Genetics and stem cells

Can overweight men pass obesity risk to their children?

Genetics and stem cells

"Are you fat because of your dad?" is the Mail Online's bold question to its readers, explaining that "Men's weight directly affects genes in sperm linked to appetite and brain development"...

Published date 22 August 2017

Can regular saunas harm sperm quality?

"Men who visit saunas may be damaging their sperm," the Mail Online website warns. This warning comes from the results of a tiny study involving just 10 men asked to follow a Scandinavian-style sauna programme...

Published date 21 August 2017

Unique new flu virus found in bats

Genetics and stem cells

“We've had bird flu and swine flu - now scientists have found BAT FLU,” says the Daily Mail. The newspaper reports that the strain “could pose a risk to humans if it mingled with more common forms of flu”. The Mail has got in a flap...

Published date 21 August 2017

Midday naps may boost toddlers’ memory skills

Genetics and stem cells

“’Afternoon naps' aid children's learning,” BBC News reports. A new study has found that toddlers who had Spanish-style siestas performed better in learning tasks compared to children who stayed awake…

Published date 21 August 2017

Birth dates and asthma

Genetics and stem cells

Children born in the autumn are 30% more likely to develop asthma, The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail report today. The newspapers say that exposure to winter

Published date 21 August 2017

UK man gets artificial plastic heart

Genetics and stem cells

A 40-year-old father has become the first UK patient to receive a portable total artificial heart implant. Before receiving the implant Matthew Green had been critically ill from end-stage heart failure and...

Published date 21 August 2017

The history of swine flu

Genetics and stem cells

The Independent says that “the swine flu pandemic might not have happened had it not been for the accidental release of the same strain of influenza virus from a research laboratory...

Published date 21 August 2017

Ebola outbreak to get worse, says WHO

Genetics and stem cells

"Ebola infections will treble to 20,000 by November," BBC News reports, as the WHO publishes an analysis on the likely spread of the disease. The prediction from the US’s CDC is even starker, warning that over a million people could be infected by 2015…

Published date 21 August 2017

Down's syndrome Q&A

Genetics and stem cells

The number of children born with Down’s syndrome is rising in the UK, many newspapers reported today. Following the widespread introduction of pre-natal testing

Published date 21 August 2017