Could Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Be a Lifesaver Against Severe COVID-19?
(Dennis Thompson/ Health Day) — Stem cells derived from a baby’s umbilical cord can help save the lives of the sickest COVID-19 patients, results from a small new clinical trial suggest.
Severely ill COVID patients who received two intravenous doses of stem cells three days apart were much more likely to survive …
New Year, New Me: Tips for getting in shape for 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic
(Kandace Redd/ WMFY News) — America’s top New Year’s resolutions for 2021 are exercising more, eating healthier, and losing weight. That’s according to a recent Statista Global Consumer Survey. Researchers surveyed 531 U.S. adults. Out of all the participants who said they were making one or several new year’s resolutions, …
Canadian research finds clues to what makes some more vulnerable to COVID-19
(Levon Sevunts/ Radio-Canada International) — What makes the elderly and people with underlying conditions more vulnerable to COVID-19? Why does the coronavirus infect certain animals but not the others?
Finding answers to these questions could be the key to unlocking new treatments and therapies for COVID-19, which …
Lingering complications from COVID-19 still haunt some Nova Scotians months later
(David Burke/ CBC News) — On paper, Kelly Marshall of Stellarton, N.S., officially recovered from COVID-19 months ago. In reality, the dividing line between sick and recovered isn’t so clear.
She still suffers from complications brought on by the virus, which she contracted in March, and earlier this month she …
In 2021, Healthy Eating Will Be All About Reconnecting With Our Bodies and Our Values
(Jessie Van Amburg/ Well + Good) — There are few places more representative of the change wrought by COVID-19 than the kitchen. A report from PwC found that 51 percent of Americans reported a “significant increase” in home cooking thanks to the pandemic.
According to Maya Feller, RD, food has served as a form of comfort as …
How does ketamine work to fight depression?
(Shirley Cardenas-McGill/ Futurity) — A group of proteins called 4E-BPs, involved in memory formation, is the key to unlocking the antidepressant effect of ketamine in the brain, according to new research in mice.
The discovery could lead to better and safer treatments for certain patients suffering from major depression. …
Eating disorders among teens and adults surge during pandemic
(Coleen Underwood/ CBC News) — Sophie Balisky, 26, says she struggled with anorexia and bulimia through most of her teens but got help three years ago and was doing great — until COVID hit and she lost her job as a flight attendant.
She found herself reverting to old coping patterns in dealing with stressful and uncertain situations. …
The great project: how Covid changed science for ever
(Ian Sample/ The Guardian) — For scientists, 5 January was a turning point in the fight against the coronavirus. That day, a team led by Prof Yong-Zhen Zhang at Fudan University in Shanghai sequenced the genetic code of the virus behind Wuhan’s month-long pneumonia outbreak.
The process took about 40 hours. Having analysed …
Silenced and sacrificed: COVID-19 health-care workers’ secret suffering unveiled
(Jane E. McArthur/ The Conversation) — Health-care workers in Ontario — a workforce that is predominantly women, many of whom are racialized — have been made especially vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The risk of being infected with COVID-19, the lack of preparedness by governments, little success …