South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience offers the world about future variants. Podcast

What is it like to discover a new coronavirus variant? In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we hear the inside story from one of...

Heading into the third year of the pandemic, the US blood supply is at a 10-year low

The blood supply in the U.S. is now at its lowest level in over a decade. Many of the nation’s blood centers currently have only a...

Highly virulent HIV variant discovered in Netherlands

LONDON – A highly virulent variant of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) has been discovered in the Netherlands, a scientific study said on Thursday. Published in the journal Science,...

Why taking fever-reducing meds and drinking fluids may not be the best way to treat flu and fever

As flu season progresses, so does the chorus of advice, professional and otherwise, to drink plenty of fluids and take fever-reducing medications, like acetaminophen, ibuprofen or...

50-year-old muscles just can’t grow big like they used to – the biology of how muscles change with age

How sweat sensors could play a critical role in monitoring our health

Sweat is a biological fluid — like blood, saliva and urine — that contains metabolites, electrolytes, proteins and hormones. The levels of these vary depending on...

Green buildings can boost productivity, well-being and health of workers

Most people now recognize the energy savings benefits of green buildings. These buildings use less water, energy and other natural resources. In some cases, they can...

The baffling case of metabolically healthy obese people: Are they protected from chronic diseases?

There is a growing global body positivity movement to combat the stigma and prejudice that overweight and obese individuals face. Some of this stigma arises from...

Some cancers are preventable with a vaccine – a virologist explains

One-fifth. Nearly 20% of cancers worldwide are caused by a virus. These viruses don’t cause cancer until long after they initially infect a person. Rather, the...

COVID-19: You can’t have a recovery using the same bad medicine

  We are beginning 2022 with the world reeling under rising Omicron cases. It has been two years since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a public health emergency...