Researchers Are Working on At-Home Tests for Lyme Disease

If there has been one silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been the rise of rapid self-tests, which provide results at home in minutes. Researchers are hard at work at developing similar tests for other diseases—including Lyme.

Lyme disease is transmitted by the black-legged (or deer) tick and infects about 476,000 Americans each year. The faster those people can get treated with the antibiotics doxycycline or amoxicillin, the better their chances of having a short, mild case of the disease.

But despite the clear need, there’s a problem when it comes to speed and ease of testing for the tickborne illness.

How Lyme disease tests are currently done

Most tests are performed in a doctor’s office and require a blood…

Britons prefer high street for Christmas shopping – survey

A survey of over 2,000 respondents has revealed that stores continue to be the preferred shopping method during the festive season for 51.9% of consumers, while a meagre 9.5% of Brits would rather buy presents on mobile.With 24.5% of Brits prepared to spend up to £700 on buying Christmas presents this year, the report suggests customers still have concerns about purchasing pricier items online, as 44% admit to making their most expensive purchases exclusively in-store. คำพูดจาก สล็อตเว็บตรง

Victoria Tagg, Head of Search at Giffgaff, commented: “Although it is a well-known fact that mobile commerce is increasing, our research clearly shows that people still feel mo…

EU states resist move on digital tax for tech giants

EU finance ministers are expected to seal a preliminary deal on EU digital taxes when they meet on Decคำพูดจาก สล็อตเว็บตรง. 6, after pressure from large states that accuse firms like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook of slashing their tax bills by rerouting their EU profits to low-tax countries such as Luxembourg and Ireland.France has openly called for an “equalisation tax” on the turnover of digital companies, aimed at levelling up the amount of tax they pay on their earnings compared with other types of companies.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, and the Estonian presidency of the EU have also backed a major tax overhaul.But EU envoys are…

March footfall boost likely to be followed by weaker April and beyond – Springboard

 Diane Wehrle, Marketing & Insights Director of Springboard, warned: “With the substantial increase in energy and fuel prices, consumers are aware that increased costs are on the horizon but have not fully hit. “Inevitably this will mean less disposable income and so some retail spending will be curtailed, particularly as we enter the summer period when many consumers will be looking to reserve budget to spend on much longed for summer holidays.”

So what actually happened last month? Footfall strengthened noticeably, to -15.3% below 2019 from -20.7% in February. Martha’s figures nearly reached the level achieved in November of -14.5%, prior to the increase in Covid infections due to the Omicron variant. Footfall declined from 2019 by -17.4% in high streets, -21.3% in sh…

Patagonia launches mail-in option for ‘Worn Wear’ sustainability program

Eligible clothing must function perfectly and be in good condition – complete with garment tags and in working condition – the retailer said, and will be taken in through Patagonia’s Worn Wear program. Items can be mailed in using a prepaid label. In exchange for accepted apparel, customers will receive credit that can be used to purchase items in Patagonia retail stores, on WornWear.com and Patagonia.com.The Worn Wear program was first launched in 2017, repairing, recycling and upcycling used clothing. Previously, customers were required to bring clothing to any Patagonia retail location to participate and receive a credit. The new mail-in trade option comes as part of Patagonia’s effort to make sustainable practices as accessible to its customers as possible.

Statement dresses and sparkle are trending says BFC and Clearpay report

That’s the shift in direction UK consumers are taking, according to a jointly commissioned ‘State of Retail Report’ by the British Fashion Council (BFC) and buy now pay later service Clearpay.Highlighting the outlook for fashion and beauty in the run-up to ‘Freedom Day’ last week, the data reflects Clearpay customer purchases. Those ‘bounce-back wardrobe’ staples include outfits for “garden parties and beyond”, with the top five dress silhouettes led by ‘Babydoll’ followed by ‘Chiffon’, ‘Tiered’, ‘Floral’ and ‘Frill’.

Meanwhile, the top three prints have been about “making a statement” and include bright, bold and graphic led by ‘Beaded’, followed by ‘Rainbow’, and ‘Logo/script’.Women spent, o…

Storms and virus fears dent spending and footfall in UK, clothing sales drop

 But while spending overall was up, fears surrounding coronavirus impacted the retail sector particularly, with department stores hardest hit. They contracted 3.6% as shoppers avoided the high street. Fashion was down by less but clothing spend still dipped 1.7% as a result.In fact, as many as 28% of Britons avoided physical shops as they worried about the possibility of being infected with the virus.

At the same time, spending on essential items rose by 1.6%, bolstered by supermarket and fuel expenditure, which grew by 1.3% and 2.5% respectively, with some irrational stockpiling being a factor in this.People still seem to be upbeat though with Barclaycard saying confidence remains reasonably high, some 42% of UK adults feeling positive, up from 32% a year ago.That said, 36% of U…

U.S. senators question Amazon CEO about firing of warehouse protest leader

The letter, addressed to Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, adds to public scrutiny Amazon is facing over the dismissal, at a time when the company is racing to update safety protocols, keep warehouses open and ship essential goods to shoppers who are shut indoors.Amazon employee Christian Smalls came to the company’s Staten Island, New York, warehouse on March 30 for a small protest he helped organize, which in part called for the site’s closure. Workers feared infection after a colleague had fallen ill to the novel coronavirus, cases of which have now been reported among staff at more than 50 Amazon warehouses, according to the New York Times.The virus has infected more than 1.4 million people globally.

Amazon said it fired Smalls, who had contact with the virus patient, after he v…

UK eco-awareness surge is good for planet, bad news for fast fashion – report

The Fashion Retail Academy (FRA) commissioned Onepoll to speak to 2,000 people and found that over half (51.4%) of Britons think this way, a 33.8% increase in just 12 months. And almost three-quarters (71.3%) of shoppers would now choose to recycle their clothes rather than throw them away.Additionally, 66% of consumers would buy second-hand clothes, with 15% more women saying they would do so than men.

It’s particularly interesting that we’re seeing such big jumps over a relatively short 12-month period and this reflects both the news flow around sustainability issues, and initiatives from fashion companies and retailers, as well as non-profit organisations, in order to educate consumers on the subject.“The sustainability agenda has made massive strides worldwide in the past …

Amazon and Valentino file joint lawsuit over shoe counterfeiting

The move is Amazon’s first joint litigation with a luxury fashion brand and Valentino’s first with an online retailer.The lawsuit regards the Valentino Garavani Rockstud shoes and the fashion group will receive any proceeds from the case, the companies said in a statement.

Kaitlyn Pan did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.Amazon has long been rumoured to be readying a new luxury fashion site to rival Alibaba’s Tmall Luxury Pavilion, but LVMH and other top luxury groups say the risk of counterfeiting is high on such platforms.Amazon said it had shut down Kaitlyn Pan’s seller account on its platform in September 2019.”Despite multiple notices of infringement and a cease and desist order, Kaitlyn Pan continues to import, distribute, sell, and offer infringing …