Author Archives: Science Media Centre
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
expert reaction to JCVI draft minutes detailing decision not to recommend extending the MenB meningitis B vaccine programme to the under-twos
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said that the meningitis B vaccination programme will not be extended to infants below the age of two. read more
expert reaction to artificial sweeteners and appetite
In a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism scientists have investigated how consumption of synthetic sweeteners affects food intake in fruit flies. read more
expert reaction to the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017
The UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017, which investigates current and future risks to the UK from climate change, has been published by the Committee on Climate Change. read more
expert reaction to American Heart Association statement about drugs and heart failure
The American Heart Association has released their first statement to provide guidance on avoiding drug-drug or drug-condition interactions for people with heart failure. The statement provides information about specific drugs and “natural” remedies and their consequences for heart failure patients. read more
expert reaction to conference abstract about high cholesterol and survival in people with cancer
A conference paper, presented at the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology, looked at high cholesterol and survival in people with cancer. read more
expert reaction to study investigating link between diet and epigenetic changes in mice
In a study published in Science, scientists have looked at how diet is linked to epigenetic changes in mice. read more
expert reaction to new analysis of fracking and climate targets as published by the committee on climate change
The Committee on Climate Change has published a new analysis of fracking and the UK climate targets. read more
expert reaction to a study looking at how mitochondrial and nuclear DNA matching shapes metabolism and healthy ageing
Publishing in Nature, scientists have reported that, in their study in mice, looking at mitochondrial donation, the matching of transferred mitochondrial DNA to nuclear DNA has an impact on metabolism and healthy ageing. read more
pre-ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) Conference briefing
The annual meeting for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) takes place in Helsinki from 3-6 July. This briefing offered an opportunity for journalists to hear from four leading fertility experts familiar with the abstracts and who could answer questions on the studies, as well as offer comments on the significance or otherwise of the research, the strengths and limitations, and wider context and implications. read more
expert reaction to release of dame fiona caldicott’s report into patient data
The sharing of patient data for research and clinical purposes has been a highly controversial issue, and attempts to introduce the care.data scheme in 2014 were met with concern about patient privacy and resistance from aspects of the patient and medical community. Following on from that debate, Dame Fiona Caldicott was commissioned to produce a report on patient data that could make recommendations about how to proceed with such a scheme in the future. read more
reflections on the referendum
This has been a bruising week for the scientific community. Many I spoke to describe going through something like the … read more
expert reaction to dietary fats and risk of death
Publishing in JAMA Internal Medicine, an observational study looked at different types of dietary fat intake and mortality. They reported that different kinds of dietary fat had different associations with total and cause-specific mortality. read more
expert reaction to study reporting that pasta consumption is associated with lower BMI
A group of scientists have published an observational study in Nutrition & Diabetes, that looked at pasta consumption and BMI. They reported that pasta consumption is associated with a lower BMI. read more
expert encounter with Prof Sir Ian Wilmut, creator of Dolly the sheep
Tuesday 5 July 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of Dolly the sheep at the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh. Dolly was the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell and became the world’s most famous sheep. On the day before the anniversary, one of Dolly’s creators (often referred to as the father of Dolly), Prof. Sir Ian Wilmut, came to answer journalists’ questions about Dolly, her creation, his work and the legacy of that work. read more
expert reaction to study looking at paracetamol in pregnancy and autism spectrum symptoms and hyperactivity in children
Publishing in the International Journal of Epidemiology, researchers reported an association between taking paracetamol in pregnancy and the rate of hyperactive and autistic-like symptoms at age 5 in their children. read more
expert reaction to tesla crash
Expert reaction to the news story that a driver of a Tesla car died in Florida in May after colliding with a lorry. read more
expert reaction to publishing of abpi disclosure database of payments made by pharmaceutical companies to healthcare professionals
The ABPI published a disclosure database of payments made by pharmaceutical companies to healthcare professionals. read more
expert reaction to the committee on climate change progress report
The Committee on Climate Change have published their 2016 Progress Report read more