Category: Features
New Ebola outbreak in Congo amid coronavirus relief spurs panic, concern
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have just announced that a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease is occurring in its northwestern port city of Mbandaka – of the six detected Ebola cases, four have died and two are […]
Risk factors for severe COVID-19/death amplified by age, male sex and obesity
Clear risk factors have been reported in observational studies related to the COVID-19 outbreak in China, but similar studies with European patients are lacking: a team of UK researchers, using data from the ISARIC/WHO Clinical Characterisation Protocol i.e. a study […]
Diabetics could one day use remote-activated insulin-releasing device instead of needles
People with diabetes have trouble metabolising glucose, asbeta cells in the pancreas are unable to sense spikes in blood sugar levels and produce insulin in response. While the problem is usually overcome using regular insulin injections, researchers from ETH Zurich, […]
UK researchers find new twist to age, gender and culture in predicting loneliness
A joint study carried out by the University of Exeter (Exeter), the University of Manchester (Manchester) and Brunel University London (Brunel) have found that younger individuals, men and people in “individualistic” societies report higher levels of loneliness – as opposed […]
Researchers find dementia gene mutation doubles risk of severe COVID-19 infection
An international team of researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School (Exeter), UK, and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn Medicine), US, have found high risk of severe COVID-19 infection among participants of European ancestry who carry […]
Covid-19: Children more susceptible than previously assumed
By Mohani Niza Despite affecting more adults than children in general, new studies are showing that children are more susceptible to the novel coronavirus than previously thought. One study for example, titled ‘Characteristics and Outcomes of Children With Novel coronavirus […]
Japan may lift coronavirus emergency ban earlier than expected
As the number of new coronavirus cases continues to decline in Japan, its government is likely to lift the state of emergency ban currently in place in Tokyo, Hokkaido, and nearby prefectures, by the end of May 2020. The emergency […]
Antibody in the blood of SARS survivor may help in the fight against COVID-19
Scientists have identified an antibody from the blood sample of a person who recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which appears to neutralise the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2. This individual had the infection 17 years ago in the […]
Roche’s Tecentriq-chemotherapy combo now approved for treating aggressive type of lung cancer
The Singaporean Health Sciences Authority (HAS) has recently approved of global pharmaceutical giant Roche’s new immunotherapy treatment: Tecentriq® (Atezolizumab) will be used as first-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), after reports showed that the cancer […]
