Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to research letter looking at cortisol levels and mortality from COVID-19
A peer-reviewed research letter, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, has looked at levels of cortisol and associated mortality … read more
expert reaction to a Genomewide Association Study (GWAS) that reports the potential involvement of the ABO blood-group system in susceptibility to COVID-19
A study, published* in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), has looked at a potential link between the ABO blood-group … read more
expert comment on the next stage of development of the UK virus-tracing app
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have announced* the next stage of the development of the NHS COVID-19 … read more
expert reaction to ICR study in lab tissue and in mice looking at cancer’s reliance on fat
A study, conducted in lab tissue and mice and published in Cell, has looked at cancer’s reliance on fat. … read more
expert reaction to study looking at the immune response of 37 asymptomatic people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection
A study, published in Nature Medicine*, has looked at the immune response of 37 asymptomatic people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. … read more
expert reaction to updated statistics from the NHS Test and Trace service in England
The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) have published* updated statistics from the NHS Test and Trace service in … read more
expert reaction to open letter signed by 1500 paediatricians calling for the government to make reopening schools a priority
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) have published an open letter from its members, which calls for … read more
expert comments on news of a new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing
There have been reports of a new outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Beijing, and subsequent actions by the Chinese authorities … read more
expert reaction to the MHRA suspending recruitment to hydroxychloroquine trials for COVID-19
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have announced the suspension of recruitment to hydroxychloroquine trials for COVID-19. Dr … read more
expert reaction to PHE report including stakeholder insights on ethnicity and COVID-19, ‘Beyond the data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups’
A report, from Public Health England (PHE), has looked at the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups. Prof Kamlesh … read more
expert reaction to latest ONS stats on deaths in England and Wales up to week ending 5 June 2020
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have released their weekly figures on the number of deaths in England Wales, including deaths … read more
expert reaction to the RECOVERY trial reporting that dexamethasone reduces death by up to one third in hospitalised COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory complications
The RECOVERY Trial, from the University of Oxford, have announced results for the drug dexamethasone, which reportedly reduces death by … read more
expert reaction to new paper looking at age and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity
A study, published in Nature Medicine, has looked at the relationship between age, COVID-19 susceptibility, and severity, in various global countries … read more
expert reaction to study modelling aerosol transport from flushing a toilet and the potential role in virus transmission
A study, published in Physics of Fluids, reports on aerosol transport from flushing a toilet and the potential role in virus … read more
digest of the ONS stats on COVID-19 deaths
As in previous weeks, we had three experts who looked through the ONS stats on COVID19-related deaths after they were … read more
steroids for COVID-19 – results from the RECOVERY trial
Over the last few months, a range of potential treatments have been suggested for COVID-19. The RECOVERY trial is the … read more
new study on age and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity
A new paper published this morning in Nature Medicine modelled susceptibility and disease severity of COVID-19 at different ages, including … read more
expert reaction to news that Imperial is to begin first human trials of their new COVID-19 candidate vaccine
Imperial College London have announced that they are to begin the first human trials of their new COVID-19 candidate vaccine. … read more
expert reaction to FDA revoking Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for emergency use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in treating COVID-19
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have withdrawn their emergency use authorisation for the drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for … read more
expert reaction to modelling preprint looking at health and economic impacts of TTI
A preprint, an unpublished non-peereviewed modelling study posted to GitHub, looked at health and economic impacts of Test Trace and … read more