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Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

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There's a new way to tell if a baby is in pain

M. Spencer Green / AP

Researchers have come up with a new way of tracking pain in babies who haven't learned how to talk yet by monitoring their brain activity.

Why it matters: Young children (and adults who can't speak following strokes) can't communicate whether pain is occurring or being reduced from pain relievers. Medical staff infer pain from facial and body expressions, which isn't always reliable. The new method could help them to administer medicine in proper doses or determine whether babies are in pain.

How they did it: In the new study, scientists measured electro-encephalographic (EEG) readings from the brains of 18 infants during routine procedures like heel pricks to draw blood. They saw a change in brain activity about a half-second afterward. The results were confirmed with a larger group of 72 babies and they're now recruiting patients for a clinical trial, per STAT News.

Go deeper

Felix Salmon, Stef W. Kight
38 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus has inflamed global inequality

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

History will likely remember the pandemic as the "first time since records began that inequality rose in virtually every country on earth at the same time." That's the verdict from Oxfam's inequality report covering the year 2020 — a terrible year that hit the poorest, hardest across the planet.

Why it matters: The world's poorest were already in a race against time, facing down an existential risk in the form of global climate change. The coronavirus pandemic could set global poverty reduction back as much as a full decade, according to the World Bank.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Kevin McCarthy's rude awakening

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Kevin McCarthy is learning you can get torched when you try to make everyone happy, especially after an insurrection.

Why it matters: The House Republican leader had been hoping to use this year to build toward taking the majority in 2022, but his efforts to bridge intra-party divisiveness over the Capitol siege have him taking heat from every direction, eroding his stature both with the public and within his party.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Stef W. Kight
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The next big political war: redistricting

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Democrats are preparing a mix of tech and legal strategies to combat expected gerrymandering by Republicans, who are planning to go on legal offense themselves.

Why it matters: Democrats failed to regain a single state legislature on Election Day, while Republicans upped their control to 30 states' Houses and Senates. In the majority of states, legislatures draw new congressional district lines, which can boost a party's candidates for the next decade.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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