This year, the world had to face the growing burden of long COVID. A tidal wave of people with lingering symptoms — some mild, some profoundly disabling — commanded attention.…
Category: Humans
Some common medical terms may be more confusing than doctors think
Medical language can sometimes stump patients. And some common sayings are straight-up head-scratchers. Calling a patient’s neurological exam “grossly intact,” for example, might not sound so great, says Michael Pitt,…
How 4 major coronavirus tools impacted the pandemic in 2022
The third year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States introduced vaccines for very young children and an updated booster, plus wider availability of an antiviral drug and at-home…
Viruses other than the coronavirus made headlines in 2022
This year delivered many sobering reminders that the coronavirus isn’t the only viral threat out there. Mpox went global The mpox virus, a relative of the virus that causes smallpox,…
How much water should you drink a day? It depends on several factors
Are you drinking enough water? The question seems like it should have a straightforward answer — a specific amount of water you need to drink daily to combat dehydration. But…
Why pandemic fatigue and COVID-19 burnout took over in 2022
2022 was the year many people decided the coronavirus pandemic had ended. President Joe Biden said as much in an interview with 60 Minutes in September. “The pandemic is over,”…
Brief bursts of activity offer health benefits for people who don’t exercise
Making day-to-day activities more vigorous for a few minutes — such as briefly stepping up the pace of a walk — could offer people who don’t exercise some of the…
Homo naledi may have lit fires in underground caves at least 236,000 years ago
An ancient hominid dubbed Homo naledi may have lit controlled fires in the pitch-dark chambers of an underground cave system, new discoveries hint. Researchers have found remnants of small fireplaces…
50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise
A get-sober pill? — Science News, November 18, 1972 Researchers at the Tucson Veterans Administration Hospital have been able to reduce intoxication time in rats by administrating harmless chemicals…. Injections…
‘Forever chemicals’ may pose a bigger risk to our health than scientists thought
For decades, chemicals that make life easier — your eggs slide out of the frying pan, stains don’t stick to your sofa, rain bounces off your jackets and boots —…
