The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost every country on Earth. And yet, several American officials refer to it as the “Wuhan virus” or even the “Chinese virus.”
U.S.-Chinese antagonism in this vein is not new. But, while this deliberate move to associate Wuhan, and more generally China, with the COVID pandemic serves a political purpose for the Trump administration, it also has significant implications for civil society and public health.
Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco
Why don’t we have drugs to treat COVID-19 and how long will it take to develop them?
SARS-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 – is completely new and attacks cells in a novel way. Every virus is different and so are the drugs used to treat them. That’s why there wasn’t a drug ready to tackle the new coronavirus that only emerged a few months ago.
Satchin Panda, University of California San Diego and Pam Taub, University of California San Diego
People with obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure or high cholesterol are often advised to eat less and move more, but our new research suggests there is now another simple tool to fight off these diseases: restricting your eating time to a daily 10-hour window.
Daryl Davies, University of Southern California; Joshua Silva, University of Southern California, and Terry David Church, University of Southern California
Debaucherous evening last night? You’re probably dealing with veisalgia right now.
More commonly known as a hangover, this unpleasant phenomenon has been dogging humanity since our ancestors first happened upon fermentation.
Those nasty vertigo-inducing, cold sweat-promoting and vomit-producing sensations after a raucous night out are all part of your body’s attempt to protect itself from injury after you overindulge in alcoholic beverages. Your liver is working to break down the alcohol you consumed so your kidneys can clear it out ASAP. But in the process, your body’s inflammatory and metabolic reactions are going to lay you low with a hangover.
Anne R. Crecelius, University of Dayton
The rise of wearable fitness trackers has increased the number of people monitoring their heart rate, both throughout the day and during exercise.
Whether you’re an athlete trying to gain the competitive edge, a weekend warrior tracking progress or someone who is just trying to improve your health, consider heart rate a valuable tool in understanding the work of your amazing body as it achieves those first steps, that next 5K or even Olympic gold.
David Goldberg, Columbia University
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in human history, and nine of the warmest years have occurred since 2005.
Even with the progress made in introducing alternatives to fossil fuels, gaining energy efficiencies and proposed carbon regulations around the world, avoiding catastrophic impacts on our coastal infrastructure, biodiversity, food, energy and water resources will require more. In particular, many climate researchers like myself believe government needs to advance technology that will actually suck carbon dioxide out of the air and put it away for very long periods.
Republished from article on JPL.NASA.gov
NASA’s next Mars rover has passed its first driving test. A preliminary assessment of its activities on Dec. 17, 2019, found that the rover checked all the necessary boxes as it rolled forward and backward and pirouetted in a clean room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The next time the Mars 2020 rover drives, it will be rolling over Martian soil.
Cosby Stone, Vanderbilt University
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced a preliminary finding that implicates a vitamin E additive as the potential cause of lung injury from THC vaping.
The agency examined fluid samples from the lungs of 29 patients with vaping-related illness and found vitamin E acetate in all 29 samples. This is a major development in the search for answers, and it was of great interest to me generally as a public health researcher.
Republished from an article originally published on jpl.nasa.gov
A little robotic explorer will be rolling into Antarctica this month to perform a gymnastic feat – driving upside down under sea ice.
BRUIE, or the Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration, is being developed for underwater exploration in extraterrestrial, icy waters by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. It will spend the next month testing its endurance at Australia’s Casey research station in Antarctica, in preparation for a mission that could one day search for life in ocean worlds beyond Earth.
Lauren Green, University of Southern California
Migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world and causes suffering for tens of millions of people. In fact, nearly 1 in 4 U.S. household includes someone with migraines.
Migraine is not just a headache but also includes a collection of associated symptoms that can be debilitating. These include nausea, vomiting, light sensitivity and dizziness. Often people struggle to determine what triggers their migraines. It can be environmental, hormonal, genetic, secondary to an underlying illness, or triggered by certain foods, such as cheese, red wine or chocolate. One food that has received a lot of attention in recent years is gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.
