What is contact tracing, and how does it work with COVID-19?

What is contact tracing, and how does it work with COVID-19?

Radish seeds, meats and cheeses launched to space station

A space station cargo ship rocketed into orbit Friday carrying a 360-degree camera for spacewalking, radish seeds for growing and a smorgasbord of fancy meats and cheeses for feasting.

Madrid starts partial virus lockdown amid political scuffle

Madrid awoke Saturday to its first day under a partial lockdown, with police controlling travel in and out of the Spanish capital that has become Europe's biggest hot spot for the second wave of the coronavirus.

Green-oriented NextEra nears ExxonMobil in market value

In a sign of shifting fortunes in the energy business, green-oriented power company NextEra Energy on Friday sparred with petroleum giant Exxon Mobil for market capitalization supremacy.

Subsidized cars help low-income families economically, socially

For one low-income woman, not having a car meant long commutes on public transit with her children in tow, sometimes slogging through cold or inclement weather. But after buying a subsidized car through a Maryland-based nonprofit, she was able to move to a home located farther from bus stops, send her children to better schools and reach less expensive medical services.

DECT in the ED: better diagnoses, less follow-up, more savings

According to an open-access article in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), dual-energy CT (DECT) added value to routine interpretation of emergency department (ED) imaging studies by increasing radiologists' diagnostic confidence, leading to a reduction in downstream imaging and associated costs.

The mode of detection of high-risk breast cancers is linked to patient prognosis

Breast cancers that are detected in the interval between national screening programme mammograms have a worse prognosis than those detected at the time of a screening, even if they have the same biology, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference on Saturday.

Antarctic Peninsula at warmest in decades: study

The year 2020 is the hottest in the Antarctic Peninsula in the past three decades, a study by the University of Santiago de Chile out Friday found.

Trump hospitalized for COVID treatment, campaign grounded

President Donald Trump was hospitalized Friday and given an experimental COVID-19 treatment, but said he was "well," following bombshell news he had contracted the virus, knocking him off the campaign trail a month from the US election.

Nobel Prizes and COVID-19: Slow, basic science may pay off

While the world wants flashy quick fixes for everything, especially massive threats like the coronavirus and global warming, next week's Nobel Prizes remind us that in science, slow and steady pays off.

What you need to know about Regeneron's COVID-19 treatment

President Donald Trump was treated Friday for COVID-19 with a high-dose of the experimental antibody drug developed by the US biotech firm Regeneron.

India virus deaths pass 100,000

Deaths from the novel coronavirus in India passed 100,000 on Saturday, official data showed as the pandemic continued to rage across the world's second most populous country.

'Hi, this is the army': In Spain, troops tackle track-and-trace

"Hi, this is the army: you're going to have to quarantine."

Influence of bots on spreading vaccine information not as big as you think

The influence of bots on vaccine-related discussions on social media is a lot smaller than we think, with only a minor fraction of information from bots reaching active social media users.

Enhancing blood sugar control boosts brain health for people with type 2 diabetes

Controlling blood sugar levels improved the ability to clearly think, learn and remember among people with type 2 diabetes who were overweight, a new study shows. But losing weight, especially for people who were obese, and increasing physical activity produced mixed results.

HER2+ breast cancer patients live longer if drugs given before surgery eradicate tumour

Final analysis of results from a randomised clinical trial of lapatinib and trastuzumab given before surgery in patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer has found that women who had no signs of residual disease after treatment (known as a pathological complete response, pCR) survived longer without the cancer returning than patients who did not. This was more likely to happen in patients who received the two anti-cancer drugs together, rather than as single agents.

Researchers reveal which benign breast disease is most likely to develop into cancer

Benign breast diseases (BBD), which are non-cancerous disorders of the breast, such as lumps, are known to increase the chances of subsequent breast cancer. Now a team of Spanish researchers have found that the way BBD is detected as part of a national screening programme is an indication of which are more likely to become cancerous.

Risk of heart disease in breast cancer patients can be predicted from routine scans

Automated analysis of breast cancer patients' routine scans can predict which women have a greater than one in four risk of going on to develop cardiovascular disease, according to research presented at the 12th European Breast Cancer Conference.

Face masks unlikely to cause over-exposure to CO2, even in patients with lung disease

New research findings contradict statements linking wearing face masks to carbon dioxide poisoning by trapping CO2. During the COVID-19 pandemic the wearing of face masks has become a highly political issue with some individuals falsely claiming that wearing face masks may be putting people's health at risk. The study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society shows otherwise.

COVID-19 pandemic has created flood of potentially substandard research

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a flood of potentially substandard research amid the rush to publish, with a string of papers retracted or under a cloud and a surge in submissions to pre-print servers where fewer quality checks are made, a leading ethicist has warned in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Men predominate in 85%+ COVID-19 decision-making/advisory bodies globally

Men predominate in more than 85% of COVID-19 decision-making and key advisory bodies around the globe, with gender parity in just 3.5%, reveals an analysis of the available data, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.

Green shoots: Rooftop farming takes off in Singapore

On the rooftop of a Singapore shopping mall, a sprawling patch of eggplants, rosemary, bananas and papayas stand in colourful contrast to the grey skyscrapers of the city-state's business district.

Belgium coronavirus death toll passes 10,000

Belgium, one of the European countries hardest hit by the coronavirus, on Wednesday reported its death toll from the pandemic had surpassed 10,000.

Even before pandemic struck, more US adults were uninsured

About 2.5 million more working-age Americans were uninsured last year, even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, according to a government report issued Wednesday.

Walmart looks to airports as inspiration of new store layout

Walmart is getting inspiration from the airport terminal as it revamps the layout and signage of its stores to speed up shopping and better cater to smartphone-armed customers.

Virus-hit Shell says cutting up to 9,000 jobs by 2022

Energy major Shell unleashed Wednesday a major restructuring to combat plunging oil prices driven by the coronavirus pandemic, warning it will also spark more asset writedowns in the third quarter.

US capital starts to come back to life after virus shutdown

Life is slowly restarting in Washington as many major attractions, including the Washington Monument, begin to reopen after a six-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Testing drive unveiled as virus deaths pass one million

Coronavirus tests that deliver results in 15-30 minutes are to be rolled out across the United States and in scores of poorer countries, as health authorities worldwide try to get a handle on a disease that has now killed more than a million people.

New clampdowns for Montreal, Quebec City as Covid-19 cases soar

Quebec, the province hardest hit by the pandemic in Canada, on Monday reintroduced restrictions to limit the spread of the COVID-19 illness in three regions including Montreal and Quebec City.

Millions in Chile capital emerge from lockdown

Chile on Monday lifted strict coronavirus lockdown measures for millions of people in the capital Santiago, a month ahead of a key referendum to amend the dictatorship-era constitution.

Mexico ups COVID-19 'estimate' to 89,612 deaths

Mexico upped its "estimated" COVID-19 deaths to 89,612 on Monday, and boosted estimates of its total number of cases to 870,699, almost 137,000 more than it previously recognized.

Brazil revokes mangrove protections, triggering alarm

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's government on Monday revoked regulations protecting mangroves and other fragile coastal ecosystems, in a measure environmentalists condemned as a "crime" that would lead to their destruction.

Google clamps down on apps dodging Play Store 30% cut

Google said Monday it plans to start enforcing a rule requiring Android apps in its Play store to use its payment system, which takes a 30 percent cut of transactions.

Weibo parent Sina to delist US stocks in $2.6 bn deal

Chinese internet giant Sina Corp, the parent company of the country's vast Twitter-like Weibo platform, plans to delist its US shares and go private, making it the latest mainland firm to withdraw from Wall Street as relations between Beijing and Washington sour.

A viral march across the planet, tracked by a map in motion

On a Thursday night in early January, the disease that would become known as COVID-19 claimed its first victim, a 61-year-old man who succumbed to the newly identified coronavirus in the city of Wuhan, in the People's Republic of China.

NYC elementary schools reopen in big back-to-school test

Hundreds of thousands of elementary school students are heading back to classrooms Tuesday as New York City enters a high-stakes stage of resuming in-person learning during the coronavirus pandemic, which is keeping students at home in many other big U.S. school systems.

Purging water system of brain-eating microbe to take 60 days

A Houston-area official said Monday it will take 60 days to ensure a city drinking water system is purged of a deadly, microscopic parasite that doctors believed killed a boy and that led to warnings for others not to drink tap water.

United Arab Emirates to launch spacecraft to moon in 2024

A top official in the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday his country plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon in 2024.

500 years ago, another epidemic swept Mexico: smallpox

There were mass cremations of bodies; entire families died and the inhabitants of the city, afraid to pull their bodies out, simply collapsed their homes on top of them to bury them on the spot.

Dying winds give crews hope in Northern California fires

Firefighters say they hoped dying winds would enable them to bear down on a wildfire that exploded in the Northern California wine country, prompting tens of thousands of evacuations while a second blaze killed at least three people.

Cyberattack hobbles major hospital chain's US facilities

A computer outage at a major hospital chain thrust healthcare facilities across the U.S. into chaos Monday, with treatment impeded as doctors and nurses already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic were forced to rely on paper backup systems.

EPA ridicules California's proposed ban of new gas cars

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler on Monday ridiculed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, saying the proposal raises "significant questions of legality."

Preventing heart disease could keep more people employed and save billions for the economy

Preventing 10 years of coronary heart disease would save nearly USD $15 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) by keeping people gainfully employed. That's the finding of a study published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

China's air pollutant reduction success could make it tougher to control climate change

China's success in improving air quality by cutting polluting emissions may have a negative knock-on effect on climate change overall, a new study has found.

Plant droplets serve as nutrient-rich food for insects

Small watery droplets on the edges of blueberry bush leaves are loaded with nutrients for many insects, including bees, wasps and flies, according to a Rutgers-led study, the first of its kind.

Lung cancer screening a step closer to reality following combined study

Newly released study results present a strong case for lung cancer screening in New Zealand—particularly for Māori whose mortality rates are between three and four times higher than other ethnic groups.

New drug targeting DNA repair shows promise in range of advanced cancers

A new precision drug which stops cancer from repairing its DNA has shown promise in an early-stage clinical trial—highlighting the potential of a new class of drugs known as ATR inhibitors.

Understanding ghost particle interactions

Scientists often refer to the neutrino as the "ghost particle." Neutrinos were one of the most abundant particles at the origin of the universe and remain so today. Fusion reactions in the sun produce vast armies of them, which pour down on the Earth every day. Trillions pass through our bodies every second, then fly through the Earth as though it were not there.

Girls benefit from doing sports

Girls—but not boys—who participate actively in school sports activities in middle childhood show improved behavior and attentiveness in early adolescence, suggests a new Canadian study published in Preventative Medicine.

Novel neuroimaging study on dissociative symptoms reveals wounds of childhood trauma

Being traumatized can cause what are known as dissociative symptoms—such as experiencing amnesia, an out-of-body experience, feeling emotionally numb—which may help people cope. Experiencing these symptoms intensely or for a long time, however, can negatively impact an individual's ability to function.