Latest news with #medicalteams
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Rescuers work to free an injured cave explorer trapped more than 130 feet underground in Italy
This photo, provided on Monday, July 21, 2025, by the Italian National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, shows rescue operations outside the cave where a 62-year-old speleologist became trapped on Sunday. (National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps via AP) MILAN — A rescue operation was underway Monday to free a cave explorer who was injured by falling rocks some 40 metres (more than 130 feet) below the surface in Italy's Piedmont region while on an outing with a group of friends, according to the country's mountain rescue corps. Medical teams reached the injured man after the accident on Sunday and were treating him inside a heated tent for a head injury that prevents him from exiting the cave on his own. Rescuers used explosive charges to widen the cave at three key junctures so the injured man could be carried to the surface. He remained in good condition. The Abisso Paperino extends 170 metres (about 557 feet) underground, including a fossil gallery, near the town of Ormea in Cuneo province. The Associated Press
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
Cave explorer trapped after being hit by fallen rocks 130 feet underground
An urgent rescue operation is underway in Italy's Piedmont region to free a cave explorer who suffered a head injury after being hit by falling rocks some 40 metres (more than 130 feet) below ground. The incident occurred on Sunday while the explorer was on an outing with friends. Medical teams have reached the injured individual and are providing treatment inside a heated tent. The severity of his head injury means he is unable to exit the cave unassisted, the country's mountain rescue corps confirmed. Rescuers used explosive charges to widen the cave at three key junctures so the injured man could be carried to the surface. He remained in good condition. The Abisso Paperino: The Abisso Paperino extends 170 meters (about 557 feet) underground, including a fossil gallery, near the town of Ormea in Cuneo province.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Associated Press
Rescuers work to free an injured cave explorer trapped more than 130 feet underground in Italy
MILAN (AP) — A rescue operation was underway Monday to free a cave explorer who was injured by falling rocks some 40 meters (more than 130 feet) below the surface in Italy's Piedmont region while on an outing with a group of friends, according to the country's mountain rescue corps. Medical teams reached the injured man after the accident on Sunday and were treating him inside a heated tent for a head injury that prevents him from exiting the cave on his own. Rescuers used explosive charges to widen the cave at three key junctures so the injured man could be carried to the surface. He remained in good condition. The Abisso Paperino extends 170 meters (about 557 feet) underground, including a fossil gallery, near the town of Ormea in Cuneo province.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on mitochondrial donation: IVF innovation leads to a cautious genetic triumph
Eight babies have been born free of a disease that can lead to terrible suffering and early death, thanks to pioneering scientists in the UK employing a form of genetic engineering that is banned in some countries, including the US and France. Ten years ago, when the government and regulators were considering whether to allow mitochondrial transfer technology, critics warned of 'Frankenstein meddling' that would lead to three-parent children. It's hard now to justify such hostility in the face of the painstaking work carried out by the scientific and medical teams at Newcastle, resulting in these healthy babies and ecstatic families. Mitochondria, like tiny battery packs, supply energy to every cell of the body. Their DNA is handed down in the egg from mother to child. In rare instances, there are genetic mutations, which means the baby may develop mitochondrial disease. About one in 5,000 people is affected by it, making it one of the most common inherited disorders. As the cell batteries fail in various organs, the child can experience a range of symptoms, from muscle weakness to epilepsy, encephalopathy, blindness, hearing loss and diabetes. In severe cases, they die young. There is no cure yet, so the aim is prevention. Women who have some damaged and some healthy mitochondria can have IVF and pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) to select embryos that are clear of mutations or only slightly affected. The options for women with 100% mutated mitochondria used to be limited to donated eggs or adoption – until parliament changed the rules to allow the technology in 2015 and the Newcastle Fertility Centre was granted a licence by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to use it in 2017. The process does indeed involve three people. The would-be mother's egg and a donor egg are both fertilised by the man's sperm. The nucleus of the donated egg is removed and replaced by the nucleus of the woman's egg, but its healthy mitochondria remain. This composite egg is inserted into the woman's uterus. The resulting baby's DNA will be 99.9% from the parents and only 0.1% from the donor. Hardly a three-parent child. Yet there are controversies. Some countries will not permit use of the technology because of concerns over human germline genetic modification. The lab-mixed DNA will be passed to future generations, with who knows what consequences. And a question hangs over something called reversal, or reversion. The results of the Newcastle research published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that some of the embryos with healthy donated mitochondria developed mutations somewhere along the line. Mutations formed in 12% of one baby's mitochondria and 16% in another's. That was not enough to affect the babies, who were healthy, but previous work by other scientists has suggested that mutations can increase with time, and nobody yet understands why. The Newcastle scientists and medics have been highly praised for their slow and methodical work. They have brought joy to some families and hope to others. But this is still experimental technology and caution is absolutely valid. And inevitably there are cost issues. People who can afford it will no doubt pay, but the NHS is unlikely to be able to help the rest. Nonetheless, this groundbreaking research must surely be allowed to continue, albeit only in the same careful fashion.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on mitochondrial donation: IVF innovation leads to a cautious genetic triumph
Eight babies have been born free of a disease that can lead to terrible suffering and early death, thanks to pioneering scientists in the UK employing a form of genetic engineering that is banned in some countries, including the US and France. Ten years ago, when the government and regulators were considering whether to allow mitochondrial transfer technology, critics warned of 'Frankenstein meddling' that would lead to three-parent children. It's hard now to justify such hostility in the face of the painstaking work carried out by the scientific and medical teams at Newcastle, resulting in these healthy babies and ecstatic families. Mitochondria, like tiny battery packs, supply energy to every cell of the body. Their DNA is handed down in the egg from mother to child. In rare instances, there are genetic mutations, which means the baby may develop mitochondrial disease. About one in 5,000 people is affected by it, making it one of the most common inherited disorders. As the cell batteries fail in various organs, the child can experience a range of symptoms, from muscle weakness to epilepsy, encephalopathy, blindness, hearing loss and diabetes. In severe cases, they die young. There is no cure yet, so the aim is prevention. Women who have some damaged and some healthy mitochondria can have IVF and pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) to select embryos that are clear of mutations or only slightly affected. The options for women with 100% mutated mitochondria used to be limited to donated eggs or adoption – until parliament changed the rules to allow the technology in 2015 and the Newcastle Fertility Centre was granted a licence by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to use it in 2017. The process does indeed involve three people. The would-be mother's egg and a donor egg are both fertilised by the man's sperm. The nucleus of the donated egg is removed and replaced by the nucleus of the woman's egg, but its healthy mitochondria remain. This composite egg is inserted into the woman's uterus. The resulting baby's DNA will be 99.9% from the parents and only 0.1% from the donor. Hardly a three-parent child. Yet there are controversies. Some countries will not permit use of the technology because of concerns over human germline genetic modification. The lab-mixed DNA will be passed to future generations, with who knows what consequences. And a question hangs over something called reversal, or reversion. The results of the Newcastle research published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that some of the embryos with healthy donated mitochondria developed mutations somewhere along the line. Mutations formed in 12% of one baby's mitochondria and 16% in another's. That was not enough to affect the babies, who were healthy, but previous work by other scientists has suggested that mutations can increase with time, and nobody yet understands why. The Newcastle scientists and medics have been highly praised for their slow and methodical work. They have brought joy to some families and hope to others. But this is still experimental technology and caution is absolutely valid. And inevitably there are cost issues. People who can afford it will no doubt pay, but the NHS is unlikely to be able to help the rest. Nonetheless, this groundbreaking research must surely be allowed to continue, albeit only in the same careful fashion.
