Blog 1 Week 8

24 May 2012 Last updated at 23:04 GMT

Male pill: gene discovery may lead to contraceptive

Healthy sperm manufacture needs the Katnal1 gene

It may be possible to develop a new male contraceptive pill after researchers in Edinburgh identified a gene critical for the production of healthy sperm.

Experiments in mice found that the gene, Katnal1, was vital for the final stages of making sperm.

The authors of a study in PLos Genetics said a drug which interrupts Katnal1 could be a reversible contraceptive.

A fertility expert said there was "certainly a need" for such a drug.

Contraception in men is largely down to condoms or a vasectomy.
Infertility search
Researchers at the Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh were investigating the causes of male infertility.

They randomly altered the genetic code of mice to see which became infertile. They then traced the mutations which led to infertility, which led them to Katnal1.

If we can find a way to target this gene in the testes, we could potentially develop a non-hormonal contraceptive”

End Quote Dr Lee Smith University of Edinburgh

It contains the blueprints for a protein which is important in cells which support the development of sperm. Without the protein, sperm do not fully form and the body disposes of them.

Scientists hope they will be able to perform a similar trick in humans to stop sperm developing, without causing lasting damage.

One of the researchers Dr Lee Smith said: "If we can find a way to target this gene in the testes, we could potentially develop a non-hormonal contraceptive.

Summary:
The article is about the fact that there has been manufactered a male contraceptive drug. The drug interrupts the gene that is necessary for good and healthy sperm. The gene is called : Katnall. By infecting that gene, the sperm of the men does not function properly anymore. The only contraception for men is a condom or a vasectomy, this improves the opportunities to become contraceptive for men. (101)

Review:
It is very good that this drug has been manufactured because I believe that not only women should take contraceptive drugs. I do not know if it is already on the market but I must advise that these kinds of drugs should be tested very carefully, so they will not cause lasting damage. Most of the women take a hormonal contraceptive, this is not very good for your body so it is quite an improvement that there has been produced a non-hormonal contraceptive. ( it's a shame there is none for women..haha no just kidding!). I hope this drug will work properly and that it is a good contraceptive drug. ( 130)

Blog 2 Week 7

Raped after being kicked off bus: Student savagely attacked while walking at 3am because she was just 20p short of fare

The 22-year-old had £4.80 in her purse, not enough for the £5 fare, and the bus driver refused to let her travel

Scene: Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham

Google Street View

A 22-year-old university law student was savagely raped in a park after she was "turfed off" the last bus home because she did not have enough money for her fare.
The victim was left stranded in Nottingham city centre at 3am after the bus driver also refused to wait a few moments to allow her to get money for the fare from a nearby cash dispenser.
Nottingham Crown Court heard the woman had been just 20p short - the fare for the 14 mile journey home was £5, but she had only £4.80 in her purse.
Michael Auty, prosecuting, said the woman called her mother who agreed to pick her up in the family car.
The victim volunteered to walk a short distance to the edge of the city centre so her mother would not have to negotiate a one-way system she was unfamiliar with.
Mr Auty told the jury the student had been Christmas shopping in December last year before travelling to Nottingham to celebrate the completion of exams.
Just before 3am, when the bus was due to leave, the victim boarded the bus and tried to pay her fare.
Mr Auty said: "The fare was £5. She had only £4.80. The bus driver would not waive the 20p.
"She asked him if he could wait while she got some money from a nearby cash machine. He refused that request too.
"She was effectively turfed off the bus and left stranded in Nottingham city centre at 3am in the morning."
The victim had walked less than a mile when she was grabbed by the neck and dragged into Nottingham's Forest Recreation Ground where she was beaten and raped.
Her "substantial" injuries included black eyes, a badly swollen face and bruises to her body, breasts and neck.
Mr Auty said the injuries were so severe that her mother did not at first recognise her daughter.
Mr Auty said the attack was "savage and almost devoid of any mercy."
Mr Auty told the jury that "in the cruellest of circumstances" the mother had pulled up on a stretch of the road where she expected her daughter to be walking, and just yards from where she had been attacked,
The mother called her daughter's mobile phone twice and on each occasion she could hear a "grunting" before the line went dead.
Police in a passing patrol car stopped to ask the mother if was all right.
She explained to officers that she was looking for her daughter, who unbeknown to her and the officers, lay injured nearby.
Moments later the defendant ran to the police car and banged on the roof.
He told the officers he had been walking through the park and come across the victim who had already been attacked.
He told the officers "you had better come quick. I think a girl has been raped or something."
He claimed to the officers that mud and the woman's blood were transferred to his body and clothes when he tried to help her to her feet.
The girl was found nearby sat with her knees pulled tight to her chin. She was naked from the waist down.
When told he was being arrested on suspicion of attacking the woman, the defendant replied: "This is what you get for trying to help someone."
Tests showed the defendant was around two-and-a-half times over the legal drink-drive limit. There were also traces of cannabis and cocaine inside his body.
Mr Auty alleged the defendant, Joseph Moran, 19, panicked when he spotted the nearby police car and quickly fabricated his story.
"He made out he was her saviour, her knight in shining armour."
Moran, of Sneinton, Nottingham, denies rape and wounding.
The trial continues
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nottingham-student-raped-after-being-851647

Summary:
This article contains a very heavy story. It is about a 22 year old girl who was raped after she was refused to enter the bus because she was 20p short. The bus driver also refused the request to withdraw some money from a bank a few metres away. She called her mother if she wanted to pick her up, they would meet nearby the park where the mother knew her way around. While walking to the meeting point through the Nottingham park she was grabbed by a guy, beaten and raped. The mother called several times but heard only a grunting through the phone, a police car stopped and asked the mother is she was okay. The mother explained what was going on and started looking for the girl when a boy came running towards the police car telling a girls was raped and beaten. Later on it turned out that the boy is a suspect and may have raped and beaten her. (165)
Review:
The sick twist about this story is not only the fact that the bus driver refused to let her on the bus but also that the boy came running towards the police car and made up a heroic story. I think that the bus driver should be presecuted as well because if you have a little bit of humanity in you, you would not let a 22 year old girl walk home in the middle of the night. I feel very sorry for the girl whom this happened to and I hope the boy will confess what he did to her, so the girl can walk safely home again. ( 123)

Blog 1 week 7

Briton dies from rabies after being bitten by dog in south Asia

Patient reportedly turned away twice by hospital in Kent before being diagnosed and sent for specialist treatment in London

• Ben Quinn
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 28 May 2012 19.45 BST

The woman, believed to be in her 50s, was beinging treated by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and colleagues at University College hospital. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

A woman who was being treated for rabies in London after she was bitten by a dog while abroad has died in hospital in London.
An inquiry was launched last week after she was reportedly turned away twice by doctors at a hospital in Kent before she was finally diagnosed and sent for treatment by specialists in London.
The woman, believed to be a grandmother in her 50s who lived in Bexley, south London, died at the weekend after being treated by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and colleagues at UCH, according to a statement issued Monday evening by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
"The patient's family have kindly requested for the media to respect their privacy during this very difficult time and we will not be releasing any further details, nor will the family be making any statements.
"Our sincere condolences go out to them."
Relatives and health staff who saw her before diagnosis have been offered vaccination against the disease, which is extremely rare in Britain but common in south Asia where she had recently visited.
Darent Valley hospital in Dartford, Kent, confirmed last week that the woman had visited its A&E department and that five staff were being vaccinated as a precaution. The hospital also said that it had launched an investigation into the circumstances around her attendance at the emergency department
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/28/briton-dies-rabies-dog-bite

Summary:
This article is about a 50 year old woman who was bitten by a dog abroad during her journey. When she was back in England she got sick and went to the hospital were she was turned away twice by doctors in Kent. After that she was diagnosed with Rabies and sent for treatment in London. The woman has died last weekend of Rabies. ( Rabies is a disease what you can get when you get bitten by a dog or another animal, the virus is in the saliva of the animal). At the moment the hospital has said to investigate the circumstanced around her death and attendance at the emergency department.(114)

Review:
It surprises me that the woman who has been to the emergency department has been sent away twice! If they had acted at that moment she may have been alive. These mistakes are made too often and I believe that investigating this matter is very important to improve the actions of the hospitals. They should have diagnosed her way early so she could have survived the Rabies. I hope that the family will press charges against the hospital so they learn their lesson and treat people who come to the emergency department twice and are still not being treated! ( 111)  

Blog 1 week 6

Teachers' unions threaten joint strike action in autumn

NUT and NASUWT announce 'unprecedented' joint protest over government's education policies

Teachers' unions have threatened strikes in the autumn against 'attacks' on jobs, pensions, workload and pay. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Schools in England and Wales face the threat of strike action in the autumn after the two largest teaching unions – representing 600,000 teachers – announced an "unprecedented" joint protest over the government's education policies.
The NUT and NASUWT, who between them represent nine out of 10 teachers in England and Wales, have called on the education secretary, Michael Gove, to hold joint talks with their general secretaries or face walkouts by more than 600,000 education professionals after the summer.
Alluding to historic tensions between the unions, the NUT's general secretary, Christine Blower, said the government had succeeded in bringing together the UK's two largest teaching organisations in a "historic" agreement. "Michael Gove has managed to get us to a point where we are making a joint declaration," she said.

She added: "We would say this is quite unprecedented and historic. This is the first time that we have actually put anything out which categorically bears the emblem 'joint declaration of intent'. This is qualitatively different from what these unions have done before."
However, the NASUWT's general secretary, Chris Keates, said a merger between the unions was not imminent. "At the moment the focus has to be on the savage attacks by the government. Our priority at this time is protecting teachers in the profession."
In a joint statement, the unions criticised "sustained attacks on working conditions, pensions, pay, conditions of service and the threat to jobs".
Both unions took part in the 30 November public sector strikes over pensions reforms.
The unions said if the government failed to reach "sensible agreements which protect teachers and defend education" then they would move to jointly co-ordinated strikes in the autumn. The campaign would include joint work on political lobbying, public campaigns and research.
Both general secretaries accused the government of undermining teachers through pension reforms, a two-year pay freeze and its flagship free schools policy.
"In the commercial world if you are the chief executive of a company you don't improve things by constantly talking down the people you employ," said Blower, whose union will seek a fresh ballot to widen the terms of its industrial mandate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/may/28/teachers-unions-threaten-strike-action

Summary:
This article fits well into the course we are following at the moment. It is about teachers who strike against government policies. It is specifically about the pensions, jobs , workload and pay that concern teachers. The NUT and NASUWT represent a great deal of the teachers all throughout England. The reason they joined together to strike against the government attacks on the different aspects of being a teacher is: the government threatens to consider sustained attacks on working conditions, pensions, pay, conditions of service. All these reforms make it less attractive to become a teacher and demotivates the people who are already a teacher.  (116)

Review:
The fact that the government wants to apply these reforms is shocking to me. In my opinion Education is one of the most important aspects of society. It raises the quality of the economy by educating kids to become successful. If you want to attack this job you are doing something wrong. Of course I understand that reforms are needed in time of crisis, but to endanger all these teachers is a bridge to far. It is important to stimulate the quality of education and not endanger or decrease the quality of it. I think it is very good that teachers have gathered all around England to step up against these government reforms. (114)

Blog 2 week 5

More than 240 jobs saved as Mathiesons bakers are bought up by rival

May 28 2012

MORE than 240 jobs have been saved after a food firm that went into administration was sold to one of their rivals.
Bakery business Mathiesons, who have 28 shops, called in the administrators three days ago.
Today, it was announced that part of the firm, which dates back to 1872, has been sold to Prestige Bakeries Limited.
Mathiesons' headquarters and productions centre in Larbert is included in the deal, along with eight stores - one of which is at the headquarters site.
While the sale safeguards more than 240 jobs there will be 84 redundancies as the administrator said there was no option but to close the 20 stores that remain unsold.
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said: "The early sale of the business is a positive outcome from what has been a difficult period for the company and its staff.
"The business was in a severe degree of distress but the deal represents the best outcome for the company's creditors.
"We wish Prestige Bakeries Limited and the retained staff every success for the future."
As well as its stores, Mathiesons sold their products to a number of major supermarket chains.
The brand dates back to 1872, although the company had been formed after Mathiesons Bakeries Limited went into administration in 2010.
The eight stores that will remain trading are the one at the company's Larbert headquarters, together with the shops in Camelon, Cow Wynd in Falkirk, Denny, Elgin, La Porte Precinct in Grangemouth, Gretna and The Gyle in Edinburgh.
The stores that are closing include four in Edinburgh - those in Ferry Road, Montagu Terrace, Oxgangs Broadway and Boswall Parkway.
Also affected are shops in South Street and Dean Road in Bo'ness, Stenhousemuir, Bathgate, Stirling, Kirkintilloch, Callendar Square in Falkirk, Dunblane, Armadale, Charlotte Dundas Court in Grangemouth, Kilsyth, Liberton, Mayfield, Lennoxtown, Colvilles Park in East Kilbride and Kilmacolm.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/05/28/more-than-240-jobs-saved-as-mathiesons-bakers-are-bought-up-by-rival-86908-23877221/

Summary:
This article is about the Bakery Business Mathiesons. 240 jobs have been saved because the firm has been sold to Prestige Bakeries Limited. If they would not have bought Bakery Business Mathiesons many people would have been unemployed nowadays. The shops were all around Ireland and Mathiesons Business was in severe danger because of the crisis that is affecting all of Europe. The bakery business is all together not a very succeeding business but luckily it has been saved and Prestige Bakeries Limited will try to make it successful again. ( 99)

Review:
In my opinion it is a very good but dangerous decision of Prestige Bakeries Limited to try and save Bakery Business Mathiesons. What if they cannot be saved anymore? Then Prestige Bakeries would suffer from their losses. Luckily their administration is up to date and they can calculate what to produce when they want to be succesful. I think it is a good deal to save the jobs, otherwise there would have been more unemployed people and that means more people on the streets. To keep the society running you need to stimulate the economy by providing jobs. That is why I believe this is a good choice of Prestive Bakery Limited. (113)

Blog 1 week 5

Psychiatrist who championed 'gay cure' admits he was wrong

Dr Robert Spitzer apologises for 'fatally flawed' study, published in 2001, which claimed gay people could be 'cured' if properly motivated

• Paul Harris in New York
• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 May 2012 17.13 BST

US gay and lesbian groups are likely to be delighted by Robert Spitzer's apology. Photograph: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

One of the most influential figures in modern psychiatry has apologised to America's gays for a scientific study which supported attempts to "cure" people of their homosexuality.

The survey, published in 2001, looked at "reparative therapy" and was hailed by religious and social conservatives in America as proof that gay people could successfully become straight if they were motivated to do so.

But Dr Robert Spitzer has now apologised in the same academic journal that published his original study, calling it "fatally flawed". "I believe I owe the gay community an apology," his letter said. "I also apologise to any gay person who wasted time and energy undergoing some form of reparative therapy because they believed that I had proven that reparative therapy works."

Spitzer's letter, which was leaked online before its publication in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, is sure to cause delight among gay civil rights groups and stir up anger among social conservatives, who have used the study to combat the acceptance of homosexuality as a normal part of human society.

Reparative therapy is popular among Christian conservative groups, which run clinics and therapy sessions at which people try to become heterosexual through counselling. Gay rights activists condemn such practices as motivated by religious faith, not science, and call them "pray away the gay" groups.

Spitzer's study looked at the experiences of 200 people undertaking the therapy, including subjects that had been provided by religious groups. He then asked each person the same set of questions, analysing their responses to the therapy and their feelings and sexual urges afterwards. He concluded that many of them reported feelings of changes in their sexual desires from homosexual to heterosexual.

Summary :
As the title explains Dr. Robert Spitzer had investigated and found a way to ‘cure’ gay people. Years later he’s willing to admit his studies were wrong and that gayness can’t be cured. He also apologizes to gay people who have actually done the therapy and wasted their time trying to ‘cure’.  His investigation included 200 people undertaking the therapy and asked each person the same set of questions. After that he analyzed their responses and most people often felt their preference of gender change from homosexual to heterosexual. As I said before he admitted that this investigation was no good proof that gay people could be cured in some way.  (111)

Review:
The whole investigation and therapy sounds like rubbish to me. Why would you even want to cure gay people? If they even can’t be cured! His point of view is one I cannot find recognition in, luckily. What I find most disturbing is that people who cooperated with his therapy have been lied to all this time. And after years he admits to be wrong, the people who have done the therapy have wasted their time. It is brave of him to apologize to the gay community but after all they at least deserved an apology from him. ( 98)

Blog 2 week 4

Blog 2 week 4

UK NEWS

HEART ATTACK RISK IN HEALTH TABLETS

The daily tablets are “neither safe nor effective”, experts say

Thursday May 24,2012

By Jo Willey

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/322108/Heart-attack-risk-in-health-tablets

MILLIONS of Britons who take pills to boost bone strength are feared to be doubling their risk of a heart attack.

Top doctors say calcium supplements should only be taken with caution after raising doubts about their safety.

The daily tablets are “neither safe nor effective” and their widespread use should be discouraged, experts say.

Worrying research has shown that people who regularly take the tablets are 86 per cent more likely to have a potentially fatal heart attack than those taking no dietary supplements.

And people who take only calcium tablets are even more at risk.

They are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as those who took no supplements at all.

The researchers also warned that trying to compensate for deficiencies by boosting calcium intake through diet is pointless as it makes no difference to staving off heart disease and stroke.

This research indicates that there may be an increased risk of having a heart attack for people who take calcium supplements

Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation

The researchers led by Professor Sabine Rohrmann from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, conclude: “This study suggests that increasing calcium intake from diet might not confer significant cardiovascular benefits, while calcium supplements, which might raise heart attack risk, should be taken with caution.”

In an accompanying editorial, Professors Ian Reid and Mark Bolland from the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said the safety of calcium supplements “is now coming under increasing scrutiny”. They wrote: “Calcium supplements have been widely embraced by doctors and the public on the grounds that they are a natural and therefore safe way of preventing osteoporotic fractures.

“It is now becoming clear that taking this micronutrient in one or two daily doses is not natural, in that it does not reproduce the same metabolic effects as calcium in food.”

Summary:
This article has a medical twist to it. It says that people in England who take calcium pills to strengthen their bones have an increased chance of having heart attacks. The pills people take are not effective and even dangerous. This micronutrient has not the same effect as calcium in real food has. When taking these pills, people should be warned of the consequences affecting their health. Calcium may same innocent ( said in this article) but it is not good for your heart. ( 91)

Review:
Why these pills are provided in England is a mystery to me. When making such pills I am reassured that they are tested and are safe for you to take them. Obviously this may not be expected of these pills. The medical industry must take his responsibility of providing these pills and donate a sum of money to the victims. Because that is what you are when you are lied to and it is even affecting your health! I hope this does not happen in Holland but I am sure the medical lab’s all around the world can improve their way of producing medicines and maybe test them one more extra time. We are not talking about toys here, it is about people, so I think we should treat them with care and good medicines if needed!  ( 137)