| When science dominates the news agenda, it's our job to pass as much information to the journalists covering the story as quickly as possible. One of the most useful services we provide is a 'round up' of reaction – a series of quotes from scientists that represent viewpoints within mainstream science. This reaction to a breaking story can be invaluable as: · a source of quotes · a gauge of what the scientific community thinks about a new development · a list of potential interviewees for print or broadcast Sometimes it's more appropriate to send journalists a list of contact details for scientists and press officers that are available to provide comments immediately. We call these our rapid reaction emails. This year's press releases are listed below:
26 August 2010 The paper shows a possible association between exposure to bisphenol-A, a chemical widely used in food and drinks packaging, and hormonal changes in men. 23 August 2010 This research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences purports to find a link between a virus and chronic fatigue syndrome, although this is not the same virus as that implicated in similar recent discoveries. 19 August 2010 The paper addresses the possibility of oil accumulating below the surface of water in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the recent oil spill. 11 August 2010 This paper looked at the development of a new class of drug resistant bacteria. 10 August 2010 Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London have developed at simple brain scan that they say can be used to detect autism in adults with 90% accuracy. 10 August 2010 A study of hospital admissions data across England and Wales suggested that a drop in temperature is associated with an increased rate of heart attacks. 05 August 2010 Several months after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in one of the biggest oil spills in US history, much of the oil has apparently been either removed or dispersed through natural means. 04 August 2010 In further developments on the cloned cow story, it has emerged that meat from the offspring of cloned cows has been sold and eaten in the UK. 02 August 2010 Reports have emerged that milk from a cow that was bred from a clone has been on sale in the UK. 19 July 2010 Two new research papers show that induced pluripotent stem cells, which are equivalent to embryonic stem cells and can be obtained from adult tissues, can retain some of the characteristics of the cells from which they were formed. 07 July 2010 Experts responded to the publication of the long-awaited final report of the third inquiry into the emails stolen from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit at the end of last year. 01 July 2010 An independent review lead by Dame Deirdre Hine looked into the UK government's response to the 2009 influenza pandemic. 29 June 2010 New guidelines for the scientific reporting of research involving animals have been published by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). 23 June 2010 Researchers at Imperial College London have published a study looking at the possible relationship between exposure to mobile phone masts during pregnancy and early childhood cancers in offspring. 14 June 2010 Researchers in the US have found a possible link between a certain class of blood pressure drugs and the risk of developing cancer, after a review of 13 previous trials of the drugs. 09 June 2010 A review of existing studies carried out by scientists at the University of Tampere has found that people of short stature may be at greater risk of coronary heart disease. 09 June 2010 New research from the University of Bath examines the impact of smokefree legislation on rates of hospital admissions for heart attacks in England. 04 June 2010 Easyjet have announced plans to test equipment to detect ash in the air during flights, allowing them to avoid potentially dangerous ash clouds. 03 June 2010 Researchers have found a link between high consumption of burgers and risk of high lifetime asthma prevalence in schoolchildren. 28 May 2010 A trial of 127 persistent heroin addicts has shown that treatment using injectable methadone resulted in a significant drop in the use of street heroin after six months. 28 May 2010 The deaths of two teenagers in March 2010 were linked to the 'legal high' drug mephedrone, prompting the government to ban the drug. However toxicology tests published today show that they did not have traces of the drug in their system. 24 May 2010 Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who proposed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism which has since been comprehensively discredited, has been struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council, which ruled that he was guilty of serious professional misconduct. 20 May 2010 Researchers have discovered that the protein that forms damaging plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease also accumulates in the eyes of people with Down's symdrome, suggesting the possibility of new ways of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. 20 May 2010 The American geneticist and entrepreneur Craig Venter has announced that his team has succeeded in assembling an artificial genome from scratch and inserted it into the cell,which then took on the characteristics of the transferred genome and passed these on to its progeny. 17 May 2010 The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull has continued to erupt sporadically over the past month, causing intermittent disruption to air traffic across parts of Europe 10 May 2010 Researchers in China have found evidence linking consumption of soy-based food products with reduced testosterone production. 07 May 2010 At the recent general election the Liberal Democrat science spokesman and general all-round champion for science Dr Evan Harris lost his Oxford West & Abingdon seat by a mere 176 votes. 30 April 2010 Since the explosion on the oil rig occurred on 20 April, the rate at which oil is pouring into the sea has been found to be much higher than originally thought, while there are reports that the oil has begun to wash up on the Gulf Coast. 30 April 2010 A US scientist has become the first healthy person to have his entire genome sequenced and analysed for known genetic predispositions to a range of diseases. The research potentially brings forward new techniques in personalised medicine based on individuals' genomes. 29 April 2010 An explosion on a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is leaking large amounts of oil into the sea, which in turn is threatening the Gulf Coast. 23 April 2010 The British geneticist Paul Nurse, currently the President of Rockefeller University in New York, has been named as the only candidate to succeed Martin Rees as the President of the Royal Society. 22 April 2010 21 April 2010 20 April 2010 19 April 2010 16 April 2010 Further expert reaction to various aspects of the Icelandic volcano and the effects of volcanic ash. 15 April 2010 Following Simon Singh's victory in the latest round of his libel defence on 1 April, the British Chiropractic Association has announced that it is dropping its action against him. 15 April 2010 After several weeks of low level activity, the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull began spilling large amounts of ash into the atmosphere, which were then distributed over much of Europe, resulting in the grounding of flights throughout Europe due to safety concerns over the effect of volcanic ash on aircraft engines. 14 April 2010 The research from Newcastle University used a DNA transfer technique to prevent mutations affecting the DNA of mitochondria (the energy-generating components of cells) from being passed on to the next generation, thereby providing a potential means of preventing the transmission of diseases that result from such mutations. 14 April 2010 The Swedish study found a potential link between prostate cancer and an increased risk thromboembolism, particularly deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in the lungs and especially in men who are undergoing hormone treatment for cancer. 14 April 2010 The magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Qinghai province in Western China, killing nearly 600 people and injuring thousands. 14 April 2010 The Science Assessment Panel chaired by Lord Oxburgh has issued the report of its assessment of the integrity of the research published by the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. 06 April 2010 The paper reports on a trial in the US which has failed to replicate the initial success of lithium as a treatment for motor neurone disease. 01 April 2010 Simon Singh has won the latest round of his libel case against the British Chiropractic Association (BCA), which began around two years ago when he was sued by the BCA for comments he made about the evidence basis for chiropractic treatments. 31 March 2010 The research looked at exposure to chemicals and pollutants in the workplace and the potential link to women's risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause. 22 March 2010 The study suggests that young infertile men are more likely to develop a form of prostate cancer. 22 March 2010 The University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit has announced the membership of its assessment panel which will look at the science published by the unit, following on from therow caused by the leaking of emails stored on UEA's servers. 21 March 2010 The eruption, which happened in southern Iceland, did not cause any significant number of casualties. 19 March 2010 A ten-year-old British boy has become the first child to undergo pioneering surgery to replace his windpipe, which was too narrow, with a new one partially grown from his own stem cells. 17 March 2010 The calls have arisen following the deaths of several teenagers which were thought to be linked to use of the drug. 17 March 2010 The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that government television commercials on climate change expressed too much certainty in the evidence for human-induced climate change. 12 March 2010 The study, one of the biggest to date, shows that there is a lower overall risk of death, from any cause, in women who have ever taken the contraceptive pill. 10 March 2010 The British Fertility Society's advice refers to the use of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine by women with fertility problems to help them to conceive. 08 March 2010 The baby was accidentally given 10 times the normal dose of the tuberculosis vaccine BCG - he was subsequently treated in hospital but his life was not thought to be in danger. 27 February 2010 Chile has been struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes in the country's history, causing over 700 deaths so far and forcing many others out of their homes. 26 February 2010 In addition to other recent research findings, this new study casts further doubt on previously identified links between a particular virus (known as XMRV) and chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. 24 February 2010 The research suggested that the risk of stillbirth could be higher in association with certain types of IVF treatment. 22 February 2010 The announcement from Prince Charles' Foundation concerns a piece of research which purports to show evidence in support of homeopathy. 18 February 2010 The research indicates that frying meat on a gas hob could be less healthy than cooking with electricity, and could raise the risk of health impacts due to the fumes and fine particles given off during cooking. 18 February 2010 Research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego suggests a personalised blood test could be developed to detect cancer, and could be available within the next five years. 11 February 2010 The official review into the leaking of emails from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit was officially launched today. 10 February 2010 Scientists have found that a low IQ may be a predictor of heart disease and death, to a significant level second only to smoking. Experts, however, pointed out the caveats in the authors' intepretation of their results. 08 February 2010 A study of a range of beers has found that beer contains high levels of silicon, suggesting that it could be a dietary source of the element, although the study looked only at silicon content and did not directly investigate potential dietary implications. 08 February 2010 Scientists have discovered a potential link between the use of estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy and a raise risk of developing asthma following the onset of menopause. 04 February 2010 Scientists in the US have discovered a chemical switch that plays a key role in the development of sperm swimming ability and control of swimming speed. 03 February 2010 Scientists have claimed to have shown the first evidence of a 'conversation' held with a patient in a vegetative state using brain scanning technology, suggesting that patients who were thought to be unresponsive could have more awareness than previously thought. 02 February 2010 President Obama has set out the future of the US space programme, including on whether future missions to the moon and beyond are likely to take place. 02 February 2010 The Lancet has retracted Andrew Wakefield's original 1998 paper which claimed to show a link between the MMR vaccine and autism in children, and has since been comprehensively disproved. 28 January 2010 Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who falsely claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, today faced judgement from the General Medical Council on his professional conduct and the ethical basis of his research. 20 January 2010 Experts have investigated the evidence for a link between PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluoroctane sulphonate), byproducts formed in the manufacture of non-stick surfaces, flame-resistant and waterproof items, and thyroid disease. 13 January 2010 The magnitude 7 quake devastated large parts of the island; estimates of the number of dead are in the many thousands, with many more made homeless. 12 January 2010 The research draws an association between time spent sitting in front of the television and the risk of heart disease. 08 January 2010 After twelve years as Director, Susan Greenfield has been made redundant from her role at the Royal Institution, as it was decided that the position of Director was no longer affordable.
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