Category: Feature Stories

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health made a discovery that surprised even them: certain coffee metabolites can trigger chronic kidney disease. Actually, hardly a month goes by that some study doesn’t appear suggesting how healthy coffee is for the heart, circulation and even brain. Much to the delight of all coffee fans. Researchers discovered two metabolites – metabolites in the blood – that are associated with coffee consumption and promote the development of chronic kidney disease. However, they also identified another “coffee metabolite” that helps the…

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by Hector Pascua For more than a year, the corona pandemic has determined everyday life worldwide. And again the number of new corona infections is rising. Globally, approximately 250.7 million corona infections and more than 5.06 million corona virus deaths have been reported (as of Nov. 10, 2021). UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the five million mark a “painful new threshold.” It would be a mistake to think the pandemic is over, he said. In Africa, he said, only five percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Nowhere have there…

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Due to a significant increase in the number of infections, the Catholic Church is tightening its Corona regulations: The FFP2 mask remains mandatory at public services. In addition, however, all those providing a liturgical service must provide proof of 3G. The mask requirement can be waived for “celebrations for a single occasion” such as baptism, first communion, confirmation or marriage ceremonies if the 2G rule is specifically agreed for all. There are also tightenings for choir singing. These are the most important changes in the framework order of the Bishops’…

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Of the 72,794 symptomatic laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases that occurred between Oct. 11 and Nov. 7, 41 percent of those affected – 29,818 people – were fully vaccinated. This was announced yesterday by the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). The number of vaccination breakthroughs was thus recently significantly higher than the total of about 17 percent since February. A vaccination breakthrough is defined by the occurrence of symptoms despite complete vaccination, because the vaccination also often protects against infection, but is approved to prevent disease. Even very mild symptoms…

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There will be little change in the risk assessment of the CoV traffic light commission at its meeting today. As the 14-day trend in new infections continues to point upward everywhere, all federal states remain in the red zone, which expresses very high risk of infection. Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg and Vorarlberg threaten to climb above the critical 33 percent mark in intensive care units in the next two weeks. The trend among the over-65s continues to be negative throughout the country, and infection rates are also rising sharply…

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The Corona pandemic has led to a significant increase in waste generation worldwide. Plastic packaging in particular has increased as a result of the epidemic. Most originate from Asia. Contact restrictions in the Corona pandemic have caused the global volume of packaging waste to rise sharply. According to one estimate, the pandemic has generated about 8.4 million more tons of plastic waste than usual in 193 countries through August, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences write in the Proceedings of the U.S. Academy of Sciences (PNAS). By comparison, according…

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Third vaccination despite high antibodies: is the booster vaccination against the coronavirus then useful at all? The third Corona vaccination has started in Austria. In addition to high-risk groups and those over the age of 65, the National Vaccination Panel recommends booster vaccination for everyone over the age of 18. On the sidelines of the discussion surrounding booster vaccinations, the word “antibody test” keeps coming up: many are probably wondering why they should get vaccinated a third time, even though an antibody test shows high levels. According to Health Minister…

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Researchers from California have found in a new study that Corona vaccine protection is increasingly declining due to mutations such as the delta variant. As a result, the effectiveness of vaccinations is said to have dropped by nearly 40 percent in the past year. The findings were published in the journal Science. Efficacy of Johnson & Johnson plummetedThe study shows above all that the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has declined sharply. With this variant, only one vaccine dose is needed for immunization. For example, the researchers found…

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The number of people threatened by hunger worldwide has increased significantly this year, according to the UN. Whereas at the beginning of the year 42 million people were counted as being threatened by hunger, the figure has now risen to 45 million, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) in Rome. The additional people at risk of hunger were registered mainly in Afghanistan, the WFP added. “Tens of millions of people are staring into the abyss. Conflict, climate change and Covid-19 are causing the number of hungry people…

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