Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to report published by the WHO about fungi: ‘WHO fungal priority pathogens list to guide research, development and public health action’
The World Health Organisation (WHO) have published a report highlighting the first-ever list of fungal ‘priority pathogens’ cataloguing the 19 … read more
expert reaction to study of the effects of e-cigarette vapour on mice
A study published in Nature Communications looks at the effects of e–cigarettes on mice. Prof Jacob George, Chair of … read more
expert reaction to conference abstract looking at the effect of cell phone EMR on sperm motility and viability
A conference abstract (not a published paper) presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 2022 meeting, looks at the … read more
Three million invitations being sent for UK’s largest health research programme
This autumn over three million UK adults will receive a letter inviting them to join the Our Future Health research … read more
expert reaction to latest stats from the ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey, UK: 21 October 2022
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Prof Mark Woolhouse, Professor of Infectious … read more
expert reaction to study suggesting discontinuation of gender-affirming hormones in those who start treatment as adolescents is rare
A study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Heath looks at continuation of gender-affirming hormones in transgender people starting … read more
New UK monkeypox research consortium
A new monkeypox research consortium is being created to develop better diagnostic tests, identify potential therapies and study vaccine effectiveness … read more
expert reaction to report being published by the ABPI on the number of UK industry clinical trials
A report published by the ABPI (Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry) suggests a drop in number of industry clinical … read more
expert reaction to review on the effect of social prescribing on health outcomes in primary care and community settings
A review published in BMJ Open looks at the effect of social prescribing link workers on health outcomes and costs … read more
Avian Flu – UK’s worst ever outbreak – what does the science say
In partnership with DEFRA and the Animal Health Plant Agency, we invited journalists to a background briefing on Avian Influenza. … read more
expert reaction to latest stats from the ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey, UK: 14 October 2022
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), have released the latest data from their COVID-19 Infection Survey. Prof Rowland Kao, Professor of Veterinary … read more
expert reaction to study looking at human genetics (HLA gene versions) and COVID-19 vaccine immune response and risk of breakthrough infection
A study published in Nature Medicine looks at human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity, and risk of breakthrough … read more
Study looking at human genetics and Covid vaccine immune responses
Scientists at the University of Oxford have carried out a study to investigate whether and how people’s genes influence how … read more
expert reaction to GSK press release giving overall efficacy of their RSV vaccine candidate for older adults
A press release from GSK announces the phase III trial results for their respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for … read more
expert reaction to study in which human and mouse neurons in a dish learned to play the video game, Pong
A study published in Neuron suggests in vitro neurons are able to learn and exhibit sentience when embodied in a … read more
expert reaction to study looking at integrating human stem cell-derived brain-like tissue in the brains of newborn rats
A study published in Nature follows the maturation and circuit integration of transplanted human cortical organoids. Dr András Lakatos, … read more
expert comment on the bird flu situation in the UK
A comment from Professor Wendy Barclay on the current avian influenza outbreak in the UK. Prof Wendy Barclay, Head … read more
expert reaction to observational study of diabetes drugs (glitazones) and risk of dementia in those with type 2 diabetes
An observational study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care looks at use of oral diabetes medications and dementia … read more
expert reaction to phase 1 clinical trial looking at tolerability and immunogenicity of intranasally-administered adenovirus-vectored (Oxford-AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccine
Results from a phase 1 trial looking at tolerability and immunogenicity of an intranasally-administered adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine have been published … read more
expert reaction to studies presenting a standardized approach for quantifying the strength of evidence that supports associations between risk factors and health outcomes
Six studies published in Nature Medicine present a standardized approach for quantifying the strength of evidence that supports associations between … read more