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COVID, flu, RSV – how this triple threat of respiratory viruses could collide this winter

Adam Kleczkowski, University of Strathclyde

As the days get shorter and the weather colder in the northern hemisphere, health officials have warned of a perfect storm of infectious respiratory diseases over the winter months.

Outbreaks of seasonal diseases like influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are already putting pressure on the overburdened NHS. If surges of these illnesses collide with another large COVID wave, we could be facing a public health disaster. Some have called this threat a “tripledemic”.

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COVID-19 rapid tests can breed confusion

Photo of a mom conducting a nasal swab
Technique matters when it comes to getting a sufficient amount of virus for a rapid test. Images By Tang Ming Tung/Digital Vision via Getty Images

COVID-19 rapid tests can breed confusion – here’s how to make sense of the results and what to do, according to 3 testing experts

Nathaniel Hafer, UMass Chan Medical School; Apurv Soni, UMass Chan Medical School, and Yukari Manabe, Johns Hopkins University

As fall temperatures set in, cold and flu season gets into full swing and holiday travel picks up, people will undoubtedly have questions about COVID-19 testing. Is this the year people can finally return to large gatherings for traditional celebrations? What role does testing play when deciding whether to go out or stay home?

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Robotic exoskeleton helps people walk

Photo of exoskeleton mounted onto lower legs
Researchers developed an exoskeleton that can assist with walking. Photo Credit Kurt Hickman NIH.gov
Brian Doctrow, Ph.D.,  US National Institutes of Health

At a Glance

  • Researchers created a robotic leg exoskeleton that provides personalized walking assistance under real-world conditions.
  • Robotic exoskeletons could assist people with mobility impairments or with physically demanding jobs.
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Bacteria may be the culprit behind rheumatoid arthritis

Artist rendering of hand-bones and highlighting areas where Arthritis can cause pain in those joints
Rheumatoid arthritis leads to painful joint inflammation, often in the hands and wrists. Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Newly discovered species of bacteria in the microbiome may be a culprit behind rheumatoid arthritis

Meagan Chriswell, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Rheumatoid arthritis affects 1 in 100 people worldwide. It causes inflamed, painful and swollen joints, often in the hands and wrists, and can lead to loss of joint function as well as chronic pain and joint deformities and damage. What causes this condition has been unknown.

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FDA Proposes Updated Definition of ‘Healthy’ Claim on Food Packages

Photo of a refrigerated isle in a grocery store
Image by Daniel Albany from Pixabay

Proposed definition of the word ‘healthy’ intended to Help Improve Diet, Reduce Chronic Disease

US Food & Drug Administration

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed updated criteria for when foods can be labeled with the nutrient content claim “healthy” on their packaging. This proposed rule would align the definition of the “healthy” claim with current nutrition science, the updated Nutrition Facts label and the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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The dawn of biofabrication

Colorized micrographic photo of bacteria
As a material, bacteria’s ability to rapidly multiply and adapt to different conditions is an asset. Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Genetically engineered bacteria make living materials for self-repairing walls and cleaning up pollution

Sara Molinari, Rice University

With just an incubator and some broth, researchers can grow reusable filters made of bacteria to clean up polluted water, detect chemicals in the environment and protect surfaces from rust and mold.

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Bionic pancreas improves type 1 diabetes management compared to standard insulin delivery methods

iLet bionic pancreas deviceBeta Bionics

Next-generation technology maintains blood glucose levels by automatically delivering insulin.

US National Institutes of Health

A device known as a bionic pancreas, which uses next-generation technology to automatically deliver insulin, was more effective at maintaining blood glucose (sugar) levels within normal range than standard-of-care management among people with type 1 diabetes, a new multicenter clinical trial has found. The trial was primarily funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine(link is external).

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Bees face many challenges – and climate change is ratcheting up the pressure

Photo of honey bees drinking from a faucet
Bees look for water on an outdoor tap in Berlin, Germany during a hot spell, June 19, 2022. Wolfram Steinberg/picture alliance via Getty Images

Jennie L. Durant, University of California, Davis

The extreme weather that has battered much of the U.S. in 2022 doesn’t just affect humans. Heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms also threaten many wild species – including some that already face other stresses.

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COVID-19 can cause lasting lung damage

Artist drawing of human lungs
Lung disease can manifest in a number of ways. Mr. Suphachai Praserdumrongchai/iStock via Getty Images Plus

3 ways long COVID patients’ respiration can suffer

Jeffrey M. Sturek, University of Virginia and Alexandra Kadl, University of Virginia

“I just can’t do what I used to anymore.”

As pulmonologists and critical care doctors treating patients with lung disease, we have heard many of our patients recovering from COVID-19 tell us this even months after their initial diagnosis. Though they may have survived the most life-threatening phase of their illness, they have yet to return to their pre-COVID-19 baseline, struggling with activities ranging from strenuous exercise to doing laundry.

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Searching for Super Earths

Graphic artist drawing of a potential Super Earth
Astronomers think the most likely place to find life in the galaxy is on super-Earths, like Kepler-69c, seen in this artist’s rendering. NASA Ames/JPL-CalTech

Super-Earths are bigger, more common and more habitable than Earth itself – and astronomers are discovering more of the billions they think are out there

Chris Impey, University of Arizona

Astronomers now routinely discover planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system – they’re called exoplanets. But in summer 2022, teams working on NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite found a few particularly interesting planets orbiting in the habitable zones of their parent stars.

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