Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to new research estimating 1 in 2000 carry vCJD proteins
A survey in the BMJ found around one in 2,000 people in the UK may carry variant CJD proteins though uncertainty remains about how many people will eventually develop the disease. read more
Expert reaction to air pollution and low birthweight
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine published a study which found a significant association between exposure to common air pollutants during pregnancy and the risk of restricted fetal growth. read more
expert reaction to Owen Paterson’s comments about Golden Rice in The Independent
The front page of The Independent newspaper lead with Environment Secretary Owen Paterson branding opponents of genetically engineered Golden Rice ‘wicked’. read more
expert reaction to depression during pregnancy and depression in offspring at age 18 years
A report published by JAMA Psychiatry suggested depression in pregnant women appears to increase the possibility their children may have depression when they are 18 years old. read more
expert reaction to compound that arrests neurodegeneration in mice
Science Translational Medicine published a UK study showing success for a potential new drug treatment for prion disease in mice, suggesting it could also hold benefits for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. read more
expert reaction to the US government shutdown
The government shutdown in the US has lead to state science agencies like the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health closing all but the most vital operations.
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expert reaction to aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease
Two studies published in the BMJ found an association between exposure to high levels of aircraft noise and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One study looked at residents living close to Heathrow airport, whose results were presented at an SMC briefing and scrutinised in a ‘before the headlines’ analysis, while the other looked at 89 North American airports. read more
aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease
Living in a noisy environment has previously been linked to increased blood pressure. A new study, published in the BMJ, investigates whether there is a link between living in an area with high levels of aircraft noise from Heathrow and hospital admissions and deaths from stroke and heart disease. read more
aircraft noise and cardiovascular disease (before the headlines)
A study of residents living close to Heathrow airport, published in the BMJ, found an association between exposure to high levels of aircraft … read more
expert reaction to the awarding of physics Nobel prize
The physics Nobel has been awarded to Prof Francoise Englert and Prof Peter Higgs “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider”. read more
give the BBC a break over their IPCC coverage
This is a blogpost by Tom Sheldon, Senior Press Officer at the SMC. The IPCC has published the first … read more
expert reaction to EU vote on tobacco regulation
In a vote on tightening tobacco regulations, euro MPs rejected a European Commission proposal to treat electronic cigarettes as medicinal products. read more
expert reaction to smoking during pregnancy and emotion in children
A study in the Nature journal Neuropsychopharmacology found children of mother who smoke throughout pregnancy may have smaller total brain volumes and exhibit more emotional problems, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety read more
reaction to story on number of homicides by people with mental illness
Mental health charities react to the front page story of The Sun regarding the number of people killed by those with mental illness in the last decade. read more
expert reaction to Council of Europe’s written declaration on mitochondrial DNA research
34 out of 318 members of the Council of Europe signed a declaration condemning UK plans to draft legislation allowing the use of new IVF technique to combat inherited mitochondrial disease. read more
expert reaction to trio of comment pieces on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell banks
In the journal Cell Stem Cell, leading experts in the field published several opinion pieces on emerging issues related to generating iPS cell banks. read more
bees and pollution: new research published in Scientific Reports
The decline of the UK’s bee population is rarely out of the headlines, but with discussion often focused on pesticides are there other factors in the environment that might also affect bee behaviour and health? Researchers cam to the SMC to explain their investigation of the impact of common air pollutants in diesel exhaust fumes on the foraging efficiency of honeybees. read more
expert reaction to paper on bees and pollution
Research published in the journal Scientific Reports found exposure to common air pollutants found in diesel exhaust can affect the ability of honeybees to recognise floral odours. read more
why is there so little scientific research about porn?
This is a blogpost by Robin Bisson, Science Information Officer at the SMC. A slightly shorter version of this was … read more