Monday 21 September 2020

Canadian province announces new COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings

The Quebec government on Sunday announced new restrictions on gatherings in order to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

New Zealand eases virus controls, eyes elimination

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved most of New Zealand to the lowest virus alert setting Monday, saying the country was edging towards eliminating COVID-19.

Richest 1%'s emissions twice that of poorest 50%: analysis

The richest one percent of people are responsible for more than twice as much carbon pollution as the poorest half of the world's population—3.1 billion people—new research showed Monday.

COVID-19 and the decolonization of Indigenous public health

Indigenous self-determination, leadership and knowledge have helped protect Indigenous communities in Canada during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and these principles should be incorporated into public health in future, argue the authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) .

Egypt discovers 14 ancient sarcophagi at Saqqara

Egypt's antiquities ministry announced Sunday the discovery of 14 sarcophagi in the Saqqara necropolis south of Cairo that had lain buried for 2,500 years.

TikTok Global to launch public offering, Chinese parent firm says

TikTok Global plans to hold a public listing, its Chinese parent company ByteDance said Monday, after announcing a deal over the weekend that would avert a shutdown of the popular app in the US.

Partial virus lockdown in Madrid as US deaths near 200,000

A million people in and around the Spanish capital on Monday were under new "stay-at-home" orders to contain another coronavirus surge, as the US death toll neared 200,000.

Founder of truck maker Nikola resigns after fraud allegations

The founder and executive chairman of embattled zero-emission truck maker Nikola has resigned, the company announced Sunday, after allegations of fraud which sparked a stock tumble and a regulatory investigation.

Whale swims free of crocodile-filled Australian river

A humpback whale has found its way back to sea weeks after it got lost in a murky, crocodile-infested river in northern Australia.

College students with disabilities at greater risk for substance abuse

College students with physical and cognitive disabilities use illicit drugs more, and have a higher prevalence of drug use disorder, than their non-disabled peers, according to a Rutgers study.

Couples can show linked behaviour in terms of risk factors to prevent type 2 diabetes

New research being presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, shows that when one half of a couple shows high levels of certain behaviours that prevent type 2 diabetes, such as good diet or exercise, that behaviour also tends to be high in the other half of the couple. The study is by Omar Silverman-Retana, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, and colleagues.

Spike in new nut anaphylaxis in children at Halloween and Easter

A new study looking at the link between peanut and tree-nut anaphylaxis in children and holidays found spikes at Halloween and Easter. The study, published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that most were previously unknown allergies, calling for increased awareness.

Study shows the major impact of diabetes on the risk of falls

New research presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year (21-25 September), shows that having type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with a 33% increase in the risk of falls compared with the general population, while having type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a 19% increased risk of falls. The study is by Nicklas Rasmussen, Steno Diabetes Center and North Jutland Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark, and colleagues.

Study shows that rheumatoid arthritis is associated with a 23% increased risk of developing diabetes

A new study presented at this year's annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a 23% increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and may indicate that both diseases are linked to the body's inflammatory response. The research was conducted by Zixing Tian and Dr. Adrian Heald, University of Manchester, UK, and colleagues.

Screening UK Biobank blood samples identifies thousands of undiagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes

A study of approximately 200,000 blood samples from the UK Biobank has identified more than 2,000 undiagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes. The study, presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), also shows that, because UK Biobank data is not reported back to participants, patients found to have undiagnosed diabetes waited on average more than two years for a clinical diagnosis, and around a quarter remained undiagnosed five years later.

Study links higher level of exercise to 25% to 32% lower risk of all-cause mortality in people with type 2 diabetes

New research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), held online this year, shows that having a greater exercise capacity is associated with a significantly decreased all-cause mortality risk of between 25-33% in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The study was conducted by Dr. Yun-Ju Lai and colleagues at Puli branch, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Nantou, Taiwan.

Male baboons with female friends live longer

Close bonds with the opposite sex can have non-romantic benefits. And not just for people, but for our primate cousins, too.

Your cells look young for their age, compared to a chimp's

Many humans live to see their 70s and 80s, some even reach 100 years old. But life is much shorter for our closest animal relatives. Chimpanzees, for example, rarely make it past age 50, despite sharing almost 99% of our genetic code.

Black women may be less likely to receive timely treatment for breast cancer

New research suggests that Black women experience longer waits for treatment initiation than white women after a breast cancer diagnosis, and their duration of treatment is prolonged. The findings are published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).