/oss/taxonomy/term/1166/all en /oss/article/covid-19/wider-eligibility-covid-booster-shots-makes-sense <hr /> <p>This article was originally published in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-wider-eligibility-for-covid-booster-shots-makes-sense">the Montreal Gazette</a></p> <hr /> <p>Recently, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization lowered the recommended age for a COVID-19 booster shot from 70 and up to 50 and up, with the same proviso that it be at least six months after the second dose. It said those ages 18 to 49 could be offered a booster based on their individual risk and the degree of COVID-19 spread in their area.</p> Fri, 10 Dec 2021 21:54:16 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8949 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-and-nutrition/great-covid-19-immunity-test-kit <p>The kit arrives in the mail. You swab the inside of your cheek and mail it back. Two weeks later, the company emails you a report. You are told you have a 2% risk of getting COVID-19 and a 5% chance of passing the virus on to another person. The report claims these risks will never change. You decide that the risk is low enough and return to your pre-pandemic lifestyle.</p> Sat, 23 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8907 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/what-expect-covid-19-vaccine-when-youre-expecting-or-breastfeeding <p>What should public health bodies do in the absence of data? And, even more importantly, what should the people left to make an important health decision do when no data is available?</p> <p>I have seen a lot of anxiety over the question of whether or not people who are pregnant or breastfeeding should get the COVID-19 vaccine. These very same people were prevented from participating in the large clinical trials in which these vaccines were put to the test. Therefore, we don’t have trial data on these groups of people, but they must now make a decision based on seemingly no data at all.</p> Fri, 28 May 2021 20:21:06 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8750 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-general-science/bioclouds-science-air <p>Imagine a wall-mounted device that continuously scans the air and alerts you to the presence of the coronavirus. This would be a boon for commercial buildings, hospitals, schools, and mass transit hubs during this interminable pandemic, allowing their administrative staff to quickly shut down an area and thus quell any local outbreak.</p> Fri, 19 Feb 2021 17:00:18 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8623 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-health/end-pandemic <p>On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that COVID-19 could be<a href="https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020"> “characterized as a pandemic,”</a> meaning that this new disease was now spreading all over the world. One day, we will be able to declare this pandemic over. The questions are: what needs to be in place to get us there and how will we know when we have reached this destination?</p> Thu, 12 Nov 2020 21:49:30 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8487 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/covid-19-vaccine-betting-hare-or-tortoise <p>The race is on! Pharmaceutical companies and assorted academic researchers around the world are engaged in the quest for the current version of the Holy Grail, a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that hopefully will restore some degree of normalcy to our lives. Given that no vaccine has ever been produced in less than four years, the challenge is a mighty one. However, with many brilliant minds cooperating in an unprecedented fashion, there is a good chance that at least some of the close to two hundred projects now underway will bear fruit.</p> Thu, 10 Sep 2020 01:03:22 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8394 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-videos/may-28-2020-covid-and-more-conversations-mcgill-office-science-and-society <p>On this week’s “COVID-19 and More: Conversations with the ���ϲ����� Office for Science and Society”, Joe Schwarcz Jonathan Jarry, Emily Shore, and guest Dr. Debbie Schwarcz Gonshor discuss the latest COVID-19 developments, including antibody testing (as accurate as some might be, technology isn't perfect!), what to do if you need the bathroom while on a road trip(!), Barry's Bootcamp's new COVID policies, indoor & outdoor spaces, swimming pools, air conditioners, and of course, face masks.</p> Fri, 29 May 2020 00:25:21 +0000 OSS 8262 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19/antibodies-are-you-there-answering-question-proves-challenging <p>Technology is imperfect. Anyone who’s ever used a computer knows this. You search for a file that you know to be on your hard drive and somehow the search function just cannot find it. If computers are flawed, is it any wonder that diagnostic and screening tests are too?</p> Fri, 29 May 2020 17:01:17 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8260 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health/nothing-about-covid-19-simple <p>Whatever the end result may be, the attack starts with the virus invading cells in the lining of the nose and throat. Here the virus can latch on to a protein known as “angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)” found on the surface of the cells. From here it manages to worm its way into the cell. Once inside, the virus hijacks the cell’s genetic machinery and trick it into making copies of itself. These newly minted viruses then invade other cells and soon there is an army of viruses marching down the respiratory tract infecting whatever cells they encounter.</p> Wed, 22 Apr 2020 13:46:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8224 at /oss /oss/article/environment-health-news-toxicity/dont-get-burned-polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons <p>With every breath we take we come closer to death. And if those breaths contain a good dose of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, we may be getting to the end faster. These compounds are nasty pollutants, associated with respiratory disease, but the big concern is that several of them are known carcinogens. They are composed of carbon atoms joined together in various ring structures, very much like chicken wire. Indeed their chemistry is often referred to as chicken-wire chemistry.</p> Wed, 07 Aug 2013 00:02:07 +0000 Alexandra Pires-Ménard, OSS Intern 1996 at /oss /oss/article/drugs-health-toxicity-you-asked/you-asked-where-do-antivenins-snake-bite-come <p style="text-align:justify">To make an antivenin, small doses of poison are injected into horses or goats.  The amount of toxin is not enough to kill the animal but is enough to trigger the production of antibodies.  These are specialized proteins which recognize the toxin and neutralize it.  As the dosage given to the animal is increased, more and more antibodies are generated.  Blood is then removed and the antibodies are isolated from the serum.  Recent research in India has shown that chickens can also be used.  Again, small doses of the venom are injected, but this time the antibodies a</p> Tue, 25 Feb 2014 13:26:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2102 at /oss