Jason Lee

Patients with mitral valve disease who live in disadvantaged communities are more likely to experience complications and are at higher risk for death after surgery than those with higher socioeconomic status (SES), according to research presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-neighborhood-socioeconomic-status-impact-patient.html

Adults with disabilities have worse outcomes when hospitalized with COVID-19 than patients without disabilities, including longer hospital stays and increased risk of readmission, found new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-adults-disabilities-hospital-covid-worse.html

Compared to U.S. urban adults, rural adults were more likely to think fatalistically about cancer and feel overwhelmed by information about cancer prevention, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-rural-residents-tend-fatalistic-beliefs.html

Russia's daily count of new coronavirus infections surged to more than 121,000 on Sunday, an eightfold increase compared with the beginning of the month as the highly contagious omicron variant spreads through the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-russia-covid-tally-pandemic-due.html

Beijing officials said Sunday they sealed off several residential communities in the city's northern district after two cases of COVID-19 were found. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-beijing-residential-areas-cases.html

New research suggests giving extra cash to low-income mothers can change their infants' brain development. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-extra-cash-low-income-mothers-baby.html

Russia reported more than 100,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time on on Saturday as the country weathers a surge of infections driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-russia-daily-covid-cases.html

Indonesia is bracing for a third wave of COVID-19 infections as the highly transmissible omicron variant drives a surge in new cases, health authorities and experts said Saturday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-looms-indonesia-omicron.html

(HealthDay)—Mentoring programs can help improve patients' transition from hospital to home by reducing their postoperative anxiety following a transplant, according to a study published online Jan. 17 in the Journal of Operations Management. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-postop-anxiety-transitions-peer.html

Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across the country, is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall's delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-deaths-higher-fall-delta.html

An influenza vaccine administered through the nose and constructed with nanoparticles that enhance immune response offers strong protection against different influenza virus strains, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-intranasal-flu-vaccine-nanoparticles-robust.html

Morocco said on Thursday that it would end a ban on flights to the kingdom, in place since November 29 in an effort to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-morocco-flight-november.html

How many times can I reuse my N95 mask? source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-reuse-n95-mask.html

Hong Kong's U-turn on its mandatory three-week quarantine for arrivals follows growing scrutiny of the strict policy after a coronavirus outbreak was traced to a woman infected during her hotel stay. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-hong-kong-outbreak-exposes-flaws.html

Finland will scale back some of its coronavirus restrictions early, the government announced Thursday as the strain on the healthcare system eases despite the Omicron wave sweeping the continent. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-finland-scaling-covid-curbs-early.html

A clinical trial has found that the combination of remdesivir plus a highly concentrated solution of antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is not more effective than remdesivir alone for treating adults hospitalized with the disease. The trial also found that the safety of this experimental treatment may vary depending on whether a person naturally generates SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies before receiving it. The results of the multinational Phase 3 trial were published today in the journal The Lancet. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-hyperimmune-intravenous-immunoglobulin-outcomes-adults.html

Mississippi lawmakers are sending their governor a bill that would create a medical marijuana program for people with serious medical conditions. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-medical-marijuana-bill-mississipi-governor.html

Moderna has begun testing an omicron-specific COVID-19 booster in healthy adults. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-moderna-omicron-matched-covid-shots-adults.html

COVID-19 disruptions in homes with two or more children affect one sibling more than the other, according to a new study. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-disrupts-multi-child-families-sibling.html

In women who are premenopausal with overweight, metabolic adaptation after a 16% weight loss increases the length of time necessary to achieve weight-loss goals, according to a study published online in Obesity. The present findings represent the first study to examine if metabolic adaptation, at the level of Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), was associated with time to reach weight-loss goals. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-metabolic-weight-loss-goals.html

Cumulative social disadvantage, as denoted by higher social determinants of health (SDOH) burden, is associated with a higher likelihood of obesity independent of clinical and demographic factors, according to a new study in Obesity. The population-based study is the first to examine this hypothesized association in a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-social-health-obesity.html

New research published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that cannabis combined with alcohol is more detrimental to driving performance than either used in isolation. This meta-analysis merged the findings of 57 studies representing about 1,725 participants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-combined-cannabis-alcohol-dangerous.html

Germany's parliament is set to hold its first debate Wednesday on a possible wide-ranging coronavirus vaccine mandate, with three options emerging: obligatory vaccinations for all adults or for everyone above 50, or no mandate at all. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-german-lawmakers-debate-covid-vaccine.html

South Korea on Wednesday began enforcing new COVID-19 response measures, including reduced quarantine periods and expanded rapid testing, as its new cases jumped nearly 50% in a day. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-korea-virus-infections-high.html

Scientists and health officials around the world are keeping their eyes on a descendant of the omicron variant that has been found in at least 40 countries, including the United States. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-stealth-version-omicron.html

As researchers continue to seek effective treatment options for menopause symptoms as alternatives to proven pharmacologic solutions, a number of innovative therapies have been shown to improve symptoms. A new study identifies music therapy as an attractive option, not only to manage menopause symptoms, but also depressed mood. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-music-edge-menopause-transition.html

Individuals between 20 and 39 years old experienced the steepest increase in distant-stage early-onset colorectal adenocarcinoma incidence between 2000 and 2016, with the youngest non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic populations experiencing greater proportions of distant-stage disease, according to results from a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-younger-individuals-highest-distant-stage-colorectal.html

The reasons for rising rates of colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 are largely unknown, but a paper by Vanderbilt researchers published Jan. 25 in The Lancet Oncology sets a comprehensive framework for addressing research challenges and patient needs. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-comprehensive-framework-outlined-early-onset-colorectal.html

Analytical and intelligence professionals in back-office as supportive staff working with traumatic material during the pandemic have reported feeling anxious, sad, lonely and exhausted. Additional support is needed to help them manage working from home or commuting into work, according to new research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-police-law-back-office-staff-traumatic.html

With increasing value and emphasis being placed on muscularity and leanness as today's body ideal, the use of appearance- and performance- enhancing drugs and substances (APEDS), such as whey protein and steroids, has become increasingly prevalent among college-age men and women. Few studies have been completed to explore associations between certain APEDS use and eating disorder symptoms, however a new study published in the Eating and Weight Disorders—Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity journal aimed to fill this research gap by exploring this relationship. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-substances-linked-disorder-symptoms.html

Cerebral palsy, a non-progressing motor impairment that begins in early childhood, has widely been viewed as the result of oxygen deprivation during birth or other birth-related factors such as prematurity. While this is true for many children, new research from Boston Children's Hospital finds that as many as 1 in 4 have an underlying genetic condition with potential to change the overall approach to their care. The study appears in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-contrary-common-view-cerebral-palsy.html

People with dementia who see the same GP each time have lower rates of health complications and fewer emergency hospital admissions, according to a new study. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-gp-treatment-people-dementia.html

A new paper in Rheumatology, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that researchers have developed a new, easier, and more accurate tool to measure the progress of lupus in patients. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-tool-lupus.html

How fatigued certain activities make an older person feel can predict the likelihood death is less than three years away, according to research published today in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences by University of Pittsburgh epidemiologists. It is the first study to establish perceived physical fatigability as an indicator of earlier mortality. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-fatigue-death-older-adults.html

Snow days bring many families to ski slopes and sledding hills for winter fun, but they may also come with injury risks for kids. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-national-poll-parents-dont-kids.html

New research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on pediatric oncology health care professionals worldwide, requiring significant staffing changes and causing physical, psychological, and financial distress. Published by Wiley online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also found that clinicians were able to come together to continue to provide high-quality care for children with cancer, despite the challenges. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-pandemic-impacted-clinicians-children.html

Researchers are using computer simulations to better understand the impacts pregnancy can have on kidneys. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-reveal-effects-pregnancy-kidneys.html

A study documenting indoor air quality and housing characteristics in 4 isolated First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario found frequent rates of respiratory infections in children under 3 years of age and that high rates of wheezing in this age group were related to poor housing conditions. The study is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-poor-housing-conditions-linked-respiratory.html

Researchers on Thursday reported the latest in a surprising string of experiments in the quest to save human lives with organs from genetically modified pigs. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-pig-to-human-transplant-donated-body.html

Beijing city officials on Sunday said all two million residents of a neighbourhood where they identified a small cluster of COVID-19 infections will be tested, less than two weeks ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-beijing-million-covid-winter-olympics.html

Scientists are keeping a close watch on a recently-discovered sub-variant of the Omicron version of the COVID-19 virus to determine how its emergence could effect future pandemic spread. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-sub-variant-virus.html

Covax aims to break the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022 by ensuring a steady supply of vaccines at last for the world's poorest countries—and swiftly getting them into arms. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covax-front-pandemic-arms.html

Russia reported a new daily high of COVID-19 cases on Sunday, breaking its national record for the third day running as the highly contagious Omicron variants spurs surging infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-russia-covid-case-day.html

The prime minister of Samoa has placed the small Pacific nation into a 48-hour lockdown after 15 passengers on a flight from Australia tested positive for COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-samoa-lockdown-australians-positive.html

New Zealanders are set to face new COVID-19 restrictions after nine cases of the omicron variant were detected in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Sunday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-zealand-covid-restrictions-omicron.html

The thought of sharing an ice cream cone with a stranger can trigger feelings of disgust—however that's often not the case with someone close to us, such as a romantic partner or child. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-dribble-toddlers-social-ties.html

(HealthDay)—A rare and serious inflammatory condition called MIS-C can strike kids weeks after they've recovered from their COVID infection. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-heart-function-rebounds-kids-covid-linked.html

Friends and former classmates of the Pakistan-born surgeon behind the world's first pig-to-human heart transplant say they earmarked him for greatness from his medical school days. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-pakistan-proud-pig-to-human-heart-transplant.html

The COVID-19 pandemic took a deadly toll on adults in the United States for two years while largely sparing children from adding to the dire statistics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-vaccine-misinformation-left-children-vulnerable.html

The Russian government on Saturday reported a record number of new coronavirus cases after the Kremlin warned of a looming surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-russia-virus-cases-day.html

The sweeping "zero-tolerance" strategy that China has used to keep COVID-19 case numbers low and its economy functioning may, paradoxically, make it harder for the country to exit the pandemic. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-china-success-virus-exit-strategy.html

A new study, led by the University of Bristol and published in Scientific Reports today, has reported increased body fat in females whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers began smoking before puberty. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-granddaughters-great-granddaughters-men-puberty-body.html

In her latest research paper, published in the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience, Anne Robinson, Head of Carnegie Mellon's Department of Chemical Engineering, explains why understanding the progression of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease, and its eventual treatment, is much more complex than researchers have previously thought. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-alzheimer-longer.html

New research has confirmed the accuracy of the novel European Association of Urology (EAU) risk classification system that groups prostate cancer patients based on their risk of recurrence. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET imaging of men with prostate cancer validated the EAU groupings and provided insights that could further refine risk assessment for patients. This study was published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-psma-pet-validates-eau-classification.html

The majority of young children treated with peanut immunotherapy achieved desensitization after two and a half years of treatment, and one in five remained in remission 26 weeks after treatment ended, according to a randomized controlled trial published in The Lancet. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-peanut-oral-immunotherapy-peanut-allergic-children.html

No one has been able to say for sure whether Havana syndrome is a true condition. How does it compare to psychogenic illnesses of the past? source https://www.webmd.com/brain/features/havana-syndrome-mpi?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Higher coffee consumption is linked with a lower risk of endometrial cancer, a type of cancer that begins in the lining of uterus, according to an analysis of relevant studies published to date. Also, caffeinated coffee may provide better protection than decaffeinated coffee. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-coffee-endometrial-cancer.html

Researchers have linked the fitness of elite soccer players to the positions they play. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-aerobic-elite-soccer-players-linked.html

New data published today suggest that several commonly used machine learning algorithms (MLAs) can effectively predict which hospitalized patients will become infected with Clostridiodes difficile (C. diff). The findings, which appear in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), could support infection prevention and early diagnosis, as well as more timely implementation of infection control measures to minimize C. diff spread. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-machine-algorithms-accurately-diff-infection.html

A systematic review published today in the scientific journal Addiction has found that cannabis use leads to acute cognitive impairments that may continue beyond the period of intoxication. This Canadian-led meta-review (review of reviews) merged the findings of 10 meta-analyses representing more than 43,000 participants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-cannabis-persistent-cognitive-impairments.html

Many recreational cannabis companies market their products in a way that appeals to children and teens, despite state-based regulations prohibiting it, according to a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. This marketing is easily viewed by people of all ages on social media platforms. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-restrictions-recreational-cannabis-companies-appeals.html

West Virginia lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks—a proposal nearly identical to the Mississippi law currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-west-virginia-lawmakers-week-abortion.html

Under criticism after weeks of shortages, President Joe Biden's administration is working to make COVID-19 rapid test kits more available and accessible to Americans by boosting supply and lowering costs. A new federal website to request free test kits officially launches Wednesday—but was available to use Tuesday—with the first shipments going out to U.S. households by the end of the month. In addition, most Americans are now able to get reimbursed for tests that they purchase. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-website-free-virus-1.html

There is no evidence of recently infected mothers transmitting infectious SARS-CoV-2 through breastmilk to their baby, reports a study published in the journal Pediatric Research. The authors found that, whilst a low proportion of breastmilk contained COVID-19 genetic material, this did not translate into the presence of infectious replicating viral particles or lead to evidence of clinical infection with SARS-CoV-2 in breastfeeding infants. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-small-evidence-transmitting-virus.html

Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute have revealed harmful changes in supporting cells, called astrocytes, in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in two publications in Brain and Genome Research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-astrocyte-reveal-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis.html

The ability to overcome adverse situations (otherwise known as resilience) has been shown to have positive effects on overall health and quality of life. A new study found that resilience is also linked to sexual health and a better quality of life during the menopause transition. Study results are published online today in Menopause. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-link-resilience-sexual-function-quality.html

Women who undergo bariatric surgery should be managed in the perinatal period with a multidisciplinary team to improve pregnancy-related outcomes, according to the authors of a narrative review published today by the Medical Journal of Australia. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-pregnancy-youre-bariatric-surgery.html

More and more children could be turning into fussy eaters after a bout of COVID, according to smell experts at the University of East Anglia and Fifth Sense, the charity for people affected by smell and taste disorders. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-children-food-covid.html

Chinese state media report parcels mailed from overseas may have spread the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Beijing and elsewhere. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-china-media-foreign-parcels-infections.html

Japan's government is preparing social restrictions in Tokyo and other regions as the omicron variant of the coronavirus infects more people. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-japan-ready-virus-restrictions-infections.html

Australia reported a record high of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, and its second-largest state declared an emergency in hospitals to cope with surging patient admissions and a staffing shortage due to the coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-australia-covid-deaths-hospitals-stress.html

According to two new clinical guidelines from the American College of Physicians (ACP), uncomplicated diverticulitis can be treated in an outpatient setting without antibiotics. Patients with complicated disease should be referred for colonoscopy after an initial episode if they have not had a recent colonoscopy. Published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the guidelines are based on the best available evidence on the clinical benefits and harms, test accuracy, patient values and preferences, and consideration of costs. The clinical guidelines also include input from two public members of the organization's Clinical Guidelines Committee (CGC) and a seven-member CGC Public Panel, who provide layperson perspectives on values and preferences. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-acp-clinical-guidelines-diagnosis-diverticulitis.html

A 26-year-old woman in China's capital Beijing who contracted the omicron strain of COVID-19 has drawn national attention on social media for her shopping trips. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-beijing-shopper-lone-omicron-case.html

France's parliament approved a law Sunday that will exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas and other venues, the central measure of government efforts to protect hospitals amid record numbers of infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-vaccine-cafe-french-virus-law.html

The Austrian government on Sunday presented revised plans for its proposed COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which it said will now apply to all residents age 18 and over, rather than 14 as originally intended. Officials said that a phased introduction will give people plenty of opportunity to comply. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-austria-tweaks-vaccine-mandate-month.html

Denmark lifted a number of coronavirus restrictions and allowed the reopening of certain venues Sunday despite the spread of the omicron variant in the country. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-denmark-covid-restrictions-venues.html

COVID-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too, leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members vaccinated and boosted. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-deaths-cases-nursing-homes.html

The number of babies born in China fell again last year, official data showed Monday, adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party's ambitions to boost national wealth and influence with a workforce that has been shrinking for a decade. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-china-births-fall-workforce.html

(HealthDay)—It's a familiar trope of TV and movies—a couple is engaged in passionate sex when the guy's heart suddenly gives out. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-death-sex-rare.html

There's more evidence that one of the world's most common viruses may set some people on the path to developing multiple sclerosis. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-stronger-evidence-linking-virus-multiple.html

The World Health Organization said Sunday that a U.N.-backed program shipping coronavirus vaccines to many poor countries has now delivered 1 billion doses, but that milestone "is only a reminder of the work that remains" after hoarding and stockpiling in rich countries. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-billion-doses-poorer-countries.html

Get ready to learn more Greek letters. Scientists warn that omicron's whirlwind advance practically ensures it won't be the last version of the coronavirus to worry the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-worrisome-variants-omicron-scientists.html

An Omicron case has been detected in Beijing, officials in the Chinese capital said Saturday, as the country battles multiple outbreaks of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant ahead of the Winter Olympics. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-beijing-china-covid-clusters.html

A World Health Organization official warned last week of a "closing window of opportunity" for European countries to prevent their health care systems from being overwhelmed as the omicron variant produces near-vertical growth in coronavirus infections. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-exposes-inflexibility-europe-hospitals.html

Mexico said Friday it is already seeing black market or fake versions of molnupiravir circulating for sale, just one week after authorities approved the drug to treat those at risk of severe COVID-19. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-mexico-fake-molnupiravir-week-drug.html

U.S. health officials on Friday encouraged more Americans to wear the kind of N95 or KN95 masks used by health-care workers to slow the spread of the coronavirus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-cdc-americans-n95-masks.html

The southern Chinese city of Zhuhai suspended public bus routes on Saturday after announcing it had detected at least seven cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant there and warning residents not to leave the city. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-southern-china-city-bordering.html

(HealthDay)—Insurance coverage for acupuncturist visits increased from 2010 to 2019, but most costs are paid out of pocket, according to a research letter published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Network Open. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-coverage-acupuncture.html

(HealthDay)—The nomination of former U.S. Food and Drug Administration head Robert Califf, M.D., to again lead the agency now heads to the full Senate for a vote, after a Senate committee on Thursday voted 13-8 for approval. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-senate-committee-califf-fda.html

(HealthDay)—A three-month sexual abstinence rule for blood donations from sexually active gay and bisexual men should be dropped by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, critics urge as the country struggles with a blood shortage. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-blood-shortage-pressure-ease-donor.html

The US Supreme Court delivered a blow to President Joe Biden on Thursday, blocking his COVID vaccination-or-testing mandate for employees of large businesses. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-biden-supreme-court-blocks-vaccine.html

Passengers from more than 150 nations will be banned from transiting through Hong Kong, its airport said Friday, in the latest tightening of the city's strict anti-virus travel measures. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-hong-kong-airport-transit-passengers.html

South Korea will slightly ease its coronavirus gathering restrictions starting next week but continue to maintain a 9 p.m. curfew on restaurants and entertainment venues, as it braces for a possible surge in infections driven by the contagious omicron variant. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-skorea-slightly-eases-distancing-omicron.html

Quebec's premier said Thursday the COVID-19 curfew he imposed across the French-speaking Canadian province in December will be lifted on Monday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-quebec-covid-curfew-monday.html

To mask or not to mask is a question Italy settled early in the COVID-19 outbreak with a vigorous "yes." Now the onetime epicenter of the pandemic in Europe hopes even stricter mask rules will help it beat the latest infection surge. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-masks-tighter-europe-winter-covid-.html

The World Health Organization approved two new Covid-19 treatments on Friday, growing the arsenal of tools along with vaccines to stave off severe illness and death from the virus. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-covid-treatments.html

Deprivation-based inequalities in physical activity between Scotland's children were already growing before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-widening-inequalities-children-physical.html

A molecular feature in prostate cancer, called endogenous retroviral (ERV) RNA, has been found to have prognostic value and also distinguish differences between men of African and European or Middle Eastern ancestry, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, Irvine. The team also identified ERV expression signatures that may be useful for identifying prostate cancer patients at greatest risk of progression regardless of ancestry, which may also extend to progression in other cancers. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-prostate-cancer-molecular-feature-prognostic.html

Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 had higher levels over the short term of blood proteins known to rise with neurological damage than non-COVID-19 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-blood-markers-brain-cell-higher.html

South Korea on Thursday received its first supply of Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pills to treat patients with mild or moderate symptoms. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-south-korea-pfizer-covid-pills.html

The air conditioners hum constantly in the lab at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, countering the heat thrown off by rows of high-tech sequencing machines that work seven days a week analyzing the genetic material of COVID-19 cases from throughout the U.K. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-uk-virus-labs-bolster-global.html

The Pan American Health Organization said Wednesday it expects omicron to become the predominant coronavirus variant in the Americas in the coming weeks, where confirmed cases have reached record levels. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-paho-omicron-dominant-variant-americas.html

Infants born via uncomplicated cesarean delivery, without labor or membrane rupture before delivery and no concern for infection, should not need antibiotics at birth, according to a study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The findings, which were published today in Pediatrics, could help clinicians tailor the use of early antibiotics in newborns. Only those deemed at risk for infection should receive antibiotics, thereby reducing unnecessary use. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-infants-low-risk-deliveries-antibiotics-birth.html

In an episode of the popular TV series "Black Mirror" called "Crocodile," an investigator asks a witness to smell a bottle of beer. The aim is to refresh her memory of a crime scene (the crime took place near a brewery). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-evokes-memory-clues-linked-brain.html

When Frederick Banting's phone rang one morning in October 1923, it was the call that every scientist must dream of receiving. On the other end of the line, an excited friend asked Banting if he had seen the morning newspapers. When Banting said no, his friend broke the news himself. Banting had just been awarded the Nobel prize for his discovery of insulin. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-discovery-insulin-story-monstrous-egos.html

A new study has found that being in nature helps people deal with negative body image by removing some of the triggers of body image anxiety, such as the focus on social media, and strengthening coping mechanisms to keep negative feelings in perspective. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-nature-cope-body-image-threats.html

Childhood asthma is a common cause of emergency department visits, hospital admissions and deaths, especially among boys. A new study from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine researchers has determined that data from a large regional health information exchange (HIE) can effectively measure epidemiological trends for pediatric asthma and could enable public health researchers and officials to follow and respond to disease trends in near real time. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-pediatric-asthma-health-exchange-childhood.html

Back around Thanksgiving, many families—older members newly boosted and young children freshly vaccinated—felt comfortable gathering to celebrate. Fast forward a month, and some of those winter celebrations took on a decidedly more 2020 look, owing to a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 with a name straight out of a sci-fi novel: omicron. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-2.html

Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered a novel mechanism linking an intercellular adhesion molecule with genetic inflammatory skin diseases, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-uncovering-cellular-mechanisms-genetic-skin.html

The northern Chinese city of Tianjin ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing of all 14 million residents Wednesday following the discovery of 97 cases of the omicron variant during initial screenings that began Sunday. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-china-tianjin-million-residents.html

For two years, coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations have been widely used barometers of the pandemic's march across the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-omicron-prompts-media-rethink.html

Indonesia kicked off a COVID-19 booster campaign for the general public on Wednesday, prioritizing third shots for the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-indonesia-covid-boosters-elderly.html

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, made the reporting of rapid antigen test results mandatory Wednesday as it experienced its deadliest day of the pandemic with 21 deaths. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-australia-south-wales-high-covid.html

The man who received the first pig heart transplant continued to recover Tuesday, four days after the experimental surgery. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-pig-heart-recipient-recover-transplant.html

For patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) carrying the Philadelphia chromosome and whose disease relapsed after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT), the two-year overall survival rate has nearly doubled from the period between 2000 and 2004 to the period between 2015 and 2019, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-survival-patients-relapsed-hematopoietic-cell.html

Menopause is often accompanied by an array of symptoms that can detract from a woman's quality of life. A new study suggests that the severity of some of those symptoms—especially depression and sexual dysfunction—were linked to a woman's cognitive performance. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-severity-menopause-symptoms-affect-woman.html

Scientific evidence supporting the involvement of the enzyme MAPK4 in cancer growth and resistance to certain therapies has been growing quickly. In a current study published in the journal Nature Communications, a team at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions reports that MAPK4 seems to play an important role in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a devastating disease with limited therapeutic options. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-mapk4-emerges-therapeutic-triple-negative-breast.html

More than 100,000 people have died in Poland from COVID since the start of the pandemic, the government said Monday, as the mortality rate in the country is among the highest in the world. source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-poland-covid-linked-deaths.html