Deaths

A report from the CDC has found COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the US in 2021, after heart disease and cancer. Another new CDC report estimates nearly 60 percent of the US population had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 by February 2022.

A study is offering the first peer-reviewed investigation into the global death toll of COVID-19. Tracking excess death data from nearly 200 countries the study estimates over 18 million COVID deaths, a number three times higher than official counts.

A new study has proposed that a simple retina scan could indicate whether a person is at risk of early death. The research found the greater the gap between a person’s chronological age and retinal age the higher their risk of dying.

Researchers in the US have found changes to electrical activity in the heart can help predict which hospitalized COVID-19 patients are more likely to decline and die. The biomarker is easily measurable and may predict death several days in advance.

A study has found it may be possible to predict a person’s risk of dying more than a decade in advance by analyzing their gut bacteria. The research points to a microbial signature associated with an increased risk of mortality across a 15-year follow up.

Striking research estimates the global death toll from COVID-19 could be more than twice as high as official numbers show. Tracking overall 2020 mortality figures from around the world indicates nearly 7 million people may have succumbed to the disease.

Apollo 11 astronaut Major General Michael Collins (USAF) has died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer. In 1969, Collins was the Command Module Pilot and remained in orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the surface.

A striking new study has found gene expression can dramatically increase in some brain cells hours after a person dies. The researchers suggest scientists studying post-mortem brain tissue must take into account these significant changes in future work.

A study published in the British Medical Journal is offering some of the first clear evidence to suggest the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7, informally known as the UK variant, is linked with significantly higher rates of death than previously known strains.

While much of the criticism surrounding the burning of fossil fuels focuses on the long term impacts to the health of the planet, it can also have devastating short-term effects on the health of the human population, a new study has found.

A new CDC report says nearly 300,000 more deaths than expected have occurred in the US so far in 2020. Only two-thirds of these “excess deaths” are attributed to COVID-19, suggesting the toll of the pandemic is higher than the confirmed mortality numbers.

New research tracking total all-cause death rates in the US has found 20 percent more people have died in 2020 compared to prior year averages. And, even more strikingly, only two-thirds of those excess deaths can be directly attributed to COVID-19.