Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to study looking at e-cigarettes, point-of-sale displays, and teenagers
E-cigarettes are a relatively new technology and their positive and negative effects are subject to extensive debate. Publishing in the BMC Public Health journal a group of researchers have reported that in their study adolescents who recalled seeing e-cigarettes in shops were more likely to have tried vaping. read more
the world’s largest imaging (scanning) study gets under way
Taking pictures of the inside of the body is well known as a clinical diagnostic tool, but it also holds tremendous promise for health research and a better understanding of a wide range of diseases, like dementia, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis and stroke. Scientists in the UK are now embarking on the world’s largest ever imaging research study. Its goal is to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other state-of-the-art imaging methods to scan 100,000 people (at least 10 times bigger than any previous imaging study) in the coming years and provide the most detailed examination yet of major organs. These images will allow scientists all over the world to discover new early signs and risk factors of disease, to better understand why some people develop major diseases and others do not, and to develop interventions (such as new drugs, or changes in lifestyle) that could prevent these diseases. read more
expert reaction to study investigating the relationship between fertility treatment, dense breast tissue, and potential breast cancer risk
Breast density is a known risk factor for breast cancer and a paper published in journal Breast Cancer Research has examined an association with infertility. The authors report that in their study women reporting infertility had higher levels of dense breast tissue and that treatment for fertility may also contribute to increased density. read more
expert reaction to study on vegetable oil, cholesterol levels, and risk of heart disease
Various components of diet have been linked to a range of diseases and the contribution of different types of fats to heart disease is the subject of a paper published in The BMJ. The authors reanalysed results from a trial which replaced saturated fats with vegetable oils, and they report that this led to cholesterol reduction but didn’t have a protective effect in terms of heart disease. read more
expert reaction to case study of reconstruction of oesophageal tissue in a patient in the USA
Regeneration of tissues and organs following injury or other events is a complex task. A case study has been published in The Lancet journal which reports the use of a non-biological scaffold to bridge a gap in the oesophagus of a 24 year old man, which was then able to support regeneration of tissues and restoration of structure and function. read more
can we treat paedophilia?
The parents of April Jones last year threw their weight behind a controversial organisation offering treatment to paedophiles. Rather than only punishment after the event, this school of thought calls for research into potential strategies or even medical treatments that could prevent paedophiles from acting out their desires and reduce offending rates. The approach is obviously highly contentious and there is little or no research done in the UK. But researchers in the Karolinska institute in Sweden are looking at establishing a preventive treatment for men with paedophilic disorder, to intervene before the damage is done, in order to reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse. As part of this programme of research Swedish scientists will launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money for a randomised control trial to test a new drug that could reduce sex drive. read more
expert reaction to Northern Hemisphere hydroclimate variability
In order to make accurate simulations of our future global climate, experts have required suitable instruments to measure data from the past. In this study published in the journal Science researchers describe the degree of hydroclimate variability in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 1200 years. read more
expert reaction to study on exposure to pesticides and the effect on learning in bees
One of the concerns of the use of pesticides has been its impact on insect pollinators in ecosystems. Publishing in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal a group of researchers have reported that the pesticides that they tested affected the learning of honeybee and bumblebee differently and that this should be accounted for when creating accurate pollination models. read more
expert reaction to study on potential new technique of stem cell repair
Publishing in the journal PNAS a group of scientists have reported their use of specific compounds to convert normal cells in the body to stem cells which can be used to create multiple types of specialised cells. read more
Prof Myles Allen: Economic growth and CO2 disposal both essential to stabilizing climate
In a new paper to be published in Nature Climate Change, Prof. Myles Allen, from the Oxford Martin Programme on Resource Stewardship, argues that: large-scale capture and disposal of carbon dioxide is essential if we are to realistically stabilise the climate in the future; only a tiny fraction of the billions spent on combatting climate change is directed towards these vital ‘backstop’ technologies; sacrificing economic growth to reduce emissions could impair future generations’ ability to reduce emissions to zero. read more
expert reaction to a study investigating the efficacy and side-effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs in statin-intolerant patients
A comparison of a particular statin with two non-statin therapies is the subject of a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. read more
expert reaction to GSK announcement regarding medicine patents in Least Developed and Low Income Countries
The pharmaceutical company GSK has announced a number of steps “designed to help bring innovative GSK medicines to more people living in the world’s poorest countries” including by adopting different approaches to intellectual property. read more
expert reaction to study modelling the seasonal risk of Lyme disease in Scotland
Lyme disease is commonly spread through the bites of infected ticks and a group of researchers have published their work in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface which models risk of Lyme disease infection in Scotland based on temperature and geography. read more
expert reaction to early-stage mouse embryos with abnormalities developing into healthy babies
The screening of early embryos in IVF treatment has long been a contentious issue in the media. A study published in the journal Nature has reported that abnormalities in the early stages of mouse embryonic development may not ultimately become birth defects, potentially due to the positive effects of the process of cell death. read more
expert reaction to study on the genome analysis of the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil
The current outbreak of Zika infection in South and Central America is the focus of much research and a paper published in the journal Science has attempted to work out when Zika virus first arrived in Brazil. The research team report that the first human infection with Zika was detected in November 2015 and that introduction to Brazil probably occurred between May-December 2013. read more
expert reaction to a study on the synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome
A study by the research group of Craig Venter has been published in the journal Science in which they report the removal of a number of non-essential genes from the genome of a simple species of bacteria, a step towards reaching the minimum number of genes essential for life. read more
expert reaction to study of sugar in children’s drinks
The amount of sugar in the food and drink we consume is subject to an ongoing debate and researchers publishing in BMJ Open have looked at levels of sugar in juices and smoothies marketed to children. read more
expert reaction to study on the use of PET-CT scans to detect remaining cancer cells in neck and head cancer patients
The practice of neck dissection in the treatment of advanced head and neck cancer has been associated with complications for some patients. A randomised trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that neck dissection is avoidable in 80% of cases and that the alternative application of PET-CT guided surveillance has similar survival rates and is more cost-effective. read more
expert reaction to study investigating the role of environmental factors and ethnicity in the prevalence of multiple sclerosis
A study looking at the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in different ethnic groups has been published in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal. The authors report higher prevalence in the white population compared to the black and South Asian populations of the same area of east London, which was in turn higher than the prevalence of MS in Africa and South Asia. read more