Disease

Hello, nut cases! Have I got a book for you. Comedy writer Dennis DiClaudio's  "The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases" is both repugnant and hilarious. Here are three (of many) diseases you don't want to catch. Not for the squeamish. Plus some science thrown in. No extra charge.
We know that Omicron is more contagious than Delta. Those 30 mutations on the spike protein alter its activities in ways we are just uncovering. A new study suggests that those nasal swabs may be so last year.
I immigrated to the U.S. in February 2020, not knowing that going back home would not be easy. Two weeks later, international travel was banned due to an unpredicted outbreak of COVID-19, and I was trapped ...
The published literature on COVID now exceeds 211,000 papers, books, and documents, which include: 22,866 observational studies, 19,591 reviews, 1496 meta-analyses and 781 randomized control trials. These publications comprise the backdrop for our research and writing. The project began in the spring of 2020 based on a limited source of cumulative COVID-19 data and has broadened considerably. Here is what we have learned.
Two sources of immunity from infectious diseases are widely recognized: vaccination and immunity acquired naturally in survivors of previous infections. The latter may be involved in the roller-coaster up-and-down behavior seen in the progression of daily new COVID cases after the current pandemic began in early 2020. Cases increased as the virus spread throughout the nation, in part due to insufficient attention to limiting exposures, but what could account for subsequent decreases? We (and others) ascribe the long downward slide from the 2020-21 winter peak to the coincident national vaccination program. Here we set out to investigate possible contributions from infection-acquired immunity.
"For everything, there is a season, A time for every activity under heaven." Just as there are patterns to our lives, there are patterns to our afflictions. More specifically, in the time of COVID, a pattern to how it spreads, our symptoms, and outcomes. A new pattern discerns a subtle but intriguing pattern that may help to explain why delta is more transmissible than alpha. Perhaps it can help provide a clue to omicron’s heightened powers.
Most COVID-19 concerns have focused on daily infections and their accumulated impacts. Relatively little attention has been given to the lingering symptoms known as “long-haul COVID,” even though it comprises some 30% of cases. The available data are spotty but amenable to the same kinds of population analysis that has been applied to daily cases.
While COVID-19 vaccinations are increasing (however slowly), infections are increasing more rapidly. Both provide a degree of immunity from further infection. We have previously investigated daily rates of change in detail. Here we consider the cumulative rates of infection and the implications for the future of the pandemic.
It's no secret that yet another nasty COVID variant has emerged; omicron is spreading even faster than delta and there will be consequences. And other variants will surely emerge. Where? Impossible to say, but its name will be pi. Should this happen in the US, we might get stuck with a catchy, but unwanted name.
Sepsis, a microbial infection that’s overwhelming, remains one of the most significant sources of morbidity and mortality. In the U.S., “black individuals” have both a greater risk of hospitalization and death than their “white” counterparts. While exposure and susceptibility may have roots in socioeconomic disparity, a new paper suggests that genetics may influence outcomes more than disparate care.
While all uses of tobacco are bad for your health, we have maintained that vaping is both a lesser evil and a pathway to cessation. A new study looks at the effects of vaping and smoking on mitochondria, the engines of our lives.
The last month has divided conventional wisdom. If cases continue to decline, the pandemic might be on its way out. If they trend upward, another winter surge might be on its way. Here we look for clues from data [1] through November 15, focusing on vaccination.