tackle | Common News Update

Sep32023 by adminNo Comments

UK scientists tackle the taboo subject of periods in polar research

Science

This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Harriet BradshawBBC Climate & Science reporterYou're tied to co-workers, on a glacier, in icy conditions, and then you realise… it's that time of the month. What do you do? Dealing with your period during fieldwork in the Arctic or Antarctic can be a challenge.And yet talking about menstruation has remained taboo. It's why it is on the agenda for the UK Polar Network (UKPN), a voluntary organisation which represents more than 400 early career scientists, and which is piloting a new workshop to tackle the issue head on. "I've had so many of my friends and my peers come and say, 'God, I couldn't talk to anyone about this; I felt so uncomfortable; I felt scared at times'," explains Ellie Hona...

Aug262022 by adminNo Comments

Strictest targets pledged to tackle England sewage discharges

Science

The government has published a plan to reduce sewage discharges into England's rivers and the sea, promising the "strictest targets ever".Water firms will have to deliver the "largest infrastructure programme in water company history", it says.Last week pollution warnings were in place on nearly 50 beaches after heavy rainfall led to water companies discharging untreated sewage.The Liberal Democrats branded the new plan a "cruel joke".They said consumers would pay for "the mess made by water companies".Water companies discharged untreated sewage into rivers in England more than 400,000 times in 2020, according to official figures.The Liberal Democrats called the government's targets "flimsy", predicting they would still allow 325,000 sewage dumps a year in 2030. French anger at UK sewage d...

Apr92022 by adminNo Comments

Rejuvenation of woman’s skin could tackle diseases of ageing

Science

Fátima SantosResearchers have rejuvenated a 53-year-old woman's skin cells so they are the equivalent of a 23-year-old's.The scientists in Cambridge believe that they can do the same thing with other tissues in the body.The eventual aim is to develop treatments for age-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and neurological disorders.The technology is built on the techniques used to create Dolly the cloned sheep more than 25 years ago.The head of the team, Prof Wolf Reik, of the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, told BBC News that he hoped that the technique could eventually be used to keep people healthier for longer as they grow older."We have been dreaming about this kind of thing. Many common diseases get worse with age and to think about helping people in this way is super ex...

Feb62021 by adminNo Comments

Can AI tackle racial inequalities in healthcare?

Technology

Getty ImagesHave you ever been asked by the doctor how much something hurts out of 10? Pain tolerance is highly subjective which can make it difficult for doctors to pinpoint why someone's pain may be as high as they say it is. My five might be your seven, or my 10 could be your three. A new study published in Nature Medicine is looking to address this. Researchers used artificial intelligence techniques to analyse knee X-rays to "predict patients' experienced pain" for those suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee.This involved 36,369 observations gathered from 4,172 patients. The computer analysis could pick up things that a radiologist might miss."We didn't train the algorithm to predict what the doctor was going to say about the X-ray," says Ziad Obermeyer, an assistant professor at...

Dec72020 by adminNo Comments

Beer and crisps used to help tackle climate change

Science

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