Andrii Vodolazhskyi/Shutterstock A year after the first cases of COVID-19 were found in China, mass vaccination programmes are now offering a chance to end the pandemic. At the same time, new strains, some of which appear to be more infectious than the original one, are threatening to derail progress inContinue Reading
Shutterstock/Soloviova Liudmyla For many people, an essential part of any exercise regime is the music that accompanies it. Whether you’re a runner, a rower or a bodybuilder, there’s a good chance you have a favourite selection of tunes and some headphones to help you through. The right choice of musicContinue Reading
Were low-carb diets really better at achieving remission? Flotsam/ Shutterstock Whether restricting carbohydrate intake is an effective way to manage type 2 diabetes is a topic of some controversy in nutrition – largely because trial results have so far been pretty inconclusive. While multiple meta-analyses have reviewed the current bodyContinue Reading
A year ago, I wrote an article for The Conversation about a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which transpired to be the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of writing, very little was known about the disease and the virus causing it, butContinue Reading
The pandemic is the UK’s worst ever health crisis and, tragically, its’s been getting worse and worse. A more infectious variant of the coronavirus together with insufficient restrictions in December 2020 have sent COVID-19 cases soaring. The National Health Service is teetering on the brink, with hospitals close to capacity,Continue Reading
Nurses have been putting themselves in harm’s way every day since the pandemic began. But as coronavirus spreads rapidly in the UK, it has become clear that those in intensive care units are now under more pressure than others. Hospitals are nearing capacity in many parts of the country, andContinue Reading
Jenner BloodProcessing The pandemic is only a year old, but we already have multiple vaccines available to fight COVID-19 – including the vaccine developed by the team we’re part of at the University of Oxford. With our partner AstraZeneca, we have submitted both interim efficacy data and safety data forContinue Reading
Sleep trackers use an algorithm to estimate how much time you spent asleep based on body movements. Andrey_Popov/ Shutterstock An estimated one in three people report regular sleep complaints. So it’s hardly surprising people are more concerned than ever about getting enough sleep. This blossoming interest has seen an explosionContinue Reading
Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem to the extent that there is a grave risk that common infections will soon become untreatable. Meanwhile, vaccines developed nearly a century ago still protect us from deadly diseases. What might explain this difference? Bacteria have evolved resistance to every antibiotic ever developed. SometimesContinue Reading
Millions of people across the world have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Countries are also now embarking on massive vaccination campaigns to control the virus and protect their most vulnerable citizens. One of the biggest questions remaining is whether vaccination and/or prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 offersContinue Reading
