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Genetics, such as gene called ApoE, and environment are risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. New research is trying to understand their exact effects. Image credit - www.pikist.com/licenced under CC0
health
21 September 2020

Focusing on cause, not effect, could unblock Alzheimer’s research, scientists hope

Over one hundred years since psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer described the hallmarks of the disease that bears his name, significant gaps in our understanding of how and why the disease develops mean that we still do not have effective treatments.

CureVac began testing its mRNA vaccine candidate in people in mid-June and will shortly proceed to the next phase of trials. Image credit - Picture alliance/dpa
coronavirus outbreak | health
18 September 2020

‘So far, so good’: The view from inside a coronavirus vaccine trial

Dr Lidia Oostvogels is feeling the pressure.

Data-sharing can help with the next health crisis but that means privacy and technical issues need to now be addressed, say experts. Image credit - Samuel Gabreil/Pixabay, licensed under the Pixabay licence
health | coronavirus outbreak
10 September 2020

Coronavirus accelerates drive to share health data across borders

Allowing health data to flow more freely between countries in Europe could aid the fight against coronavirus while also help the region be better prepared for future pandemics, but privacy and technical considerations need to be tackled sooner rather than later, say experts.

A form of tiger mosquito birth control and drones may help stem the spread of some tropical diseases. Image credit - James Gathany/CDC, public domain
health | environment | frontier research
08 September 2020

Sterilised insects could help control mosquito-borne diseases

Aggressive tiger mosquitoes capable of spreading debilitating tropical diseases such as dengue and Zika are spreading through Europe, but scientists hope it may be possible to control these biting pests with a form of insect birth control and drones. 

Special biomolecules and compounds for medical use are being grown in plants like the commercial tobacco plant. Image credit - Pixabay/Couleur, licenced under Pixabay licence
health | coronavirus outbreak | industry
25 August 2020

We can programme plants to grow biomolecules. Is farming the future of vaccines?

On the southern outskirts of the city of Owensboro in Kentucky, US, there is a square, nondescript building. Inside, rows and rows of small plants are growing under artificial lights. This is a new generation biotech venture: a molecular farm. Others are springing up across the US and elsewhere – and they farm vaccines. This means that if we find a coronavirus vaccine that works, their produce could be used by households worldwide.

Exposure to high temperatures combined with physical activity can lead to physiological problems that affect the ability to work. Image credit- Dimitris Vetsikas/Pixabay
health | environment
13 August 2020

Why more heatwaves endanger our health and ability to work

As the Earth warms, heatwaves are expected to occur more often, with sharper intensity and for longer periods. Rising temperatures adversely affect worker productivity and human health, but for policymakers to take substantive action for heat adaptation, and meet what researchers see as a life-saving Paris climate agreement, making an economic case is key.

The speed and competitiveness of coronavirus research means sex disaggregation of the results – to understand if they are the same for males and females – is not happening, says Dr Sabine Oertelt-Prigione. Image credit: Dr Sabine Oertelt-Prigione/Radboudumc
interview | health | coronavirus outbreak
06 August 2020

Q&A: How coronavirus is putting a spotlight on sex differences in medicine

More than six months into the coronavirus crisis, data show that not just age, but also biological sex plays a pivotal role in the manifestation and response to Covid-19, with more men dying from acute infections versus women in the short term. This discrepancy has shined a spotlight on a key theme that has gained traction in recent years: is enough being done to account for sex and gender in disease and medicine? Not enough, says Dr Sabine Oertelt-Prigione, the chair of sex and gender-sensitive medicine at Radboud University in the Netherlands and a member of the European Commission’s expert group on gendered innovations.

Around half a million babies are born prematurely each year in Europe and that number is increasing. Image credit - Jeremykemp/Wikimedia commons, public domain
health
30 July 2020

Cutting the risks of premature birth

Infants born early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy, have a higher risk of dying in childhood and often suffer from lifelong health problems. But two novel devices could help cut this risk – one by improving how risk of an early birth is assessed and the other by offering personalised nutritional advice for premature babies.

Air pollution standards currently focus on the mass concentration of particles smaller than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10) or smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5). Image credit - Panek/Wikimedia, licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0
health | environment
27 July 2020

Size matters in air pollution – but it’s not enough

Current regulations on air pollution mainly focus on the mass of particles of a particular size range in a sample, and this has been used as a marker for their threat to human health. But these air quality standards do not address the medical implications of the very smallest particles – nor other attributes that may be damaging, such as their chemical makeup.

One placenta yields enough material to grow 25 pancreases which could be a cheaper and easier form of transplant to help people with Type 1 diabetes. Image credit - E. Berishvili
health
23 July 2020

Lab grown and do-it-yourself: two emerging routes to an artificial pancreas

A ‘bio-artificial’ pancreas grown in a lab with the aid of placental stem cells, and a DIY insulin-monitoring and release system are being developed to give people with insulin-dependent diabetes an alternative to waiting for a pancreas transplant.

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