The results in a new medical study bolster the reputations of the nine national leaders who shared the 2020 Ig Nobel Prize for Medical Education. That prize was awarded to Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Narendra Modi of India, Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Donald […]
This week’s Feedback column (that I write) in New Scientist magazine has three segments. Here are bits of each of them: Helluva Twist — CHARLES DICKENS and his writings are still being “interrogated” (that’s the word in use) by scholars, at least one of whom is almost electrified by what might be there.Jeremy Parrott, an antiquarian bookseller […]
Did your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight? If so, that might be a symptom of COVID-19. This medical thought is inspired by the song “Does Your Chewing Gum Lost Its Flavor“, released into the world in 1959. UPDATE: Investigator Mason Porter alerts us to the existence of an earlier (1924) version […]
“Frozen Meat Against COVID-19 Misinformation: An Analysis of Steak-Umm and Positive Expectancy Violations” [by Ekaterina Bogomoletc and Nicole M. Lee, Journal of Business and Technical Communication, vol. 35, no. 1, 2021, pp. 118-125.] is a featured study in “Pandemic Dining: Gelato, Candy, Lettuce, Frozen Meat“, which is a featured article in the special Viruses and […]
“Which Saint to Pray for Fighting Against a Covid infection? A Short Survey” [by A. Perciaccante, A. Corallic, and P. Charlier, Medicine and Public Health, vol. 18, September 2021, 100674] is one of the studies featured in “Viruses Research Review: Group Sex, Singer, Saint, Count“, which is a featured article in the special Viruses and […]
“Handwashing and Detergent Treatment Greatly Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load on Halloween Candy Handled by COVID-19 Patients” [by Rodolfo A. Salido, Sydney C. Morgan, Maria I. Rojas, Celestine G. Magallanes, Clarisse Marotz, Peter DeHoff, Pedro Belda-Ferre, et al., Msystems, vol. 5, no. 6, 2020, e01074-20] is a featured study in “Pandemic Dining: Gelato, Candy, Lettuce, Frozen […]
“Association Between Consumption of Vegetables and COVID-19 Mortality at a Country Level in Europe” [by Susana C. Fonseca, Ioar Rivas, Dora Romaguera (pictured here), Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, Wienczyslawa Czarlewski, Alain Vidal, Joao A. Fonseca, Joan Ballester, Josep M. Anto, Xavier Basagana, Luis M. Cunha, and Jean Bousquet, MedRxiv, 2020] is a featured study in “Pandemic Dining: […]
The special Viruses and Pandemics issue of the magazine—Annals of Improbable Research—has been released into the populace. Among its delights you will find: Pandemic Dining: Gelato, Candy, Lettuce, Frozen Meat Virus Toiletometry Pandemic-Fingering: Manning and His Digits Anti-Pandemic Drinking and Drugging Pandemic-Handling: Toilet Paper, Horror, and the Wealthy Beauty and Masks in Pandemic Time Eyeglasses […]
The airflow from a trained opera singer has been studied intensively. It led to this video, a year ago, and now to a published study (and a new video, too). The study is “Tracking the Air Exhaled by an Opera Singer,” Philippe Bourrianne, Paul R. Kaneelil, Manouk Abkarian, and Howard A. Stone, Physical Review Fluids, […]
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who in 2020 co-won an Ig Nobel Prize for his teachings about the Covid-19 pandemic, is yet again pushing public health discussions into new and perhaps unimagined territory. The Washington Post reports: SAO PAULO, Brazil — Facebook removed a video in which Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro falsely associated coronavirus vaccines with […]