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Total 17 results found since Jan 2013.
Heart attack death rates halve from 2001-12 but cancer mortalities rise
But ONS mortality data for period show circulatory disease as overall top cause of deaths in England and WalesDeaths from heart attacks and stroke halved in England and Wales over the first 11 years of this century, while the numbers dying from cancer rose, according to newly published mortality data from the Office for National Statistics.The 21st century mortality files from the ONS contain a vast amount of data not only about the big killers of modern times but also the more surprising and less likely accidental causes of mortality.Only three people died from snake bites, all men, between 2001 and 2012. One man died of ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - October 23, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Boseley Tags: Heart attack Nutrition theguardian.com Office for National Statistics News Health Government data Smoking Society Alzheimer's Cancer UK news Source Type: news
Any defence of sugar is pure confection | Aseem Malhotra
More and more people are challenging the food industry's PR machine. The evidence shows that sugar, not fat, is the enemyThe public health minister, Anna Soubry, has commented that the poor are more likely to be obese. It is well known that social status is linked to health, but her comments were also motivated by a mentality that victimises the most vulnerable. She should really be directing her criticism at the food industry. There is no doubt that an oversupply of cheap junk food fuelled by unregulated and irresponsible marketing limits our ability to make healthy choices. But there is an equally important question that...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 24, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Aseem Malhotra Tags: Comment Food & drink industry Obesity Health guardian.co.uk Health policy Society UK news Life and style Business Science Comment is free Source Type: news
Families face battle with GSK over dangerous diabetes drug
Exclusive: Pharmaceutical giant resists claims despite settlement with victims in USThousands of families in the UK could be deprived of compensation for the death or harm of a relative caused by the diabetes drug Avandia, even though the British maker has agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle similar claims in the US.The licence for Avandia was revoked in Europe, in September 2010, because of evidence that it could cause heart failure and heart attacks. The drug can still be prescribed in the US, but not to patients at risk of heart problems.A scientist with the Food and Drug Administration estimated that Avandia co...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 29, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Boseley Tags: The Guardian United States World news Pharmaceuticals industry Medical research Legal aid Law UK news Diabetes GlaxoSmithKline Business Source Type: news
With a broken promise, the government has handed the NHS over to the market | Clive Peedell
Reassurances on clinicians and local people controlling how services are commissioned look likely to be overturnedThe NHS needs to be reformed to remain true to its founding principles; the question is how. International evidence suggests that increasing marketisation and privatisation of healthcare services leads to greater expenditure, greater variations in care, reduced access to services, and erosion of professional standards. On that basis, the reforms have been heading in the wrong direction for a long time, with all the major political parties supporting policies that increase the role of the private sector in the N...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 3, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Clive Peedell Tags: Comment The Guardian Society Politics Privatisation NHS Andrew Lansley Comment is free Source Type: news
Why acupuncture is giving sceptics the needle
Acupuncture has been prescribed by half of Britain's doctors, but after 3,000 clinical trials its efficacy remains unproven. So is the NHS making a grave error in supporting this ancient treatment?• Are vitamin pills a sham? Q&A with Dr. Paul OffitYou can't get crystal healing on the NHS. The Department of Health doesn't fund faith healing. And most doctors believe magnets are best stuck on fridges, not patients. But ask for a treatment in which an expert examines your tongue, smells your skin and tries to unblock the flow of life force running through your body with needles and the NHS will be happy to oblige.The govern...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 26, 2013 Category: Science Authors: David Derbyshire Tags: Culture Health Science and scepticism Features NHS Alternative medicine The Observer Source Type: news
Scientists accuse ministers of putting UK seas and marine life in peril
Habitats where seahorses, crabs and dolphins thrive face destruction as plans for protection zones are watered downHundreds of species of fish and precious coastal habitats around Britain are in danger, scientists and conservationists have warned, because the government has not responded properly to plans for a network of marine conservation zones around the UK. This failure, they say, could blight our seas for decades.A government statement on the proposals is due in a few weeks' time, but signs are that it will be muted and inadequate and will fail to save marine habitats from further devastation."At a stroke the governm...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - August 3, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Marine life News Fishing Features Politics UK news The Observer Conservation Environment Science Wildlife Source Type: news
Bill Bowman obituary
Pharmacologist and academic who made a huge contribution in the field of anaesthesiaAnyone who has had a general anaesthetic in the last 40 years has reason to be grateful to Bill Bowman, who has died aged 83. Bill played a pivotal role in both understanding how muscle-relaxing drugs work and developing safer and shorter-acting replacements.A person under anaesthetic twitches alarmingly unless a drug is used for "paralysis" or temporary muscle relaxation. This allows surgery in the chest and abdomen without the need for very deep anaesthesia and makes it possible for a tube to be passed into the windpipe to keep a patient'...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - August 20, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Caroline Richmond Tags: theguardian.com Obituaries Medical research Pharmacy and pharmacology Second world war Scotland University of Strathclyde Medicine Education Source Type: news
COP19: the UN's climate talks proved to be just another cop out
The idea that a meaningful agreement can be forced upon countries is farcical, writes Joseph Zammit-Lucia, we need co-operation on achievable policiesPredictably, COP19 in Warsaw has achieved little. Maybe the biggest achievement is that is has now become abundantly clear that the prospects are now close to zero that a meaningful legally binding, global agreement on carbon emissions will be signed in Paris in 2015.Of course, some agreement may well be signed to enable all to claim success. But that can only happen if a form of words can be found to make such an agreement largely meaningless. As famously said by Geoffrey Ho...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 2, 2013 Category: Science Tags: Comment Collaboration Guardian Professional Climate change Sustainability COP 19: UN climate change conference Warsaw Guardian sustainable business Leadership Source Type: news
Carlos Juan Finlay: Cuban physician celebrated in Google doodle
Cuban physician and scientist, who would have been 180 today, developed theory that yellow fever was spread by mosquitoesGoogle's latest doodle celebrates the birthday of Carlos Finlay, the Cuban physician and scientist who theorised that yellow fever was spread by mosquitoes.Of French and Scottish descent, Finlay was born in 1833 in Puerto Príncipe, now the Cuban city of Camagüey, and studied at Jefferson medical college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He finished his studies in Havana and Paris before settling in Cuba to open a medical practice.Finlay was appointed by the Cuban government in 1879 to work with a North Am...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 3, 2013 Category: Science Tags: theguardian.com Search engines Google doodle Biology World news Medical research Technology Internet Science Source Type: news
Dementia research funding should be on same footing as cancer, says charity
This article was amended on Wednesday 11 December 2013. Alzheizmer's Research Trust is now called Alzheimer's Research UK. This has been corrected.DementiaMental healthMedical researchHaroon Siddiquetheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - December 11, 2013 Category: Science Authors: Haroon Siddique Tags: The Guardian Mental health News Medical research Society Dementia UK news Science Source Type: news
No pain, no gain? Getting the most out of exercise
Staying in shape has all sorts of benefits, from maintaining heart health to warding off dementia and cancerInactivity – fuelled by cars and a sedentary work life – has been dubbed the biggest public health problem of the 21st century, a global pandemic with dramatic impact on peoples wellbeing. The latest reports suggest that around the world it was responsible for 5.3 million deaths in 2008 – around one in 10 – more deaths than smoking.Not only does exercise make you fitter, it can also ward off numerous and often unexpected diseases, from heart attacks, to diabetes, some forms of cancer and dementia. There are t...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 13, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Catherine de Lange Tags: Cycling Fitness Sport Running Transport Yoga Weightlifting Features UK news Life and style Cycle hire schemes The Observer Swimming Science Source Type: news
A safe, effective diet pill - the elusive holy grail
Trade in illegal, ineffective drugs flourishes as pharmaceutical industry repeatedly fails to produce successful pillAttempts to invent a safe and effective diet pill have foundered time and again, allowing the internet trade in illegal and ineffective herbal supplements and dangerous drugs, such as DNP, to flourish.A successful diet pill could make billions for the pharmaceutical industry, but efforts to date have ended in disaster, with patients harmed, drugs banned and massive compensation paid out.Fen-phen, an appetite suppressant, was the most spectacular failure. It was withdrawn in the US in 1997 after causing wides...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 14, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Sarah Boseley Tags: The Guardian Diets and dieting Drugs trade Healthcare industry World news Pharmaceuticals industry & wellbeing Health policy Society Politics UK news Life and style Public services policy Business Science Source Type: news
Families hope 'Frankenstein science' lobby will not stop gene cure for mitochondrial disease
Change to IVF rules could make Britain the first country to allow therapy to change DNA in embryosDeniz Safak was five years old when he first displayed symptoms of the disease that would later take his life. "He started being sick and had intense, stroke-like seizures," his mother, Ruth, recalled.Doctors were baffled by the boy's condition and it took months before a diagnosis was made. Ruth and her husband, Erdhal, were told that Deniz was suffering from mitochondrial disease, an incurable condition that is passed from mother to child and can often be fatal.Deniz's condition continued to worsen. By the time he died last ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 15, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Robin McKie Tags: Embryos IVF Genetics Children Biology News Health Medical research Society UK news The Observer Science Source Type: news
Philip Thomas obituary
My father, Philip Thomas, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer in the world of fire safety science and engineering. He was also a proud Welshman with a love of jazz, malt whisky and his signature bow ties.Philip's work shaped the design of commercial buildings throughout the world, from shopping centres to airport terminals. His most significant contributions relate to the behaviour of fire; he developed analytical models of the behaviour of flames and "fire plumes" that became the basis for designing roof-venting systems for removing smoke and hot gases from single-storey buildings.Philip, an only child, was born in London...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 27, 2014 Category: Science Tags: theguardian.com Obituaries Engineering Society Technology UK news Public services policy Science Source Type: news
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery review
Patients see neurosurgeons as gods, but what is the reality? Henry Marsh has written a memoir of startling candourWe go to doctors for help and healing; we don't expect them to make us worse. Most people know the aphorism taught to medical students, attributed to the ancient Greek Hippocrates but timeless in its quiet sanity: "First, do no harm." But many medical treatments do cause harm: learning how to navigate the risks of drug therapies, as well as the catastrophic consequences of botched or inadvised surgical operations, is a big part of why training doctors takes so long. Even the simplest of therapies carries the ri...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 19, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Gavin Francis Tags: The Guardian Private healthcare Culture Society Reviews Books Neuroscience UK news Hospitals NHS Source Type: news
