How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19

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April 24, 2020

Dear Reader, Most, if not all, of us will eventually have to take some kind of coronavirus test. Watch our video for an explanation of the science behind how those tests actually work. Speaking of testing, the first at-home coronavirus sample collection kits are being rolled out. Health and medicine editor Tanya Lewis and diagnostic expert David Walt discuss the benefits and limitations. And our main story is about a study that sheds light on how a glucose metabolism pathway may lead to the deadly "cytokine storms" seen in influenza—and possibly COVID-19 as well. Today we're also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope. Its discoveries and iconic images forever changed the way we see our universe. Read a special birthday message below.

Sunya Bhutta, Senior Editor, Audience Engagement @sunyaaa

Public Health How Blood Sugar Can Trigger a Deadly Immune Response in the Flu and Possibly COVID-19 Glucose metabolism plays a key role in the cytokine storm seen in influenza, and the link could have potential implications for novel coronavirus infections By Tanya Lewis

Public Health At-Home Coronavirus-Sample-Collection Kits Aren't Perfect but Could Help Fill Testing Gap LabCorp's Pixel kits rely on self-swabbing and mailing samples, and they have yet to be scaled up for widespread use By Tanya Lewis

Public Health The Science behind How Coronavirus Tests Work Technologies such as PCR, serological assays and rapid diagnostics help us understand the spread of COVID-19. But how do they do so? By Jeffery DelViscio | 9:03

Space A Birthday Message from the Hubble Telescope I'm turning 30, and it's been an amazing journey so far By The Hubble Space Telescope

Environment Why CO2 Isn't Falling More During a Global Lockdown The answer lies in what sectors of the economy have shut down and expectations of recovery later in the year By Benjamin Storrow,E&E News

Policy & Ethics COVID-19 Will Hit the Elderly Even Harder in Developing Countries The suffering will be unimaginable By Peter Lloyd-Sherlock,Karl Pillemer

Engineering Tiny, Shapeshifting Robots Could Aid Nanoscale Manufacturing Centimeter-scale foldable buildings blocks may lead to industrial applications By Caroline Delbert

Public Health Why COVID-19 Is a Special Danger to Otolaryngologists Anosmia, or loss of smell, can be an early symptom—and that puts these ear, nose and throat physicians at risk By Inna A. Husain

Medicine Shortcuts in COVID-19 Drug Research Could Do Long-Term Harm, Bioethicists Worry Compassionate use of experimental medicine needs to coexist with scientific rigor to help patients, researchers write in the journal Science By Anna Kuchment

Policy & Ethics To Protect Black Americans from the Worst Impacts of COVID-19, Release Comprehensive Racial Data Properly reported information is crucial for black communities to recover from this crisis and transcend a history of exclusion By Joia Crear-Perry,Michael McAfee

Public Health Coronavirus Roundup for April 18-24 Here are pandemic news highlights for the week By Robin Lloyd

FROM THE STORE Unlocking Happiness Take control and retrain your brain to achieve a happier, healthier state of mind. In this eBook, we examine aspects of daily life that affect mood such as perception, social support and time management and offer approaches shown to boost contentment, including reframing negative events, increasing resilience through self-compassion and practicing mindfulness.

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FROM THE ARCHIVE How Old Observations Are Building Hubble's Legacy Data from the space telescope will yield discoveries long after the instrument is kaput By Katie Peek

QUOTE OF THE DAY "The best part of exploring the universe is that I've been able to share those images with you." The Hubble Space Telescope

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