Hydroxychloroquine is being discarded prematurely in COVID-19 prevention
10 August 2020
Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research
Hydroxychloroquine could still prevent COVID-19 and save tens of thousands of lives around the world, say leading scientific researchers. While it doesn’t work in treatment of hospitalised patients, it could still prevent infections. However, fraudulent data, unjustified extrapolation and exaggerated safety concerns together with intense politicisation and negative publicity may stop COPCOV, the only large, global clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 prevention, from ever finding out.
BRC-OCDEM project wins European funding for citizen science metabolism project
10 August 2020
Awards and Appointments General Research
The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has received more than €270,000 from the European Commission as a part of a multi-nation research project to promote citizen science.
NDS work experience goes virtual
7 August 2020
Engagement Opportunities General
The Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences (NDS) during lockdown launched a brand-new virtual work experience programme for students interested in pursuing a career in science and medicine.
A novel strategy for using compounds as ‘anti-evolution’ drugs to combat antibiotic resistance
7 August 2020
The rise of antibiotic resistance in many pathogens has been driven by the spread of a small number of strains, suggesting that some bacteria may be genetically pre-disposed to evolving resistance. Researchers at Oxford University have tested this hypothesis by quantifying differences in evolvability between pathogen strains and by searching for ‘potentiator’ genes that accelerate the evolution of resistance. Their results are published today in Nature Communications.
PRINCIPLE and ZOE partner to widen access to trial
4 August 2020
Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research
Oxford University and the COVID Symptom Study app are joining forces to widen access to the PRINCIPLE trial of potential treatments for COVID-19.
Professor David Stuart awarded The Gabor Medal 2020
4 August 2020
Awards and Appointments General
Professor David Stuart has been awarded The Gabor Medal 2020 for his seminal contributions to understanding virus structure and application to vaccine design, as well as driving the application of engineering and physical science to the life sciences.
Professor Fran Platt secures £1M funding over two years for vital Parkinson's Disease research, in collaboration with Pfizer
4 August 2020
Awards and Appointments General Innovation Research
There is an increasing body of genetic and biochemical evidence that points toward lysosomal dysfunction as a risk factor for developing age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease (PD).
New AI test identifies COVID-19 within one hour in emergency departments
30 July 2020
Infectious disease and clinical machine learning experts at the University of Oxford have developed an Artificial Intelligence test that can rapidly screen for COVID-19 in patients arriving in emergency departments, and a preprint paper has been published on its effectiveness.
3D printing for brain repair
30 July 2020
An in-depth look into a collaborative Department of Physiology, Antomy and Genetics (DPAG), Chemistry and Oxford Martin School project pioneering a radical new approach in which the brain is repaired with 3D-printed neural tissues.
Researchers discover cell communication mechanism that drives cancer adaptation
28 July 2020
Collaborative Cancer Research UK-funded studies from University of Oxford researchers have uncovered a new mechanism by which cancer cells adapt to the stresses they encounter as they grow and respond to therapies. This mechanism involves cells releasing small vesicles, known as exosomes.
New study enables identification of people at particular risk of rare, but serious, muscle-related side effect of statin therapy
24 July 2020
Statins are prescribed to millions of people worldwide to reduce their risks of suffering heart attacks and strokes. Researchers at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, in collaboration with other researchers, have published new findings that identify a combination of factors that put some patients at higher risk of myopathy, which is a rare side-effect of statin therapy characterised by muscle pain or weakness in combination with high blood levels of creatine kinase, a marker of muscle damage.
New Programme Helps Frontline Healthcare Workers at Risk from PTSD and Depression
24 July 2020
Researchers from the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford have developed a new mental health treatment programme to provide frontline healthcare workers with 1-to-1 support, including fast-track access to PTSD or depression treatment. This evidence-based programme, called SHAPE Recovery, builds on an outreach programme shown to reduce rates of PTSD and depression.
Why we can’t tell if warmer weather slows down the spread of coronavirus
23 July 2020
Many people believe that warm weather protects us from respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19. The concept of "catching a cold" in summer is counter-intuitive. Yet what does the data say about the effect of the weather on the spread of the coronavirus?
Running, cycling and singing against COVID-19
23 July 2020
People around the country are doing some incredible things to support Oxford’s time-critical coronavirus research, from running multiple marathons to embarking on epic cycle rides, and even releasing music.
Antibiotics disrupt development of the 'social brain' in mice
23 July 2020
Antibiotic treatment in early life seems to impede brain signalling pathways that function in social behaviour and pain regulation in mice, a new study by Dr Katerina Johnson and Dr Philip Burnet has found. It was published today in BMC Neuroscience.
New digital classification method using AI developed for colorectal cancer
21 July 2020
A new study from S:CORT demonstrates an easy, cheap way to determine colorectal cancer molecular subtype using AI deep-learning digital pathology technology.
New evidence against one proposed mechanism of hypoxia in COVID-19
21 July 2020
DPAG is among the departments receiving funding from the University's research respond fund to undertake COVID-19 research. As part of this effort, the Swietach lab has been studying oxygen transport in the blood of COVID-19 patients.