Author Archives: Science Media Centre
expert reaction to the meta-analysis on short people and heart disease, as published in the European Heart Journal
A review of existing studies carried out by scientists at the University of Tampere has found that people of short stature may be at greater risk of coronary heart disease. read more
expert reaction to new research on smokefree legislation and hospital admissions for heart attacks, as published in the BMJ
New research from the University of Bath examines the impact of smokefree legislation on rates of hospital admissions for heart attacks in England. read more
smokefree legislation and heart attacks
Researchers from the University of Bath briefed journalists on their findings of research into the impact of smokefree legislation on the rates of hospital admissions for heart attacks in England. read more
the science of the world cup
To mark the start of the greatest footballing show on earth, the SMC brought together some top experts on the science of football, including the man who tests the balls in wind tunnels, the expert who plans the training to deal with the heat, humidity and altitude; the doctor who cares for the metatarsals of the Premiership elite; the psychologist who can talk about what’s going on in the minds of the players; and a researcher who has studied England’s nemesis, the penalty… read more
expert reaction to Easyjet’s ash radar
Easyjet have announced plans to test equipment to detect ash in the air during flights, allowing them to avoid potentially dangerous ash clouds. read more
expert reaction to research on link between eating burgers and risk of asthma and wheezing, published in Thorax, a BMJ Specialist journal
Researchers have found a link between high consumption of burgers and risk of high lifetime asthma prevalence in schoolchildren. read more
expert reaction to the news that two teenagers whose deaths were linked to mephedrone had not taken the drug
The deaths of two teenagers in March 2010 were linked to the ‘legal high’ drug mephedrone, prompting the government to ban the drug. However toxicology tests published today show that they did not have traces of the drug in their system. read more
expert reaction to research on treating heroin addiction, to be published in The Lancet
A trial of 127 persistent heroin addicts has shown that treatment using injectable methadone resulted in a significant drop in the use of street heroin after six months. read more
electric vehicles
The new coalition government appears enthusiastic about electric cars, indicating early its intention to build a national charging network. But a new report from the Royal Academy of Engineering has highlighted the challenge faced by the UK in ensuring that the electricity supply system can cope with charging tens of millions of vehicles and still reduce carbon emissions from power generation. Lead authors on the report came to the SMC to discuss the problems – and great potential – in mass adoption of electric vehicles. read more
Andrew Wakefield struck off by GMC – experts respond
Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who proposed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism which has since been comprehensively discredited, has been struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council, which ruled that he was guilty of serious professional misconduct. read more
major new research programme on stem cells for MND
The Motor Neurone Disease Association has announced its biggest ever funding for its first stem cell programme which will enable scientists to perform detailed studies on human motor neurons containing known causes of motor neuron disease (MND). Four leading scientists involved came to the SMC to tell journalists about the programme and its aims. read more
background briefing on independent review of UK research regulation and governance
This briefing was run in collaboration with the Academy of Medical Sciences and looked at the regulation of healthcare research in the UK and its effect on patients and their access to new medicines. read more
expert reaction to the announcement of the first cell to be controlled by a synthetic genome, as published in Science
The American geneticist and entrepreneur Craig Venter has announced that his team has succeeded in assembling an artificial genome from scratch and inserted it into the cell,which then took on the characteristics of the transferred genome and passed these on to its progeny. read more
expert reaction to new research into links between Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome, as published in the journal PLoS ONE
Researchers have discovered that the protein that forms damaging plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease also accumulates in the eyes of people with Down’s symdrome, suggesting the possibility of new ways of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease. read more
submission to independent review on 2009 swine flu pandemic
In May 2010, the Science Media Centre contributed to an independent review into the handling of the 2009 swine flu … read more
meet the new Science Minister
The new Science Minister David Willetts came to the SMC to meet the UK’s national science journalists and to discuss the new government’s position on key issues. read more
Interphone: results of study into mobile phone use and brain tumours
Increasing mobile phone use has led to public concern about possible cancer risks. Interphone is an interview-based, case-control study of mobile phone use in adults and focuses on the two main types of brain tumour, glioma and meningioma. It was coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and carried out in 13 countries, of which much the largest contribution was from the UK. The UK researchers came to the SMC to talk about their findings. read more
expert reaction to continuing volcanic eruption
The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull has continued to erupt sporadically over the past month, causing intermittent disruption to air traffic across parts of Europe read more
mental health in the armed forces
This briefing, run in collaboration with The Lancet, launched a major new study of the mental health of the UK armed forces, covering issues such as the prevalence of mental health conditions like post traumatic stress disorder, patterns of alcohol misuse and the effect of multiple deployments on metal health. read more
Evan Harris: parliament loses a champion for science
Waking up to the news that Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrat science spokesperson, had lost his seat in last week’s election by … read more