A Heart Fix That Fits

Yvette Honda-Schumacher was 20 weeks pregnant and had just had a routine anatomy ultrasound when she was surprised to hear that a cardiologist was asked to come into the exam room.

Trick-or-treat for Halloween? Here’s What You Need to Know

Terry Adirim, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and offers helpful tips regarding COVID-19 and “trick-or-treating” during the pandemic.

Face Shield or Face Mask to Stop the Spread of COVID-19?

If CDC guidelines aren’t enough to convince you that face shields alone shouldn’t be used to stop the spread of COVID-19, then maybe a new visualization study will. Researchers simulated coughing and sneezing from a mannequin’s mouth using a laser light to visualize droplets expelled. They tested a plastic face shield and found that they block the initial forward motion of the exhaled jet, however, aerosolized droplets are able to move around the visor with relative ease.

Dangerous Tick-Borne Bacterium Extremely Rare in New Jersey

There’s some good news in New Jersey about a potentially deadly tick-borne bacterium. Rutgers researchers examined more than 3,000 ticks in the Garden State and found only one carrying Rickettsia rickettsii, the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But cases of tick-borne spotted fevers have increased east of the Mississippi River, and more research is needed to understand why, according to a study in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss How to Handle Groceries at Home

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 31, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Donald W. Schaffner is available for interviews on how to handle groceries safely at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. “If you are concerned about the outside of food packages being contaminated, I suggest…

Heat Stress May Affect More Than 1.2 Billion People Annually by 2100

Heat stress from extreme heat and humidity will annually affect areas now home to 1.2 billion people by 2100, assuming current greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Rutgers study. That’s more than four times the number of people affected today, and more than 12 times the number who would have been affected without industrial era global warming.

New Method Detects Toxin Exposure from Harmful Algal Blooms in Human Urine

A newly developed method can detect even low-dose human exposure to microcystins and nodularin in human urine. During harmful algal blooms (HABs), species of cyanobacteria release toxic peptides, including microcystins and nodularin into waterways, impacting wildlife and humans living in these marine environments. These findings are the first to report microcystin concentrations directly from exposed residents impacted by cyanobacteria in Florida, and is a critical step in developing and interpreting clinical diagnostic tests for HABs exposure worldwide.

Expert Available to Discuss Dangers of Vaping and Associated Lung Illness

WHO: Keith S. Naunheim, MD, Vallee L. Melba Willman Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Saint Louis University (SLU), and past president of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons WHY: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers…

Moderate to Heavy Drinking During Pregnancy Alters Genes in Newborns, Mothers

Mothers who drink moderate to high levels of alcohol during pregnancy may be changing their babies’ DNA, according to a Rutgers-led study.