Beyond the Screen: Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy in the Age of Social Media

Author: Rebecca Light // Editor: Erin Pallott In an age where information about any subject is available at the click of a button, we have all been exposed to ‘#antivax’ information on social media, whether that be someone on a community Facebook page showing genuine concern over the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine they …

The Game-Changing Effects of Radiotherapy on Breast Cancer: Beyond Killing Cancer Cells

Author: Yamini Meshram // Editor: Erin Pallott Imagine you are giving your home a fresh coat of paint, but instead of just changing the colour, you end up remodelling the whole structure and even influencing the neighbourhood’s vibe. That's a bit like what radiotherapy does in the world of breast cancer treatment. Sure, it's known …

Unlocking the Power of Multidisciplinary Collaboration:

Insights from a Summer School in Digital Health and Preventive Healthcare Author: Bibhusha Karki // Editor: Karabo Sibasa In early August, some PhD students and post-doctoral staff from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) were competitively selected for an opportunity to attend a summer school in Bertinoro, Italy. Organised by The Mobilise-D consortium …

Lung Health and Singing – What’s The Link?

Author: Katie Lowles // Editor: Erin Pallott PhD researchers from the University of Manchester (Katie Lowles, Hannah Tompkins and Will Zammit) are teaming up with Manchester’s SHE choir, an inclusive choir for women and non-binary adults, to deliver a talk and singing session at Bluedot festival this summer. This blog was written for members of …

Delirium — a snapshot of this serious cognitive condition

Author - Schenelle Dlima // Editor - Erin Pallott “My voice did not obey me. I tried to answer, but could only indicate yes or no.” “I had fantasies and was horrified: the nurses were dangerous. I was attending my own funeral.” “I have been from Heaven to Hell.” No, these are not lines from …

Rare Disease Day

By Rob Harkness The 28th of February is Rare Disease Day, where patients, clinicians, scientists and charities come together to raise awareness of the impact of rare disease conditions on individuals, families and health care services. A rare disease is defined as one which affects fewer than 1 in 2000 people. Many of the ~6000 …

An ex-military psychologist’s battle against hearing loss

(Photography competition at the end!) By Nadine Mirza with Dr. Dalia Tsimpida Be it air, land, or sea, the military has the highest noise levels of any career out there. Between your rifles, grenades and various other weapons found on a military base, exposure to sound pressure levels of between 103-156 decibels is not unfound. …

10 Incredible Scientific Breakthroughs and Discoveries of 2020 (that aren’t the vaccine!)

By Leoma Williams Two-year-long Ebola outbreak ends at last Whilst the world has been focused on one viral disease, another has been steadily brought under control. This July the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history, one that began in August 2018 and claimed 2299 lives, was finally over. Taking …

Development of the placenta and influence on long-term health

By Atalie Scrivener When we think of the placenta (afterbirth), it is easy to imagine a simple connection. A one-way transport system of nutrients from mother to baby. Our focus is often drawn to the developing baby, but lately there has been growing interest in the placenta and the cells that orchestrate its function. After all, …

Risk associated with medications following discharge from hospital – a new systemic review

Dr Krumholz (2013) described post-hospital syndrome as "an acquired, transient condition of generalised risk" affecting some patients who are discharged from hospital1. Hospitalised patients may not only be suffering from an acute illness, but they may also be under emotional stress due to new information, new circumstances and worrying about their health and social status. Thus, …