People calling for early release from lockdown must not fully understand what we are dealing with. The coronavirus has a weapon that can always beat us – mutations and throwing up vaccine-resistant variants. The more people who are infected with … Read More
Could we treat depression by prescribing patients a psychedelic drug?
Here’s an interesting idea. Dr Carol Routledge, working with Imperial College London, is overseeing a first-time clinical trial which involves patients tripping on a psychedelic drug before a talk therapy session. Why? As chief scientific and medical officer at drug … Read More
How teamwork between two scientists set us on the road to successful Covid vaccines
The story behind the Covid-19 vaccine reads like a whodunnit involving two scientists who collaborated in a way that scientists rarely do. That collaboration resulted in the publication of the entire genetic code of coronavirus on January 10 last year, from which … Read More
Covid-19 mutations are normal since the virus is infecting so many people
It’s in the nature of viruses to mutate, some more than others. And it doesn’t matter where in the world they happen to be. We’ve already had our first mutation of Covid-19, the so-called UK (or Kent) variant. Now it’s been … Read More
It’s still possible to transmit Covid even if you are immune to virus
A new study led by Public Health England (PHE) gives early warning that some people with existing Covid immunity can still carry high levels of the virus and could theoretically transmit it. Susan Hopkins, senior medical adviser at PHE and … Read More
Knowing how long immunity lasts is a key battleground in the fight against Covid
Being infected with coronavirus could mean you’re immune for at least eight months. I’d agree with that – when I had my first Covid vaccination, I still had antibodies after 11 months. Researchers have detected many different elements of the … Read More
Could a computer game help us work out how best to use vaccines to control Covid?
Could a computer game help people to understand how vaccines work and how we have to distribute them worldwide to give us the best chance of overcoming viruses such as Covid? The Vaccination Game was created by researchers at the … Read More
Report suggests a racial bias against black mothers
I wrote recently that black babies in the US seem to do less well when looked after by white doctors than by black doctors, and I suggested that unconscious racial bias on the part of white doctors could be to blame. Well, … Read More
Painful twist in tongue tie horror for newborn babies
I’ve had personal experience of dealing with tongue tie – that bane of newborn babies and their worried parents. One of my sons and two of my grandchildren were said to have tongue tie. I was pressured by midwives and … Read More
Pregnancy diet breakthrough could help childhood obesity and UK is leading the way
We know that what happens to an unborn baby in the womb can affect a child for the rest of its life, not just when they are an infant, and nothing is more important to the unborn baby than what … Read More