It seems that after an initial frenzy at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when seemingly almost any old test could somehow make it on the market (check out the April news review for comments on quality issues), we’ve seen not just quality tests but also kits with added features appear from summer 2020. More and more COVID-19 tests have been […]
The purpose of a vaccine is effectively to train the immune system in recognising and combatting the virus quickly should there ever be a real infection. To do so, vaccines deliver virus components, which are harmless on their own, to the recipient’s immune system. These components are referred to as immunisation targets or immunogens. Once immune cells recognise and bind […]
Working across disciplines can be confusing, not only due to professional jargon but also due to basic terminology being used interchangeably by different people or media sources. This is very true in the biomedical sphere. After a recent brief exchange with someone who is interested in technology applications in healthcare and life sciences, I was stimulated to propound some of […]
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on various industries including manufacturing, travel & tourism as well as life sciences and healthcare. When we talk about ‘industries’, inevitably we talk about human lives. Let’s look beyond the immediate turmoil into which many have been thrust. With the world around us changing at a seemingly accelerated speed, what’s out there to help […]
Convalescent plasma (CP) therapy gained FDA emergency use authorisation (EUA) in August. It appears that this is surrounded by some controversy and suspicion of politicisation. Without getting anywhere near politics here, let’s not forget that health agencies’ interest in CP is nothing new. The FDA has previously encouraged survivors to donate plasma and supported developments in this space along with […]
I have had discussions lately about the perception that an immunity passport is the same as a vaccination passport. This is not so. The choice of words matters! Let’s explore this from a basic immunological perspective.
Last month I wrote about being a mentor for one of the teams at the Stop COVID-19 hackathon by ConsenSys Health. My team was called dPlasma and amazingly won the first prize in the competition! ? Let’s take a look at the project and its context.
I am taking part as a mentor at ConsenSys Health‘s Stop COVID-19 hackathon. Oh, what was that? – Ah, yes. Why am I participating in a hackathon?
Check out my latest monthly review! It summarises Blue Steens’ latest posts and showcases some informative online content that I haven’t released elsewhere. Click to read >>>
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