Dublin tightens virus curbs for second time this week

Coronavirus restrictions were tightened in Dublin for the second time in a week on Friday, as Ireland's capital becomes the epicentre of a fresh wave of infections countrywide.

European drugs agency endorses steroid for COVID treatment

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday endorsed use of the steroid dexamethasone to treat oxygen-starved patients of COVID-19.

COVID-19 death toll unacceptably high: WHO

The COVID-19 weekly death toll of around 50,000 lives is unacceptably high, the World Health Organization said Friday as the one million fatalities landmark approaches.

Trump expects enough COVID-19 vaccines for every American by April

US President Donald Trump said Friday he expects enough COVID-19 vaccines "for every American" will be produced by next April, and that the first doses will be distributed immediately after approval later this year.

Massive damage of rare plants probed at Nevada mine site

State and federal authorities are investigating the mysterious loss of a significant swath of a rare desert wildflower that's being considered for federal protection at a contentious mine site in Nevada with some of the largest untapped lithium deposits in the world.

CDC drops controversial testing advice that caused backlash

U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested.

A better informed society can prevent lead poisoning disasters

Six years after it began, the Flint, Michigan, water crisis remains among the highest-profile emergencies in the United States.

NASA confirms development of record-breaking tropical storm Wilfred, ending hurricane list

The list of hurricane names is officially used up with the development of the 23rd tropical cyclone of the year. Tropical Storm Wilfred just formed in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean today, Sept. 18. Using a NASA satellite rainfall product that incorporates data from satellites and observations, NASA estimated Wilfred's rainfall rates.

NASA estimates powerful hurricane Teddy's extreme rainfall

Using a NASA satellite rainfall product that incorporates data from satellites and observations, NASA estimated Hurricane Teddy's rainfall rates. Teddy is a major hurricane in the Central North Atlantic Ocean.

NASA-NOAA satellite sees tropical depression 22 strengthening in gulf of Mexico

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided an infrared image of Tropical Depression 22 in the Gulf of Mexico during the early morning hours of Sept. 18. TD22 is expected to become a tropical storm, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite finds tropical storm Noul fading over Laos

Tropical Storm Noul made landfall in central Vietnam on Sept. 17 and NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of the storm over Laos. Noul was weakening as it moves toward Thailand where it is forecast to dissipate.

Study links rising stress, depression in US to pandemic-related losses, media consumption

Experiencing multiple stressors triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic—such as unemployment—and COVID-19-related media consumption are directly linked to rising acute stress and depressive symptoms across the U.S., according to a groundbreaking University of California, Irvine study.

Aqua satellite helps confirm Subtropical Storm Alpha

Subtropical Storm Alpha has formed near the coast of Portugal, becoming the first named storm using the Greek Alphabet list, now that the annual list of names is exhausted. NASA's Aqua satellite obtained visible imagery of the new storm.

Apple to open its first India online store

Apple will launch its first online store in India next week, the Silicon Valley giant said Friday, hoping to cash in on the country's festive season and grow its tiny share of the booming market.

Poop knives, arachnophobic entomologists win 2020 Ig Nobels

Maybe this year's Ig Nobels, the spoof prizes for dubious but humorous scientific achievement, should have been renamed the Ick Nobels.

German hospital hacked, patient taken to another city dies

German authorities said Thursday that an apparently misdirected ransomware attack caused the failure of IT systems at a major hospital in Duesseldorf, and a woman who needed urgent admission died after she had to be taken to another city for treatment.

Private health insurers paid hospitals 247% of what Medicare would

Prices paid to hospitals nationally during 2018 by privately insured patients averaged 247% of what Medicare would have paid, with wide variation in prices among states, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Study shows high prevalence of fatigue following SARS-CoV-2 infection independent of COVID-19 disease severity

Research being presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online from 23-25 September) shows that persistent fatigue occurs in more than half of patients recovered from COVID-19, regardless of the seriousness of their infection. The study is by Dr. Liam Townsend, St James's Hospital and Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues.

Access to cancer medicines and clinical trials show stark variations across Europe

Access to cancer medicines is highly unequal across Europe both for new drugs in development because of uneven access to clinical trials and for currently approved drugs due to huge disparities in healthcare spending by different countries, according to results from studies presented at ESMO 2020.

Immunotherapy improves survival in advanced bladder cancer patients

An immunotherapy drug called 'avelumab' has been shown to significantly improve survival in patients with the most common type of bladder cancer, according to results from a phase III clinical trial led by Queen Mary University of London and Barts Cancer Centre, UK.

Interim data from early US COVID-19 hotspot show mortality of disease were not associated with race/ethnicity

A study of interim data from two hospitals in an early US COVID-19 hotspot, to be presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online 23-25 September), shows that race and ethnicity were not significantly associated with higher in-hospital COVID-19 mortality, and that rates of moderate, severe, and critical forms of COVID-19 were similar between racial and ethnic groups.

Study shows one quarter of hospitalized young patients aged 18-39 years with COVID-19 developed pneumonia

New research to be presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online from 23-25 September) shows that one quarter of hospitalised younger patients with COVID-19 aged 18-39 years developed pneumonia, underlining the danger the disease respresents to young people. The study is by Assistant Professor Hyun ah Kim, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu, and Dr. Hyo-Lim Hong, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center, Daegu, South Korea, and colleagues.

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 jumped between people and mink, providing strong evidence of zoonotic transmission

A study investigating SARS-CoV-2 infections across 16 mink farms in the Netherlands, being presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online from 23-25 September) shows that the virus likely jumped between people and mink and back, providing strong evidence that animal to human (zoonotic) transmission is possible.

Study suggests substantial proportion of pet cats and dogs are infected with SARS-CoV-2 by their owners

A small study by Canadian veterinary science experts being presented at this ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, held online from 23-25 September) suggests that a substantial proportion of pet cats and dogs can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 by their owners. Furthermore, in several cases pets found to be infected had COVID-19-like respiratory symptoms at the time their owner had COVID-19.