Category Archives: Medical research

‘Wishful thinking’: the dangers of UK hype during Covid-19

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From the UK government over-promising on testing to scientific spin on a vaccine, realism is in short supply

They were billed by the UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, as “lifesaving” and “hugely beneficial”: two new coronavirus tests that claim to deliver results within 90 minutes, promoted enthusiastically to the public with the help of front pages in the Times, the i and the Daily Mail, which declared they would “transform the war on corona”.

The suppliers are little known, evaluation data is not yet available, and it is unclear how effective the tests are outside hospital settings, not least because taking blood or swabs is difficult for non-medics.

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Revealed: UK’s rapid Covid test not yet approved by regulators

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Exclusive: no data on accuracy of this and other test bought by government has been published

One of two 90-minute rapid coronavirus tests bought by the UK government and announced on Monday has yet to be approved by regulators, while no data on the accuracy of either has been published, the Guardian has learned.

The test, from Oxford Nanopore, a young biotech company spun off from Oxford University, has not yet gained a CE mark. Before Covid-19, Oxford Nanopore had been involved only in research, not tests for patients.

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‘We’re still so tired’: Europe’s doctors brace for second Covid-19 wave

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When the Guardian spoke to staff in March they had no time for reflection. So what do they think of the new surge now?

During the initial peak of Spain’s Covid-19 pandemic in the spring, the virus displayed an unexpected mercy. In its spread, ferocity and awful novelty, it left health workers too tired and overwhelmed to look beyond the next few hours.

“There’s no time to get angry or to wonder why things have been organised the way they have been,” Sara Gayoso, an A&E doctor at El Escorial hospital near Madrid, told the Guardian at the end of March.

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Covid-19 may spread more easily in schools than thought, report warns

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US health body highlights risks of reopening after outbreaks in state of Georgia and in Israel

Coronavirus may be more easily transmitted in school and summer camp settings than previously understood, after the emergence of new details of outbreaks in the US state of Georgia and in Israel that have underscored the risks of school reopenings.

A report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) into an outbreak at a summer camp in Georgia suggests children – even asymptomatic cases – may play an important role in community transmission of Covid-19.

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‘Disgusting’ study rating attractiveness of women with endometriosis retracted by medical journal

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Fertility and Sterility took seven years to take down Italian study, which was criticised by doctors for ethical concerns and dubious justifications

A widely criticised peer-reviewed study that measured the attractiveness of women with endometriosis has been retracted from the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.

The study, Attractiveness of women with rectovaginal endometriosis: a case-control study, was first published in 2013 and has been defended by the authors and the journal in the intervening years despite heavy criticism from doctors, other researchers and people with endometriosis for its ethical concerns and dubious justifications, with one advocate calling the study “heartbreaking” and “disgusting”.

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Cramped workplaces, parties … the factors fuelling local Covid-19 spikes

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What have resurgences around the world taught us about how local clusters emerge?

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    • It is not always possible to pinpoint the origin of a local spike in cases, particularly in countries like the UK, where the disease is still circulating at relatively significant levels.

    But in countries where overall caseloads are lower, and with rigorous test-and-trace schemes, it has been possible to pinpoint the factors that have sparked or fuelled local outbreaks.

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    Baldness and rashes? Experts split over unusual Covid-19 risk factors and symptoms

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    Academics analyse whether hair and hearing loss may also be linked to coronavirus

    From hearing loss and rashes, to being tall and bald, as the Covid-19 pandemic develops, a host of new symptoms and risk factors are being linked to the virus. We take a look at the evidence.

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    Lifestyle changes could delay or prevent 40% of dementia cases – study

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    Addressing 12 factors such as excessive drinking and air pollution exposure may have significant effect, experts say

    Excessive drinking, exposure to air pollution and head injuries all increase dementia risk, experts say in a report revealing that up to 40% of dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented by addressing 12 such lifestyle factors.

    Around 50 million people around the world live with dementia, including about 850,000 people in the UK. By 2040, it has been estimated there will be more than 1.2 million people living with dementia in England and Wales. There is currently no cure.

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    Coronavirus: the four potential vaccines bought up by UK

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    Britain takes its stockpile to 250m doses after most recent agreement

    Four potential Covid-19 vaccines have been secured so far by the UK, which aims to buy up to 12 to ensure that the country has one or more that work as soon as possible. They are:

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    Britain wins rare praise for leading race to test life-saving Covid drugs

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    UK’s high infection rate and centralised NHS have enabled Recovery team to help victims across the world

    It has been a startling week for those following Britain’s response to the pandemic. Roundly derided for the lateness of its lockdown and its bungled testing programmes, the UK was the unexpected recipient of a sudden bout of lavish praise for its scientists’ efforts to combat the d isease.

    “The Brits are on course to save the world,” wrote leading US economist Tyler Cowen in Bloomberg Opinion, while the journal Science quoted leading international scientists who have heaped praise on British researchers’ anti-Covid work.

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    ‘Major’ breakthrough in Covid-19 drug makes UK professors millionaires

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    Synairgen’s share price rises 540% on morning of news of successful drugs trial

    Three professors at the University of Southampton school of medicine have this week made a “major breakthrough” in the treatment of coronavirus patients and become paper millionaires at the same time.

    Almost two decades ago professors Ratko Djukanovic, Stephen Holgate and Donna Davies discovered that people with asthma and chronic lung disease lacked a protein called interferon beta, which helps fight off the common cold. They worked out that patients’ defences against viral infection could be boosted if the missing protein were replaced.

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    Coronavirus live news: California sees record daily cases as global infections top 15m

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    California Covid-19 cases pass New York’s after record day; WHO emergencies chief says vaccinations unlikely before 2021; global cases pass 15m. Follow the latest updates

    The BBC reports that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed South Korea into a recession, with the country seeing a 2.9% fall in GDP:

    South Korea has fallen into recession as the country reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw gross domestic product (GDP) fall by a worse-than-expected 2.9% in year-on-year terms, the steepest decline since 1998.

    China plans to provide a $1bn loan to make its coronavirus vaccine accessible for countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, the Mexican foreign ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

    Mexico’s foreign ministry said in a statement that China had made the pledge in a virtual meeting between ministers from some Latin American and Caribbean countries.

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    Researchers say blood test can detect cancer years before symptoms

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    Team based in China develop test that identifies cancers up to four years before signs appear

    A blood test can pick up cancers up to four years before symptoms appear, researchers say, in the latest study to raise hopes of early detection.

    A team led by researchers in China say the non-invasive blood test – called PanSeer – detects cancer in 95% of individuals who have no symptoms but later receive a diagnosis.

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    Matt Hancock hails ‘promising news’ on Oxford University coronavirus vaccine – video

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    The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has welcomed the 'promising news' on Oxford University's coronavirus vaccine. 

    Researchers working on the experimental vaccine said it was safe and generated a strong immune response in the people who volunteered to help trial it, raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic.

    'Very encouraging news. We have already ordered 100m doses of this vaccine, should it succeed,' Hancock said

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    Oxford coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response, trial shows

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    Early results also indicate vaccine is safe, raising hopes it could help end pandemic

    Hopes for a vaccine to address the global spread of coronavirus have been raised after Oxford University’s experimental version was revealed to be safe and to generate a strong immune response in the people who volunteered to help trial it.

    After intensive research, Prof Sarah Gilbert, from Oxford’s Jenner Institute, said they were more than happy with the first results, which showed good immunity after a single dose of vaccine.

    “We’re really pleased that it seems to be behaving just as we thought it would do. We have quite a lot of experience of using this technology to make other vaccines, so we knew what we expected to see, and that’s what we have seen,” she told the Guardian.

    The prime minister, Boris Johnson, called the results “very positive news”, adding: “There are no guarantees, we’re not there yet and further trials will be necessary – but this is an important step in the right direction.”

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    Global wrap: Hong Kong ‘critical’ as Covid cases rise worldwide

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    Lam says situation out of control, while Melbourne makes face masks compulsory

    The coronavirus situation in Hong Kong is “really critical”, with a record 100 new infections recorded on Sunday, the territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, said, as Melbourne became the first city in Australia to make wearing masks compulsory in response to a resurgent and aggressive outbreak there.

    Hong Kong was held up months ago as a model for its success in keeping down Covid-19 cases in the crowded city-state of 7.5 million people, but its caseload – although still low by European and American standards – had grown by a third in the past fortnight to nearly 1,800. Lam has shuttered bars, gyms and nightclubs in the past week and on Sunday announced new guidelines including mandatory mask-wearing indoors.

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    What happens when flu meets Covid-19?

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    How seasonal viruses interact with the coronavirus is unknown – it may lessen or sharpen the pandemic – so flu vaccinations are vital

    Optimists had hoped Covid-19 might not withstand the blistering heat of a British summer. However those hopes have faded: the virus staged a recent resurgence in Iran amid actual blistering temperatures, and has had no trouble persisting in sultry Singapore.

    But what happens to Covid-19, and us, when the rain and chill – and flu and sniffles – of autumn set in? Especially, how will the annual winter flu epidemic play out amid a Covid-19 pandemic?

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    Israel returns to partial lockdown with immediate weekend shutdown

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    Government unveils measures after marathon emergency cabinet session as infections rise

    Israel has reimposed some lockdown measures following a vigorous second surge in the number of coronavirus infections, putting in place stringent weekend shutdowns in which shops, hairdressers and attractions will be closed.

    The government announced the measures in the early hours of Friday morning, following a marathon emergency cabinet session called after daily infection rates climbed to close to 2,000.

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    Coronavirus symptoms fall into six different groupings, study finds

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    Exclusive: Findings could give medics advance warning for hospital care and respiratory support

    Symptoms of Covid-19 appear to fall into six different groupings, researchers have revealed, in work they say could help to predict whether a patient will end up needing a ventilator or other breathing support.

    The team say the findings could give healthcare providers several days advanced warning of demand for hospital care and respiratory support.

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    ‘Work from home’: UK chief scientific adviser warns of coronavirus risks – video

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    The UK government's chief scientific adviser has said working from home is still the best option where possible to maintain physical distancing, as he acknowledged that the outcome of Britain's response to the Covid-19 outbreak 'has not been good'. Sir Patrick Vallance's advice during a two-hour appearance before the science and technology select committee contrasts with Boris Johnson's recovery 'roadmap' under which the prime minister is encouraging more people to return to their workplaces in an effort to help city centre economies recover

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