Tag Archives: Covid-19

Peter Gluckman and Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato The World Health Organization (WHO) has come in for its share of criticism for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some faults are the responsibility of the WHO, others were caused by member states, which did not always act as quickly as they should have. In our opinion, the fundamental problem …

Sewage testing can be used for early detection of disease. (Shutterstock) Lawrence Goodridge, University of Guelph The COVID-19 pandemic has reignited interest in wastewater surveillance, where sewage systems are monitored for the presence of viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. Non-infective fragments of the virus’s genetic material have been found in untreated wastewater in Italy, Spain, France, the United States and …

The Spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 must bind to proteins on the surface of human cells to trigger an infection. KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images Rajesh Khanna, University of Arizona and Aubin Moutal, University of Arizona When it comes to how the coronavirus invades a cell, it takes three to tango. The dance began with the ACE2 receptor, a …

Sarah L Caddy, University of Cambridge There are currently at least six COVID-19 vaccines in phase 3 clinical trials – the final phase of testing. These trials all aim to compare the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines versus a placebo. However, as Peter Doshi, associate editor at the BMJ, asks in a new report, what does “effective” actually mean? …

giuseppelombardo/Shutterstock Pascal Vrticka, University of Essex and Philip J. Cozzolino, University of Essex After a fairly relaxed summer, more and more places are bringing back tighter restrictions in response to rising COVID-19 cases, with some even returning to full or near-full lockdowns. We all know that social distancing makes sense: the fewer people we meet (and the further away from …

Shutterstock Evita March, Federation University Australia Humans are curious and social creatures by nature. The news helps us make sense of the world around us and connects us with our local, national and international community. So it’s no wonder we’re drawn to it. Objective, legitimate news also keeps us informed, empowering us with knowledge to make balanced decisions. But the …

Kzenon/Shutterstock Helen Higson, Aston University As UK university students begin an academic year, they are experiencing a totally different way of life. Some have already found themselves in lockdown in their residences and are afraid they will not be getting some of the usual benefits of university education. Universities have a duty of care for students’ health and well-being, and …

Nata Bene/Shutterstock Stephanie Baines, Bangor University During the first pandemic lockdowns at the start of 2020, social media was flooded with pictures of homemade banana bread as people turned to baking in lieu of socialising. Now with many places reintroducing or anticipating further restrictions as COVID-19 case numbers rise again, there’s a good chance we could see a revival of …

The search goes on. Shutterstock/Orpheus FX Lynn Williams, University of Strathclyde Vaccination will be hugely important in controlling future waves of COVID-19. But for it to work, we will need high levels of public acceptance of a vaccine, if and when it eventually becomes available. In recent years, vaccination rates have fallen across the world, and public confidence in vaccines …