From “Downton Abbey” creator and “Gosford Park” writer Julian Fellowes. Based on true events, this 19th century drama follows two footballers on opposite sides of a class divide who changed the game — and England — forever. The English Game arrives on Netflix March 20.
Listen to the latest from the world of science, with Benjamin Thompson and Nick Howe. This week, improving computers’ image identification, and a new method for growing crystals.
In this episode:
Researchers have designed a sensor that allows machines to assess images in nanoseconds. Research Article: Mennel et al.; News and Views: In-sensor computing for machine vision
Calorie restriction’s effects on rat cells, and the dwindling of sandy seashores. Research Highlight: Old age’s hallmarks are delayed in dieting rats; Research Highlight: Sandy beaches are endangered worldwide as the climate changes
To understand the structure of materials, researchers often have to grow them in crystal form. A new method aims to speed up this process. Research article: Sun et al.
Coronavirus outbreak updates, and climate change’s role in the Australian bush fires. News: Coronavirus: latest news on spreading infection; News: Climate change made Australia’s ‘unprecedented’ bushfires 30% more likely
From a Stanford University online article (March 2, 2020):
“The opioid epidemic has added fuel to the HCV fire, substantially increasing transmission,” said Owens. “HCV is now an enormous public health problem, affecting a much broader age range of people than before. Fortunately, we have the tools to identify people and treatment is now successful in the vast majority of patients, so screening can prevent the mortality and morbidity from HCV.”
A task force of national health experts recommends clinicians screen all adults 18 to 79 for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), noting that the viral infection is now associated with more deaths in the United States than the top 60 reportable infectious diseases combined. Many people are unaware they are carrying the viral infection.
“People with hepatitis C do not always feel sick and may not know they have it,” says chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Douglas K. Owens, M.D, M.S. “Screening is key to finding this infection early, when it’s easier to treat and cure, helping reduce illnesses and deaths.”
Owens, who is the director of Stanford Health Policy and the Henry J. Kaiser, Jr., Professor of Medicine, said the opioid epidemic now plays an important role in the prevalence of HCV. There are more than three times the number of acute HCV cases than a decade ago, particularly among young, white, injection drug users who live in rural areas. Women aged 15 to 44 have also been hit hard by the virus that is spread through contaminated blood.
Super Tuesday provided contrasting fortunes for the Democratic candidates hoping to take on Donald Trump. BBC reporters were on the ground with the three leading campaigns as the results came in (but with no decision yet in the all-important Texas and California contests). Here are their verdicts on where Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg stand now.
Drug Pricing Theme Issue: Is Pharma Earning Too Much?, R&D Costs Required to Bring a New Drug to Market, Probiotic Safety, and moreOne in 4 people in the US has difficulty paying the cost of their prescription medications. This stark fact was recently reported in a 2019 Kaiser Family Foundation public opinion poll among a nationally representative random sample of 1205 adults.1 Persons who reported having the greatest difficulty affording their prescription drugs were those who most needed them, including those who took 4 or more prescription drugs, spent $100 or more per month on their drugs, and reported being in fair or poor health.
Mar.03 — World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic speaks from Geneva about the latest advice for avoiding the coronavirus. He also comments on efforts to develop a vaccine and advice for public health workers. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”
NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including the resurgence of former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign after the South Carolina primary, the exits of Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, the strength of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ base and what to look for on Super Tuesday.
From a Philips “2020 Sleep Survey” online release (Mar 2, 2020):
“The decrease in people taking action to improve sleep is alarming, especially when it is clear people around the world deeply value sleep. Sleep deficit impacts people both mentally and physically, so we need to educate people on available sleep resources and empower them with the confidence that their efforts will pay off,” said Mark Aloia, PhD, Global Lead for Behavior Change, Sleep & Respiratory Care at Philips.
From a New Atlas online article (March 1, 2020):
One of the largest and most prestigious photo contests in the world has revealed its first wave of 2020 winners. The Sony World Photography Awards National winners focus on the best regional talent across more than 60 countries around the globe.
The 2020 Sony World Photography Awards received a record breaking 350,000 submissions, with 190,000 entries into its Open category. The Open category spans a number of thematic sections, all seeking the best single photograph from either amateur or professional photographers.
Adam Stevenson won the best Australian photograph with an incredible shot of a Kookaburra watching over the devastation of the bushfires that tore through the country over the past few months. The shot is titled “That’s Nothing to Laugh About” and was snapped with a Iphone X near Stevenson’s home at Wallabi Point in New South Wales.
From a BMJ Opinion article (Feb 28, 2020):
A lack of adequate knowledge is probably the driving force for the public panic, particularly at the early stages of an outbreak—highlighting the fact that information is crucial. Misunderstandings about the information that is available, even worse exaggerating such information, may further aggravate the panic. Unfortunately, these phenomena are not uncommon. To relieve the public panic, an effective approach would be timely publication of trustworthy research evidence in a manner appropriate for the public.
Click here for real-time update
To date, there have been a number of reports and research papers published in peer reviewed journals. However, this information is largely aimed at researchers and healthcare professionals. The study findings are often obscure for the general public. Some of the published evidence is reporting on early findings and there are some methodological limitations. If inappropriately interpreted, they could misinform the public and could potentially cause further panic or psychological stress. We believe that providing the public with timely and credible evidence and appropriate interpretation is very important. Disseminating the evidence effectively is critical to improving the public’s understanding of the outbreak.
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