A persistent characteristic of the COVID-19 pandemic is the large range of effects over time and among locations, often exceeding an order of magnitude. We analyzed cumulative effects over 15 months, and focused on variability among 100 urban counties concerning selected plausible risk factors. We developed linear regression models and found highly significant risk factors. These models explained up to half of the observed variance, much more than typical epidemiology studies.   

How does frequent social media use impact our mental health? A recent study attempted to pinpoint the effects of spending hours on Twitter and Facebook, but the inherent difficulty in analyzing human behavior limits our ability to find a precise answer.

I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t fear the big “C” diagnosis. Most people spend a lot of time trying to figure out where it came from. Is this the same kind of cancer that Great Aunt Sally had, suggesting heredity played a role? Maybe there was an environmental/lifestyle cause; spending too much time near smokers, back in the day when smokers were not isolated from the rest of society.       

Less really is more, bagel rolling, how lucky we are, and the power and limitations of “following the science.”

The strange neurological symptoms of "long-COVID" may have an explanation: another virus. A study has examined whether COVID promotes the reactivation of the Epstein-Barr Virus, an ubiquitous herpes virus that causes mono in teens. The evidence suggests that this is, indeed, the case, and it's EBV that's causing some of the long-COVID symptoms.

A detailed investigation has exposed troubling connections between Scientology-affiliated lawyers and anti-GMO, anti-vaccine groups. For years, these forces have colluded to attack safe medicines and pesticides, while slandering scientists and organizations that challenge activist rhetoric as "Monsanto shills."

For most of us, hiccups are a minor nuisance. But for a very few, it can be a chronic and debilitating condition. 

Imagine you need emergency surgery, but the hospital’s computers are down – victim of a malicious ransomware attack. Processing blood-typing must be done by hand, delaying the results; X-rays can’t be transmitted to the radiologist on call for review. The hospital is refusing to pay the cyber-terrorist's ransom demand. All the while, your medical records (and you) are in limbo.

Facebook has proven itself incapable of reliably preventing the spread of "misinformation." If we needed more evidence, the company recently threatened to "restrict" the account of a prominent researcher for talking about science.

COVID-19 remains a seasonal respiratory virus, and the pandemic has waxed and waned with our summers and winters. A new study tries to quantify the impact of three climate variables: temperature, humidity, and ultraviolet light. The study also updates our understanding of PM 2.5.