Author Archives: Science Media Centre
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
autism mortality report: personal tragedies, public crisis
Around 700,000 people in the UK have autism, many of whom are affected so severely that they do not speak, or only speak a few words, and the overwhelming majority will never work full-time. Despite being one of the costliest medical conditions and with controversy around its possible causes and treatments, there has been relatively little research into autism. A new report details how people with autism die much earlier than we realised and highlights how severe the illness is. The report, Personal tragedies, public crisis, has been put together by the research charity Autistica. read more
expert reaction to study investigating bariatric surgery, lifestyle and medication interventions and remission of type 2 diabetes
Publishing in the journal Diabetologia a group of researchers have compared gastric surgery with lifestyle and medical interventions for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In the trial with 32 patients the authors report that the group which received surgery saw greater remission of diabetes. read more
bariatric surgery, lifestyle and medication interventions and remission of type 2 diabetes
Publishing in the journal Diabetologia a group of researchers have compared gastric surgery with lifestyle and medical interventions for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In the trial with 32 patients the authors report that the group which received surgery saw greater remission of diabetes. read more
expert reaction to research letter on plant respiration and climate change
The rate of plant respiration (conversion of photosynthetic materials to carbon dioxide and energy) can change with temperature. A paper published in the journal Nature has reported that increasing temperatures due to climate change may increase plant respiration and hence atmospheric carbon dioxide, which they report to be the case in their experimental models. read more
expert reaction to retrieving memories in mice
A study published in the journal Nature has investigated mechanisms which control memory in mouse models of the disease. read more
expert reaction to announcement in Budget of a soft drinks industry levy targeted at producers of soft drinks that contain added sugars, to be introduced in two years’ time
The chancellor George Osborne has announced in the Budget a tax on the producers of certain sugary soft drinks which will come into effect in two years time. read more
expert reaction to editorial commenting on lessons that can be learned from the French clinical drug trial tragedy
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology has published an editorial which discusses possible failings and implications of the French drug trial earlier in the year which led to the deaths of several participants. read more