Latest news with #Biology
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Give trans staff extra breaks to adjust underwear, NHS trust suggested
An NHS hospital trust drew up plans to give trans staff extra breaks if they wore chest binders or had to tuck their genitals away. In draft guidance seen by The Telegraph, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust (UH Sussex) said trans colleagues 'may require extra scheduled breaks in their shift in order to have breaks from binding and tucking'. However, the trust said the new proposals, which also said women-only spaces should include trans women, had been put on hold in February and would not be pursued following the Supreme Court ruling last month. Judges ruled that the Equality Act referred to biological women and biological sex, rather than those choosing to identify as a woman. But critics said the draft guidance raised concerns about the time spent by NHS staff on working up and consulting on these types of policies. The NHS has no specific advice for trans people who wear chest binders or tuck their genitals, but the actions are considered controversial by some because of the harm they can cause. Chest binding is when a woman wears an item of clothing to compress their breasts to look more like a man, while the 'tuck' involves pushing the testes and penis back between the legs to appear more female. Both can cause infections, inflammation and other health problems, doctors have warned, which in some cases can be irreversible or lead to infertility in biological males. The proposed guidance said: It is understood that employees in the UH Sussex LGBTQ+ staff network had written the 15-page document last year and sent it to other groups for consultation. One former employee at the trust said: 'If we're going to make allowances for people who have to use the toilets to change and do this, that and the other, should we not be making allowances for women with heavy periods, or people who have to pray three times a day? Why are we making allowances for one group of staff over everyone else?' Dr Alice Hodkinson, a co-founder of Biology in Medicine, a doctors' campaign group, said people binding or tucking were 'risking medical and psychological harm'. She said tucking male genitals 'between the buttocks can cause pain, inflammation, fertility problems and testicular torsion', while 'binding can cause chest and spine deformities, cysts, infections and difficulties breathing'. Dr Hodkinson added that testicular torsion 'is a surgical emergency requiring an immediate operation to preserve fertility and sexual function', saying: 'The UK National FGM Centre considers breast flattening to be a form of child abuse.' Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at Sex Matters, a human rights charity, said the proposals for 'employees who are self-harming in pursuit of the impossible goal of sex change should never have made it onto paper, even as a draft'. She added: 'Tucking genitals and binding breasts are culturally motivated actions that cause permanent physical damage, just like breast ironing and the use of neck coils. The only difference is that self-harm in the name of trans identity is high status and fashionable. 'This blatant attempt to normalise such a harmful practice is particularly disgraceful coming from a healthcare body. It is a relief to know that NHS Sussex won't be taking it forward.' The draft guidance also told staff they should try and understand the impact of cross-sex hormones on any trans colleagues and their mood. 'It is also helpful to gain an understanding of if there are certain times that are better or worse for their mood and wellbeing e.g. when someone is prescribed testosterone, energy levels and mood can be lower towards the end of a medication cycle, and can vary greatly on the type of preparation,' it said. 'Feminising hormones can require a lot more consultation to achieve an appropriate dosage, and may similarly impact mood and energy levels.' UH Sussex said it had never had a policy on this and that this draft had been put on hold in February, after being reviewed by senior leaders and had now been dropped altogether. A spokesman for the trust said: 'This draft paper is not trust policy or guidance, it never has been, and never will be. 'A colleague submitted it to a manager in February, for consideration, but it was not accepted.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Dinosaurs could hold key to cancer discoveries, scientists say
Dinosaur fossils could hold the key to new cancer discoveries and influence future treatments for humans, scientists have said. In a new study published in the journal Biology, which was almost a decade in the making, researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Imperial College London identified preserved red blood cell-like structures in a dinosaur fossil. The findings raised the possibility that prehistoric creatures could be used to study ancient tumours, helping to fill in the 'jigsaw' of cancer's molecular building blocks, and potentially influencing future treatments for humans. The idea for the study began when Professor Justin Stebbing, an oncologist at ARU, was reading the news in 2016 and came across an article about the discovery of a new fossil in Romania with a tumour in its jaw. The remains were those of a Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, a duck-billed, plant eating 'marsh lizard', a specimen that had lived between 66-70 million years ago in the Hateg Basin in present-day Romania. 'Justin said, guys, I want to go and get this tumour and see what we can get out of it,' Dr Biancastella Cereser, a cancer specialist at Imperial, told the PA news agency. 'We wanted to see if this tumour in the dinosaur could give us any information about any parallel with human cancers, because the tumour that this dinosaur had was an ameloblastoma, a benign tumour in the jaw, which humans have as well.' From 2017, a team was put together, including three scientists who traditionally work on human cancers — Professor Stebbing, Dr Cereser, and Professor Pramodh Chandrasinghe from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. 'We contacted the town in Romania which was very excited to loan us the fossil,' Dr Cereser said. 'We went to Romania and collected the specimen. We brought it back, and we basically drilled into it with a very, very, very fine drill. 'Then we mounted it into this very sophisticated microscope and imaged it. What we saw inside – there were some structures, some forms, that looked like blood cells.' This Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) technique enabled the researchers to identify low-density structures resembling erythrocytes, or red blood cells, in the fossilised bone. 'Up until recently, the fossil record and finding ancient things was really interesting for finding hard things like shells or skeletons to assess tissues,' Professor Stebbing said. 'But if we're trying to look at the building blocks of life or the building blocks of cancer, to understand cancer better, what we found was you can actually as well as seeing the skeleton we can actually see soft tissue as well. We could actually see like the flesh of the cancer. This means we can look at cancer not only occurring in human or in animal models, but we can look at it tens and tens of millions of years ago. 'It helps us understand the role of environments on cancer.' He continued: 'Jurassic Park isn't right, because what they said is dinosaur DNA could be recovered and cloned to resurrect dinosaurs, but we can't get DNA out of this because it's broken down by weathering and time. 'But what we have found is we've actually found proteins in soft tissues can survive over time. 'All we're trying to understand is the molecular building blocks of cancer from a very, very ancient perspective,' he said. 'If we can understand cancer better, we can come up with better treatments. I do a lot of research in cancer, so, you know, it all comes together. It's just part of a jigsaw that you are trying to build.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Organizational change in Arnarlax ehf
Agreement has been made with directors for Finance, Jónas Heiðar Birgisson, and Biology, Rolf Ørjan Nordli, to step down from their positions as a part of organizational reorganization. Replacement in the position as CFO is Edvin Aspli, which has over the last months served as Chief Strategic Officer and has previous experience from the aquaculture team in Kverva AS, for 3 years. Edvin goes in as acting CFO, until permanent CFO is in place. That process will start immediately. Replacement for position as COO Biology will be Johnny Indergård, that have over the last 4 years served as Freshwater Manager within the company. We want to thank Jónas and Rolf Ørjan for their contribution in the phase of building up the company and wish them all the best for the future. --- Icelandic --- Skipulagsbreyting hjá Arnarlax ehf Samið hefur verið um starfslok við fjármálastjóra félagsins, Jónas Heiðar Birgisson og framkvæmdastjóra yfir eldi, Rolf Ørjan Nordli sem hluta af skipulagsbreytingum fyrirtækisins. Í stöðu fjármálastjóra kemur Edvin Aspli sem undanfarna mánuði hefur starfað sem framkvæmdastjóri stefnumótunar og hefur hann reynslu úr fiskeldisteymi Kverva AS síðastliðin 3 ár. Edvin tekur við sem starfandi fjármálastjóri þar til varanlegur fjármálastjóri hefur verið fundinn. Það ferli mun hefjast strax. Í stöðu framkvæmdastjóra eldis tekur Johnny Indergård við sem hefur síðastliðin 4 ár starfað sem ferskvatnsstjóri innan fyrirtækisins. Við viljum þakka Jónasi og Rolf Ørjan fyrir þeirra framlag í uppbyggingu fyrirtækisins og óskum þeim alls hins besta í framtíð information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading ActError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
In poor health, CBSE 12 student scores 88.6%
Navi Mumbai: Nerul's 18-year-old Vrriddhi Kabra from Delhi Public School has secured 88.6% in CBSE Class 12 (science) exams, despite facing health underwent a surgery for gallbladder stones removal in 2024. She has also been suffering recurring palpitations, breathing issues, and complications from a subtotal gastrectomy following a SPEN tumour operation in 2020. Her medical condition limited her school attendance, yet her teachers provided vital support in completing the curriculum. Vrriddhi scored 97 in both English and Biology, her favourite subjects. She aspires to pursue a medical career, with pharmacy as an alternative option if not MBBS. She said her performance could have matched her Class 10 score of 96% had her health been better. Beyond academics, Vrriddhi is a Bharatanatyam dancer with 7 years of training. "I am also good at drawing. Due to health reasons, I am not practising dance regularly," she said. — B B Nayak
New Indian Express
23-04-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
A 14 -year-old at the IPL?!?
Last week, a 14-year-old kid debuted at the IPL. Let that sentence sink in for a moment. Vaibhav Suryavanshi – a teen from Samastipur, Bihar – debuted at the most competitive professional cricket tournament in the world. Not only that, he went on to tonk the first ball he faced into the stands for a sixer! For years, Indian parents and teachers have told us that 'first impression is the best impression'. The kid took the phrase literally, and smashed a six before his voice even cracked. While his achievement is incredible in itself, I can't help but wonder – does it put pressure on the regular, happy-go-lucky 14 year olds in India? Let's be honest – Vaibhav's achievement changes the game of cricket – and parenting! A few years ago, sports and academics were considered different streams. You could confidently say 'He is average in studies, but is very good at sports'. Films would often have dialogues like 'If Sachin's parents had put board exam pressure on him, he wouldn't have become Tendulkar'. But with his extraordinary debut, Vaibhav has set the bar too high. For Indian parents, it must no longer be enough to break into the Under-16 team. I can imagine a kid in a cricket helmet and pads – looking like a tiny astronaut – as his father says 'He debuted in IPL at 14. What are you doing?' Which brings me to the real question – what was I doing at 14? I was in Class 9, a scared under-confident boy navigating the simple pleasures and pimple pains of puberty. Our Biology teacher had decided to skip the 'Life Processes 2' chapter in Biology like it was the trailer of a film he didn't want us to watch. As a result, I spent the next few years doing self-research. There was no ChatGPT, so I delved into literature (with the books sold near the local bus stand), cinema (the late-night variety), and group discussions (with classmates and seniors). While Vaibhav Suryavanshi was smashing sixes, I was looking up the definition of 'pollination' in the Oxford High School Dictionary. Which makes Vaibhav's achievement so astonishing. To juggle school, cricket coaching, match pressure, and Pokemon evolutions is not easy. While most cricketers are discussing strategy in the dressing room, he is probably finishing homework. While they discuss swing and seam, he is solving trigonometry problems. He has to face off opposition bowlers, and navigate the tricky waters of dealing with the opposite gender. And god forbid – if his second match isn't as exciting – the same people praising him will gather with shiny pitchforks. Vaibhav Suryavanshi's achievement is commendable, and will inspire thousands of children to pursue sports as a career. If you're a teenager reading this column, know that it is okay even if you didn't debut in the IPL as a teenager. For every Vaibhav Suryavanshi, there is a Praveen Tambe who debuted at 41. If you are a parent with a teenage child, go easy on them. A lot has been written about the kid. But the most remarkable aspect of the match was not Vaibhav's debut, but what happened when he got out. He broke down into tears as he left the pitch. It was a reminder that no matter how great his achievement, he is still a young kid who cries when given out. Amidst all the money and business in the league, it was a reminder that cricket is after all, a sport. Where we all become kids for a few hours, and then wake up to return to our jobs in the morning! (The writer's views are personal)
