Episode #922

Answer to last week: Simon
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/03/ftc-says-online-counseling-service-betterhelp-pushed-people-handing-over-health-information-broke https://www.betterhelp.com/betterhelp-response-to-the-recent-ftc-settlement/

Item #1 Science
A new analysis finds that if California did not shut down during the pandemic, and kept business as usual, unemployment would still have risen, to 5.4% from 3.9% prepandemic instead of the 8.4% actual unemployment rate, but an additional 120,000 deaths from Covid would have occurred. https://calacademy.org/press/releases/what-if-california-didn%E2%80%99t-close-down-during-the-pandemic
Item #2 Fiction
A systematic review of 137 studies worldwide finds that symptoms of anxiety and depression significantly rose during the pandemic, especially among women. https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj-2022-074224
Item #3 Science
A new study finds that New York City rats are susceptible to and have been exposed to the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. https://asm.org/Press-Releases/2023/March/Study-Shows-New-York-City-Rats-Carry-SARS-CoV-2

“Science is magic that works.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle