ESMH regularly publishes articles on topics related to science and new technologies that provoke a lot of media attention and that are important in the European context. Most importantly, the articles are written with the help of science writers in journalistic style and always provide the opinion of one or more scientists on the topic. The publications are accompanied by a selection of links to related information and with a focus on European research and knowledge in the field.
Articles
Balancing the risks: Dr Nathalie MacDermott on lockdown easing and the UK perspective
Dr Nathalie MacDermott is a clinical lecturer at King’s College London, sub-specialising in paediatric infectious diseases in the NHS. She also has significant experience in medical response to disaster and epidemic situations in Africa and Asia Some countries in Europe, including the UK, have begun easing their lockdown restrictions. In what ways can lockdowns be ...
Prof Emmanuel André, the voice behind the fight against Covid-19 in Belgium
Prof Emmanuel André, former spokesman of the federal crisis centre, has supported Belgian citizens since the beginning of the lockdown by informing them daily on the evolution of the pandemic. He is now responsible for organising the tracing to help eradicate the propagation of the pandemic and devotes his energy to the community during this ...
COVID-19: how our behaviour can help stop the coronavirus
The spread of infectious diseases is linked with human behaviour, so behavioural science could be used to inform effective modelling and communication strategies to reduce transmission and contain COVID-19.
Carla Nunes: “If we can keep treating properly the sick ones and protect vulnerable people, let’s ease the lockdown”
Interview on the Portuguese response to COVID-19 pandemic with Carla Nunes, statistician and epidemiologist. Carla Nunes is the Director of the National School of Public Health, at Nova University of Lisbon (Portugal), and the Coordinator of the COVID-19 Barometer project, which analyses the evolution of the pandemic in Portugal. What did Portugal do so differently, ...
COVID-19 in Africa: what is at stake?
SARS-CoV-2 has arrived in Africa and, progressively, almost all African countries have closed their borders and imposed various levels of "lockdowns" in the hope of limiting the spread of the pandemic, taking measures similar to those taken elsewhere in the world. The pandemic is producing shocking statistics and tragic consequences in developed regions of the ...
The challenges of tackling Covid-19 in Africa
Interview with Dr John N. Nkengasong, Director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention about the current situation with the spread of COVID-19 across Africa, about the main risks, challenges and lessons learnt from the HIV/AIDS pandemic and Ebola epidemic.
Fighting the ‘infodemic’: how coronavirus became the litmus test for tech companies’ struggle to contain mis- and disinformation
Facebook, Twitter and Google are among the actors pushed into action in the face of fast spreading Covid-19 disinformation but the efficiency of their efforts will need proper evaluation.
Digital tracing, privacy and trust: the New Normalcy in Europe
European countries are adopting progressive measures to loosen the lockdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We are entering a "new normalcy", the age of living with risk and social reorganization. Digital tracing is considered a promising tool to enable a return to normal social life by helping to monitor and reduce the spread of contagion. Will such an application prove effective? Could such an application ‘compromise’ the concept of privacy?
Changing environment, changing health
Our environment and health are closely intertwined, and we must equip future generations with adaptive capacities to achieve sustainable human wellbeing on all fronts. One such environment is our chemical one, present in the products we use, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. Human biomonitoring - a scientific technique that allows us to assess whether and to what extent environmental substances have entered our bodies and how exposure may be changing over time - is a useful public health surveillance tool with which the real-life burden of exposure to chemicals can be assessed.
The Microbiome-gut-brain axis and the rise of psychobiotics
Communication between our gut and our brain is a two-way street. A large part of the signals being sent from our intestines to our brain is thanks to the bacteria living inside us, our microbiome. Our gut microbes have been linked to anxiety and depression, and research is underway to see whether we can manipulate our bacterial populations to benefit our mental health.