Health

AT&T, Comcast and dozens of other telecommunications firms have committed to not disconnecting service to residential and small business customers who can’t pay their bills because of the coronavirus outbreak, the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday. The pledge the companies plan to implement also calls for them to open …

On March 1, the day after the first coronavirus death in the United States, brothers Matt and Noah Colvin set out in a silver S.U.V. to pick up some hand sanitizer. Driving around Chattanooga, Tenn., they hit a Dollar Tree, then a Walmart, a Staples and a Home Depot. At …

The University of Michigan on Friday canceled its commencement planned for May over fears of the coronavirus — one of what is likely to be many such college ceremonies to be reconsidered in the face of the pandemic. The ceremony, which was to be held May 2 at Michigan Stadium …

Research of the Week High blood pressure makes the coronavirus more dangerous. How maternal obesity affects the offspring. In women with PCOS, those going low-carb have better insulin sensitivity. Homo erectus was probably really good at persistence hunting without water. Dietary salt mitigates the damaging metabolic effects of a high-rice …

“I’ll start eating healthy again on Monday.” “I’m not really a gym person.” “I’ll probably gain the weight back anyway.” I hear statements like these all the time. If any of them sound remotely like something you’ve said recently, there’s a good chance you’re secretly sabotaging yourself. You might not …

“Across the board, gender issues were ignored.” — Julia Smith, a health policy researcher at Simon Fraser University [In Her Words is available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.] As the coronavirus snakes its way around the world — canceling events, shuttering offices …

WASHINGTON — One Seattle-area hospital has already seen patient care delayed by the stringent infection-control practices that the government recommended for suspected coronavirus cases. Another in Chicago switched Thursday morning into “surge” mode, setting up triage tents in its ambulance bay and dedicating an entire floor to coronavirus patients. At …

Every “Oh wow” in “Human Nature” is matched by an “Oh no” somewhere down the line. Together, these two competing emotions — excitement and unease — make for one pretty fascinating documentary. The film, directed by Adam Bolt, explores Crispr technology, which, broadly speaking, can be used to snip out …

Tracking certain things makes sense, if you go for that sort of thing. Tracking step count is hard without a device. No one’s going to count every step they take in their head. You’d quickly go mad doing that. Same with pulse rate and heart rate variability—you could count the …