The UK health media is currently focused on two natural threats to public health: one from swine flu, and the other from the heatwave currently affecting the country. Both flu epidemics and heatwaves frequently cause many deaths. For exampl…

A public health expert has warned yesterday against the idea of swine-flu parties, arguing that it may undermine the fight against the emerging pandemic. But others, including James Delingpole in the Telegraph have embraced the idea, hoping…

A new angle has recently come to light regarding the unrest in Iran: well known western companies provided the technology the government are using to eavesdrop on its citizens. The Washington Times and Wall Street Journal have reported on t…

Part of the debate "The NHS should not treat self-inflicted injuries" Opposer: Charles FosterUpdate 1 It simply won't do to underplay the practical difficulties posed by this motion. The motion is not 'The NHS should not t…

According to recent media reports, a competition to find the world’s most cloneworthy dog has been organised by the American firm BioArts International http://www.bioarts.com/about_us.htm. BioArts has a subsidiary, Encore Pet Science, which…

What can we learn from Michael Jackson's tragic premature death? The autopsy will be performed later today which may reveal the immediate cause of death. But whatever the immediate medical cause of death, the ultimate cause is clear: de…

Last time I wrote about our potential to model ourselves on others, to be inspired by the good example they might be setting.  In this blog I shift the focus to the role model and the idea of leading by example. How might we recognise…

Part of the debate "The NHS should not treat self-inflicted injuries" Proposer: Dr Mark SheehanUpdate 1 There is a robust system in place in the NHS that grapples with questions like ours regularly. Far from these being my decisio…

This past April, The New York Times reported that a form of enhanced interrogation known as “waterboarding” was used on Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, confessed mastermind of the 9-11 attacks, upwards of 183 times, and that the same technique was …

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) contains haematopoietic stem cells, which can be used for the treatment of several lethal disorders, including leukaemia and several types of anaemia. Other sources of haematopoietic stem cells are bone marrow and…