Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2020

Masks and closures in Arizona led to a 75% decrease in coronavirus cases

Mask mandates, closures of certain businesses and other COVID-19 mitigation strategies implemented over the summer led to a 75% drop in new coronavirus cases in Arizona, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In stark contrast, when the state's stay-at-home order was lifted...

Sep 30, 2020

Life-changing medical innovations that make the impossible possible (Sponsored)

Editor's note: This sponsored article was commissioned by Sandvik. When you see an elite athlete with a prosthetic limb cross the finish line or witness a heartwarming video of an infant hearing for the first time thanks to a cochlear implant, it's easy to feel the miracle and forget the...

Sep 30, 2020

Experts: Herd immunity is 'dangerous' and 'flawed' approach

The idea of using herd immunity to manage the COVID-19 pandemic — by allowing low-risk people to acquire the infection naturally as they resume their normal lives — is a dangerous and flawed approach, according to a new letter signed by 80 international researchers. The letter, published Wednesday (Oct. 14)...

Sep 30, 2020

What is RNA?

More than just DNA's lesser-known cousin, RNA plays a central role in turning genetic information into your body's proteins. This remarkable molecule also carries the genetic instructions for many viruses, and it may have helped life get its start. 'Central Dogma'Together, RNA, short for ribonucleic acid, and DNA, short for...

Sep 30, 2020

COVID-19 is at least 5 times deadlier than flu for hospitalized patients

COVID-19 truly is more deadly than the flu — patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were five times more likely to die than those with the flu, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). What's more, the study found COVID-19 patients were at higher risk...

Sep 30, 2020

US is a week away from 'rapid acceleration' of COVID-19 cases

The U.S. is bracing for a third wave of COVID-19 infections as it moves into the frigid winter months. The country is only about a week away from a rapid acceleration in COVID-19 cases, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration said on CNBC on Monday...

Sep 30, 2020

All seniors could get COVID-19 vaccine by end of January, HHS head says

All seniors, health care workers, first responders and vulnerable individuals could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told reporters Wednesday (Oct. 21) during a news briefing. But this ambitious timeline rests on a critical factor:...

Sep 30, 2020

FDA approves first COVID-19 drug. But it's 'not a blockbuster.'

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fully approved remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19. The drug is now approved for use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients 12 years old and up, and weighing at least 88 pounds (40 kilograms), according to a statement from the FDA. Previously, the agency...

Sep 30, 2020

SARS-CoV-2 uses a second secret doorway into cells

When it comes to how the coronavirus invades a cell, it takes three to tango. The dance began with the ACE2 receptor, a protein on human cells that allows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to enter and infect the cell. But now enter a new dance partner – another...

Sep 30, 2020

COVID-19 household transmission is way higher than we thought

COVID-19 spreads in U.S. households more often than previously thought, according to a new study. The study, published Friday (Oct. 30) in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, involved 191 people in Tennessee and Wisconsin who lived with someone recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Of these, 102 people become infected...

Aug 31, 2020

Creepy images show airway cells teeming with SARS-CoV-2

Striking new images show a close-up view of the novel coronavirus as it invades cells that line the human airway. The images provide a glimpse of the staggering number of virus particles that are produced during an infection — indeed, infected cells can churn out virus particles by the thousands....

Aug 31, 2020

Are carrots orange because of a Dutch revolutionary?

There's a popular folklore that links orange carrots to the Dutch royal family. But is it true? In the late 1500s, the Dutch low countries were a Spanish colony, ruled as the Spanish Netherlands by Habsburg monarchs in Madrid. Then along came William, Prince of Orange, a bygone territory in...

Aug 31, 2020

Seven lineages of SARS-CoV-2 identified in Nigeria: Why that matters

By the first week of August 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic had caused about 654,000 deaths worldwide. In Nigeria, as of July 28, there were 38,945 confirmed cases recorded with 813 deaths. The pandemic hit the African continent last, and the numbers remain comparatively low for most countries. But there is...

Aug 31, 2020

Why AstraZeneca just paused its coronavirus vaccine trial

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m. E.D.T. to include new information on the serious event that paused the trial. Clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University have been put on hold after a participant developed a suspected adverse reaction, Stat News first...

Aug 31, 2020

13-year-old dies of rare 'brain-eating' amoeba after swimming in Florida lake

A teen has died from a rare brain-eating amoeba infection after a family vacation in Florida, according to news reports. The 13-year-old, Tanner Wall, and his family had recently stayed at a campground in North Florida, which has a water park and lake where the boy went swimming, according to...