As if our teenagers don’t have enough to worry about at the moment, it seems more of them than ever are obsessed with their weight. In 2015, 42% of 14-year-old girls and boys said they were trying to lose weight, … Read More
Could owning a pet cat increase your risk of developing brain cancer?
No one likes their pet to be accused of spreading disease. I remember some time ago there was news that a parasite from dogs, Toxocara canis, could be passed on through contamination from dog faeces – and the campaign to … Read More
Cut down stress on hospital wards by turning down anxiety-inducing volume
Have you ever spent a night on a hospital ward? It is quite a soundscape. And a soundscape that could be very stressful for patients. Not just the background hum that pierces the nightly silence but the jarring sound of an alarm, … Read More
Exciting treatment that could sharpen minds and gives hope to people with Alzheimer’s
Medical research often creeps forward slowly. Advances emerge from painstaking investigation starting with basic lab studies, then in animals, first in small animals such as mice, moving on to larger animals before being tried in human beings. Now from this … Read More
Clinical trials are crucial to new Covid vaccines in battle against the disease
This is a blatant sales pitch for clinical trials and I make no apology for it. Every step we’ve taken in our fight against Covid has been pioneered and brought to fruition by research and science. Every tool used to … Read More
Vaccines alone won’t get out us out of lockdown cycle – we need strong border control
I hear people saying over and over again in interviews their greatest fear is that when restrictions are eased we’ll get another spike of infections and a further lockdown. So how do we dodge them? We’re pinning our hopes on … Read More
Scratch and sniff can be a great way to teach children to read
What happened to those scratch and sniff children’s books I used to read to my grandchildren? I loved them and it seemed such a good idea to strengthen the acquisition of words by tagging a smell to them. It’s taken … Read More
Brain map head cap could flag up early signs of autism and serious illness in babies
Conditions such as cerebral palsy and autism often go undiagnosed until the age of two and even then there are few tests available to confirm a diagnosis. This causes great anxiety for parents and problems for doctors. But now scientists … Read More
Covid vaccines do have side effects but the benefits undoubtedly outweigh the risks
It’s a long time since I was involved in new drug development, and the constant vigilance required to keep abreast of, and to report, side effects of drugs. The reality is that, meticulous as your clinical trial might be, the … Read More
UK’s dire Covid deaths partly due to obesity and have to be a big wake-up call
I’ve taken part in a few TV debates about the hazards of being overweight or obese. In fact two of them were with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. I’m wheeled on as a voice of medical good sense but … Read More