Exciting research, led by Oxford University, has developed a tool that predicts a person’s 10 year risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and stroke, more accurately than before. The tool, called QR4, can help identify these diseases in … Read More
Teen study monitoring how social media affects mental health is so vital
There are bound to be teenagers who would welcome taking part in a new nationwide study to track feelings of loneliness in this digital age of smartphones and social media. If so, they should visit the website gslonelinessteens.com. Teenagers aged … Read More
New insight into the tricks cancer cells use to keep growing could help beat disease
There seems to be no end to the inventiveness in cancer research – the latest study from Imperial College London even promises to contain its spread. I noticed the TV adverts for Cancer Research have changed from “Together we shall beat cancer” to “Together we are beating cancer”. And in … Read More
Human mini-lungs grown in lab by scientists will reduce need for animal testing
Organoids are mini organs on a minute scale, grown from stem cells in the lab for use in tests which would currently be performed on rodents. They involve minute quantities of chemicals – nanograms. And now human mini-lungs grown by … Read More
Keto diet gives hope to epileptic babies who can’t find relief with drugs
Some babies are born suffering from epilepsy – and some of those turn out to be resistant to anti-epileptic drugs, giving parents and doctors a dilemma. Now Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) has come up with a strategy that could … Read More
Targeting exhausted immune cells may prevent breast cancer from developing
Everyone has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but mutations in these – which can be inherited – increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have now created the world’s largest catalogue of human breast … Read More
Just a one-minute pregnancy check could help to lower the risk of premature birth
Everyone working in maternity services is concerned about rising numbers of caesarean sections. More than 25% of all deliveries in the UK happen this way. Furthermore, up to 20% of in-labour caesarean sections (CS) occur late in labour, which could … Read More
Older drivers should take extra special test if they want to stay on the road
All my life, I’ve never been that good backing a car into a tight space and now I’m getting older I’m aware that whatever spatial skills I had are on the wane. Now, research from the University of East Anglia … Read More
One caring gesture will both sooth your baby and relieve parental stress too
When my children were small I was always astonished at how merely holding them seemed to be the cure for all their ills. And I’m sure that goes for all parents. It’s the power of parental touch and every parent, dads and mums, … Read More
Speeding up new prostate cancer care to save men’s lives
A new treatment for any disease usually takes about 10 years of research to prove efficacy and safety before it can be prescribed. That goes for new cancer treatments too, which is affecting men with prostate cancer. The problem is that … Read More