The Life Technology™ News Blog: 10/20/20

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Madrid hospital struggles with surge in virus cases

At Severo Ochoa hospital in a Madrid suburb badly-hit during the pandemic's first wave, the intensive care unit is once again full and exhausted medics dread a repeat of the same "horror".

Virus, what virus? India gets back to work

India is on course to top the world in coronavirus cases, but from Maharashtra's whirring factories to Kolkata's thronging markets, people are back at work—and eager to forget the pandemic for festival season.

Ireland is first EU country to re-enter lockdown

Ireland will be the first EU country to return to coronavirus lockdown, prime minister Micheal Martin said Monday, issuing a nationwide "stay at home" order but insisting schools will stay open.

Bottle-fed babies ingest 'millions' of microplastics: study

Bottle-fed babies may ingest more than a million pieces of microplastics each day, new research showed Monday highlighting the abundance of plastics in our food products.

'Like the speed of the wind': Kenya's lakes rise to destructive highs

Peering into the lake, the village elder struggled to pinpoint where beneath the hyacinth and mesquite weeds lay the farm he lived in his entire life until the water rose like never before and swallowed everything.

What are the treatment options for COVID-19?

SK Hynix in $9 bn deal for Intel's flash memory chip business

The world's second-largest chipmaker, South Korea's SK Hynix, announced a record $9 billion deal Tuesday to buy Intel's flash memory chip operation as it seeks to bolster its position against rival behemoth Samsung Electronics.

California's feared surge of virus cases hasn't happened

Near the end of September, with coronavirus cases falling and more schools and businesses reopening, Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration urged restraint, citing a statistical model that predicted a startling 89% increase in virus hospitalizations in the next month.

Large earthquake off Alaska prompts tsunami fears, fleeing

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake prompted a tsunami warning Monday for a nearly thousand-mile stretch of Alaska's southern coast, with waves over 2 feet at the nearest community as the threat subsided.

Argentina hits 1 million cases as virus slams Latin America

At the edge of Argentina in a city known as "The End of the World," many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

China's super rich got $1.5 trillion richer during pandemic: report

China's super wealthy have earned a record $1.5 trillion in 2020, more than the past five years combined, as e-commerce and gaming boomed during pandemic lockdowns, an annual rich list said Tuesday.

Cannabis reduces OCD symptoms by half in the short-term

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, report that the severity of their symptoms was reduced by about half within four hours of smoking cannabis, according to a Washington State University study.

Conversation about suicide prevention leads to safe gun storage

Talking to people at gun shows about suicide prevention and the risks of unsecured firearms can lead to safe weapons storage, according to a new study.

Focal epilepsy often overlooked: Earlier diagnosis could lead to fewer car accidents

Having subtler symptoms, a form of epilepsy that affects only one part of the brain often goes undiagnosed long enough to cause unexpected seizures that contribute to car crashes, a new study finds.

Why school bullying prevention programs that involve peers may be harmful to victims

School bullying has been identified as harmful to students' mental health. Many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs, finding mixed results in general and no benefits overall for secondary school students. Looking at the specific components of bullying prevention programs helps to explain the complicated pattern: Unlike intensive programs that include parent training, firm disciplinary methods or improved playground supervision, interventions that involve work with peers tend to lead to increases in bullying. A new review explores why encouraging peers to defend victims may actually cause more harm than good.

Democracy: Millennials are the most disillusioned generation 'in living memory'—global study

Young people's faith in democratic politics is lower than any other age group, and millennials across the world are more disillusioned with democracy than Generation X or baby boomers were at the same stage of life.

Enhanced-image endoscopy more effective than conventional imaging for detecting upper GI cancers

Linked color imaging (LCI), a new image-enhanced endoscopy technique that allows users to recognize slight differences in mucosal color, is more effective than conventional white light imaging (WLI) for detecting tumors in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Findings from a randomized controlled trial are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake prompted a tsunami warning Monday for a nearly thousand-mile stretch of Alaska's southern coast, with waves over 2 feet at the nearest community as the threat subsided.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-large-earthquake-alaska-prompts-tsunami.html

China's super rich got $1.5 trillion richer during pandemic: report

China's super wealthy have earned a record $1.5 trillion in 2020, more than the past five years combined, as e-commerce and gaming boomed during pandemic lockdowns, an annual rich list said Tuesday.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-fortunes-china-internet.html