Behind The Headlines

Fish pedicure risk "very low"

Tuesday Oct 18 2011

“Trendy fish pedicures could spread HIV and hepatitis C,” the Sun has today reported. Its front-page story said that officials have raised an “alert” over the treatment, popular in beauty spas, where tiny fish are used to nibble away...

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Regulator calls for better care for the elderly

Thursday Oct 13 2011

Many newspapers today covered a new report on the standard of care that older people receive in hospital. The report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) the health watchdog, found that half of all hospitals that it looked at...

New radiation drug for cancer tested

Monday Sep 26 2011

Several newspapers reported today on a new cancer treatment. The reports said that trials of the new radioactive treatment have been so successful they have been stopped early as it would have been unethical not to offer all the patients the treatment.

'Crocus drug' studied for cancer

Monday Sep 12 2011

Many newspapers have reported today that a substance found in the autumn crocus, a flower native to Britain, has been turned into a “smart bomb” against cancer. The newspapers reported that the targeted treatment...

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Men who have sex with men can now give blood

Friday Sep 9 2011

The long-standing ban preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood is to be lifted, the Department of Health has announced. Restrictions put in place in the 1980s stated that men...

Stroke stem cell trial extended

Friday Sep 2 2011

The world’s first clinical trial of brain stem cells to treat stroke has recorded no adverse effects to date, BBC News has reported. The BBC website reports that research using stem cells to treat strokes “is set to...

Bread 'often high in salt'

Friday Sep 2 2011

“Popular loaves of bread contain as much salt in every slice as a packet of crisps and some are as salty as seawater,” The Daily Telegraph has today reported. These estimates are based on a survey...

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Low health risk from bird flu

Wednesday Aug 31 2011

The United Nations has this week warned of a possible global resurgence of the bird flu virus, which has been widely covered in the media. News sources, such as the BBC, have also reported the circulation of a...

Coral studied for sunscreen abilities

Wednesday Aug 31 2011

The Daily Express reported today that a “pill that stops you getting sunburn” could “prevent thousands of skin cancer deaths” and be “widely available in the UK within five years”.

Precautionary warning on Nurofen Plus

Friday Aug 26 2011

Many newspapers have reported today that some packets of Nurofen plus have been found to contain the wrong medicine. A warning has been issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).