Rich pickings in noses and bucket breakthroughs - the week in science

< p > New antibiotics found in unlikely places, worrying news for astronauts and an ice bucket challenge breakthrough plus the start of two new series: what a week! < /p > < p > Going into space has its fair share of hazards, but according to the first long-term health study on Apollo astronauts, it seems that < a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/28/apollo-deep-space-astronauts-five-times-more-likely-to-die-from-heart-disease" > a greatly increased risk of cardiovascular disease < /a > can be added to the list. Luckily, there ’s more upbeat news s to be had this week, in the form of a < a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/27/how-the-ice-bucket-challenge-led-to-an-als-research-breakthrough" > motor neurone disease breakthrough < /a > , which has come about thanks to 2014 ’s viral ice bucket challenge. Excitingly (or disgustingly, depending on your views on microbes lurking within the crevices of the human body) scientists have also sniffed out a new antibiotic, found in human noses and effective against superbug MRSA. Yum. And finally, a round of applause for the < a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/22/double-hand-transplant-it-is-a-small-miracle-looking-at-what-nature-has-allowed-us-to-do" > UK ’s first double hand transplant < /a > , carried out on Chris King, who lost both hands in an industrial accident. Nadey Hakim, a surgeon involved in the world ’s first hand transplant back in 1998 puts it best: “It is a sm...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 29, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Tash Reith-Banks Tags: Science Source Type: news