In the Press

At the global level, COVID-19 cases declined for the fourth week in a row, which the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said is encouraging, though not a guarantee that the trend will persist in the months ahead.

Over 7 million older Americans are homebound. Managing infections in homebound persons presents unique challenges that are magnified among persons living with dementia (PLWD). This work sought to characterize antibiotic use in a national cohort of PLWD who received home-based primary care (HBPC) through the Veterans Health Administration.

The detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in a bottlenose dolphin recovered by University of Florida marine animal rescuers marks the first time the virus has been identified in a cetacean in America. (Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has demonstrated that antibodies isolated from the immune system of recovered COVID-19 patients are effective in neutralizing all known strains of the virus, including the delta and the omicron variants. According to the researchers, this discovery may eliminate the need for repeated booster vaccinations and strengthen the immune system of populations at risk.

A dieter wrestling with cravings for fatty foods might be tempted to blame their tongue: the delicious taste of butter or ice cream is hard to resist. But new research investigating the source of our appetites has uncovered an entirely new connection between the gut and the brain that drives our desire for fat.

Among a cohort who never had COVID-19 but tested positive within 1 year after baseline, depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and concerns about infection were linked to a 33% to 50% increased risk of self-reported postinfection symptoms lasting at least 4 weeks, as well as functional impairment, finds a study published today in JAMA Psychiatry.

Zoonotic and pandemic influenza continue to pose threats to global public health. Pandemics arise when novel influenza A viruses, derived in whole or in part from animal or avian influenza viruses, adapt to transmit efficiently in a human population that has little population immunity to contain its onward transmission.

Patient samples are routinely processed with formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE) by pathology laboratories around the world. FFPE preserves tissue morphology and enables immunohistochemical analysis for clinical diagnosis1,2. However, genomic analysis of DNA extracted from FFPE blocks is problematic, as formalin fixation negatively impacts DNA quality and quantity compared to fresh frozen (FF) material3,4. The pathology archive of any large hospital is likely to contain tens of thousands of FFPE blocks. Enabling accurate genomic analysis of FFPE material would unlock tremendous translational research potential from these vast collections of archival material5,6,7.

Scientists reviewing over a decade's worth of studies on the fate of notorious pollutants – dubbed 'forever chemicals' for the way they persist in waterways, soils, and sea ice – have unearthed where environmental hotspots of contamination lie.

Psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, worry, perceived stress, and loneliness, before COVID-19 infection was associated with an increased risk of long COVID, according to researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The increased risk was independent of smoking, asthma, and other health behaviors or physical health conditions.