Re-engineering coronavirus patient’s ‘own’ immune cells to target and destroy virus-infected tissues could be the key to treating the disease, researchers say Researchers say the therapy involves extracting immune cells, called T lymphocytes, from a coronavirus patient’s blood stream Then receptors on the surface of the cells are engineered to recognize cells infected with the … Read more
Injecting ‘decoy proteins’ into the body could stop the coronavirus infecting someone, according to scientists. The virus that causes COVID-19 is believed by scientists to enter the body through receptors on the surface of cells in the airways, known as ACE-2 receptors. These provide the gateway to the bloodstream and ‘facilitate’ infection with the bug, … Read more
A drug prescribed for scabies has been shown to stops the coronavirus in its tracks and may help fight the infection, according to a study. Ivermectin is used on the NHS and in the US for parasitic infections – but researchers in Australia believe it could be useful against COVID-19. Tests showed the drug reduced … Read more
Scientists in Japan develop a new technique to reverse balding by transplanting a special kind of hair follicle cell into a patient’s scalp Scientists in Tokyo conducted a study on a new technique to reverse balding It involved taking cell samples from hair follicles in the back of the head The cells were processed and … Read more
Life-saving prostate scan can pinpoint cancer cells and identify men who need more powerful treatment, research suggests Scientists have found radioactive molecule which sticks to prostate cancer cells Lights them up in a scan and is 27 per cent more accurate then routine methods Technique detects when prostate cancer has spread further into a man’s … Read more
The enemy in plain sight: Chilling microscope images reveal the horrific reality of coronavirus as it emerges from the surface of cells The virus is seen emerging from the surface of cells cultured in a lab and isolated from a patient in the US Taken by scanning electron microscope, images were colourised to better delineate … Read more
BOOK OF THE WEEK DANCING BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON by Gyles Brandreth (Michael Joseph £14.99, 464 pp) What a piece of work is Gyles Brandreth, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, and how like an irrepressible Butlin’s Redcoat or jolly tambourine-banging clergyman, insisting that we absolutely must ‘keep those synapses happy!’ … Read more