Uudised

Researchers and doctors from the University of Tartu and Tartu University Hospital evaluated the use of a novel revolutionary method, flow cytometry, for diagnosing urethritis in Estonian men. The study published in PLOS ONE confirmed the efficiency of the method and showed that most often urethritis was due to chlamydia. Gonorrhoea caused the strongest urethral inflammation.

On Tuesday, 1 December, the university members celebrate the 101st anniversary of Estonia's national university.

So far, the university has favoured preferring face-to-face learning to distance learning. However, as the coronavirus infection rate is increasing, the Rector’s Office decided at its today’s meeting that it is reasonable to rapidly reorganise studies wherever possible to safeguard the health of all university members.

Dear members of the faculty Our academic and everyday lives continue in an unusual rhythm. To be fair, the autumn semester has so far been able to run with only mild restrictions. But the situation is changing because the corona virus has begun to spread more rapidly. I call on you to follow the set regulations even more precisely to impede the spreading of the virus. Our common goal is to stay as healthy as possible and continue studies and scientific work.

The University of Tartu announces a design contest to find a mascot to represent the university’s visual identity. All students, staff and alumni of the university are welcome to submit their design projects until 22 November. The winner will be selected in two rounds: in the first round, a committee comprising the representatives of students, alumni and staff will choose three best projects that will be put to a public vote in the second round. The public vote among students, alumni and staff of the University of Tartu takes place in December.

The university invites all staff members, students, alumni and their families to city orienteering in Tartu from 19 October to 1 November. Do you know the buildings and sites connected with the university? Do you know what was in these places in the past? Grab a map and find out!

With the participation of medical researchers from the University of Tartu, two research articles were recently published in Science, describing the mechanisms the coronavirus uses to infect cells and spread in tissues. The findings provide new potential ways of preventing viral infection by the novel coronavirus, and clues as to why it is more infectious than other similar viruses.

Researchers of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences of the University of Tartu have conducted a survey to analyse how the university as an organisation responded to the crisis, and to what extent it is possible to use the gained experience to plan future work.

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Tartu celebrates its 388th anniversary on October 15th-16th. Starting from today, e-poster presentations can be viewed online. Scientific conference

University of Tartu researchers participated in a study published in Science, indicating that about 10 per cent of young and healthy people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies that attack not the virus, but the immune system itself.

This seems to be what politicians from the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) have asked. As an answer, they have proposed a draft legislation aiming to prevent young people from Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or another non-EU country from coming here to study unless they pay for their studies. The draft legislation turned up at the beginning of September, without any analysis or legislative intent, without notifying the parties concerned or coordinating the draft with them.

Immune-mediated diseases form a large group of diseases of more than one hundred diagnoses. These diseases continue to be researched by scientists and doctors across the world. We must not overlook any other medical problem while fighting against coronavirus, emphasised Professor of Immunology of the University of Tartu Raivo Uibo, who is leading a research group that contributes to research into the onset of immune-mediated diseases as a part of the major Horizon 2020 initiative HEDIMED.

Dear members of the university, To recover from the extraordinary situation that hit the world in spring, a summer holiday is vital for all of us. However, we must remember to exercise caution when returning to work to make sure our life at the university and in the country as a whole could continue as normally as possible.

On 28 and 29 August, second-year medical students of the University of Tartu are organising the International Anatomy Olympiad “Anatomy Theatre” in Tartu. Ten teams from six universities from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will put their medical knowledge and creativity to test. The organisers hope the event becomes a lasting tradition.

The results of the study on coronavirus antibodies KoroSero-EST-1 led by the University of Tartu indicate that the prevalence of the virus notably exceeded the national statistics based on nasal swab testing: by ten times in Tallinn and three and a half times in Saaremaa. Only 20% of people who had coronavirus antibodies in their blood had had a symptom of a viral disease. The population-based study on coronavirus antibodies KoroSero-EST-2 has already started.

The novel coronavirus has been circulating the world for seven months and there is no sign of it subsiding. This means, however, that we will very likely have to coexist with the virus for a very long time and it is up to humans, not the virus, to decide how we want or manage to do that, writes Irja Lutsar, Professor of Medical Microbiology of the University of Tartu. Spread of and infection with the virus In terms of the spread of the virus, countries can be divided as follows:

The Faculty of Medicine will celebrate its anniversary on 15 and 16 October with a revised programme and schedule.

Estonian scientists and physicians have developed a preeclampsia screening test that enables to prognose the disease risk at the beginning of the 3rd trimester with a probability of 96.5%. Early accurate identification of high-risk pregnancies enables timely clinical monitoring of concerned women to minimize preeclampsia-related health consequences on the mother and the fetus.

Today, on 19 June, Rector Toomas Asser handed over the Badge of Distinction and letter of appreciation of the University of Tartu to Professor of Medical Microbiology Irja Lutsar. The university appreciates her commitment to evidence-based counselling of the university and state leaders during the emergency situation.

Medical researchers of the University of Tartu and doctors of Tartu University Hospital have an ambitious plan to take their novel combination of stereotactic body radiotherapy and immunotherapy to treatment guidelines and thus reach suitable patients suffering from lung cancer. Up to 20 lung cancer patients will be included in the study SynAct Lung to assess the safety and efficiency of the new combination.