Sorry to hear about your friend. What was he hospitalized for? Several hundred thousand dollars is an exorbitant amount of money even with how high the cost of healthcare is in the US.
The lab leak hypothesis makes the most sense. The lab in Wuhan which researches coronaviruses conducts experiences on animals, including bats. Like other labs, there are dedicated personnel for hydrating and feeding the experimental animals. Notably, there are "wet markets" in Wuhan where live animals are sold, including bats, which harbor coronaviruses. Someone who is working in the facility in charge of maintenance of experimental animals has a choice of either sacrificing the animals as per protocol, or selling them to a wet market to make extra money. The most likely scenario was that someone sold the animal, most likely a bat, to a wet market, which happened to contain a virulent coronavirus strain that then infected humans.
When I think of productivity in this context, I am referring to the rate at which one can generate value.
Software itself has value (eg, a client-facing web service). Therefore an IDE, which may require an investment to get past the learning curve, can have a productivity benefit as it can make generating software (and thus value) more efficient.
Do notes themselves have value? I would argue not really. For the most part things like "life planners" / "task managers" I've noticed are highly intricate but require considerable upkeep to maintain. Time that can be used to actually generate value.
I can see Obsidian being popular because it makes notetaking fun and customizable and may motivate people to do it more. But as far as actual productivity goes I can't see any benefit it adds.
This is a pre-clinical study that is designed to model an aspect of a "traumatic" event and assess how the treatment condition (hydrocortisone) can affect behavior. Moreover, this experiment is designed to probe the effects of trauma in the moments immediately after the traumatic event, where the stress response is initiated. This is likely the period of time where the most synaptic changes occur. Of course, this paper doesn't directly posit that forgetting thoughts associated with trauma is therapeutic, as that would require an empirical study that include patients with PTSD.
Also, the purpose of therapy, such as CBT, is not to fixate on one's current situation, but be able to unlearn feelings of trauma / anxiety from the event. This is done by engaging with a trained professional who can help the patient carefully break down their thoughts and feelings. Reflecting on a traumatic situation with a partner is different from reflecting on a traumatic situation amongst oneself.
Ischemia results in significant pathology to all organ systems. A few examples: ischemic infarction of brain tissue is what causes stroke. Ischemia caused by blockage of coronary arteries is what causes myocardial infarction (heart attacks). This type of cellular injury is omnipresent with many different pathways leading to it.