18 May 2022 Confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been increasing in South Africa in recent weeks. This has been largely driven by two offspring – known as the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages – of the Omicron variant first identified in South Africa late last year. What’s notable about the most recent spike is that there […]
The new coronavirus variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) and what we know so far
B.1.1.529 has a genetic profile very different from other circulating variants of interest and concern – it does not seem to be a “daughter of delta” or “grandson of beta” but rather represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2. The spike protein alone has over 30 mutations – important as the spike protein is what makes […]
Preliminary research finds that even mild cases of COVID-19 leave a mark on the brain
People who had been infected with COVID-19 showed a loss of brain volume even when the disease was not severe enough to require hospitalization. Jessica Bernard, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University – 24 September 2021 With more than 18 months of the pandemic in the rearview mirror, researchers have been steadily gathering new and important […]
Your immune system is as unique as your fingerprint – new study
Albert J.R. Heck, Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University 22 September 2021 Every person appears to have a unique immune system. My colleagues and I discovered this immune diversity after charting antibodies in the blood from healthy and sick people. The discovery could help explain why, for example, COVID vaccines appear to be […]
SA health experts have identified a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2: what’s known
1 September 2021 As a team of South African researchers we have identified a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. A lineage represents a genetically distinct virus population with a common ancestor. This virus may be designated as a variant in future, based on significantly altered properties, but first we need to understand […]
How does COVID affect the brain? Two neuroscientists explain
Trevor Kilpatrick, Professor, Neurologist and Clinical Director, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Steven Petrou, Professor and Director, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health – 11 August 2021 Scientists are becoming more and more concerned with the emergence of a syndrome termed “long COVID”, where a significant percentage of sufferers of COVID-19 […]
Covid-19: Ivermectin obsession is dangerous
By Nathan Geffen, GroundUp – 29 January 2021 The obsessive pressure being put on the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to approve ivermectin is extraordinary and dangerous. There are circumstances when early – or even illegal – access to drugs is justified. In the early 2000s I worked with the TAC to import […]
What is a virus? How do they spread? How do they make us sick?
Some viruses have an outer envelope made of lipids, which are fatty organic molecules. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is one of these these “enveloped” viruses. Soap can dissolve this fatty envelope, leading to the destruction of the whole virus particle. That’s one reason washing your hands with soap is so effective! What’s the difference […]