near loud streams add to mating calls with the flap of a hand, a wave of a foot, or a bob of the head to attract a mate, a new study shows. Researchers have documented these frogs that “dance” near rushing streams—where noise can obscure those crucial love songs—in the rainforests of India, Borneo, Brazil, and, now, Ecuador. Conservation...

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