When COVID-19 hit, the inability to smell fragrant things -- hot coffee, or lavender or freshly baked bread -- became a diagnostic symptom that upset a lot of people who caught otherwise mild cases of the viral infection. And for some that symptom still persists, long after they’ve recovered in other ways.
Joanne Silberner, a former NPR health correspondent, lost her own sense of smell to a bad cold 25 years ago -- “with my eyes closed I can't tell if I'm in an overripe gym or a perfume store,” she says, though her taste buds work fine. This week, for NPR, Silberner delves into the latest research on how humans detect odorants, and what can interfere and why.
Young teens in the U.S. who have missed parties and hangouts with friends for more than a year just got some great news: Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is now authorized for use in 17 million kids ages 12 to 15.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging these adolescents to join their older siblings and parents in the vaccinated pool. Still, adolescents aren’t mini-adults and some parents have questions.
Two reassuring facts: In clinical trials, the vaccine was 100% effective in this younger age group, the FDA reports. And the potential side effects are very similar to those seen in the older set -- mostly limited to temporary arm soreness, or a headache, or low-grade fever or maybe some extra sleepiness the day after the second shot.
Sure, salmon stars on more menus, but did you know that less expensive anchovies, herring and sardines also pack a powerful punch of nutrients and that eating them might be better for the planet?
Shakuntala Thilsted, a nutrition scientist based in Penang, Malaysia, is the recent winner of the 2021 World Food Prize, and notes these smaller fish can help fight malnutrition and promote good cognitive development in children.
Beyond being a good source of protein, they’re packed with good fatty acids and other nutrients -- a superfood for pregnant women and new mothers who might worry about the heavy metal levels in some larger fish. Thilsted is such a fan she’s developed ways to help families sustainably farm small fish in their own backyard ponds.
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