Language barriers or lack of institutional awareness do not explain why immigrants in Sweden have a higher mortality from COVID-19. These are the conclusions of a new population-based study from Stockholm University that analyzed intermarried couples—immigrants partnered with Swedes. Previous…
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Defective epithelial barriers linked to 2 billion chronic diseases
Humans are exposed to a variety of toxins and chemicals every day. According to the epithelial barrier hypothesis, exposure to many of these substances damages the epithelium, the thin layer of cells that covers the surface of our skin, lungs…
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The big barriers to global vaccination: Patent rights, national self-interest and the wealth gap
We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination or previous exposure to the disease. A truly global vaccination campaign, however, would look very different from what we…
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How buildings, masks can be barriers to coronavirus
Joe Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of its Healthy Buildings program, suspects that broader airborne transmission of the coronavirus is likely, and thinks certain precautions indoors and…
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