Humans

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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Health & Medicine

    Drugs for high blood pressure don’t appear to make COVID-19 worse

    Drugs commonly used to treat hypertension did not lead to more severe cases of the coronavirus infection or higher mortality in hospitalized patients.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    COVID-19 kills more men than women. The immune system may be why

    Countries with sex-specific data report more men than women are dying of the coronavirus. Women’s stronger immune response may give them a leg up.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    COVID-19 is hitting some patients with obesity particularly hard

    Doctors say some of their sickest COVID-19 patients are young and obese. One study shows they have higher rates of hospital admission and death.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    More evidence hints that hydroxychloroquine doesn’t help treat COVID-19

    A malaria drug showed no benefit over standard care in two preliminary studies examining how well hydroxychloroquine works against the coronavirus.

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  5. Humans

    Here’s where things stand on COVID-19 tests in the U.S.

    Government officials are weighing how to loosen social distancing measures across the United States, but that hinges on widespread COVID-19 testing.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Why 6 feet may not be enough social distance to avoid COVID-19

    Scientists who study airflow warn that virus-laden drops may travel farther than thought.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    COVID-19 may be most contagious one to two days before symptoms appear

    The coronavirus probably spreads the most before symptoms appear, making containing viral transmission harder.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Why African-Americans may be especially vulnerable to COVID-19

    African-Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans, data show. Experts blame long-standing health disparities.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Meet Sophia Upshaw, a volunteer in a coronavirus vaccine trial

    In Seattle and Atlanta, scientists have started testing the safety of a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Can fabric masks stem the coronavirus’ spread?

    It’s unclear whether homemade masks made from fabric will prevent an infected person from spreading the virus to others, experts say.

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  11. Paleontology

    Two primate lineages crossed the Atlantic millions of years ago

    Peruvian primate fossils point to a second ocean crossing by a now-extinct group roughly 35 million to 32 million years ago.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Warm weather probably won’t slow COVID-19 transmission much

    While some evidence has suggested higher temperatures can affect coronavirus transmission, summer’s arrival probably won’t curb the pandemic much.

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