January 13th, 2021As South Africa battled COVID-19 and deaths rose, many turned to traditional herbs for treatment, writes Medscape. The problem is how to bring scientific rigour into the equation.
In June 2020, Artemisia afra was in high demand on the streets of...
December 2nd, 2020Some things are bigger than money, and one of them is health, says the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. In a statement it called on leaders to learn from the experiences of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and develop and prepare better for...
November 25th, 2020Many European countries avoid breaking down data along racial or ethnic lines out of concern over privacy or discrimination, but COVID-19ʼs outsized impact on Black and Asian people has exposed flaws in the approach, some scientists and activists...
October 14th, 2020The BCG vaccine might result in less severe COVID-19 and more rapid recovery, writes World Health Organisation Director General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus. But it is 'very important' to adhere to WHO's recommendation that the BCG vaccine is used for...
October 7th, 2020Africa is known for its excellent safaris, with tourists flying from around the world, only to leave ‘with barely a hint’ of having been here, writes Professor Keymanthri Moodley of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at Stellenbosch...
An international analysis warns that in the race to develop medical interventions for the coronavirus, scientists have paid scant attention to gender when recruiting for clinical trials.
Reporting on the study, The Guardian, notes that...Research Issues
In response to a withering of trust in US health agencies, a group of Black physicians has created their won task force to independently vet regulators’ decisions about COVID-19 drugs and vaccines as well as government recommendations for curbing...
August 26th, 2020More than 1,500 clinical trials of new drugs and treatments for cancers, heart disease and other serious illnesses have been permanently closed down in the UK in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, a further 9,000 have been suspended and...
August 12th, 2020A widely criticised peer-reviewed study that measured the attractiveness of women with endometriosis has been retracted from the medical journal Fertility and Sterility. The Guardian reports that the study was first published in 2013 and has been...
July 29th, 2020There has for decades been a glaring lack of representation of black and brown skin in dermatology journals and textbooks, writes STAT News. The issue is now coming under closer scrutiny.
STAT News reports that when dermatologist Jenna Lester...
June 17th, 2020Some of the world’s leading medical journals are reviewing their processes after they were forced to retract major covid studies based on flawed data, reports The Guardian. None of the peer reviewers who examined a questionable study on the impact...
June 17th, 2020Most of the registered clinical trials of potential treatments for COVID-19 underway as of late March were designed in ways that will greatly limit their value in understanding potential treatments, according to a study from researchers at Johns...
June 10th, 2020A critical 500-person Cape Town trial, part of an international examination into whether the BCG vaccine protects against COVID-19, is under pressure from demands from a group of activists.
Bhekisisa reports that aCape Town scientists are...
May 13th, 2020
The nuance of a study showing a link between vegetarianism and poor mental health got lost as the study was shared widely online, reports Business Insider.
Previous research shows an association between vegetarianism and a higher risk of...
May 6th, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen "droves of research papers rushed to pre-print servers, essentially outsourcing peer review to practising physicians and journalists", write ethicists at Carnegie Mellon and McGill universities.
The global outbreak...
Results from the first studies designed to determine how widely the coronavirus has spread in communities have started to trickle in, drawing immense attention. Stat News reports that experts are already raising concerns about the validity of some...
