New drugs can block the ability of cancer cells to evade detection by the immune system
Genre: News bulletin
In this 2.5 minute news clip from June 2014, science correspondent Fergus Walsh explains the potential of immunotherapy as part of the physician’s armoury against cancer. Two drugs Pembrolizumab and Nivolumab which have shown exciting prospects against advanced melanoma are discussed.
Campylobacter infection in chickens remains alarmingly high
Every year 280,000 people in the UK get food poisoning from raw of undercooked chicken, the second highest rate of infection in the EU (behind the Czech republic, if you are wondering). The majority of this illness is due to the bacterium Campylobacter. Given these troubling statistics, Campylobacter is supposed to be a priority issue for the Food Standard Agency (FSA). Despite this, the problem persists with recently reported rates higher than previously.
Following the usual format for Countryfile, the report was originally broadcast as two shorter sections, each of about 6 minutes, combined here into one 12.45 minute file. The challenge to reduce levels of Campylobacter is contrasted with the success reducing Salmonella through a programme of mass vaccination of chickens. For reasons that are not fully explained in the report, this approach in not applicable for dealing with Campylobacter. Methods to try to reduce the amount of infection getting into our homes include both chilling and (in other plants) steam cleaning, plus better packaging.