/oss/taxonomy/term/4306/all en /oss/article/health/covid-science-express-vanished-sense-smell-viral-origins-and-vaccines <p>A weekly explanation of the emerging science behind COVID-19 and its infectious agent, SARS-CoV-2.</p> <p><b>Loss of smell and taste could be a symptom of COVID-19 but not a very specific one</b></p> Fri, 27 Mar 2020 14:56:45 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8199 at /oss /oss/article/health/quercetin-take-or-not-take <p>The quercetin compound occurs widely in nature, found in berries, fruits, grains, and vegetables. Onions and kale are particularly rich. Quercetin is a “polyphenol” and belongs to the “flavonoid” family of compounds. “Polyphenol” is a description of molecular structure and refers to the multiplicity OH groups around the periphery of the molecule. It is these “functional groups” that allow polyphenols to neutralize potentially damaging free radicals through the donation of a hydrogen atom.</p> Wed, 25 Mar 2020 12:47:04 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8193 at /oss /oss/article/health/surgical-mask-wont-protect-you-coronavirus <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-a-surgical-mask-wont-protect-you-from-coronavirus">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> <hr /> <p>The following is a public service announcement: Please stop stealing masks from your doctor’s office. I realize that people are worried about coronavirus, but before you commit petty theft, you should probably know that those masks won’t protect you from catching the virus.</p> Wed, 12 Feb 2020 20:25:02 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8107 at /oss /oss/article/health-pseudoscience/nonsense-about-coronavirus-goes-viral <p>It started with a video of a woman, supposedly in Wuhan, eating a bat. The inference, with racist overtones, is that the Chinese habit of consuming strange foods has now put the population of the world at risk. The truth is that the video has nothing to do with Wuhan, and is not new. It was shot as part of a travel program showing the Chinese host sampling a bat dish on the Pacific island of Palau where such exotic foods are apparently favoured. As is often the case, the twaddle that spreads like wildfire on the Internet, has a kernel of truth.</p> Fri, 31 Jan 2020 22:49:57 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8098 at /oss