Medical

In this installment of our Hope Behind the Headlines series, we look at the latest scientific advances that offer hope in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus, including promising therapeutic finds and the most recent steps toward vaccine development.Share on PinterestScientific advances offer hope about the development of a vaccine and suggest some new…

What occurs in the brain when we are deep in slumber? What are the different stages of sleep and what role do they play in learning and memory formation? What about in anxiety and pain? Do neurons and neurotransmitters also play a role? These are the questions we will tackle in this Special Feature, using…

Experts have cast doubt on the notion that people adapted to breathing the rarefied air at high altitudes are less susceptible to severe COVID-19 as a result.Share on PinterestThere is little evidence to suggest that living at high altitudes protects against COVID-19.A recent analysis found that, compared with lowland areas, there is a lower incidence…

Dr. Yenting Chen is a board certified emergency medicine physician practicing at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center emergency departments in Berkeley and Oakland, CA. In this article, he explains how medicine is clashing with politics over an ineffective drug.Share on PinterestMany politicians have incorrectly promoted hydroxychloroquine as an effective COVID-19 treatment.Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty…

Countries that had compulsory bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination at least until 2000 appear to have built up a degree of “herd immunity” against COVID-19, a new study suggests.Share on PinterestBCG vaccination, often administered shortly after birth or during childhood, may slow the spread of COVID-19.There would have been approximately 80% fewer COVID-19 deaths in the…