Author Archives: Science Media Centre
Prof Sir David King on resource scarcity and subsidies
Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government is co-directing ReSource 2012, a new forum taking place in Oxford this July to tackle global resource scarcity.
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air pollution in the UK
A new Defra-commissioned report from the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Review of Transboundary Air Pollution (RoTAP), examines the trends in emission, concentration and deposition of the main atmospheric pollutants, focusing on the environmental effects rather than the human health implications.
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the Finch report into academic publishing
The Finch Report, produced by an independent working group chaired by Dame Janet Finch, tackles the important question of how to achieve better, faster access to research findings for anyone who wants to read or use them.
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expert reaction to Finch report into research publishing
Experts in scientific publishing commented on the findings of a report, chaired by Dame Janet Finch, tackling the important question of how to achieve better, faster access to research findings for anyone who wants to read or use them. A briefing was also held at the SMC to announce the report’s conclusions. read more
expert reaction to study of GM cotton, insecticide use and biodiversity
A report in Nature shows that in addition to reducing the need for pesticide use, transgenic crops that produce a bacterial insecticide can boost populations of beneficial pest-controlling predators. Evidence from the study of Bt Cotton suggests that this effect may spill over to neighbouring non-transgenic crops. read more
novel techniques for the prevention of inherited mitochondrial DNA disorders: an ethical review
Following a 6-month inquiry, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a report on the ethics of new techniques that aim to prevent the transmission of inherited mitochondrial DNA disorders.
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expert reaction to Nuffield Council on Bioethics review of inherited mitochondrial DNA disorders
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics produced a report on the ethical issues surrounding the proposition to legalise techniques which would allow mitochondrial DNA from female donors to replace the faulty DNA of mothers who could pass disease on to their children. A briefing was held at the SMC to announce the findings of the report. read more
expert encounter with Professor Sebastian Seung
Professor Sebastian Seung came to the SMC before speaking at the Cheltenham Festival and giving a public lecture at LSE later, to tell journalists about his new book Connectome. As an upcoming name in neuroscience – Professor of Computational Neuroscience at MIT and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute – his book describes his team’s efforts to map all the neural connections in the brain, with the hypothesis that he basis of our identity lies not in our genes but in this network between our brain cells. read more
expert reaction to study of dental plaque and cancer mortality
An observational study in the journal BMJ Open linked persistent dental plaque with an increased risk of dying early from cancer.
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expert reaction to study of mindfulness meditation and white matter structure in the brain
Researchers writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggested that a form of mindfulness meditation might be used to prevent or treat some mental conditions, after 4 weeks of participation in the technique induced changes in white matter in a brain region implicated in self-regulation. read more
expert reaction to study linking IVF with relapse in MS patients
A small study published online in The Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry suggested in vitro fertilisation (IVF) was linked to an increased rate of relapse among women with multiple sclerosis (MS). read more
scientific publishing – in depth backgrounder
George Monbiot has described scientific publishers as ‘the most ruthless capitalists in the western world’ who make ‘Walmart look like a corner shop’. Mild mannered physicists are organising boycotts of Elsevier and in the US scientist have started an on-line petition to urge Obama to back a move to Open Access.
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expert reaction to new research into radiation from CT scans in childhood and subsequent risk of leukaemia and brain tumours
The Lancet published a study showing radiation exposure received from 2 to 3 CT scans of the head in childhood could triple the risk of later developing brain cancer, while around 5 to 10 such scans could triple the risk of developing leukaemia. read more
expert reaction to study of Varroa mites and deformed wing virus in honey bees
A paper in Science identified the virus from a parasitic mite that has helped wipe out billions of honey bee colonies globally. The paper explained colony collapse was partially due to the Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), transmitted by the Varroa mite. read more
expert reaction to study of exercise as a treatment for depression (the TREAD study)
Research published in the BMJ, suggested that adding encouraging depressed patients to exercise, in addition to usual care, did not reduce symptoms of depression more than the usual care alone. read more
expert reaction to outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Scotland
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Edinburgh, suspected to have originated from industrial cooling towers, had led to one death and a steadily increasing number of suspected cases. read more
premature birth and mental health outcomes
Around one in 13 babies in England and Wales is born preterm, but does being born prematurely predispose children to develop mental illnesses later in life?
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exclusive preview of Tim Spector’s new book
We each have roughly 25,000 genes, all telling the body’s cells what to do. But how do the minor life events and the choices we make fuse with our inherited genes to make us who we are?
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paralysed rats learn to walk again
Swiss research describes the stimulation of neurons connected to the injured spinal cords of paralysed rats to repair damage, to the extent that the rats can learn to walk again. The quote below was sent out in addition to those from the Australian SMC. read more
exclusive preview of David Nutt’s new book, ‘Drugs – without the hot air’
David Nutt is the government scientist who was sacked for comparing the harms of horse-riding and taking ecstasy. His latest work explores the science of what a drug is and how it works. The central themes are that all drugs are harmful, from tobacco to heroin; that not all drugs harm equally; that we have to measure all the different harms of each drug.
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