5,000,000 lives. That is the number of lives saved globally every year because of vaccines. Vaccines played a tremendously important role in the elimination of infectious diseases such as polio, diphtheria, neonatal tetanus, etc. Polio — a disease that causes paralysis and death — wreaked havoc in the 1950s and…

Tracing the origin of a new virus. . . Epidemics made their appearance around 12,000 years ago during the Neolithic period. Starting from this period onwards humans developed gradually densely populated agricultural communities, allowing microbials to spread easier and faster through several means of transmission (water, food, air, person-to-person contact, etc.). But while there are 10 nonillion (10 to…

How was the trial designed by Pfizer & BioNTech? What does a 90% efficacy rate mean? IS IT SAFE? In July 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech initiated a late-stage (Phase 3) clinical trial on a coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine uses part of the viral RNA packaged in nanoparticles of oily membranes. This small part of the viral RNA contains all the information for the Spike protein, the famous protein helping…

FOR HOW LONG ARE WE PROTECTED AFTER AN INFECTION OR A VACCINE? One new vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 is almost out and while this is already considered a big breakthrough for the novel coronavirus pandemic, scientists around the globe remain conservatively optimistic about it. There are three key points we should keep in mind according to the scientific community: 1. While the Phase…

THE EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION FOR AN ANTIVIRAL THERAPY SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease, is a virus keeping all its genetic info in a single strand of RNA. RNA — the ‘cousin’ of DNA — is a polymeric molecule essential in many biological procedures with regards to the…

What is UV Light? Ultraviolet (UV) light is a type of electromagnetic radiation invisible to most humans and emitted mainly by the sun. However, UV can be released by artificial sources too such as electric arcs and specialized lights (e.g. tanning lamps). The wavelengths of UV rays range between 200 and 400 nm, which…

A few words about one of the most important organs of the human body: The skin The skin is our largest and most visible organ, covering nearly 2 m2. As the interface between the organism and the environment, the skin has a multitude of functions; from maintaining temperature homeostasis and…

One of the most important scientific discoveries of the past century, the unravelling of the structure of our blueprint (DNA), was not made overnight. …

FROM THE PATHOGEN TO THE ANTIBODY FIGHTERS, SIMPLY EXPLAINED Before we dive into vaccines and the so-far developments, let’s start with the basics, namely the immune system. The immune system is our body’s defense and attack system against any form of infection and is comprised of an interconnected network of proteins, cells, and organs. When our body is confronted…