Mun Keat Looi

Sixty seconds on . . . Twitter Blue

The Twitter blues—a new medical syndrome? It might well be. But here we’re talking about one of the changes made to the popular social platform since billionaire Elon Musk took over. Causing the biggest stir are his changes to official verified…

Has covid-19 become milder?

Deaths and hospital admissions are falling, so does this mean that the virus is less severe? The BMJ asks the experts Is covid-19 really getting milder? The short answer is no. Covid-19 is still a deadly disease, having killed almost 1.1 million…

Sixty seconds on . . . long life livers

Is this like the lettuce that outlasted Liz Truss? Much longer than that. Researchers have found that livers used in transplantations can have a very long life—25 were found to have lasted at least 100 years if their lives in donors and recipients…

What next for covid-19 vaccines?

As omicron booster jabs are approved and rolled out for the first time, The BMJ asks how vaccines will evolve as we learn to live with the virus Will we continue to need annual covid boosters? Eleanor Riley, professor of immunology at the University…

Sixty seconds on . . . the NyQuil chicken challenge

Is this like the ice bucket challenge but sponsored by KFC? I wish. At least that would be earning money for charity. No, the NyQuil chicken challenge involves people filming themselves cooking chicken bathed in over-the-counter medication and…

Is covid-19 settling into a pattern?

SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay, with an increasing array of questions for science and medicine. In the first of a new series on Covid Unanswered Questions, The BMJ asks about our current understanding of waves and variants—and what they might mean for…

Sixty seconds on . . . lactose intolerance

Got milk? I do. But have you “herd” the commonly accepted theory of how we came to drink cow’s milk as adults? Moooo? Humans started domesticating animals and using their milk around 10 000 years ago, but probably couldn’t digest lactose, the main…

The BMJ Interview: WHO chief scientist optimistic for a pan-coronavirus vaccine in two years

Soumya Swaminathan tells Mun-Keat Looi of her worries about the relaxation of testing for global surveillance and the “two track pandemic” It’s a challenging time to be a scientist, let alone the first ever chief scientist at the World Health…

The BMJ Interview: WHO chief scientist optimistic for a pan-coronavirus vaccine in two years

Soumya Swaminathan tells Mun-Keat Looi of her worries about the relaxation of testing for global surveillance and the “two track pandemic” It’s a challenging time to be a scientist, let alone the first ever chief scientist at the World Health…

Disincentives for vaccine refusal

Download figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint As the world adjusts to living with covid-19 and its variants such as omicron, the need to boost vaccination rates is paramount. Some countries are attempting to force the hand of people who are…

UK testing was “a shambles” so why hasn’t the government learnt from its mistakes, asks Paul Nurse

The winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine tells Mun-Keat Looi of his experience with testing during the pandemic and the effect of covid-19 on UK research Paul Nurse is no expert, he says. The geneticist and former president of the…

A winter Olympics amid “zero covid”

Download figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint Valery Sharifulin/TASS /Getty Images Healthcare workers for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games attend the women’s 3000 m speed skating race at China’s National Speed Skating Oval on 5 February. The games…

The BMJ Interview: Peter Piot

The co-discoverer of the Ebola virus tells Mun-Keat Looi how he has been personally affected by long covid and what the pandemic looks like in low and middle income countries Peter Piot identified and helped stop not one but two Ebola epidemics, as…

Sixty seconds on . . . covid-19 and sex

Let’s get it on Steady on there. Although you might have expected rates of sexual activity to have gone up during lockdown, the opposite is the case, judging by the plight of the world’s leading condom makers. Nothing for the weekend? So it seems.…

Sixty seconds on . . . covid-19 and sex

Let’s get it on Steady on there. Although you might have expected rates of sexual activity to have gone up during lockdown, the opposite is the case, judging by the plight of the world’s leading condom makers. Nothing for the weekend? So it seems.…

The BMJ Interview: Rachel Levine on the greatest challenges in US health

Rachel Levine, the US assistant secretary for health and the first transgender person confirmed into post by the US Senate, tells Mun-Keat Looi what this responsibility means to her, and what it’s like working in this extraordinary time for American…

The world according to covid vaccine coverage

Download figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint A year since the first covid vaccines were announced, rollouts are under way all over the world—to differing degrees. Some (mostly high income) countries are now rolling out booster doses and…

The world according to covid vaccine coverage

Percentage of national population to have received two doses of covid vaccine A year since the first covid vaccines were announced, rollouts are under way all over the world—to differing degrees. Some (mostly high income) countries are now …

The world according to covid vaccine coverage

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Sixty seconds on . . . Nicki Minaj

Who?! The US rap superstar, of course. Last week, Minaj found herself in an unlikely war of words with England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty and the prime minister Boris Johnson after suggesting covid vaccination could cause impotency. Pound…