Diseases

Tinkering with nature: Billions of engineered mosquitos are getting released into the wild to fight disease

The World Mosquito Project wants to eradicate dengue fever by infecting female mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria.
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Before we had long COVID, was there long SARS?

A doctor explains the post-viral impact of the respiratory viruses, SARS and COVID-19.
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How an immune system for the planet could protect us from the next pandemic

Can we build a global pathogen defence system – a planetary equivalent of the immune system – to protect us when the next pandemic arrives?
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Complete human genome sequence reveals new genetic variants linked to disease

Scientists have finally decoded the entire human genome, finding genes linked to ageing, diseases like muscular dystrophy, and even cancer.
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Antibiotic pre-resistance spotted in tuberculosis bacteria for the first time

Researchers can predict which bacteria are likely to become resistant to antibiotics in the future.
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World’s first malaria vaccine given go-ahead for mass immunisation of African children

The World Health Organization director-general hails ‘historic moment’.
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New test can detect which COVID variant is in your spit

The device could cost less than £1.50 each to make and takes one hour to identify COVID-19 strains in a small amount of saliva.
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Could dinosaurs have caught COVID-19?

After all, how would a Tyrannosaurus Rex put on a facemask?
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New vaccine is 77% effective against Africa’s biggest killer – malaria

Trials of the new jab show that it is the world’s most effective malaria vaccine, which could potentially save the lives of the 300,000 children who die every year due to the disease.
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Scientists have created human-monkey embryonic cells

It's a controversial field but one that could lead to game-changing medical discoveries.
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Are humans naturally clean and tidy creatures?

We’ve teamed up with the folks behind BBC World Service’s CrowdScience to answer your questions on one topic - this week it's all about whether human beings have evolved to be clean and tidy.
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Meet the scientist who defeated 'the world's worst bacteria' to save her husband’s life

As she told us on the Science Focus Podcast, Professor Steffanie Strathdee tackled a superbug as it threatened to kill her partner.
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Discovery of the Hepatitis C virus wins 2020 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine

The prize was jointly awarded to three scientists whose work led to the development of medicines that saved millions of lives.
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COVID-19 vaccine ready for end of year for some, says England's chief medical officer

A number of vaccine candidates have shown they can generate an immune response that ought to be protective, Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific advisor, says.
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Do badger culls stop the spread of bovine TB?

A study from Imperial College London and the Zoological Society London has shown culls drive badgers to roam further, potentially spreading diseases wider than before the culling. But another paper from the same university suggests the culls reduce incidence of tuberculosis by 66 per cent. So are culls effective?
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Disease-bearing animals 'thrive in human habitats'

Experts warn that global land use needs to change to reduce risk of disease spillovers from animals.
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Miniature human heart 3D printed using stem cells

The breakthrough could have major implications in the study of heart disease.
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New method protects vaccines from heat degradation

Heat causes proteins in vaccines to unravel, rendering them ineffective, but scientists have found a way to keep vaccines at room temperature for up to three years.
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Huntington’s disease can be detected in the brain 24 years before symptoms show

The findings could help with clinical trials by identifying the ideal time to start treating the disease, scientists said.
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When health tests can do more harm than good

Health tests may be useful, but they can also lead to anxiety and false positives.
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