Nasty, brutish, and short

When it comes to Covid-19, little kids are like walking bombs. A study in JAMA Pediatrics found that kids younger than five who have Covid-19 typically have milder symptoms … but carry a lot more of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their upper respiratory tract.

Thus, young children can potentially be important drivers of SARS-CoV-2 spread in the general populatio. […] Behavioral habits of young children and close quarters in school and day care settings raise concern for SARS-CoV-2 amplification in this population as public health restrictions are eased.

Cancer: a four-year head start?

This could be huge (and, in a way, a little disturbing): A new blood test appears to detect colorectal, esophageal, liver, lung, and stomach cancer four years before any symptoms appear. It’s got a 90 percent accuracy rate (but five percent false positives). That can mean a big head start for treating fast-moving cancers.

Obviously this is new, still in the lab, and not ready for widespread use. But keep an eye out for “PanSeer test” to see where it goes.

Want to test a Covid-19 vaccine?

Yesterday we told you about Dawn Baker, the Georgia news anchor who’s helping test a Covid-19 vaccine. Well guess what? You can join her! Yep, the U.S. government’s COVID-19 Prevention Network is looking for test subjects for upcoming vaccine candidates.

The CDC may not always treat you like a healthcare provider, but it’s happy to have you as a guinea pig!

Hair of the dog

If you know someone who’s gotten addicted to cannabis — which, let’s face it, is probably a little easier these days — there might be a fairly simple solution: CBD. Yep, even if THC is what drives the craving, taking daily doses of CBD can help get past it… at least according to a study out of the University of Bath in England.

[P]reliminary findings indicate that a daily dose of 400 or 800 milligrams helps people with the condition abstain from using the drug, researchers said.

What’s notable is that (surprisingly) this is the first truly blind study to look at how CBD alone affects THC withdrawal.

Cinnamon vs. prediabetes

Prediabetics who took 500mg of cinnamon twice a day (for 12 weeks) had their fasting plasma glucose remain stable, and their primary glucose decrease — neither of which happened to those who took a placebo. So concluded researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and Kyung Hee University in Korea.

So … well, there you go.

This is probably not what they were thinking.

STOP THE PRESSES

“Parents with children forced to do school at home are drinking more”

Smile, and the world smiles with you

Feeling stressed? Can’t imagine why. Some good news, though: Taking a break from making great chocolate (and cheese), Swiss researchers have determined that the more often you laugh, the less stressed you feel — i.e., the less that “stressful events” bother you.

And it’s the frequency, not the intensity — so a chuckle, snicker, titter, or snigger is as good as a guffaw, roar, or full-on chortle.

What’s brown and sticky? A stick!

And speaking of chocolate

Researchers looking at more than 50 years’ worth of studies have concluded that you need to eat more chocolate — it’s good for your heart. Or, in science-y terms:

“[W]e found that chocolate consumption (>1 time per week or >3.5 times per month) is associated with a reduced risk of [coronary artery disease].”

But why? Well, they’re not sure. Best guess is that it’s those micronutrients; flavanols (e.g. catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidins), methylxanthines, polyphenols, and stearic acid all have been shown to do good for the CV system.

Honestly, does it matter? You had me at “you need to eat more chocolate.”