A new study shows that climate change is making it harder to fall asleep. The study, published in Cell Press over the weekend, shows that millions of people are already sleeping less because of higher overnight temperatures. The study looked at people in 68 countries and found that when nights were hotter than 86 degrees, people slept 14 minutes less. That averages out to over 44 hours per year. Here in the U.S., at least 30 percent of adults in most areas reported sleeping less than 7 hours per night, with as many as 43 percent in areas of the south and west. The elderly and people in low-income countries were the most impacted, with the study citing a lack of air conditioning as an issue.
MOSQUITO STUDY
Finally, a couple weeks ago we told you about the study showing that your coconut body wash might stop mosquitoes from biting you. Well now, there's new research showing that your body odor is also a major factor. The study, published in Current Biology, showed that carboxylic acids, a compound that's produced by bacteria on your skin, was the most attractive to mosquitoes. On the flipside, one subject who had higher levels of eucalyptol, a chemical found in the eucalyptus tree, repelled the mosquitoes the most. Unfortunately, these scents can be so subtle that showering or wearing stronger deodorant probably won't be enough to trick the flying pests, but this research could help develop better repellants or traps for mosquitoes in the future.
Experts say that at some point next year, the pandemic will officially drop its pandemic status, becoming endemic. While this is a milestone to acknowledge, it does not mean we're free of infections, illnesses, and deaths. Dr. Rajeev Fernando, infectious disease specialist, Beth Israel Hospital and fellow, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Chicago-based Internist Dr. Vivek Cherian joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the unprecedented surge in U.S. COVID-19 as many prepare to celebrate the new year.
Dr. Soumi Eachempati, co-founder and CEO of Cleared4 and former professor of surgery and public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, joined Cheddar to breakdown what people should know about the recently FDA-approved emergency use of Merck and Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pills. He noted that not only do people need to be aware of other medications they are taking that could cause adverse effects if coupled with COVID-19 pill treatments, he also talked about the intense in-take regiment. "The Merck pills are actually about 40 pills over five days. The Pfizer ones are three pills over five days, so people have to be prepared for that because it is a lot of pills you'll have to take to get full value from these drugs," Eachempati told Cheddar.
Twitter is exploding with a new meme after the CDC revised its Covid-19 guidelines, shortening the recommended isolation period to five days instead of 10 for when you test positive and are asymptomatic. The change came amid a skyrocketing surge of new cases is the U.S. due to the Omicron variant, drawing criticism from experts and Twitter --with users claiming the government agency is giving funny advise on a variety of issues. But what does the meme say about the public’s trust in the agency? Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Hastie Afkhami.
The list of questions should be getting shorter as we enter the pandemic's third year, but that isn't the case. There's another question to add to that list: is the U.S. doing enough to track the virus and its variants? Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the O'Neill Institute for national and global health law at Georgetown University, joins Cheddar News.
As we prepare to ring in the new year, COVID cases are hitting an all-time high. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said the safest way to celebrate would be a small gathering with vaccinated family members only... far from the large, flashy parties from a few years ago. Dr. Christina Johns, senior medical advisor at PM Pediatrics, joins Cheddar News to discuss how to celebrate safely.
