Author Archives: Science Media Centre
leading stem cell scientists criticise misinformation from Catholic church leaders
Leading stem cell scientists today criticised the leaders of the Catholic Church, after an seeing a statement prepared by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales that was read out in masses throughout the country last Sunday. read more
Professor Bill Stirling
The Science Media Centre invited journalists to meet with Professor Bill Stirling, Director General of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and recipient of the Institute of Physics Glazebrook Medal, who talked about the importance of continuing investment in synchrotron research. read more
scientists respond to recommendations from the Organ Donation Task Force on organ donations
The Task Force’s recommendations included a national network of teams for retrieving donated organs, and to increase the numbers of operations. read more
scientists react to paper on human embryo cloning as published in the journal Stem Cells
Samuel Wood, a researcher at the Stemagen Coroporation in La Jolla, California, created a cloned embryo using his own skin cells, which were injected into donated eggs. read more
engineers and scientists react to the air crash at Heathrow airport
A British Airways Boeing 777 aircraft crash-landed at Heathrow airport following a probable power failure. read more
new research on leukaemia stem cells as published in Science
Experts in the fields of stem cell research and leukaemia came to the Science Media Centre to speak to journalists about the recent discovery of a stem cell population that could be key to the development of better treatments for leukaemia and other cancers. read more
reaction to new paper on discovery of leukaemia stem cells as published in Science
A study of identical twins, one of whom developed leukaemia while her sister did not, has revealed some of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of leukaemia and the role of leukaemic stem cells, potentially leading to new treatments in the future. read more
scientists react to paper on new method to create an artificial heart as published in Nature Medicine
Results published in Nature Medicine show scientists can regain some function from a dead heart by stripping cells from it and replacing with neonatal heart cells. read more
scientists react to news of bird flu in Dorset
The H5N1 strain of bird flu was found in three dead swans at a swannery near Weymouth. read more
reaction to new initiative to tackle hospital infections
The Government has announced a series of new measures to tackle and reduce hospital infections, including the hiring of specialised nurses and pharmacists. read more
medical researchers react to Tooke Report on MTAS
Sir John Took’s report made recommendations in the aftermath of the crisis afflicting the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS), the new computerised system for recruiting junior doctors and allocating jobs within the NHS. read more
scientists react to outbreak of norovirus in UK
Professor Sally Bloomfield , IFH Chairman and Hon Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “If the current … read more
scientists respond to campaign group’s comments on forthcoming fertility bill
As the campaign group Human Genetics Alert accused the Government of ‘setting the lights to green for the genetics runaway train’, the Science Media Centre asked fertility experts to comment. read more
scientists react to news that a child receiving gene therapy has developed leukaemia
The three-year-old boy had been successfully treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital two years previously for X-SCID, a serious immune system disorder. read more
altruistic kidney donation: donors meet recipients for the first time
In a landmark event organised by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), an altruistic kidney donor and her recipient were brought together publicly for the first time in the UK to talk about their experience of living-donor transplants. This follows on from the first paired altruistic kidney transplants which took place earlier this year. read more
scientists and engineers comment on the UN Climate Change Conference
The Science Media Centre asked climate change experts for their take on negotiations at the conference in Bali on its final day. read more
scientists respond to the release of global temperature figures
Global annual temperature figures were released by the University of East Anglia and The Met Office, at the same time as the World Meteorological Office released their figures at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali. read more
the regulation of animal research
Four experts in the field of animal research spoke to journalists about how a better system for the regulation of research on animals could improve both the quality of this research, and the welfare of the animals involved. read more
microbes and climate change
In this joint briefing with the Society for General Microbiology, experts spoke to journalists on the important role which micro-organisms play in cycles of gas exchange, and whether the technology of microbial management can be applied to the problem of climate change. read more
expert comments on new research on cell transplants following heart attacks
The research, published in the journal Nature, found that transplanting genetically engineered muscle cells into the hearts of mice who had been induced to have heart attacks reduced the risk of a condition called ventricular tachycardia. read more