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THURSDAY, Dec. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have confirmed that some white-tailed deer in Texas have COVID-19.The scientific community has been alarmed by the prospect of deer becoming new hosts for COVID since July, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture found antibodies in white-tailed deer in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania.The new study suggests that deer should not be overlooked as a possible source of SARS-CoV-2 infection among people as well as domestic and wild animals, according to researchers. They are still trying to learn how COVID is transmitted between people and animals."The one thing we know best about SARS-CoV-2 is its unpredictability," said study author Douglas Watts, professor of biological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso....

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers are still trying to figure out what will happen with both the Delta and Omicron variants of COVID-19 spreading simultaneously.Now new lab-based data is suggesting that the newer variant, Omicron, might bring one silver lining: It could help folks who contract it defend against the prior variant, Delta.Scientists in South Africa found that people who have recovered from an infection with Omicron produced antibodies that protected them against Delta. The reverse did not appear to be true, however.Because Omicron appears to produce less severe illness than Delta, its overall effect might end up having a positive side, scientists said. While the Omicron variant is expected to strain health care systems and economies because if its...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Red-meat lovers may raise their risk of heart disease through a chain of events that plays out in the gut, a new study suggests.Many studies over the years have tied diets heavy in red and processed meats to a heightened risk of heart disease and stroke. That type of evidence does not, however, prove red meat is the problem -- or, if it is, why.The new findings offer more clues about the "why."Researchers found that particular gut bacteria, more abundant in red-meat eaters, are key in turning a dietary nutrient called carnitine into a foe: a chemical known as TMAO, which helps promote blood-clotting and clogged arteries.For the average person, the insights reinforce what's already known about heart-healthy eating, said study co-author Dr....

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 patients are at risk for serious long-term kidney damage, according to the results of a new investigation.The damage appears to come from the virus' ability to directly infect the kidneys. And in some cases, the scarring and damage may last well beyond the COVID infection itself, German, Dutch and American researchers said.The study was an in-depth look into how kidney tissue was affected after being exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in a lab setting."Others have already demonstrated that the [corona]virus can infect kidney cells in patients, and this is something we also observed," noted study author Dr. Rafael Kramann, director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology at University Hospital RWTH in Aachen, Germany....