Paralyzed men walk again

Doctors have enabled three paralyzed men to walk again by implanting electrodes in their spines, reports The Daily Beast. When nerves are damaged in the spinal cord, signals from the brain cannot get through to muscles in the legs. The electrode helps boost these signals, which in turn activate the leg muscles. Within hours of having the implant fitted, says senior author Grégoire Courtine from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, “all three patients were able to stand, walk, pedal, swim, and control their torso movements.” One, David M’Zee, was even able to father a child. The trio is now following a training program to help rebuild lost muscle. The researchers stress that the technology isn’t a cure for paralysis, and that the patients right now are using it only for practice and exercise. But they say it is huge progress toward improving life for people with paralysis. “The first few steps were incredible—a dream come true,” says Michel Roccati, whose spinal cord was completely severed in a motorcycle accident. “I can now go up and down stairs, and I hope to be able to walk one kilometer by this spring.”

ever stronger, reports The Washington Post. New research by the CDC has found that wearing any kind of medical-grade mask indoors offered significant protection: Surgical masks cut the risk of testing positive by 66 percent; heavy-duty N95 and KN95 masks by 83 percent. Cloth masks appeared to lower risk by 56 percent, but the findings weren’t statistically significant. The study was conducted in California last year, before the Omicron variant hit. The researchers surveyed almost 2,000 people— one-third who had tested positive and two-thirds negative—about where they had been, whether they had worn a mask, and what type of mask it was. While the study relied on participants’ recall, the researchers say the findings clearly demonstrate the advantages of wearing a mask. “There are still people who say masks don’t work,” says Linsey Marr from Virginia Tech. “What this shows is if you pay attention and wear a good mask and wear it all the time, you have a significantly lower risk of testing positive for Covid-19.”