Publisher Health

Artificial Intelligence is now capable of generating novel, functionally active proteins, thanks to recently published work by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
“What we are now able to demonstrate offers fantastic potential for a number of future applications, such as faster and more cost-efficient development of protein-based drugs,” says Aleksej Zelezniak, Associate Professor at the Department of Biology and Biological Engineering at Chalmers.
Proteins are large, complex molecules that play a crucial role in all living cells, building, modifying, and breaking down other molecules naturally inside our cells. They are also widely used in industrial processes and products, and in our daily lives.
Protein-based drugs are very common — the diabetes drug insulin is one of the most prescribed. Some of the most expensive and effective cancer medicines are also protein-based, as well as the antibody formulas currently being used to treat COVID-19.
From computer design to working proteins in just a few weeks
Current methods used for protein engineering rely on introducing random mutations to protein sequences. However, with each additional random mutation introduced, the protein activity declines.

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightGetty ImagesRoughly half of people in the UK now have antibodies against Covid, either through infection or vaccination, tests conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. Most of this will be through vaccination – with 30 million people having received at least one dose.Antibodies are proteins in the blood which recognise specific infections and fight them off.Among the oldest who are most at risk, levels are even higher.But there has been a small decline in detectable antibodies in that group since the peak of infections in January.The ONS speculates this might be people who received the vaccine earliest having had their first dose but not their second – but they stress this is not evidence that these people have less immunity.Yes/no resultOnce someone has had an infection, antibodies help your body to be ready if it encounters it again. Vaccines provide a safe way to develop antibodies without risking getting ill. The tests used in the ONS study give a yes/no result based on whether the amount of antibodies in your blood cross a certain threshold.But people can be protected by lower levels of antibodies. And there are other element of your immune system like T-cells which are not being measured here. There is some evidence to suggest protective T-cells might be detectable for longer than antibodies.It’s possible some of the decline is from infections in the first wave, as we know antibodies from infection drop off over time. The study is conducted by taking blood from a representative sample of people around the UK to estimate what proportion of the whole population has antibodies. By 14 March, an estimated 55% of people in England had antibodies, 51% in Wales, 49% in Northern Ireland and 43% in Scotland. Vast majority retain Covid antibodies six months onCan you catch Covid twice?But among the over-65s, who are most likely to have been vaccinated, roughly 90% had antibodies. The figures mark a rapid rise in people in the population having protection against Covid – up from roughly a third of people testing positive when levels were measured at the start of March.Other data published today shows the number of deaths seen across the UK has remained below what is expected at this time of year, having dipped under average last week. There were 11,666 deaths registered in the week ending 19 March – 8% below the five-year average for this week.

Amid the chatter of travel’s long-awaited rebound one year into the pandemic, many families with children feel largely left out of the conversation.Nearly every summer, Ada Ayala, a teacher, and her husband, Oscar Cesar Pleguezeulos, travel with their children to visit Mr. Cesar Pleguezeulos’s parents in Spain. But this year, even though they will both soon be fully vaccinated in their home state of Florida, they are changing their plans. The reason? There is still no pediatric Covid-19 vaccine available for their kids.The travel industry, buoyed by news of vaccine rollouts, is anticipating a summer rush after a year of devastation. But amid the chatter of travel’s long-awaited rebound, many families with children — who comprise roughly 30 percent of the global travel market — say they are largely being left out of the conversation.In a March survey on Bébé Voyage, an online community for traveling families, 90 percent of respondents said that amid unclear guidelines on Covid-19 testing, they were searching for flexible bookings. The topic also comes up often on Bébé Voyage’s Facebook page, particularly among parents in the United States. “It’s the Americans in the group that are the most nervous traveling with kids,” said the Bébé Voyage chief executive, Marianne Perez de Fransius.Ms. Ayala, 44, is among those nervous parents. “If it wasn’t for the kids, we would definitely be flying this summer,” she said. Ms. Ayala already received her shot as a teacher. Her husband, also 44, will soon receive his shots, too, because Florida recently opened vaccinations to those age 40 and up. But their children, Charlise, 6, and Oscar, 2, will have to wait many more months to be inoculated.“My 2-year-old isn’t going to wear a mask for 10 hours on a flight, and I don’t know if I want to expose him for a 16-hour trip with layovers,” Ms. Ayala said. “I’ll feel more confident when vaccination reaches more people worldwide, or at least in the destinations we want to go.”Nearly one in three adults in the United States have now received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. But a full pediatric Covid-19 vaccine currently isn’t expected until the end of 2021 at the earliest, and while they wait, parents are struggling to figure out how they, too, can travel safely this summer, and even where their children are welcome as rules on quarantine and testing continue to shift.“This is the elephant in the room right now,” said Cate Caruso, an adviser for Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agencies, who also owns her own travel planning company, True Places Travel. The potential that a child could become infected with Covid-19 while abroad and not be allowed on a return flight, she said, is a major deterrent for parents. “Anywhere you go outside of the U.S. right now, you’ve got to think about how you’re going to get back in,” she said. “It’s leaving behind a whole bunch of people who are ready to go.”In Ms. Ayala’s case, a compromise has been struck: If and when Spain — which is currently closed to American travelers — opens its borders, Mr. Cesar will travel to Spain with their daughter, Charlise, while Ms. Ayala will remain in Florida with Oscar. “She goes to school and is very good with wearing her mask, cleaning her hands and keeping distance,” Ms. Ayala said of her daughter. “So I think she can be safe. But it’s just not possible with a baby.”But she doesn’t plan to stay home all summer. Whether or not her husband and daughter make it to Spain, Ms. Ayala is planning a family road trip at some point this summer, likely within Florida.After a year of road trips, R.V.s and rental cottages, many Americans are now ready to fly again: Online searches for late-summer flights are up as much as 75 percent, and hotels on both coasts are reporting that they are sold out through October. But families, more than any other travel sector, continue to play it safe.Family travel plans for this summer are more low-key than two years ago, with bookings to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, reported to be significantly up.Tannen Maury/EPA, via ShutterstockRovia, a membership-based global travel agency that works with both travelers and travel agents, reports that beach and camping destinations within driving distance are the most popular choices for families this summer. An exception? Disney World, which is seeing an uptick in reservations for summer from families looking to visit while capacity remains limited (and lines, as a result, remain shorter).“The rate of couples traveling by air has increased faster, whereas families are still leaning toward travel by car and R.V. rentals,” said Jeff Gwynn, Rovia’s director of communications.Montoya and Phil Hudson, who showcase their travels as a Black family on their popular blog, The Spring Break Family, are among them. “Most years we go pretty far — Spain, Italy, France, as far as we can go. This year it was about what’s reachable by car,” Ms. Hudson said. She and Mr. Hudson, who both work in the health care industry, are vaccinated, but admit they probably won’t be willing to fly with their two daughters, Leilah, 11, and Layla, 8, for several more months.That’s because they want to wait for herd immunity to help keep their daughters safe. “The goal is to wait until the majority of the population is vaccinated, or has at least had the opportunity to become vaccinated,” Ms. Hudson said.In addition to preferring driving over flying this summer, travel analysts say families with children will also continue to opt for rental homes over hotel rooms.In fact, when it comes to the vacation cottage market, parents are booking faster than anyone else. “Families are the number one group expected to travel in 2021,” said Vered Schwarz, the president and chief operating officer of Guesty, a short-term property management platform which reports that its summer reservations are already 110 percent higher than 2020, with families comprising more than 30 percent of those booking. “For families with unvaccinated children, private rentals are appealing — they are comfortable and they avoid hotels chock-full of crowded common areas,” she said.The question of how to treat unvaccinated children who may be traveling with their parents is also presenting a legal and ethical minefield for American travel operators.The European Union is considering a vaccine passport that will allow free travel within the bloc for those who can show proof of inoculation. In Israel, a green pass has been established for those who have been vaccinated, granting holders not just the ability to cross a border but also check into a hotel or eat inside a restaurant, but children are not exempt — so parents with unvaccinated children must dine outside at restaurants and find babysitters before heading to the gym or a show.But in the United States, such policies are unlikely to take hold, said Chuck Abbott, the general manager of the InterContinental San Diego. “Most hotels would not ask for that information, because it violates the privacy of the guest,” he said. “Even putting vaccinated guests on a different floor than other guests would likely present a legal issue.”Compared with summer 2019, families’ plans for summer 2021 are more low-key: Travelocity reports that bookings to Mount Rushmore and Nashville are significantly up over two years ago; internationally, family bookings to London, Paris and Rome, destinations that were top family sites in 2019, but have still not reopened to U.S. travel, are way down, while Cancún, which is currently open to American travelers without quarantine requirements, is up nearly 50 percent.Some European countries, like Iceland, have begun inching open their borders, but only to passengers who are vaccinated. That means individuals who can present proof of the Covid-19 jab can bypass quarantine when they arrive — unless they are parents traveling with children.“Unvaccinated children would still need to quarantine for five days, and the parents, of course, must stay with the child,” said Eric Newman, who owns the travel blog Iceland With Kids. “Iceland’s brand-new travel regulations are not friendly to families hoping to visit with children.”After a year of virtual schooling and working from home, parents have no desire to quarantine with their kids, said Anthony Berklich, the founder of the travel platform Inspired Citizen. “What these destinations are basically saying is you can come but your children can’t,” he said.Instead, families are opting for warm-weather destinations closer to home.When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in January that proof of a negative PCR test would be required of all air passengers arriving in the United States, many tropical resorts — including more than a dozen Hyatt properties — began offering not just free on-site testing, but a deeply discounted room in which to quarantine in case that test comes back positive. That move, said Rebecca Alesia, a travel consultant with SmartFlyer, has been a boon for family travel business.“What happens if the morning you’re supposed to come home, you get up and Junior has a surprise positive test?” she said. “A lot of my clients have booked this summer because of this policy.”For parents struggling to decide how and when to return to travel, there is good news on the horizon, said Dr. Shruti Gohil, the medical director of infection prevention at the University of California, Irvine.“The chances of a good pediatric vaccine coming soon are high,” she said, noting that both Pfizer and Moderna are already running pediatric trials on their vaccines. “There is no reason to think that the vaccine will have any untoward effects on children that we haven’t already noted in adults.”In the meantime, she said, parents with children need to continue to be cautious. That doesn’t mean families shouldn’t travel at all, but she recommends choosing to drive rather than fly; to not allow unvaccinated children to play unmasked with children from other households; and to remain vigilant about wearing masks and regularly washing hands while on the road.“We can’t keep saying that you can’t go anywhere,” she said. “At some point we have to have some kind of nuance around this. But this is a game we are all still playing until the virus is gone.”Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation.

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on balancing health care providers’ privacy against patients’ concerns, creating an equitable vaccine system and more.I was planning to make an appointment with a hygienist working under my dentist and was told by a third party that one of the hygienists had contracted Covid, been treated and was back to work. I am 69, and my nephew died of Covid last May. Four other relatives contracted the virus and recovered. I am nervous about the pandemic.I requested not to be treated by that hygienist and received this email in response: “To protect the privacy of our staff, just as we do for our patients, we cannot confirm or deny if someone has recovered from the coronavirus. This would be a violation of HIPAA. Your request to not be seen by someone who tested Covid-19 positive was not appropriate, as C.D.C. guidelines state that after 14 days of quarantine, individuals are safe to go out in public. In addition, our clinicians wear appropriate P.P.E. for treatment (including N95 masks, face shields, gowns, gloves), and our office has implemented additional infection-control measures. We monitor for symptoms, take temperatures and measure oxygen saturation daily for everyone that comes into our suite. If this policy makes you uncomfortable, our office may not be a good fit for you.”I have a problem with putting the privacy of an employee ahead of the concerns of a patient. I also thought that HIPAA applied only to disclosures by a doctor about their patients. Am I out of line to make this request? Should a doctor or dentist tell patients if a staff member has had the virus so that the patient can make an informed decision about treatment? Jack L. Schwartz, Los AngelesAll employers, including medical employers like your dentist, are entitled to have certain kinds of health information about employees. But, like health care providers, they should generally keep that information confidential. It’s granted to them for a limited class of purposes and should be seen only by people who require access to it for those reasons. (The federal rules are complicated, but the basic idea is that information about people’s health shouldn’t be given without their consent unless necessary.) Your dentist is entitled to know that employees are sick in order to confirm that they have medical reasons for taking sick days and to be sure that they pose no risks when they return to patient care. But precisely because the dentist was allowed the information necessary to decide whether the hygienist could safely be at work, patients in the clinic don’t need this information. The really important thing isn’t whether someone once had the virus but whether everyone in the clinic is taking the appropriate precautions with respect to hygiene and P.P.E. As it happens, people who have recovered from Covid-19 are thought to have immunity to it for some time, and people who have immunity to the virus are less likely to transmit it. So it doesn’t make sense to avoid a hygienist who has recovered. Someone who has never had the disease or has not been vaccinated poses the greater risk. (Though, again, a minimal one given proper precautions.)The C.D.C. says that someone who has had Covid-19 can be around others if 10 days have elapsed since symptoms began, a full day has elapsed without fever and other symptoms are improving. Although your dentist’s précis was inexact, it sounds as if the office erred on the side of safety and is rigorous about protocols. Your dentist was making the point that there was no clash here between employee privacy and the legitimate concerns of a patient. Possibly, though, I wouldn’t have added that slightly barbed final comment (“If this policy makes you uncomfortable, our office may not be a good fit for you”). Dentists, of all people, should understand the power and prevalence of irrational anxieties, and one element of good medicine is an understanding heart.I am a college student who spent my break working as an E.M.T. for a private ambulance service. My state’s Covid-19 vaccine protocol prioritizes first responders, and I have the option to receive a shot next week. Given that it can take up to a few weeks for the vaccine to promote antibodies, however, if I get the vaccine now, it won’t protect me until after I’m back at school. My early vaccination provides no benefit to the community, and I could be taking a dose from someone who is at greater risk. Is it wrong for me to get the vaccine knowing that if it weren’t for a few weeks of work, I would be waiting months? Elizabeth Hopkinson, MassachusettsA fair and reasonable system that isn’t unworkably complicated will end up vaccinating some people earlier than others whose need is greater. It’s not your job to add further criteria of your own. What’s more, the available evidence suggests that significant protection starts to kick in about 10 to 14 days after initial vaccination, which could overlap with your period of work as an E.M.T. And being vaccinated does provide a benefit to your community. It lowers the chance of your transmitting the disease by reducing the likelihood that you’ll contract it and, very likely, by reducing the likelihood that you’ll transmit it even if you do. Adding to the overall vaccination rate, which this does, will be necessary in order to reach something like herd immunity.An acquaintance asked me to refer him for an open position at my company. Normally, I would be happy to do so, but he mentioned that for New Year’s he rented a house in another state with a group of friends and later traveled to yet another state to ski. I think it is irresponsible of him to have engaged in recreational travel during the winter peak of the pandemic. The position he’s applying for is at a company where all employees currently work remotely. My concern is not that he’ll get anyone sick but that his recent travel indicates poor judgment, which may be obliquely relevant to his ability to do the job. Should I decline to refer him on these grounds or is that too big of a logical leap? Name WithheldYou’re not obliged to recommend an acquaintance for a job just because he asks. And if you do, you should not hide faults relevant to that job. But your resistance to recommending this person doesn’t seem to be that you think he wouldn’t do a good job; it’s that you disapprove of his behavior during the pandemic. As an empirical matter, though, there’s reason to doubt that people’s character traits are “global” — that the careful accountant is a careful driver, that the faithless spouse is a disloyal friend, that the effective product manager will share your sensible concerns about unnecessary travel and socializing. So yes, that’s a big logical leap. Still, you’re entitled to decline to recommend him because you think that he failed to display a concern for the common good; as an ethical matter, you can deny a favor to someone who, in your view, lacks an important virtue. What you can’t do is say you’ll recommend him and then not do so.I’m in a high-risk group, eligible for a Covid vaccination in both the state I live in and a neighboring state. My state is doing a poor job of distributing vaccines, and I’ve failed to get an appointment. But the neighboring state has a terrific system. A friend who lives there got me an appointment. I know that they don’t ask for your address when you arrive for your appointment, which suggests that they’re not overly concerned about residency, and my friend didn’t misrepresent me when signing me up. Am I right to feel a twinge of guilt all the same? Name WithheldDifferent states have different approaches. Our collective goal, as a nation, is to get as many people vaccinated — especially those at particular risk — as quickly as we can. But because states are allocated vaccines on the basis of their population, some are taking a firm line, restricting vaccinations to those who live or work there; they may require documentation or at least self-attestation to this effect. Other state officials seem OK with letting visitors in the line. So long as you don’t misrepresent yourself at any point, you can proceed with an easy conscience.Kwame Anthony Appiah teaches philosophy at N.Y.U. His books include “Cosmopolitanism,” “The Honor Code” and “The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity.” To submit a query: Send an email to ethicist@nytimes.com; or send mail to The Ethicist, The New York Times Magazine, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018. (Include a daytime phone number.)

BRUSSELS — Citing what they call “the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s,” the leaders of 25 countries, the European Union and the World Health Organization on Tuesday floated an international treaty to protect the world from pandemics.In a joint article published in numerous newspapers across the globe, the leaders warn that the current coronavirus pandemic will inevitably be followed by others at some point. They outline a treaty meant to provide universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics, a suggestion first made in November by Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, the body that represents the leaders of the European Union countries.The article argues that an international understanding similar to the one that followed World War II and that led to the United Nations is needed to build cross-border cooperation before the next global health crisis upends economies and lives. The current pandemic is “a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe,” the leaders write.The suggested treaty is an acknowledgment that the current system of international health institutions, symbolized by the relatively powerless World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations, is inadequate to the problem.“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone,” the leaders note. “We believe that nations should work together toward a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response.”The treaty would call for better alert systems, data sharing, research and the production and distribution of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment, they said.“At a time when Covid-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful cooperation that extends beyond this crisis,” the leaders write. “Building our capacities and systems to do this will take time and require a sustained political, financial and societal commitment over many years.”The article is not clear, however, about what would happen should a country choose not to cooperate fully or to delay sharing scientific information, as China has been accused of doing with the W.H.O.China has not signed the letter, at least so far. Neither has the United States.In a news conference on Tuesday in Geneva, the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that when discussions on a treaty start, “all member states will be represented.”Asked if the leaders of China, the United States and Russia had been asked to sign the letter, he said that some leaders had chosen to “opt in.”“Comment from member states, including the United States and China, was actually positive,” he said. “Next steps will be to involve all countries, and this is normal,” he added. “I don’t want it to be seen as a problem.”As well as European countries and the W.H.O., the letter’s signatories included nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.Coronavirus World Map: Tracking the Global OutbreakThe virus has infected more than 127,627,400 people and has been detected in nearly every country.

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightPA MediaPrime Minister Boris Johnson has joined more than 20 world leaders in calling for a new global settlement to help the world prepare for future pandemics. In an article for newspapers around the world, leaders including President Macron of France and German chancellor Angela Merkel say Covid has posed the biggest challenge since World War Two. Another pandemic or health crisis is a matter of “not if, but when”, they say.And the pandemic has shown that “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”. PM: Strength of defence against new wave unclearUK ‘fill and finish’ Novavax vaccine deal agreedSir Lenny Henry: ‘Trust science, take the jab’Writing in the Daily Telegraph and publications such as Le Monde in France and El Pais in Spain, the 24 leaders argue that a treaty similar to that reached in the wake of World War Two is needed to build cross-border cooperation.The signatories, who include the head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, say: “At that time, following the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system. “The aims were clear: To bring countries together, to dispel the temptations of isolationism and nationalism, and to address the challenges that could only be achieved together in the spirit of solidarity and co-operation – namely peace, prosperity, health and security.”The leaders say that in the same spirit, countries must now “be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly co-ordinated fashion”. A new treaty would help to establish better systems for alerting people about potential pandemics, they say, while also improving the sharing of data and distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment.”There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when. “The Covid-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.”The letter adds: “At a time when Covid-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful co-operation that extends beyond this crisis.”What can I do now… and what comes next?What are the rules for meeting up with friends?The joint article comes in the wake of disagreement between the UK and the EU over vaccines, after the bloc introduced tougher export controls on jabs produced there.The UK and the World Health Organization warned against blockades, while the EU blamed pharmaceutical companies – primarily AstraZeneca – for not delivering promised doses. AstraZeneca has denied that it is failing to honour its contract.At a Downing Street briefing on Monday, Mr Johnson announced that tens of millions of doses of the Novavax vaccine would now be produced and packaged in north-east England.The prime minister said a deal had been agreed with GlaxoSmithKline to bottle 60 million doses at its facility in Barnard Castle.The original plan was for the “fill and finish” process – by which vaccines are packaged up in vials – to be done in Europe.Novavax is currently being assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.image copyrightPA MediaAlso at the briefing, the PM said the UK did not know “exactly how strong” its defences against another wave of Covid would be despite its “impressive” vaccine rollout. He was speaking as the stay-at-home rule came to an end in England, allowing groups to meet outdoors. Outdoor sport facilities, including swimming pools, tennis courts and golf courses, have reopened, while weddings are also on again.Mr Johnson warned more deaths, infections and hospitalisations were inevitable as the UK comes out of lockdown.But he also said he could not “see anything in the data right now that would cause us to deviate from the road map” of easing further restrictions.From 12 April, shops, hairdressers, gyms and outdoor hospitality will reopen in England, if strict conditions are met.LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?LOCKDOWN RULES: What are they and when will they end?SOCIAL DISTANCING: How can I meet my friend safely? FACE MASKS: When do I need to wear one?A further 4,654 Covid cases were recorded in the UK on Monday, compared with 5,342 cases a week ago. There were another 23 deaths of people within 28 days of a positive test, compared with 17 on the same day last week.The latest figures show 293,542 UK adults received a first dose of the vaccine on Sunday, taking the overall number to 30,444,829 – with 146,785 having their second dose, bringing that total to 3,674,266.NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL LOCKDOWN: The music that got you throughWALKING HOME ALONE: “I’m just too terrified”

A type of glaucoma called normal-tension glaucoma is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment and possibly dementia, finds research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve becomes damaged and this can eventually lead to blindness. In most types of glaucoma, the damage is caused by a build-up of pressure in the eye, but this is not the case with normal-tension glaucoma.
The disease pathway for normal-tension glaucoma — a subtype of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) — is not fully understood, but the authors say their findings suggest that it may share similar neurodegenerative pathways with dementia.
Primary open angle glaucoma and dementia have been linked in some previous studies, but not all studies have found this association.
Primary open angle glaucoma encompasses not only low-tension glaucoma or normal-tension glaucoma (NTG), where the pressure in the eye is not raised above normal levels, but also high-tension glaucoma (HTG), where pressure in the eye is high. Normal-tension glaucoma is more common in Asia, while high-tension glaucoma is more common in Europe.
Two of the studies which showed a link between primary open angle glaucoma and dementia included lots of people with Asian ethnicity. This led the authors to wonder whether it may be specifically normal-tension glaucoma that is linked to cognitive impairment and dementia.
To investigate, they used the Australian and New Zealand Registry of Advanced Glaucoma to randomly select 248 patients aged at least 65 years who had normal-tension glaucoma, and these were matched by age and sex with 349 patients with high-tension glaucoma.
All patients were invited to participate in a health questionnaire and cognitive assessment over the telephone. A total of 290 patients — 144 with normal-tension glaucoma and 146 with high-tension glaucoma — had the cognitive screen. There was no difference between the two groups in demographic and eye parameters at baseline.
Cognitive impairment was found to be more than twice as prevalent in patients with normal-tension glaucoma than it was in those with high-tension glaucoma.
This is an observational study, so can’t establish cause, and the authors cannot rule out the possibility that results were affected by unobserved differences in clinical features or cognition of patients who could not be contacted or did not participate.
And while cardiovascular disease risk factors strongly associated with dementia, such as stroke, smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes were accounted for in the analysis, other potentially influential factors, such as socioeconomic status were not.
Nevertheless, the authors conclude: “Our finding of an association between normal-tension glaucoma and cognitive impairment supports a growing body of evidence suggesting an association between normal-tension glaucoma and dementia.”
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Physical activity is important in preventing heart and blood vessel disease in young people so long as they don’t undertake very strenuous activity on days when air pollution levels are high, according to a nationwide study of nearly 1.5 million people published today (Tuesday) in the European Heart Journal.
Until now, little has been known about the trade-offs between the health benefits of physical activity taking place outdoors and the potentially harmful effects of air pollution. Previous research by the authors of the current study had investigated the question in middle-aged people at a single point in time, but this is the first time that it has been investigated in people aged between 20-39 years over a period of several years. In addition, the researchers wanted to see what happens when people increase or decrease their physical activity over time.
The researchers from Seoul National University College of Medicine (South Korea), led by Professor Sang Min Park, looked at information from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in South Korea for 1,469,972 young Koreans living in cities, who underwent two consecutive health examinations during two screening periods: 2009-2010 and 2011-2012. They followed up the participants from January 2013 to December 2018.
At each health check-up the participants completed a questionnaire asking about their physical activity in the past seven days and this information was converted into units of metabolic equivalent task (MET) minutes per week (MET-mins/week). The participants were divided into four groups: 0, 1-499, 500-999 and 1000 or more MET-mins/week. European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend people should try to do 500-999 MET-mins/week and this can be achieved by, for example, running, cycling or hiking for 15-30 minutes five times a week, or brisk walking, doubles tennis or slow cycling for 30-60 minutes five times a week. [1]
The researchers used data from the National Ambient Air Monitoring System in South Korea to calculate annual average levels of air pollution, in particular the levels of small particulate matter that are less than or equal to 10 or 2.5 microns in diameter, known as PM10 and PM2.5 [2]. The amount of exposure to air pollution was categorised at two levels: low to moderate (less than 49.92 and 26.43 micrograms per cubic metre, μm/m3, for PM10 and PM2.5 respectively), and high (49.92 and 26.46 μm/m3 or more, respectively). [2]
Dr Seong Rae Kim, first author of the paper, said: “We found that in young adults aged 20-39 years old, the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke and heart attack, increased as the amount of physical activity decreased between the two screening periods in the group with low levels of exposure to air pollution.

Reece caught coronavirus during the first wave of the pandemic in March 2020, but like many twenty-somethings, he wasn’t hospitalised overnight.What he thought would be a mild illness became a protracted nightmare with his partner Alice becoming his carer. Months after his initial infection, he was diagnosed with CFS/ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) by his GP and referred to a specialist. His CFS/ME consultant later confirmed his CFS/ME symptoms were a form of ‘long Covid’ and referred him to a long Covid clinic.Video Journalist: Lorna Acquah

The administration is stepping up the pace of vaccinations and expanding access to shots, but it remains in a race against a virus on the upswing.WASHINGTON — President Biden, facing a rise in coronavirus cases around the country, called on Monday for governors and mayors to reinstate mask mandates as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of “impending doom” from a potential fourth surge of the pandemic.The president’s comments came only hours after the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, appeared to fight back tears as she pleaded with Americans to “hold on a little while longer” and continue following public health advice, like wearing masks and social distancing, to curb the virus’ spread.The back-to-back appeals reflected a growing sense of urgency among top White House officials and government scientists that the chance to conquer the pandemic, now in its second year, may slip through its grasp. Coronavirus infections and hospitalizations are on the upswing, including a troubling rise in the Northeast, even as the pace of vaccinations is accelerating.“Please, this is not politics — reinstate the mandate,” Mr. Biden said, adding, “The failure to take this virus seriously is precisely what got us into this mess in the first place.”According to a New York Times database, the seven-day average of new virus cases as of Sunday was about 63,000, a level comparable with late October’s average. That was up from 54,000 a day two weeks earlier, an increase of more than 16 percent. Similar upticks in Europe have led to major surges in the spread of Covid-19, Dr. Walensky said.Public health experts say that the nation is in a race between the vaccination campaign and new, worrisome coronavirus variants. Although more than one in three American adults have received at least one shot and nearly one-fifth are fully vaccinated, the nation is a long way away from reaching so-called herd immunity — the tipping point that comes when spread of a virus begins to slow because so many people, estimated at 70 to 90 percent of the population, are immune to it.But states are rapidly expanding access to more plentiful quantities of the vaccine. On Monday, at least six — Texas, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma — made all adults eligible for vaccination. New York said that all adults would be eligible starting April 6.Mr. Biden said on Monday that the administration was taking steps to expand vaccine eligibility and access, including opening a dozen new mass vaccination centers. He directed his coronavirus response team to ensure that 90 percent of Americans would be no farther than five miles from a vaccination site by April 19.The president said doses were plentiful enough now that nine of 10 adults in the nation — or more — would be eligible for a shot by that date. Previously, he had called on states to broaden eligibility to all adults by May 1. He revised that promise because states, buoyed by projected increases in shipments, are opening their vaccination programs more rapidly than expected, a White House official said.But it was Dr. Walensky’s raw display of emotion that seemed to capture the angst of the moment. Barely three months into her new job, the former Harvard Medical School professor and infectious disease specialist acknowledged she was departing from her prepared script during the White House’s regular coronavirus briefing for reporters.She described “a feeling of nausea” she experienced last year when, caring for patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, she saw the corpses of Covid-19 victims piled up, overflowing from the morgue. She recalled how she stood — “gowned, gloved, masked, shielded” — as the last one in a patient’s room before they died alone, without family.Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the C.D.C., said on Monday that the nation had “so much reason for hope,” but she warned of the potential for another virus surge.Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times“I am asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends,” Dr. Walensky said. The nation has “so much reason for hope,” she added.“But right now,” she said, “I’m scared.”In nine states over the past two weeks, virus cases have risen more than 40 percent, The Times database shows. Michigan led the way with a 133 percent increase, and the Northeast has also seen a marked rise in virus cases. Connecticut reported a 62 percent jump over the past two weeks, and New York and Pennsylvania both reported increases of more than 40 percent.Michigan’s increase has not been traced to any one event, but epidemiologists have noted that cases started to rise after the state eased restrictions for indoor dining on Feb. 1 and lifted other restrictions in January. Other hot spots included North Dakota, where cases rose by nearly 60 percent, and Minnesota, where cases have risen 47 percent. Of those states, North Dakota is the only one currently without a mask mandate.The wave of new cases does come at the same time as some promising news: A C.D.C. report released Monday confirmed the findings of last year’s clinical trials that vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer were highly effective against Covid-19. The report documented that the vaccines work to prevent both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections “in real-world conditions.”Researchers followed nearly 4,000 health care employees and essential workers beginning in December. They found 161 infections among the unvaccinated workers, but only three among those who received two doses of vaccine. The study suggested even a single dose was 80 percent effective against infection two weeks after it was administered. Studies are continuing to determine whether vaccinated people can still transmit the virus to others, although many scientists consider that unlikely.A vaccination site on Monday in Houston. A recent drop in cases in Texas may be reversing. Go Nakamura for The New York TimesThe pace of vaccination continues to pick up. The seven-day average of vaccines administered hit 2.76 million on Monday, an increase over the pace the previous week, according to data reported by the C.D.C. On Sunday alone, nearly 3.3. million people were inoculated, said Andy Slavitt, a senior White House pandemic adviser.Broader eligibility pools should bolster that further, with more than three dozen states now allowing all adults to sign up for shots by mid-April.Minnesota will open up to all adults on Tuesday, and Connecticut on Thursday. Florida has lowered the age of eligibility to 40, and Indiana has lowered it to 30.At the same time, Covid surges in some states have health officials increasingly on edge. Similar escalations several weeks ago in Germany, France and Italy have now turned into major outbreaks, Dr. Walensky said.“We know that travel is up, and I just worry that we will see the surges that we saw over the summer and over the winter again,” she said.As his presidency enters its third month, Mr. Biden is still fighting some battles started by his predecessor, who turned the act of mask wearing into a political statement. As soon as he took office, Mr. Biden used his executive authority to impose mask requirements where he could — on federal property. And he urged all Americans to “mask up” for 100 days.But some governors, particularly in more conservative states, ignored him. When the governors of Mississippi and Texas announced this month that they would lift their mask mandates, Mr. Biden denounced the plans as a “big mistake” that reflected “Neanderthal thinking.”Texas’ governor this month allowed all businesses to open at full capacity and lifted the state’s mask mandate.Matthew Busch for The New York TimesIn Texas, a recent drop in cases may be reversing. Although The Times database shows that over the past two weeks coronavirus infections there have declined 17 percent, deaths have declined 34 percent and hospitalizations have declined 25 percent, the seven-day average of newly reported coronavirus infections was up on Sunday to 3,774. Last Wednesday, the average case count was at a low of 3,401.“There is something particularly difficult about this moment,” said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, a former top Food and Drug Administration official who now teaches at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. With more and more Americans vaccinated and the potential to bring the pandemic to an end in sight, he said that “it feels like every case is unnecessary.”Dr. Walensky, who has issued several warnings in recent weeks about the need to keep up mask wearing and social distancing, said she planned to talk to governors on Tuesday about the risks of prematurely lifting restrictions.“I know you all so badly want to be done,” she said. “We are just almost there, but not quite yet.”Eileen Sullivan