Airline industry official defends response to pandemic

The airline industry has been shaken to its core by the pandemic, pushing some foreign carriers into bankruptcy and driving a few small U.S. ones out of business.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-airline-industry-defends-response-pandemic.html

God's work, or man's? Storm-battered Louisianans are unsure

Daniel Schexnayder has water up to his ankles as he stands outside, surveying damage to his home inflicted by Hurricane Laura six weeks before Louisiana was pummeled by a second storm, Delta.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-god-storm-battered-louisianans-unsure.html

Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket

The jig may be up for an "asteroid" that's expected to get nabbed by Earth's gravity and become a mini moon next month.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-fake-asteroid-nasa-expert-ids.html

Investing in protective gear for health care workers pays off

Providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care workers around the world requires an initial investment of billions of dollars, but the returns on that investment could be close to 8000% in productivity gains, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Nicholas Risko of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and colleagues.

Female surgeons perform less complex cases than male peers, likely due to systemic bias

Female surgeons at a large academic medical center perform less complex surgical procedures than their male counterparts, according to a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This study, published in Annals of Surgery, is one of the first to measure the problem of underemployment among female surgeons in the United States, which can affect compensation, career advancement and job satisfaction.

Four in ten extra deaths in Lombardy not linked to COVID-19

The study, published in PLOS ONE, looked at the number of deaths in each of the 7,251 local authority areas of Italy during the first four months of the year and compared these figures with predictions based on data from 2016-2019.

Italy 'second wave' fears grow as virus cases top 5,000

Italy was grappling Friday with fears of a second coronavirus wave similar to the ones seen in Britain, France and Spain, as it registered over 5,000 new infections in 24 hours.

Upper Midwest sees COVID-19 surge as Northeast worries about a second wave

(HealthDay)—The new coronavirus is striking the Upper Midwest with a vengeance, as Wisconsin and the Dakotas became COVID-19 hotspots and health officials scrambled for hospital beds on Thursday.