The government is planning new measures to tackle the growing crisis that is childhood obesity. With 18 per cent of UK children now overweight or obese, and a fat child generally becoming and staying a fat adult, this is surely
Bad Education
It recently emerged that six of the UK’s biggest Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have made agreements with the BPI, the UK record industry’s trade association, to monitor, warn, and possibly ban customers who fileshare illegally. A Virgin press release earlier
Jerusalem – keeping a fragile peace?
On the 2nd July a Palestinian man seized control of a bulldozer, killed three people and injured dozens in Jerusalem before being shot dead. Israeli police believe the attacker was acting alone – in spite of the efforts of at
Holiday diar-y
Some 170 people are suing a travel company after their luxury holiday turned into a nightmare because of a stomach bug, on the Egyptian Riviera. Guests began to fall ill within days of checking in to the five star hotel
Pandemic prevention – a solution in sight?
Developments in possible pandemic prevention are currently making the news. This week, drug manufacturer Glaxo Smith-Kline became the first to be granted approval of its pre-pandemic influenza vaccine. The vaccine, called Prepandrix, uses the current H5N1 influenza virus, otherwise known
‘Life first, cars second’
So said Bolivian president Evo Morales, speaking at the United Nations last month. He called on developed nations to accept partial responsibility for the rising food prices caused by biofuels. His call came in a month that has seen the
Private lives and private eyes
As mentioned previously on this blog (and discussed in Pocket Issue: Big Brother out in Autumn 2008), the privacy of internet users is coming under increasing threat. Last week, British scientist and inventor of the world wide web Tim Berners-Lee
Marketing Misery: Antidepressants and drug companies
A recent study from Hull University has shown that antidepressants such as Prozac or Seroxat, taken by millions in the UK, only have as much effect as placebos. Together with revelations this month that major multinational GlaxoSmithKline delayed informing the authorities
Childhood obesity: treading on eggshells
This month Selfridges put on sale a giant five-stone Easter egg – weighing the same as an average nine-year old boy, and providing enough calories to sustain him for more than two months. As the Daily Mail put it, ‘it
What’s bugging the NHS?
Numbers of deaths linked to the bacteria Clostridium difficile have soared in England and Wales. Between 2005 and 2006, death certificates mentioning C. difficile, a hospital-based infection, have risen by 72%, to 6,480, according to new figures released by the