Category Archives: Blog

Rise of measles linked with emergence of large cities 2500 years ago

By Clare Wilson Cities may have provided the measles virus with an environment to succeedIain Masterton / Alamy The measles virus crossed over to people from cattle around 500 BC, supporting the idea that it could only get established as a human disease once large enough cities had developed. “It’s not proof, but it’s compatible… Read More »

Genomewide Association Study of Severe Covid-19 with Respiratory Failure – nejm.org

From the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University (D.E., F.D., J.K., S. May, M. Wendorff, L.W., F.U.-W., X.Y., A.T., A. Peschuck, C.G., G.H.-S., H.E.A., M.C.R., M.E.F.B., M. Schulzky, M. Wittig, N.B., S.J., T.W., W.A., M. D’Amato, A.F.), and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel (N.B., A.F.), Kiel, the Institute for Cardiogenetics, University of Lübeck, Lübeck (J.E.),… Read More »

Coronavirus: Dexamethasone being used to treat NHS patients today

A life-saving treatment for seriously-ill hospital patients with Covid-19 is being used across the UK from today, following breakthrough results in a UK trial. Dexamethasone – a cheap, widely-available steroid – was shown to reduce deaths among patients on ventilators and on oxygen. The UK’s chief medical officers say it should be used “with immediate… Read More »