Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert comment in advance of the 10th anniversary of Fukushima
Tomorrow will mark the 10th anniversary of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, and the resulting nuclear accident at the Fukushima … read more
expert reaction to commentary on vaccination priorities and ethnicity
A commentary piece published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine addresses the UK’s colour-blind strategy to COVID-19 … read more
expert reaction to House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on test, track and trace
The first examination of the test, track & trace programme and its performance has been published by the House of … read more
expert reaction to ONS stats on deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 26 February 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 reaction to NEJM correspondence paper looking at the neutralising activity of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants in the lab
A correspondence paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), looks at the neutralising activity of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine-elicited … read more
expert reaction to CDC Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People in the USA
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published the first set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated … read more
expert reaction to preprint using a simulation to look at potential outcomes of regular entire-school lateral flow testing
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, from the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge uses a simulation to … read more
make no mistake about it – women scientists are at the heart of our response to the pandemic
By Fiona Fox This blog contains the thoughts of the author rather than representing the work or policy of the … 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
expert reaction to latest R number and growth rates estimates, published by the government
The government have released the latest estimates for the COVID-19 R value and growth rates. Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus … read more
expert reaction to a paper suggesting that gene drives could be used to help control grey squirrel numbers in the UK
A paper published in Scientific Reports looks at a novel combination of CRISPR‑based gene drives to control invasive grey squirrel in … read more
Brain Prize 2021 – announcement of winners
Four neuroscientists working at universities in UK, Europe and USA will be awarded the world’s most valuable prize for brain … read more
Food Standards Agency background briefing on food safety in the UK after Brexit
As the UK forges new trade relationships, how can we be sure that the standard of our food will be … read more
updated latest results from the REACT-1 study on COVID-19 prevalence across England
We recently heard from the REACT-1 scientists with interim results from round 9 of their study looking at virus prevalence … read more
expert reaction to preprint giving the final results from round 9 of the REACT-1 study on COVID-19 prevalence in England
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, reports on the latest data from the REACT-1 study on COVID-19 spread across … read more
expert reaction to the 2021 Spring Budget
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has today announced the Spring Budget for 2021. On science in general: Prof Dame Anne … read more
fossil CO2 emissions in the post-COVID era
Five years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement on climate change, growth in global CO2 emissions has begun to … read more
expert reaction to study on fossil CO2 emissions
A study published in Nature Climate Change looks at Fossil CO2 emissions in the post COVID-19 era. This Roundup accompanied … read more
expert reaction to preprint assessing the effectiveness of the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in prevention of hospitalisations in elderly and frail adults
A preprint, an unpublished non-peer reviewed study, assesses the effectiveness of one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines … read more
more evidence on whether the COVID vaccines work
The AvonCAP study from Bristol is a prospective test negative case control study of pneumonia in adults admitted to two … read more