Category: Biochemistry and molecular biology

Vaccine being trialled by Oxford University and AstraZeneca offers hope for all age groups

One of the world’s leading Covid-19 experimental vaccines produces an immune response in both older and young adults, raising hopes of a path out of the gloom and economic destruction wrought by the novel coronavirus.

The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford, also triggers lower adverse responses among elderly people, said the British drug maker AstraZeneca, which is helping to manufacture the vaccine, on Monday.

Thanks to the success of the Human Genome Project, 20 years ago this week, scientists can track biology and disease at a molecular level

Twenty years ago this week, an international group of scientists announced it had put together the first genetic blueprint of a human being. After 10 years of effort, the team – made up of thousands of scientists working on both sides of the Atlantic – revealed it had pinpointed all 3bn units of DNA that make up the human genome.

The result was “the most wondrous map ever created by humankind”, US President Bill Clinton told a special White House ceremony to mark the event. A parallel event, hosted by Tony Blair in Downing Street, also featured glittering praise for the effort.

DNA studies have helped to develop new drugs for conditions ranging from cystic fibrosis to asthma

We are sequencing samples of Sars-Cov-2 from different sources to see if the virus is mutating significantly

Related: Human code fully cracked

Category: Biochemistry and molecular biology

Oxford Covid vaccine works in all ages, trials suggest

‘The wondrous map’: how unlocking human DNA changed the course of science