May 7, 2007
As it is a holiday across the UK today, there is probably little need to warn Brits of the dangers of the sun’s rays, it’s usually so cold and wet, that the chances of frostbite and rust are much higher than sunburn. That said, summer is on its way and a paper in the latest edition of the Lancet medical journal warns that sunscreen and light cotton clothing are …
Apr 26, 2007
A female friend of a friend started on hormone replacement therapy (to treat quite severe early postmenopausal symptoms, and on the advice of her GP to reduce the risk of osteoporosis). The symptoms have all but been relieved (although it’s difficult to separate out the effects of the HRT hormones themselves from the phytoestrogens she imbibes from soy milk and other related foods).
Either way, the recent Lancet paper, which …
Jan 21, 2007
The UK Times paper reported on Saturday that a leading cancer researcher Professor Lawrie Challis chairman of the government-funded mobile telecommunications health research programme believes it is time that a large-scale study into the long-term risks associated with cellphone use.
Intriguingly, health and medicine writer Caroline Richmond pointed out that just such a study was actually published just three days prior to The Times article appearing.
The abstract for this …
Dec 22, 2006
Members of the plant family Ranunculaceae are ever-popular at this time of year, especially in Europe, where the Christmas rose, Helleborus niger, is wheeled out as a natural decoration for countless households. Interesting then, that extracts of this plant have been used as a heart tonic in herbal medicine alongside the likes of digitalin (from foxglove) and strophanthin from the West African plant Strophanthus gratus.
H. niger contains …
Sep 30, 2006
X-ray crystallography has provided new insights into how the microscopic motorised transport system that operates in our cells is powered. The study could have implications for understanding the symptoms of Down syndrome, the neuromuscular condition Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and some cancers, all of which arise through some form of breakdown of this system. The work may ultimately lead to possible new treatments for such disorders.
The researchers behind the work are from Duke University Medical Center, …
Sep 8, 2006
There has been a lot of discussion over the summer as to whether we should all be getting a bit more sun to boost cancer-fighting vitamin D levels. That argument coupled with revelations that suntan creams might themselves boost the risk of skin cancer all fly in the face of the contrary view that we should be staying in the shade.
One thing the sun worshippers and those of tan-free skin …
Aug 29, 2006
When I first wrote about the doubts scientists were raising concerning sunscreens in Chem & Industry magazine some time in the early 1990s, it seemed that the findings would simply confuse consumers and cause a storm among manufacturers. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case, sun worshippers carried on frying themselves, slapping on only meagre amounts of purportedly protective cream, partly out of laziness and partly because it is just so expensive and manufacturers …
Subscribe to RSS
Subscribe by Email
Sciencebase Podcast
What is RSS? 
About David Bradley
Sciencebase FAQ
Click to contact me Socialize Me
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery publishes the highest-quality reviews and perspectives plus news stories and features that investigate key issues in drug discovery...moreover if you check my resume, you'll see that the magazine is in my client list. more info...
Subscribe to the free newsfeed
Grab my Geeky Bits
Sciencebase comments feed here
Science Writers on Facebook
Follow the news I'm reading
Random Reads from Google Reader
Add me on StumbleUpon
Poke me on Facebook
MyBlogLog Profile
View my Flickr photos
Pownce Page
Tumblr Newspage
BloggingZoom
Network with me on LinkedIn
Shout me on Digg
del.icio.us ne.ws