After his grandmother’s dementia diagnosis, one man invented a snack to keep her healthy and hydrated.

After his grandmother’s dementia diagnosis, one man invented a snack to keep her healthy and hydrated.

Founder Lewis Hornby and his grandmother Pat, sampling Jelly Drops—an edible gummy containing water and life-saving electrolytes.

jellydrops.us

On a visit to his grandmother’s nursing home in 2016, college student Lewis Hornby made a shocking discovery: Dehydration is a common (and dangerous) problem among seniors—especially those that are diagnosed with dementia.

Hornby’s grandmother, Pat, had always had difficulty keeping up her water intake as she got older, a common issue with seniors. As we age, our body composition changes, and we naturally hold less water than younger adults or children, so it’s easier to become dehydrated quickly if those fluids aren’t replenished. What’s more, our thirst signals diminish naturally as we age as well—meaning our body is not as good as it once was in letting us know that we need to rehydrate. This often creates a perfect storm that commonly leads to dehydration. In Pat’s case, her dehydration was so severe she nearly died.

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Sarah Watts

Sarah Watts is a health and science writer based in Chicago.

Are Vaccine Passports Ethical? Yes, As Long As No One Is Left Behind

A digital health passport required by businesses and universities could help us get back to normal more quickly, one expert argues.

Photo by Lukas on Unsplash

"Vaccine passports" are a system that requires proof of a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of engaging in activities that pose a risk of transmitted SARS-CoV-2. Digital Health Passes (DHPs) are typically a smartphone application with a code that verifies whether someone has been vaccinated.

Vaccine passports could very much be in our future. Many businesses are implementing or planning to require proof of vaccination as a condition of returning to the workplace. Colleges and universities have announced vaccine requirements for students, staff, and faculty. It may not be long before the private sector requires a vaccination card or image to attend an entertainment or sporting event, to travel, or even to dine or shop indoors, at least in some venues.

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Lawrence O. Gostin
Lawrence O. Gostin is University Professor, Georgetown University’s highest academic rank, and Founding O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law. He directs the World Health Organization Center on National and Global Health Law. Gostin is Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University and Professor of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. You can follow him on Twitter @lawrencegostin.
The Pandemic Is Ushering in a More Modern—and Ethical—Way of Studying New Drugs and Diseases

Miniature lab-grown models of human organs have major advantages over standard animal testing.

Антон Медведев/Adobe

Before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Dutch doctoral researcher Joep Beumer had used miniature lab-grown organs to study the human intestine as part of his PhD thesis. When lockdown hit, however, he was forced to delay his plans for graduation. Overwhelmed by a sense of boredom after the closure of his lab at the Hubrecht Institute, in the Netherlands, he began reading literature related to COVID-19.

"By February [2020], there were already reports on coronavirus symptoms in the intestinal tract," Beumer says, adding that this piqued his interest. He wondered if he could use his miniature models – called organoids -- to study how the coronavirus infects the intestines.

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Jack McGovan

Jack McGovan is a freelance science writer based in Berlin. His main interests center around sustainability, food, and the multitude of ways in which the human world intersects with animal life. Find him on Twitter @jack_mcgovan."