Health

11pm and I am worried my patient will not make it till tomorrow morning, says Dr Glenn Wakam. Twelve hours after intubation, the COVID-19 patient's condition deteriorates dramatically, and Wakam knows that an even more difficult intervention follows: to explain to the patient's wife, who begs to be allowed to say goodbye, that the hospital does not allow her this sad privilege.

“If you had asked me that morning, ‘Arianna, how are you?’ I would’ve said, ‘Fine.’ It was really the fact that being depleted, running on empty, had become the new normal for me.”

In the realm of health and wellness, few practices embody the principle of “no pain, no gain” quite like the revival of ice baths. Plunging into icy water might seem like a counterintuitive pursuit—a stark departure from the comforts of warm showers—but it’s precisely this discomfort that has drawn enthusiasts around the world.

1. I remember that day, 9/11. It was chaos. Violence, shortage of food. For several days, it was uncertain if there would be more...

When we are isolated with our family, problems that are sometimes easy to ignore become more acute, and the need to receive and offer forgiveness to those around us becomes increasingly evident.

Lying on my back, naked except for a sheet draped over my lower body, arms tucked behind my head, I’m feeling vulnerable and exposed. The radiotherapist leaves the room. I’m all alone. I begin to panic as I anticipate the beams of radiation about to penetrate my skin.

There have now been over 12 million cases of COVID-19 infection globally, and half a million deaths. Researchers are constantly looking for new and better information to reduce the uncertainty around the virus.

The epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch thinks that social distancing will have to continue, in one way or another, hopefully in milder forms and in correlation with other activities. Lipsitch is the author of a study suggesting that social distancing may be necessary, possibly intermittently, until 2022.

Let’s not go back to the abnormality of before! This is one of the messages which the French hung from their balconies on May 1, when the activities that would usually happen on this national public holiday could not take place. What can we change and what is worth changing after COVID-19?

Any large-scale phenomenon, such as a pandemic, activates our instinct to preserve our state of being—especially when we feel like we are losing it.

Do we need to wait for the results of longitudinal scientific studies, extending to decades, to know if vaccines are safe?

What are mRNA vaccines? How do they work?

For some people, being vegan is part of their lifestyle, but others cannot conceive of missing out on dairy products, meat or eggs. This could be explained by several myths that revolve around these diets.

It is widely accepted in popular belief that animal products are the ideal source for maintaining bone health. However, a study published in the US Journal of Nutrition found that populations consuming large amounts of calcium and protein from animal sources had a higher rate of hip fractures (Hegsted, 1986).

Psychologists recommend all sorts of things you need to do or have in order to nurture a healthy and strong mind, such as tenacity, ambition or optimism, but there are also some things you should avoid for the same purpose.