Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to autism and hormone levels
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry reported that elevated levels of steroid hormones in amniotic fluid may contribute to the development of autism, but the authors stressed their findings do not justify prenatal screening or for treatments that target steroid hormones. read more
expert reaction to identification of new coronavirus inhibitor, as published in PLOS Pathogens
A paper published in PLOS Pathogens reports to have identified a new coronavirus inhibitor that could be effective against SARS, MERS and other coronaviruses. read more
expert reaction to global prevalence of obesity study and commentary as published in The Lancet
A systematic analysis of the national and global prevalence of obesity was published in The Lancet. read more
expert reaction to lasers and dental stem cell differentiation, as published in Science Translational Medicine
A paper published in Science Translational Medicine reported that laser light could regenerate lost tooth structure by stimulating dentin growth in rats read more
expert reaction to European Commission response to ‘One of Us’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on human embryo use
The European Commission issued a response to the ‘One of Us’ European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on human embryo use in medical research. read more
expert reaction to genetic testing for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) by the British Heart Foundation (BHF)
The British Heart Foundation has announced funding of more than £1 million to introduce a new genetic testing programme for a high cholesterol condition, Familial hypercholestrolaemia read more
expert reaction to personal view article on sugar-sweetened drinks and obesity warnings, as published in the BMJ
Prof Simon Capewell has written a Personal View article in the BMJ, in which he details why he thinks sugar sweetened drinks should carry health warnings. read more
expert reaction to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and brain imaging as published in PLOS One
A paper published in PLOS One reported that patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/ME showed decreased activation in the basal ganglia read more
do e-cigarettes help smokers to quit?
We often hear anecdotes about e-cigarettes helping people to quit smoking – but what does the science say? A new study to be published in the journal Addiction provides the first evidence of e-cigarettes’ impact on quitting, based on a survey of 5,863 smokers in England between 2009 and 2014 as part of the Smoking Toolkit Study. read more
does internet use change teenage brains?
Stories about the internet destroying teenage brains are not uncommon – but what does the evidence say? Does internet use actually cause lasting changes to the brain? A new study published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Neuroscience answers these questions in a comprehensive review of current scientific evidence. read more
launch of Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP)
Scientists remain uncertain as to whether children’s developing brains are more vulnerable than those of adults to radio wave exposures from mobile phones. SCAMP will be the largest study in the world to date to address those uncertainties, specifically with regards to cognitive development. read more
is the use of antibiotics in farming to blame for antibiotic resistance in humans?
The Chief Medical Officer identified antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest threats to human health and the WHO have sounded the alarm globally. Some say overuse of antibiotics in farming is to blame. Three of the UK’s leading experts on farm animals came to the SMC to talk about the topic read more
expert reaction to claims climate research was ‘suppressed’
The Times reported that Professor Lennart Bengtsson, a research fellow at the University of Reading, believed his climate change paper had been rejected from the journal Environmental Research Letters due to “intolerance of dissenting views on climate science.” read more
expert reaction to the National Care of the Dying Audit of Hospitals
The National Care of the Dying Audit for Hospitals, led by the Royal College of Physicians found significant variations in care across hospitals in England, calling for major improvements to be made to ensure better care for dying people. read more
expert reaction to news that BMJ authors withdraw statements about adverse effects of statins
Authors of two articles published in The BMJ in 2013 have withdrawn statements about the adverse effects of statins. Editor-in-Chief, Dr Fiona Godlee has also asked an independent expert panel to decide whether the articles should be retracted. read more
expert reaction to antibiotic use in infants and asthma development
Research published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine reported that a possible explanation for the association between infants who receive antibiotics before their first birthday and a greater risk of developing asthma is that they could be genetically predisposed to have low immune defences read more
expert reaction to WHO statement on the current MERS-coronavirus situation
The WHO’s Emergency Committee convened concerning Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and concluded the seriousness of the situation had increased in terms of public health impact, but that the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not yet been met. read more
concordat on openness on animal research
In October 2012 over 40 bioscience organisations declared that they would commit to a Concordat on Openness about animal research. Since that date they have been seeking the opinions of the public, the scientific community and journalists as to what steps need to be taken and what others feel openness means. read more
expert reaction to launch of Concordat on Openness on Animal Research
Over 70 bioscience research institutions, charities and companies signed a concordat committing to openness about their research involving animals. read more
expert reaction to endocrine disrupting chemicals and male fertility
Researchers publishing in EMBO Reports looked at the effect of various endocrine-disrupting chemicals on human sperm function reporting they may have a negative impact on fertility. read more