Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to a case study looking at a blind patient diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa being treated with a novel optogenetic treatment
A case study published in Nature Medicine follows the partial recovery of visual function in a blind patient after optogenetic therapy. … read more
living and dying with COVID-19 – an ethical perspective is vital
With the worst of the pandemic behind us, even as our country starts to return to normal life, challenging ethical … read more
Bio-Detection dogs – can they sniff out COVID-19?
Scientists at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Durham University and the charity Medical Detection Dogs have carried … read more
expert reaction to preprint looking at the ability of trained bio-detection dogs to identify SARS-CoV-2 infections on clothing samples
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at using trained dogs and organic semi-conducting (OSC) sensors to identify asymptomatic … read more
expert reaction to preprint from PHE on vaccine effectiveness against the B.1.617.2 ‘Indian’ variant
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, from Public Health England (PHE) looks at the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against … read more
expert comment on published SAGE paper, ‘Potential community transmission of B.1.617.2 inferred by S-gene positivity’
A comment from the authors of the work (not third-party comments) which has just been published in the latest batch … read more
expert reaction to the latest COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report from PHE: 20 May 2021
Public Health England (PHE) has published its latest weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report, including data on the second dose of … read more
expert comment on current state of B.1.617 ‘India’ variant in the UK
A comment from Professor Steven Riley on the current state of the B.1.617 variant in the UK. Prof Steven … read more
launch of the COV-BOOST Trial
The government has announced the launch of the Cov-Boost study, commissioned through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), to … read more
expert reaction to a preprint looking at alcohol consumption and brain health
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, uses UK Biobank data to look at alcohol consumption and brain health. … read more
expert reaction to ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 7 May 2021
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the … read more
expert comment about the current situation and the B.1.617.2 ‘Indian’ variant
A comment from Dr Mike Tildesley on the current situation surrounding the increase in the B.1.617.2 variant in the UK. … read more
expert reaction to latest batch of SAGE papers released on the B.1.617.2 variant and other VOCs
The latest batch of SAGE documents, published on Friday afternoon, provide more information on the B.1.617.2 variant and other VOCs. … read more
expert reaction to latest Downing Street Press Conference on the B.1.617.2 variant (‘Indian’ variant)
At the coronavirus press conference this afternoon Boris Johnson made a statement on the SARS-CoV-2 variant first identified in India, … read more
expert reaction to latest data from the ONS Infection Survey
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor … read more
inflammation as a core feature in people with depression
Researchers from King’s College London have studied data from the UK Biobank from over 86,000 participants, looking at information on … read more
expert reaction to study looking at inflammation in patients with depression
A study published in American Journal of Psychiatry looks at inflammation in patients with depression, using data from the UK … read more
antibody and cellular immune responses in over 80s after 2 doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine with either a 3-week or 11-12-week dosing interval
A new preprint from the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium and the University of Birmingham looks at the antibody and cellular … read more
expert reaction to preprint looking at the immune response in older people after vaccination the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with either a 3-week or a 12-week dosing schedule
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, looks at antibody and cellular immune responses in people aged 80 and older … read more
expert reaction to PHE statement on how many deaths and hospitalisations have been prevented by vaccination
According to the latest Public Health England (PHE) analysis, COVID-19 vaccines have now prevented 33,000 hospitalisations and 11,700 deaths in … read more