‘He found a lump’: how school tragedy drove UK scientist’s mission to fight blood cancers
Professor tells of his teenage grief and how it drove a new approach to research at York UniversityIan Hitchcock ’s first encounter with cancer was as a schoolboy in Bedford. He played rugby there and became good friends with a team-mate.“He was a lovely guy. Smart, pleasant and a talented sports person. He really was one of the most popular kids in the year,” says Hitchcock, who recently oversaw the creation of York University’s newcentre for blood research.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 10, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie, Science Editor Tags: Cancer research Medical research Health Science University of York Higher education Society Source Type: news
Sickly sweet: how our sugar-coated cells helped humanity turn illness into evolution
The molecules that cover our cells have interacted over the ages with our environment and the diseases that plague us – and in the process shaped our progressAccording to the latest estimates, Covid-19 may be responsible for more than18 million deaths worldwide. While infectious diseases like this have devastated humanity, it may be wrong to assume they are always antithetical to our survival and flourishing as a species. Otherwise, why would ancient pathogens such as malaria (of thefalciparumtype), cholera, typhoid, measles and influenza A persist as human-only diseases – and why have we not evolved immunity to them?T...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 10, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Mark Honigsbaum Tags: Immunology Biochemistry and molecular biology Medical research Science Evolution Source Type: news
Philips'-managed CT consortium receives CAD grant
Philips’ public-private partnership COMBINE-CT consortium has received a $6.5-million-euro grant ($7 million U.S.) from the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI).The consortium will use the grant to investigate the use of CT to improve diagnosis and treatment outcomes of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Europe, according to the firm. The goals of COMBINE-CT include increasing the use of coronary computed tomography angiography; opening data silos between hospital departments involved in the care of CAD patients; and simplifying and improving workflow for physicians, nurses, and technologists. It includes Philips, the Univer...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - December 8, 2023 Category: Radiology Authors: AuntMinnie.com staff writers Tags: Industry News Source Type: news
Survival analysis for cohort of Bhopal gas disaster victims during 1985-2015 - Singh S, Raj D, Sabde Y, Kalyanasundaram M, Tiwari RR.
CONTEXT: After the gas tragedy on the night of December 2/3, 1984, at Bhopal, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) started following up on four population cohorts with different levels of post-disaster mortality from December 3-6, 1984. AIMS: The ... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - December 7, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Disaster Preparedness Source Type: news
HIV vaccine trial in Africa halted after disappointing initial results
African-led trial ended a year early as researchers conclude there is ‘little or no chance’ new combination vaccines cut HIV riskThefirst trial in Africa of two combination vaccines to prevent HIV has been halted after researchers concluded it was not working.The pre-exposure prophylaxis vaccine (PrEPVacc) was being tested on 1,500 people aged between 18 and 40 in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 7, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Samuel Okiror in Kampala Tags: Global development Aids and HIV Society Global health Uganda Tanzania South Africa Vaccines and immunisation World news Medical research Science Source Type: news
Blood test to determine organ age could help predict disease risk
US researchers say findings may also enable doctors to predict progression of Alzheimer ’s diseaseUsing a blood test to determine the biological age of a person ’s organs could help treat them before they get sick, as well as predicting the progression of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, researchers have suggested.A study by academics in the US found people whose organs were ageing faster than the rest of their body had a higher risk of developing diseases in that particular organ within 15 years.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 7, 2023 Category: Science Authors: PA Media Tags: Ageing Medical research Neuroscience US news Alzheimer's Society Health World news Source Type: news
A third of new mothers worldwide ‘have lasting health issues after childbirth’
Problems such as back pain, incontinence and depression cause widespread suffering but are underrecognised, global review findsMore than 40 million women a year experience lasting health issues after childbirth, a global review has found, prompting calls for greater recognition of common postnatal problems.The sweeping analysis of maternal health worldwide shows a very high burden of long-term conditions that last for months and even years after giving birth. One in three new mothers worldwide are affected.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 6, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Andrew Gregory Health editor Tags: Women's health World news Childbirth Medical research Science Society Source Type: news
Call to help UK IVF patients donate unused embryos after shortage hinders research
Scientists complain after ‘sheer waste’ of human embryos discarded despite patients’ wishesLeading scientists are calling for a change in the law to help IVF patients donate unused embryos to biomedical research after a collapse in donations over the past 15 years.The increasing commercialisation of IVF, overstretched NHS clinics and cumbersome paperwork are blamed for a 25-fold decrease in the number of donated embryos. Scientists described some patients going to “extraordinary lengths” to ensure their embryos could be used for research rather than discarded, with many private clinics failing to routinely offer ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 6, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Hannah Devlin Science correspondent Tags: Embryos Biology Genetics Science IVF Medical research UK news Fertility problems Pregnancy Family Parents and parenting Source Type: news
Vincent Marks obituary
Biochemist who transformed the treatment of diabetes and was an expert witness in two high-profile murder trialsVincent Marks, who has died aged 93, was a world expert in insulin and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). In 1985, his expert opinion helped to acquitClaus von B ülow of attempted murder, in a case that was dramatised in the film Reversal of Fortune (1990).On 21 December 1980, the American heiress Sunny von B ülow was discovered comatose in her bathroom, and she remained in a persistent vegetative state untilher death in 2008. Her husband Claus, a Danish-born lawyer, was tried and found guilty of injecting her wi...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 3, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Penny Warren Tags: Diabetes Health Biochemistry and molecular biology Medical research Medicine Society Science Source Type: news
AI laser that reads heartbeat through the throat could replace stethoscopes
New invention, which can be set up at home, promises to transform the way we monitor our health, say scientistsScientists have developed a laser camera that can read a person ’s heartbeat at a distance and pinpoint signs that they might be suffering fromcardiovascular illnesses.The system – which exploits AI and quantum technologies – could transform the way we monitor our health, say researchers at Glasgow University.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 2, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Heart disease Heart attack Artificial intelligence (AI) Medical research Science Society Technology Source Type: news
‘It wouldn’t exist’: Viagra inventor tells how Welsh miners began its rise
Dr David Brown says erectile dysfunction drug, subject of a BBC drama, could have been scrapped if a miner hadn ’t spoken outIt was the ultimate serendipitous discovery: a failed heart medication that became a multibillion-dollar erectile dysfunction drug. But the blockbuster story ofViagra could have ended differently were it not for the frankness of the Welsh miners who took part in a clinical trial just before the drug was due to be scrapped, according to Viagra ’s co-inventor.Speaking before the screening ofMen Up, a new BBC drama, executive produced by Russell T Davies, about the ordinary middle-aged Welsh men who...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 2, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Hannah Devlin Science correspondent Tags: Viagra Medical research Men's health Sex Pfizer Wales BBC Russell T Davies Pharmaceuticals industry Society UK news Source Type: news
UK Biobank and the masses of medical data that became key to genetic research
The resource, which is on the move to Manchester, now ranks as the world ’s most important health databaseThe origins of the UK Biobank can be traced back to a pilot study in a building in Stockport bordered by the Cheadle Heath police station on one side and the local recreation ground on the other. It was the early 2000s and scientists had realised the potential for genomics and big data to transform health research.With diabetes, cancer, dementia and other ailments on the rise, scientists pushed for a database devoted to genetics, health and lifestyle to help them tease apart who was most at risk and how diseases coul...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 30, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Ian Sample Science editor Tags: Medical research Genetics Biology Science UK news Stockport Manchester Greater Manchester Source Type: news
Genetic data on 500,000 volunteers in UK to be released for scientific study
UK BioBank offers up biggest ever cache of whole-genome sequences for medical researchA new era of medical discoveries, treatments and cures is on the horizon, researchers say, following the announcement that an unprecedented trove of genetic information is to be made available to scientists.Health researchers from around the world can now apply to study the whole genomes of half a million people enrolled in UK Biobank, a biomedical research project that has compiled detailed health and lifestyle records on individuals since it began 20 years ago.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 30, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Ian Sample Science editor Tags: Genetics Medical research Academics Science Health Cancer research Obesity UK news Source Type: news
Lower socioeconomic status ‘triples risk of early-onset dementia’
People from less privileged background at greater risk of developing condition under age of 65, study findsPeople from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more than three times as likely to experience early-onset dementia, a study has found.Thestudy, published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal and conducted by researchers at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, used UK BioBank data of more than 440,000 participants aged between 37 and 73.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 29, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent Tags: Alzheimer's Health Science & wellbeing Society Poverty Dementia Medical research Source Type: news
No evidence cannabis reduces long-term illicit opioids use, study finds
Lead author says study led by University of Sydney is longest ever to have looked at relationship between the two drugsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastCannabis should not be considered an effective long-term strategy for reducing opioid use, according to a new study released amid the global shift towards cannabis legalisation.A study led by the University of Sydney, published on Wednesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, followed 615 people with heroin dependence, many of whom also used cannabis, over 20 years.Sign up for G...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - November 29, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Natasha May Tags: Cannabis Health Opioids Australia news Drugs Medical research Source Type: news
