Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to research on asthma and occupation
A large, long term study of Britons found risks in the workplace for various professions were responsible for one in six cases of adult onset asthma. The research was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London and published in the journal Thorax. read more
expert reaction to new research on aspirin use and macular degeneration
A study in JAMA Internal Medicine found regular aspirin use appears to be associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of blindness in older people. read more
expert reaction to study of urinary melamine excretion following food consumption from melamine bowls
A study comparing soup consumption in melamine bowls and total melamine excretion in urine found that a continuous low-dose of melamine exposure may be associated with urinary system stones in children and adults, according to JAMA Internal Medicine. read more
women scientists: don’t put them on air unless they’re the best
Soon after former BBC director general George Entwistle let it be known he wanted more female experts on the BBC… read more
expert reaction to news of the possible sale of the Royal Institution
The Royal Institution’s building on Albermarle Street was put up for sale in an attempt to cover the charity’s debts. read more
expert reaction to horse meat found in burgers
Some beefburgers being sold in supermarkets in the UK and Ireland were found to contain horse DNA by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. read more
expert reaction to new research into the impacts of ‘black carbon’ on the climate
A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, said the direct warming effect of black carbon, the term used by scientists to describe soot, could be about twice previous estimates. read more
assessing the effects of policy on the impacts of climate change
A new paper published in Nature Climate Change evaluates the regional and global impacts avoided by a set of climate mitigation policies. The study examines the how the size and speed of emission reduction would affect a number of key climate threats including water availability, coastal flood risk, crop suitability and rising energy demand for cooling. read more
quality of death: the evidence on palliative care
Death is one of the very few things that happens to us all, yet as a society we are surprisingly bad at talking about it. Recent debate about the Liverpool Care Pathway has brought some of the issues to the fore, but how much do we really know about palliative and end of life care? How should we treat those in their final days, and is there ever such a thing as a ‘good death’? read more
expert reaction to the EFSA’s draft evaluation of the safety of aspartame
In a draft of the European Food Safety Authority’s re-evaluation of the safety of the artificial sweetener aspartame, the panel of experts concluded that aspartame poses “no toxicity concern for consumers at current levels of exposure”. read more
expert reaction to story that Met Office data shows global warming has stopped
Data published by the Met Office in December 2012, predicting global temperature changes to 2017, was interpreted as implying that global warming had stopped. read more
asthma in children: new research into tailored treatments
Asthma is a common chronic illness affecting more than a million children and young people in the UK. Current treatment approaches use different medications depending on the severity and persistence of symptoms. But research has suggested a particular genotype is associated with exacerbations in asthmatic children exposed daily to popularly prescribed medications, and these findings have now been tested directly in the community. read more
expert reaction to new research into asthma treatments for children
A paper in the journal Clinical Science outlined how a simple genetic test can show whether asthmatic children have a certain genotype which prevents commonly prescribed asthma medication from being effective. read more
expert reaction to the impacts of biofuel cultivation on human health and crop yields
Findings published in Nature Climate Change suggest large-scale cultivation of biofuels in Europe could lead to increased human mortality and crop losses. read more
expert reaction to the first hand transplant in the UK
A 51-year-old man became the first person in the UK to have a hand transplant after surgery at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI). The patient underwent the complex eight-hour procedure on December 27 when a donor hand became available. read more
expert reaction to MET office preliminary analysis of UK rainfall in 2012
Provisional statistics from the Met Office showed 2012 was the second wettest year in the UK national record dating back to 1910, just a few millimetres short of the record set in 2000. read more
expert reaction to the creation of cancer-specific killer T cells from iPS cells
Researchers in Japan revealed in the journal Cell Stem Cell that they created cancer-specific, immune system cells called killer T lymphocytes, from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). read more
experts comment on the Neon Roberts radiotherapy court case
A high court judge ruled that seven-year old Neon Roberts, suffering from a cancerous brain tumour, should have radiotherapy against the wishes of his mother. read more
expert reaction to news of multiple shooting in the US state of Connecticut
On Friday 14 December, Adam Lanza opened fire at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults. read more
treating cancer in children – what does the science say?
Due to the recent high profile case, children’s cancer therapies are constantly in the news. The SMC brought together some leading experts to discuss the evidence behind the therapies currently being used. read more