On January 23, 2020, Illinois reported the state's first laboratory-confirmed case (index case) of  severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, in a woman in her 60s who had returned from Wuhan, China in mid-January. Subsequently, the first evidence of secondary transmission in the USA was reported on January 30, when her husband, who had not traveled outside the USA but who does suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic cough, had frequent, close contact with his wife since her return and while she was symptomatic, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

640 light-years away in the constellation of Pisces is a planet where the day side temperature exceeds 4,300 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough enough to vaporize metal.

And it does. Then, on planet tidally locked planet WASP-76b, winds carry the vapor to the cooler permanent night side, where the iron turns into rain. 

 Like our Moon on its orbit around Earth, WASP-76b is tidally locked. It takes as long to rotate around its axis as it does to go around its star so the day side receives thousands of times more radiation from its parent star than the Earth does from the Sun. It's so hot that molecules separate into atoms, and metals like iron evaporate into the atmosphere. The cooler night side is only around 3,000 degrees.

A new paper has identified the risk factors for death from COVID-19, also called coronavirus and Wuhan flu, and they are much like any other flu; being older and having pre-existing conditions are the biggest concerns. 

The results are observational from 191 patients and only from two hospitals in Wuhan, China, so caution is warranted when interpreting them even more than with other epidemiological correlation, but along with age showing signs of sepsis, chronic respiratory illness, and having blood clotting issues when admitted to hospital are unsurprisingly the key risk factors associated with the higher risk of death.

Once coronavirus made its way into the news cycle, it was only a matter of time before aromatherapy, supplements, miracle food sellers, or some business with "holistic" in its name claimed to treat, prevent, or cure it.

Letting kids use a cell phone at dinner seems to be the height of rudeness, symbolic of participation trophy culture and a desire to be best friends with a child rather than a parent, but a new study argues it may be better for health. If it reduces calorie intake.

It's no secret the developed world has an obesity problem, and it is no secret that cell phones are now ubiquitous, but while some try to create a causal link between them, the new paper say phones can be preventative.

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts, has 45 people who've been exposed to electrical shocks through electrodes attached to their skin, under the guise of conditioning individuals to stop engaging in self-injurious or aggressive behavior. They have names such as Whistle Stop, SIBIS, GED, GED-3A 2, and GED-4 2. Some 35 years ago, they were approved as medical devices.