Behind the Headlines

Your guide to the science that makes the news

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Reports of 'HIV cure' are premature

Monday Mar 4 2013

Global news coverage has been dominated by the potentially groundbreaking news that a child born with HIV appears to have been ‘cured’ of the infection. The Guardian reports that US doctors have made medical history…

Video games tested as treatment for dyslexia

Friday Mar 1 2013

Video games boost dyslexic kids reading skills

"Video games help reading in children with dyslexia," BBC News reports. The news is based on a study that found video games could be a new treatment for dyslexia in children...

Low birthweight babies catch up by puberty

Monday Feb 25 2013

Babies who gain weight slowly will catch up with their peers by the age of 13, according to the BBC News website. The reassuring report comes with advice from researchers for parents not to over-compensate…

New NICE guidelines for NHS fertility treatment

Wednesday Feb 20 2013

NHS-funded IVF to be offered to over 40s

New standards set out for treating fertility problems dominate the health news. The coverage is based on updated infertility guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)…

Could being kept in the dark cure lazy eye?

Friday Feb 15 2013

Being kept in the dark could cure lazy eye

‘Keeping children with a lazy eye in the dark for ten days could help them see better', reports the Daily Mail, somewhat irresponsibly, following research actually involving kittens. The Mail reports on a study looking at…

Smoking bans may help cut premature births

Friday Feb 15 2013

"Smoking ban 'cuts premature births'," BBC News has reported. Despite the BBC News headline, this research only showed an association between the smoking ban and a reduction in premature births. It didn’t show direct cause and effect…

Study finds middle class kids more likely to be fat

Wednesday Feb 13 2013

'Children from middle-class families are generally fatter than their poorer counterparts' The Independent says as they report on a UK study that argues that the perceived wisdom of there being a direct link between poverty and obesity may be incorrect…

Caesarean birth link to asthma lacks proof

Tuesday Feb 12 2013

‘Babies delivered by caesarean section at higher risk of asthma and allergies’, the Mail Online reports. This rather bold claim is based on a tiny, genetic study...

Sperm count link to exercise still uncertain

Tuesday Feb 5 2013

Do couch potatoes risk a lower sperm count?

Lazy men who spend hours watching TV could be halving their sperm count, according to a number of newspapers. While the reports are based on proper medical...

Sharp decline in UK child epilepsy rates

Monday Feb 4 2013

'The number of children being diagnosed with epilepsy has dropped dramatically in the UK over the past decade' BBC News reveals. Less children being wrongly misdiagnosed, and the meningitis vaccine are thought to be partly responsible…