Weekly Health Quiz: Censorship and Back Pain

1 Which of the following medicinal plants is under investigation in human trials as a potential COVID-19 treatment?

• Ginkgo biloba
• Turmeric
• Echinacea
• Sweet Wormwood

  An antimalarial treatment made from the plant Artemisia annua (Sweet Wormwood) shows promise as a COVID-19 treatment and is now being investigated in human trials. Learn more.

2 According to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the mutated SARS-CoV-2 virus that began circulating in the U.K. in September 2020 is:

• Up to 70% more infectious than previous variants

  Days before Christmas, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced there's a new, mutated, up to 70% more infectious, strain of SARS-CoV-2 on the loose. As a result, London and the southeastern parts of England were placed under new, more severe, lockdown restrictions than previously voted on by Parliament. Learn more.

• Half as infectious as previous variants
• Twice as deadly as previous variants
• Up to 70% less deadly than previous variants

3 Which of the following is the principal government biowarfare/biodefense facility in the U.S.?

• Ames Laboratory
• Fort Detrick

  Fort Detrick is the principal government biowarfare/biodefense facility in the U.S. Learn more.

• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Lincoln Laboratory

4 Vitamin C has which of the following effects?

• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Immunomodulating
• All of the above

  Vitamin C has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating effects that "make it a potential therapeutic candidate, both for the prevention and amelioration of COVID-19 infection, and as an adjunctive therapy in the critical care of COVID-19," according to the authors of a landmark review. Learn more.

5 Censorship is:

• Required for democracy to function
• Necessary to protect public health
• Anathema and a direct threat to democracy

  Censorship is anathema to a democratically run, free and open society. While there may not be a benefit to allowing misinformation to be disseminated, the risks of censoring are simply too grave to be justifiable. Learn more.

• Important because people are too uneducated to reason their way through an argument

6 Which country recently reversed its guidance on vitamin D, saying there's insufficient evidence to support the recommendation to take oral vitamin D for the sole reason of preventing or treating COVID-19?

• United States
• Norway
• Ireland
• United Kingdom

  In a recent COVID-19 guidance document, British health authorities reverse their stance on vitamin D supplementation for the purpose of reducing respiratory infections and COVID-19. The reviewers claim there's insufficient evidence to support the recommendation to take oral vitamin D for the sole reason of preventing or treating COVID-19. Meanwhile, there is in fact compelling evidence showing that higher vitamin D levels reduce the risk of COVID-19 and improve outcomes among those infected. Learn more.

7 Which of the following is one of the most common causes behind back pain, disc degeneration and disc herniations?

• Forward head position

  When your head is in a forward position, your body compensates. Your psoas major muscle goes into spasm, which rotates your pelvis. Your psoas major also connects to your lumbar intervertebral discs, which can contribute to herniation. Learn more.

• Uneven leg length
• Excessive lying down
• Excessive walking or standing