Feeling guilty about not getting enough exercise? Wondering if sitting really is “the new smoking,” in terms of its risk to your health? You’re not alone.
Daniel Lieberman, professor in human evolutionary biology at Harvard and the author of a new book, Exercised, tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross this week that his survey of various cultures across the ages suggests not all long-held exercise beliefs are true.
For example, there's been a lot of ink spilled about the health dangers of too much sitting. But Lieberman points out that if you’re sitting to work most of the day, but getting up frequently to walk around a bit to keep muscles activated, that’s very different -- and probably less dangerous -- than plopping immobile in front of the TV for hours and hours on end.
As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out, a lot of us have questions about the vaccine and immunity. Can someone who has been vaccinated still spread the disease? Will the vaccine still protect us as the virus evolves? And how long will the vaccine protect us from getting sick?
The answers are still emerging, say infectious disease specialists, and they all depend on the outcome of a race that happens every time your body faces an invading microbe.
A good vaccine primes your immune system to quickly mobilize and squelch the infection before it can make you seriously ill. NPR’s Richard Harris this week explains how that works.
A year into the pandemic doctors have a lot of data about a few drugs that work against the coronavirus, but say they still have much to learn.
One drug found to be effective in clinical trials is remdesivir. It has shortened hospital stays for some of the sickest patients, but its use has not brought deaths down overall.
Meanwhile, monoclonal antibody treatments -- authorized by the FDA for emergency use to help keep people with mild to moderate infections out of the hospital -- are still under study. "The early data is promising," says Raj Gandhi, an infectious diseases doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital. "But I think the definitive trials are ongoing, and I'm looking forward to seeing those results."
Perhaps the most effective are steroid treatments, but scientists have much to learn about them still.
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