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My cancer might be back—and I wonder if unnecessary radiation caused it in the first place
I was a 23-year-old investment banker, working ludicrous hours in New York and training for marathons on the side, when cancer first entered my life. In the three decades since, the disease has been perhaps not a constant companion, but certainly a ride-along. I did not always hear it; it was not always speaking loudly. […]
Everything we know—and don’t know—about human-to-animal COVID transmission
We think we know about the initial transmission of the coronavirus; it occurred at a live animal market in Wuhan, China, most likely from a bat to a person. In the time since, our attention has been understandably focused on the global human toll of this brutal disease, which already has reached a total of more […]
COVID-19 Can Wreck Your Heart, Even if You Haven’t Had Any Symptoms
A growing body of research is raising concerns about the cardiac consequences of the coronavirus Beyond its scientific backing, the notion that a COVID-19 patient might wind up with long-term lung scarring or breathing issues has the ring of truth. After all, we hear the stories, right? The virus can leave survivors explaining how they […]
‘Instant Coffee’ COVID-19 Tests Could Be the Answer to Reopening the U.S.
Cheap and quick, they could move us toward normalcy before a vaccine is widely available With the economy tanking, unemployment skyrocketing, schools slamming their doors and the Big Ten and PAC-12 conferences canceling fall football, America is a country looking for an answer to COVID-19 yesterday. And one might be available—if you can handle instant […]
How HBO—the treatment, not the TV network—could help doctors fight COVID-19
In a world full of acronyms—NASA, scuba, and, yes, COVID, among others—it may seem imponderable that one of the most well-known has gone largely unmentioned during discussions of the novel coronavirus. I mean, how could HBO get left behind? The answer is both complicated and promising. But at its heart is this: As it pertains […]
Eyeballs, asthmatics, and 3D-printed organs: New discoveries about COVID-19 abound
In general, the public’s interest in research related to COVID-19 is focused on a single issue: Is there a vaccine, and when is it going to be ready? It’s a massive question, of course. But it is not the only one that scientists and medical experts are asking. Every day, researchers around the world are […]
Is a new steroid treatment a miracle solution for COVID-19—or is it snake oil?
Everything’s bigger in Texas, as those of us who grew up there like to say, and we’ve been known to enjoy telling the occasional tall tale. Is a recently discussed potential treatment for COVID-19 one of those, or is the fast-talking Texan behind the claim really onto something? Richard Bartlett made waves in a July 2 […]
Using plasma to fight COVID-19
We’ve gotten used to a life of restricted menu options during this pandemic, an analogy that extends all the way to our treatment if we contract COVID-19. But there’s an item still on the list at most medical institutions, and if it strikes you as familiar, it should: It’s been around – and working – […]
What do “COVID Toes”, Strokes, and Sudden Death Have in Common?
If I told you that someone had “COVID toes”, you might think I was making a joke at their expense. You wouldn’t be alone: It took the medical community a while itself to begin understanding how such an odd little finding could contribute toour knowledge of what this novel coronavirus is doing to us. In […]
What we know and don’t know about masks
Admit it: Some facets of our newly-masked world are crazy-making. Where we once embraced, “Hi. How are you?” in our everyday lexicon, we’re now stuck with its tedious cousin, “What did you say?” Steve Jobs, in all his brilliance, couldn’t have predicted this state of affairs when Apple was developing its facial recognition software; my […]
