Author Archives: Science Media Centre
Community Treatment Orders – denying civil liberties with due cause?
The best method for introducing psychiatric patients into the community has always been controversial. For many years experts called for compulsory supervision outside hospitals (Community Treatment Orders) and they have proved popular in many countries. They were introduced in the UK in 2008 but, until now, there has been little robust data to show whether they work or not. read more
expert reaction to new research into screen time and children’s psychosocial adjustment
Five year-olds who watch TV for three or more hours a day have a very slightly increased risk of developing antisocial behaviours, indicates research published in Archives of Disease in Childhood. read more
expert reaction to Planck satellite and cosmic microwave background
The Plank satellite captured a map of light originating from the dawn of time, which suggests the universe did begin with a big bang and that it is slightly older than was previously thought. read more
expert reaction to announcement of HFEA advice to Government on mitochondrial replacement
On Wednesday 20 March the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) presented to the Government the findings from their public consultation on new IVF-based treatments to avoid mitochondrial disease, and whether these techniques should be made available in the UK. read more
expert reaction to HFEA public consultation on mitochondrial replacement
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) recently carried out a public consultation on new IVF-based treatments to avoid mitochondrial disease, gathering a wide range of view about mitochondria replacement and whether it should be made available to patients in the UK. read more
results of the HFEA public consultation – Medical Frontiers: Debating Mitochondria Replacement
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) recently carried out a public consultation on new IVF-based treatments to avoid mitochondrial disease, gathering a wide range of views about mitochondria replacement and whether it should be made available to patients in the UK. read more
confidential inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning difficulties (CIPOLD)
Up to 1.5 million people in England alone have learning disabilities and they are more than twice as likely to have health problems as other people. Following concerns over early deaths a Confidential Inquiry was set up to investigate the extent of these deaths and what could be done to save many of these lives. read more
expert reaction to the Hinkley Point nuclear decision
The Government granted planning permission to EDF Energy for the building of a nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. read more
expert reaction to announcement about AstraZeneca’s UK operations
AstraZeneca announced a major restructuring with a substantial impact on its operations in the UK, including both job losses and investment for building new headquarters in Cambridge. read more
expert reaction to EU vote not to suspend use of neonicotinoids
Countries in the EU abstained from voting on a proposed two-year ban of neonicotinoids, a class of pesticides that some blame for falling bee populations, causing the ban to fail. read more
HRT and breast cancer
A study in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care found there was no clear evidence in the data it examined of a causal link between the decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and a reported fall in the numbers of new cases of breast cancer. read more
expert reaction to HRT and breast cancer
A study in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care found there was no clear evidence in the data it examined of a causal link between the decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and a reported fall in the numbers of new cases of breast cancer. read more
violent offending and the military
There has been a lot of media coverage and public debate about violence committed by veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A paper in the Lancet is the first large-scale study of its kind. It links data from 13,856 randomly selected serving and ex-serving UK military personnel with national criminal records to assess the impact of deployment, combat exposure, and post-deployment mental health problems on subsequent offending behaviour. read more
expert reaction to nightshift work and risk of ovarian cancer
Research published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine showed a potential link between working night shifts and risk of developing ovarian cancer, with the risk lower for night types (“owls”) than for morning types (“larks”). read more
expert reaction to new results about Higgs-like particle discovered at CERN
The ATLAS and CMS collaborations at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) presented preliminary results that indicate the particle discovered last year behaves like a Higgs boson, the particle linked to the mechanism that gives mass to elementary particles. read more
expert reaction to Guillain-Barré syndrome and H1N1 vaccine
A meta-analysis of safety data gathered in the US during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccination programme, and published in the Lancet, found the vaccination was associated with a small risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system which can result in paralysis. read more
expert reaction to new report from the Chief Medical Officer on infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance
A report from the Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, warned of the dangers of antibiotic resistance, calling for a global initiative to tackle the problem. read more
expert reaction to EPIC study into health effects of eating processed meat
A study of half a million men and women in BMC Medicine suggested an association between processed meat and cardiovascular disease and cancer, after having controlled for various factors associated with ill health. read more
deer culling
There are more deer in the UK than at any time since the ice age. In the absence of natural predators deer populations are continuing to expand, threatening biodiversity and causing road traffic accidents and crop damage. read more
insomnia and heart failure
A study in the European Heart Journal followed 54,279 people for an average of over 11 years, and found that those who suffered from from insomnia had an increased risk of developing heart failure. read more