Antibodies (blue) neutralising SARS-CoV-2 (orange), the virus that causes COVID-19. Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock The goal of the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide is to stimulate our immune systems into creating a protective response against the coronavirus, particularly by generating antibodies. These antibodies then circulate in our blood until needed inContinue Reading
The body slows your metabolism on purpose to prevent weight loss. Gts/ Shutterstock When it comes to dieting, research shows the majority of people will regain some – if not most – of the weight they’ve lost. While there are many reasons why this weight regain may happen, some popularContinue Reading
Professional sport has been dramatically affected by COVID-19, few more so than rugby union. Across the globe, months of postponed matches and a fixture backlog have added to already congested schedules. Following UK government approval, the men’s English Premiership completed its postponed 2019/20 season in the late summer of 2020.Continue Reading
Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock.com Everyone experiences headaches. From dull throbbing dehydration headaches to incapacitating migraines, a sore head is an extremely common complaint. This is perhaps especially true at the moment. COVID-19 can cause them, as can sitting at desks for too long and not getting out of the house enough. When headachesContinue Reading
The UK has met its target of offering a first COVID-19 vaccine dose to its top four priority groups by mid-February. All people over 70, frontline health and care staff, care home residents and extremely clinically vulnerable people have been offered a vaccine, with more than 15 million people havingContinue Reading
Our research could be important for developing more effective vaccines in the future. Arturs Budkevics/ Shutterstock We understand much of how the immune system works but, as recent efforts to combat COVID-19 have shown, its sheer complexity means many mysteries still remain. For example, how our immune system learns toContinue Reading
As vaccine programmes gather pace worldwide, attention continues to focus on both viral mutations and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – sometimes simultaneously. South Africa has temporarily halted the vaccine’s rollout. This is because a preliminary study (yet to be released or reviewed by other scientists) suggests that the vaccine provides limitedContinue Reading
simplystocker/Shutterstock If we’re going to rely on COVID-19 vaccines to bring an end to the pandemic, we need to maximise their effects. But one thing that risks undermining their protectiveness is nutritional deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Older people have weaker immune responses and are known to respond less wellContinue Reading
simplystocker/Shutterstock If we’re going to rely on COVID-19 vaccines to bring an end to the pandemic, we need to maximise their effects. But one thing that risks undermining their protectiveness is nutritional deficiency, particularly in the elderly. Older people have weaker immune responses and are known to respond less wellContinue Reading
Borders have moved, not uncommonly for the UK, to the forefront of public discussion in 2021. The home secretary, Priti Patel, recently expressed rare contrition for the failure to close borders in March 2020 – a point on which Labour leader Keir Starmer took the prime minister to task. UnderContinue Reading
