Health & Science

• Tuesday, September 18th 2018 - 08:12 UTC

  UK tests life-saving chemical detection robots and drones

  

  A new fleet of robots and drones designed to test for chemical agents, provide 3D mapping and identify casualties have been put through their paces by British troops, police officers and scientists for the first time.

• Monday, September 17th 2018 - 08:44 UTC

  UK/Argentina hold antimicrobial resistance scientific seminar in Buenos Aires

  

  Scientists from different British universities, Argentine researchers and representatives of the organizing agencies took part this week in Buenos Aires in a seminar organized jointly by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) from the UK, and the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina.

• Thursday, September 13th 2018 - 10:29 UTC

  Cancer burden rises to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018

  

  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released on Wednesday the latest estimates on the global burden of cancer. The GLOBOCAN 2018 database, accessible online as part of the IARC Global Cancer Observatory, provides estimates of incidence and mortality in 185 countries for 36 types of cancer and for all cancer sites combined. An analysis of these results, published today in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, highlights the large geographical diversity in cancer occurrence and the variations in the magnitude and profile of the disease between and within world regions.

• Saturday, September 8th 2018 - 09:05 UTC

  Award for new map of South Georgia and the “Shackleton Crossing”

  

  British Antarctic Survey’s detailed map of the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia featuring the epic “Shackleton Crossing” has won an award at the 2018 British Cartography Society Awards.

• Friday, August 31st 2018 - 08:34 UTC

  India announces its first manned space mission to cost US$1.4bn

  

  India announced it expected to spend less than 100 billion rupees (US$1.43 billion) on its first manned space mission to be launched by 2022, suggesting it is likely to be cheaper than similar projects by the United States and China.

• Friday, August 24th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

  Monsanto glyphosate weed killer could cost Bayer billions in damage lawsuits

  

  United States agro-chemicals company Monsanto is facing a surge in lawsuits that may cost its new owners, Bayer, billions in damages. Monsanto manufactures glyphosate-based weed killers which some believe are carcinogenic. Last month it lost a US$ 289m court case that alleged its products Roundup and RangerPro had led to a Californian man's terminal cancer.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 08:38 UTC

  Measles cases hit record high in the European Region

  

  Over 41 000 children and adults in the WHO European Region have been infected with measles in the first 6 months of 2018. The total number for this period far exceeds the 12-month totals reported for every other year this decade.

• Monday, August 20th 2018 - 08:12 UTC

  Pharaohs also loved cheese: 3.200 year old sample (with brucellosis) found at a tomb of Ptahmes

  

  Aged cheeses might have an appeal but a 3,200-year-old sample of the popular dairy product found in Egypt may be just a little too old — and diseased — for even the most dedicated cheese connoisseurs.

• Tuesday, August 14th 2018 - 22:57 UTC

  Breakthrough for cleaner fish and the Scottish salmon industry

  

  A milestone has been reached in the production of cleaner fish in Scotland, particularly for the salmon industry, with two leading farmers completing the lifecycle of raising wrasse in a controlled environment. In a collaboration between Marine Harvest, Scottish Sea Farms and the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling, wild caught ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) have been bred for more than six years in a facility in Machrihanish.

• Monday, August 13th 2018 - 19:53 UTC

  Bayer confident glyphosate is safe for use and does not cause cancer

  

  Pharmaceutical group Bayer has dismissed claims that an ingredient used in weed killers is carcinogenic. The German company, which owns agriculture giant Monsanto, says herbicides containing glyphosate are safe.