news

Administration/Government - Medicine/Pharmacology - 10.06
Home palliative care services double people’s chances of dying at home and reduce symptoms
A new Cochrane review led by King's College London has found that providing home palliative care doubles the odds that someone with a terminal illness can die at home if they want to, and leads to better control of their symptoms.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 22.05
Hernia surgery offers value for money, finds study
Hernia surgery may offer good value for money and improved quality of life for patients, according to a new analysis. - The government wants the NHS to make £20 billion worth of efficiency savings by 2015 and it has been suggested that money could be saved by performing fewer hernia operations.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 23.04
Mephedrone bolsters illegal drug use
Mephedrone bolsters illegal drug use - Experienced clubbers are more likely to add the former 'legal high' mephedrone to their drug repertoires rather than use it to replace popular established club drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine, according to new research involving Durham University.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 5.04
Stem cells enable personalised treatment for bleeding disorder
Cells from patients' blood could be developed as treatments for heart and circulatory diseases. - Scientists have shed light on a common bleeding disorder by growing and analysing stem cells from patients' blood to discover the cause of the disease in individual patients.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 18.03
Links between lifestyle and developing rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease which affects around 0.8% of the population; and its causes are of great interest to the medical world. Research led by Ian Bruce, NIHR Senior Investigator and Professor of Rheumatology at The University of Manchester and consultant at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, looked into the association between lifestyle factors and the risk of developing RA.

Administration/Government - Business/Economics - 11.03
Digital records could expose intimate details and personality traits of millions
Research shows that intimate personal attributes can be predicted with high levels of accuracy from 'traces' left by seemingly innocuous digital behaviour, in this case Facebook Likes. Study raises important questions about personalised marketing and online privacy.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 21.02
Predicting liver injury in paracetamol overdose patients
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have identified molecules in the blood that could help predict the risk of a patient developing liver injury eight hours after a paracetamol overdose. - Paracetamol overdose is one of the most frequent cases of hospital admissions, accounting for approximately 90,000 hospital attendances per year in the UK and almost 47,000 bed days in England alone.  Overdose of the drug can result in liver damage, and in severe cases death.

Administration/Government - 21.01
Smoke-free law linked to large fall in child asthma hospital admissions
The introduction of smoke-free legislation in England was immediately followed by a fall in the number of children admitted to hospital with asthma symptoms, a new study has found. - NHS statistics analysed by researchers at Imperial College London show a 12.3 per cent fall in admissions for childhood asthma in the first year after the law on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces came into effect in July 2007.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 9.01
Most effective treatment for common kidney disorder
The results of a pioneering UK-wide clinical trial that compared treatments for patients with a common type of kidney disease has found one to be significantly more effective. The results of the study, published online in The Lancet today [9 Jan], will be recommended to clinicians worldwide as the most effective approach to treating the condition.

Astronomy - Administration/Government - 29.11.2012
Clearest evidence yet of polar ice losses
An international team involving Durham University experts has produced the most accurate assessment of ice losses from Antarctica and Greenland to date, ending 20 years of uncertainty. - In a landmark study the researchers show that melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has contributed 11.1 millimetres to global sea levels since 1992.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 13.11.2012
Life-saving role of heart attack centres confirmed in new study
Recent studies questioning the role of specialist heart attack centres produced misleading results because doctors tend to send the sickest patients to have the best care, according to new research.

Administration/Government - Medicine/Pharmacology - 20.09.2012
Adrift in a foreign land: major study highlights failings when older people are transferred between health and social care services
A major study of the experiences of older people moving between health and care services published today highlights significant problems in the quality of the service they received. The researchers from the University of Birmingham's Health Services Management Centre found that too often older people were excluded from decisions and carers in particular felt undervalued by statutory providers.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 11.09.2012
Extent of type 2 diabetes problem in minority ethnic populations
Half of all people of South Asian, African and African Caribbean descent will develop diabetes by age 80, according to a new study published today. The study is the first to reveal the full extent of ethnic differences in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also provides some answers about the causes of the increased risk.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Administration/Government - 4.09.2012
Active lifestyle can help lower breast cancer risk
An active lifestyle, which could involve brisk walking, gardening and doing housework, helps reduce the chance of getting breast cancer, research suggests. - The study involving Oxford University researchers is thought to be the largest ever to look at physical activity and breast cancer, and included over 8,000 breast cancer cases in women.

Administration/Government - 2.08.2012
Cuckoo tricks to beat the neighbourhood watch
When mimicry becomes less effective, evolving to look completely different can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others.