Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to study estimating the effects of banning trans fats in England on numbers of heart deaths, and accompanying editorial
An article and an editorial in The BMJ both address the issue of trans fats public health, with the article reporting that bans or labelling or food with trans fats would reduce deaths from coronary heart disease, inequality from mortality and save money. read more
expert reaction to article questioning the evidence on the safety and efficacy underpinning PHE’s recommendation of e-cigarettes as an aid to quitting smoking
The effects of e-cigarettes on public and individual health is the subject of an article published in The BMJ, with the authors arguing that there is uncertainly around the benefits and harms from the devices. read more
expert reaction to unpublished work on pesticides and diabetes
In a systematic review papers concerning the effect of environmental pollutants on levels of diabetes, a research group presenting their work at European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting report that exposure to certain types of pesticides increases the risk of diabetes. read more
expert reaction to SSRI antidepressants and violent crime
Publishing in the journal PLOS Medicine, researchers have used data from Sweden to assess the impact of antidepressants on violent behaviour by people with depression. Using data from over 800,000 people, the scientists compared rates of violent crime while individuals were prescribed with SSRIs versus when they were not. read more
SSRI antidepressants and violent crime
Using data from Sweden researchers have been assessing the impact of antidepressants on violent behaviour by people with depression. Using data from over 800,000 people, the scientists compared rates of violent crime while individuals were prescribed with SSRIs versus when they were not. read more
expert reaction to Cochrane review looking at portion size and consumption of food and drink
Researchers writing in The Cochrane Library journal have published their meta-analysis focusing on multiple studies which look at packaging, shape or size of portions of food, alcohol or tobacco or the instruments used to consume them. They report higher consumption levels when larger portions, packaging or tableware were on offer. read more
expert reaction to news that Luciana Berger has been appointed shadow Minister for Mental Health
The new leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has announced his shadow cabinet which includes a shadow minister for mental health. read more
Met Office Report: Big changes underway in the climate system?
Changing phenomena such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and El Nino can temporarily compete with and mask the effects of global climate change. This can make for a complex and confusing picture. A new report from the Met Office examines the latest behaviour of some of these key climate patterns against the backdrop of global warming. How are current patterns affecting the climate? What’s happening with the global warming slowdown? What can we expect in the near future? And does any of this change our understanding of the longer-term trends? read more
expert reaction to evidence for human transmission of amyloid-Beta
Publishing in the journal Nature, a group of researchers has described their autopsy examination of eight individuals with CJD which was caused by treatment with “human cadaveric pituitary-derived growth hormone contaminated with prions” earlier in life. They report the presence of markers of Alzheimer’s disease in a number of cases and suggest that this may also be due to the treatment with contaminated hormone. read more
cancer immunotherapy
Immunotherapy has been hailed as an exciting and emerging branch of cancer medicine. Over the last six months we’ve heard about promising results from trials of ipilimumab and nivolumab for melanoma, and nivolumab for lung cancer – but what might be the future of cancer immunotherapy, and might we see it being widely added to the armoury of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery for some cancers? read more
expert reaction to new study on e-cigarette use in US adolescents
The effect of e-cigarettes on uptake and cessation of smoking of conventional cigarettes is an active area of research and debate, and a group of scientists have published their work in JAMA Pediatrics reporting that in a sample of US young people, use of e-cigarettes was associated with progression to “traditional cigarette smoking”. read more
expert reaction to study reporting a potential molecular test for biological ageing
Publishing in the journal Genome Biology, a group of scientists has described their identification of an “RNA signature” from a person’s blood sample, which they report can be used to predict future health. read more
expert reaction to prescription thresholds and statins
An editorial published in the journal Prescriber has challenged the prescription thresholds of various medications, including statins, and suggested that lifestyle interventions were more critical. read more
expert reaction to changes to the Cancer Drugs Fund
It has been announced that the Cancer Drugs Fund will no longer pay for a number of medicines which were previously available. read more
expert reaction to screen time, sedentary behaviour and GCSE results
Screen time (watching TV, playing computer games or browsing the internet) and sedentary behaviour have both been at the centre of recent controversy, causing particular concern amongst parents worried that their children are being harmed through long periods sitting and looking at a screen. Publishing in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, researchers have conducted a study to determine if looking at screens, compared to reading or doing homework, or being sedentary appears to have any impact on GCSE results. read more
screen time, sedentary behaviour and GCSEs results
Screen time (watching TV, playing computer games or browsing the internet) and sedentary behaviour have both been at the centre of recent controversy, causing particular concern amongst parents worried that their children are being harmed through long periods sitting and looking at a screen. Researchers have now conducted a study to determine if looking at screens, compared to reading or doing homework, or being sedentary appears to have any impact on GCSE results. read more
expert encounter: end of life care, Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London
NICE recently published their draft guideline on end of life care which will replace the Liverpool Care Pathway. The draft guideline was open for public consultation until Wednesday 9 September with the final guideline expected to be published by the end of 2015. Before the consultation closed, two palliative care experts came to the SMC to give their opinions on the draft NICE guideline. read more
expert reaction to new research on tree numbers
Dr Helen McKay, Head of the Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change at the Forestry Commission’s Forest … read more
expert reaction to study reporting that a high salt intake could directly increase risk of obesity
A paper in the journal Hypertension reported that there could be a direct link between high salt intake and obesity risk. read more
expert reaction to report on the reproducibility of psychological research
In a paper in Science researchers attempted to replicate 100 recently published psychology studies. They report that they could successfully repeat the original experiments in most of them, but that they were able to reproduce the original results in less than half. read more