All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Ethiopia grapples with worst drought in 30 years | Africa | DW | 18.02.2022

Source: Ethiopia grapples with worst drought in 30 years | Africa | DW | 18.02.2022

Ending all Covid restrictions ‘premature and not based on evidence’, says BMA | Coronavirus | The Guardian

Ending all Covid restrictions is premature and “not based on current evidence”, the British Medical Association has said, as experts warned dropping testing and self-isolation could lead to a surge in cases.

Boris Johnson told MPs last week that he was preparing to lift the legal requirement in England to self-isolate on 24 February, a month earlier than originally planned, with a formal announcement expected on Monday.

The prime minister is keen to claim victory for weathering the Omicron wave and placate lockdown-sceptics on his backbenches, who object to legal restrictions on daily life.

But Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA council, said the decision was “not based on current evidence and is premature,” adding: “It clearly hasn’t been guided by data or done in consultation with the healthcare profession.”

He said case rates remained exceptionally high, with the latest Office for National Statistics survey suggesting one in 20 people in England were infected last week.

Source: Ending all Covid restrictions ‘premature and not based on evidence’, says BMA | Coronavirus | The Guardian

Ivermectin futile for mild to moderate COVID-19, study finds | CIDRAP

Lack of efficacy, more adverse events

Doctors at 20 Malaysian government hospitals and a COVID-19 quarantine center conducted an open-label, randomized clinical trial on the use of ivermectin in the first week of COVID-19 symptom onset in hospitalized adults 50 years and older with mild or moderate illness and underlying medical conditions.

Source: Ivermectin futile for mild to moderate COVID-19, study finds | CIDRAP

ACLU sues Missouri School District for Permanent Removal of Eight Books

The Wentzville school board had reportedly voted to permanently remove eight books including The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell. American Library Association executive director Tracie Hall told CNN that banning books can influence a child’s development in relation to real world challenges. Source: ACLU sues Missouri School District for Permanent Removal of Eight Books

Exercises under remote supervision can assist in post-Covid rehabilitation – Mágica Mistura 能

A program of exercises to be done at home, without the aid of equipment and under the remote supervision of physical education professionals it proved to be safe and effective in combating two possible sequelae of Covid-19: O hardening of the arteries and loss of muscle strength involved in breathing.

The finding was made by researchers from Paulista State universities (Unesp) e Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) in one clinical trial with 32 patients who were hospitalized after contracting Sars-CoV-2, between July 2020 and February 2021.

In the group there were men and women, with an average age of 52 years.

“Despite the relatively small number of participants, we were able to see statistically significant differences in these two variables. It is worth mentioning that the intervention was safe, even at home. No volunteer had an adverse effect caused by the exercises”, says Emmanuel Ciolac, professor at the Faculty of Sciences (FC-Unesp), in Bauru, and coordinator of the investigation.

Source: Exercises under remote supervision can assist in post-Covid rehabilitation – Mágica Mistura 能

Dengue virus makes mosquitoes bite more – Magic Mistura を

The disease is caused by the DENV virus, which is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti – he acquires the virus by biting an infected person, and transfers it to others by biting them. This is the cycle of the disease, known for decades.

The novelty, as revealed by a study published by scientists from France and Singapore (1), is that DENV is able to alter the behavior of the mosquito, causing it to bite more often and look for more victims – and thereby spread the virus more.

The researchers put two groups of mosquitoes in contact with laboratory mice, filmed and analyzed their behavior. The Aedes infected with DENV attacked more mice than uninfected mosquitoes, and the presence of the virus also hindered blood sucking – causing mosquitoes to bite each animal more often to obtain the same amount of it. The study calculated that these two changes increase the capacity of each mosquito to transmit the virus by 300%.

Source: Dengue virus makes mosquitoes bite more – Magic Mistura を

Plenty of Money, No Conscience

Filosofa's Word

I have never been a fan of Elon Musk, but then I’m not a fan of wealthy people who waste their wealth on frivolous ‘toys’ rather than helping people in need.  I see them as people without conscience, without a sense of social responsibility.  Well, as Dan Rather shows us in an email I received yesterday, Mr. Musk has proven what sort of person he is …


This is Not Okay

Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner

This won’t take long. Because there’s not much to say.

It involves something that went out earlier today on Twitter, that social media platform that limits thoughts to 280 characters and can be both inspirational and a cesspool. One user who tends to wade into the latter is the tech billionaire Elon Musk, who posted and then deleted a Tweet that created quite a stir. That he eventually removed his Tweet is welcomed, but…

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