Category Health/Medical

Coronavirus Patients, Doctors seem to be temporarily Losing their sense of Taste and Smell — here’s why

Healthcare workers wait for people to arrive at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in Florida. New reports from the UK show that both doctors and patients with exposure to the coronavirus are temporarily losing their sense of smell and taste. (Photo: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

As COVID-19 continues to spread, now topping 370,000 cases worldwide, mentions of a previously unknown symptom of COVID-19 — loss of smell — are gaining traction. “Haven’t been able to smell anything for the last 4 days,” tweeted Rudy Gobert, a player of the Utah Jazz who was the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus 11 days ago. “Anyone experiencing the same thing?

According to a paper published Friday by Claire Hopkins, PhD, a professor of rhinology at King’s College Londo...

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A doctor is 3D-Printing Face Masks to help meet the desperate need for protective gear + A NY couple is printing 100s of Face Shields

The plastic mask uses a small square of a surgical mask as a filter.
The plastic mask uses a small square of a surgical mask as a filter.

In Billings, Montana, some healthcare professionals are using 3D printers to make reusable plastic face masks. The masks are then fitted with pieces of surgical masks which can be swapped out as needed.

The surgical masks are cut into smaller squares that can be clipped into the plastic mask to serve as a filter, Dusty Richardson, a neurosurgeon at the Billings Clinic told CNN.
“The filter can be used for a day and you can change it out the next day, but I do wash my mask out frequently,” Richardson said.

The plastic can be cleaned with soap and water, bleach and other disinfecting products. Richardson estimates healthcare workers can get 6 to 10 uses out of a single surgical mask...

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Microbial DNA in patient Blood may be tell-tale sign of Cancer

Microbiome cancer awareness ribbons
In the future, blood-based microbial DNA readouts might be used to detect a variety of different cancers.

From a simple blood draw, microbial DNA may reveal who has cancer and which type, even at early stages. When Gregory Poore was a freshman in college, his otherwise healthy grandmother was shocked to learn that she had late-stage pancreatic cancer. The condition was diagnosed in late December. She died in January.

“She had virtually no warning signs or symptoms,” Poore said. “No one could say why her cancer wasn’t detected earlier or why it was resistant to the treatment they tried...

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First Supercentenarian-derived Stem Cells Created

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can transform into any cell in the body
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can transform into any cell in the body.

People who live more than 110 years, called supercentenarians, are remarkable not only because of their age, but also because of their incredible health. This elite group appears resistant to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer that still affect even centenarians. However, we don’t know why some people become supercentenarians and others do not.

Now, for the first time, scientists have reprogrammed cells from a 114-year-old woman into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)...

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