Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to behavioural activation therapy for depression
A comparison between cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and behavioural activation (BA) for the treatment of depression is made in a study published in The Lancet journal. The authors report that the two treatments are equally effective at treating depression in adults and that BA can be delivered by junior mental health workers at a lower cost. read more
Zika virus and the Rio Olympics
The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, will begin in early August. The Zika virus outbreak is ongoing in some parts of Brazil (among other countries in the Americas and the Pacific). read more
expert reaction to research on alcohol and cancer
A study published in the journal Addiction has reported that drinking alcohol is linked to the development of seven forms of cancer. read more
the future of cancer research – how can we outsmart cancer?
Cancer is the UK’s biggest killer, claiming around 160,000 lives every year. Survival rates have improved enormously in some types of cancer, but patients with other tumour types continue to do very poorly, and once the disease has spread round the body it is still often incurable. Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden have been working over the last year to identify the biggest challenges we face in treating cancer, and come up with an action plan to overcome them. The ICR will be launching their action plan. read more
expert reaction to film titled ‘The Big Fat Fix’ on prescribing lifestyle interventions for conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes
A film titled ‘The Big Fat Fix’ has been released which focuses on the use of ‘lifestyle medicine’ to treat diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. read more
expert reaction to story reporting the rejuvenation of women’s ovaries post-menopause
A group of scientists have reported a way to rejuvenate post-menopausal ovaries. read more
expert reaction to new SACN recommendations on vitamin D
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has recommended that everyone over one year of age should consume 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day in order to protect musculoskeletal health. read more
expert reaction to new research on Antarctic temperatures
Publishing in the journal Nature researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have reported how a regional cooling phase in the Antarctic is a result of natural forces temporarily masking the longer warming trend. read more
pause in Antarctic Peninsula warming
The rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula, which occurred from the early-1950s to the late 1990s, has paused. The stabilisation of the ozone hole, changing wind patterns and natural variability were significant in bringing about this change. Together these factors have caused the peninsula, which makes up 1% of the Antarctic, to enter a temporary cooling phase. Temperatures remain higher than measured during the middle of the 20th Century, so glacial retreat is still taking place. Scientists predict that if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise at the current rate, temperatures will increase across the Antarctic Peninsula by several degrees Centigrade by the end of this century. read more
expert reaction to the release of the annual Home Office statistics on animal research
The Home Office has released its annual statistics on the use of animals in research. read more
annual Home Office statistics on animal research
On Wednesday 20th July the Home Office published its 2015 statistics on animals used in scientific procedures as well as the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) annual report. Journalists came along to hear the latest figures from two Home Office officials, along with responses from three leading experts who have a broad overview of animal research and gave their thoughts on the reasons behind any rise or fall in the statistics or issues raised in the report. read more
expert reaction to study comparing home-cooked meals from specialist recipes and pre-prepared commercial meals for infants
Publishing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal a group of researchers have reported that commercially bought meals are more energy-dense and contain greater vegetable variety compared to home-cooked meals which used cookbook recipes, whereas home-cooked meals were cheaper though tended to exceed energy and fat recommendations. read more
expert reaction to study investigating omega 3 intake and survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis
The effect of omega-3 fatty acid intake on survival after colorectal cancer (CRC) is examined in a paper published in the journal Gut in which the authors report that high intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids from fish after CRC diagnosis is associated with lower risk of mortality due to CRC. read more
expert reaction to study looking at different types of polyunsaturated fatty acid and type 2 diabetes risk
The relationship between polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of type 2 diabetes is explored in a paper published in the journal PLOS Medicine which reports differences in risk levels between specific fatty acids. read more
expert reaction to study looking at sugar, childhood obesity and heart disease risk factors
Publishing in the journal Atherosclerosis a group of scientists have reported that reducing sugar, but not calories, in obese children can reduce markers of cardiovascular disease risk. read more
expert reaction to review paper looking at Mediterranean diet, fat intake and health outcomes
A paper published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine has compared different kinds of diet and reports that a Mediterranean diet with no restrictions on fat intake may reduce incidence of diseases including breast cancer but doesn’t affect all-cause mortality. read more
the NHS weekend effect: what does the evidence say?
The observed ‘weekend effect’ in the NHS, where patients admitted to hospital over the weekend have worse outcomes than patients admitted during the week, has underpinned many rows and debates about how hospital services should be funded and structured. The move towards a ‘seven day NHS’ with equal levels of senior staffing across all days has become a hot political topic, but are the claims about the weekend effect accurate and evidence-based? It is a challenging area to research, but the emerging picture is that the weekend effect is much more complex than it appears. One key group conducting research in this field is the HiSLAC project, which is investigating the impact of specialist-led care on emergency admissions. read more
expert reaction to cabinet reshuffle and department changes
As part of the cabinet reshuffle it has been announced that the government Department for Energy and Climate Change will be abolished. read more
the science of fertility preservation
A woman from Edinburgh is the first in the UK to give birth following a transplant of her ovary tissue that had been frozen for 10 years. Experts from the University of Edinburgh came to outline the science of fertility preservation for female and male patients with cancer and other diseases where treatment threatens fertility, and gave details of this service that has been developed to help NHS patients to benefit from recent advances. read more
microplastics: what are they and why are they a problem?
There is growing concern about the environmental impact of microplastics in the ocean and waterways. They are widespread and persistent in the environment, and there is some emerging evidence that they may also pose a biological threat to a variety of organisms as well. Some concerns have even been raised that microplastics could potentially pose a threat to human health via the contamination of food. However, the exact impact of microplastics in this way is still unclear. Lots of attention has focused on plastic microbeads, used in cosmetic products, and many are calling for them to be banned in the UK, as they have been in the US. But what does the evidence show, are there other microplastics that are of even greater concern and what can we do about them? read more