What the scientists are saying…
Monitoring prostate cancer
Thousands of men with prostate cancer may be enduring chemotherapy unnecessarily, a new study suggests. Every year, some 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK; in more than half of these cases, the cancer is still in its early stages, and has not metastasised. Although these early-stage patients are not at risk in the short term, the majority still have surgery or radiotherapy. But when a team at the University of Oxford compared the outcomes for three groups of patients who had either had surgery or radiotherapy, or merely had the progress of their disease closely monitored, they found that in all three groups, the survival rate after ten years was the same: 99%. Among the men who were only monitored, the cancer was more likely to have spread – and half of them had gone on to have invasive treatments during the ten-year follow-up. However, a second study found that they were much less likely to have experienced the side effects of these treatments – which include incontinence and sexual problems – than the men who had been treated at the study’s start.
Should infants eat peanut butter?
Researchers at Imperial College London appear to have confirmed something many parents and nutritionists have long suspected – that delaying babies’ exposure to common allergens, such as nuts and eggs, may make them more likely to develop food allergies. The scientists reviewed nearly 150 studies, which included data on more than 200,000 children, and found that the children who ate peanut-based foods aged between four and 11 months were 70% less likely to develop an allergy than those exposed to them later on. Similarly, those introduced to eggs at between four and six months had a 40% reduced risk. However, the authors cautioned that parents shouldn’t interpret the findings as a green light to feed peanut butter and eggs to young children, since the study only looked at how exposure affects the development of allergies – and not at how many babies suffered reactions when given these foods. The Food Standards Agency, which commissioned the report, said the Government would consider the findings in its review of advice to parents.
Why sad stories ease pain
It’s long been observed that people feel better for watching weepies – and now, scientists have found out why: it seems that like dancing and exercise, sad stories boost our endorphin levels. The team at the University of Oxford recruited 169 volunteers to watch the TV adaptation of Stuart: A Life Backwards – Alexander Masters’s searing biography of a young, homeless alcoholic. Meanwhile, a control group watched a series of documentaries about geology and natural history. Before and after the screenings, the participants took a test to measure their pain tolerance. Known as the Roman Chair, this involved squatting against a wall until the feelings of discomfort become unbearable. They found that those who’d watched the tear-provoking TV film were able to maintain the posture, on average, for 18% longer than those who’d sat through the documentaries – suggesting that the distressing story had resulted in a rush of pain-blocking endorphins. They were also more likely to feel bonded with their fellow viewers, almost certainly because of the same upsurge, the researchers said.
Big heads indicate better brains
If you want to predict how clever your baby will be, you could start by measuring his or her head. Scientists looking at data on 100,000 people taking part in the UK Biobank – a long-term investigation into the links between genetics, health and life outcomes – say they’ve found “significant associations” between cognitive test results and “polygenic profile scores” including brain volume and “infant head circumference”. Reporting their study in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, the researchers, from the University of Edinburgh, said they had also found 17 “significant” gene variants linked to verbal-numerical reasoning, some of which might even be used to predict how likely a child would be to go on to secure a place at university. The average newborn head size is 36cm for boys, and 35cm for girls.