New breast cancer test predicts if disease could return
Experts suggest this innovation could spare thousands of breast cancer patients from receiving unnecessary treatment.
The test targets oestrogen receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive breast cancer, a type accounting for around 200,000 global cases annually.
Developed by scientists at The Institute for Cancer Research, London, the test identifies the 6 per cent of patients at highest risk of relapse.
The findings aim to facilitate more precise and personalised treatment plans, guiding doctors on which patients need more intensive therapy.
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The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Is a solar eclipse happening in August? Yes, but not next month
Reports of a solar eclipse on 2 August have been spreading across social media, supported by stories in several news outlets. But while excitement has centred on the celestial spectacle taking place next month, hopeful sky gazers will actually have to wait another two years to witness it. The total solar eclipse will see the Moon pass directly in front of the Sun in 2027, casting a shadow across large parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Another total solar eclipse will happen before that, on 12 August 2026, passing over Western Europe. The path of totality for the 2027 eclipse, where the Sun will be completely blocked from view, begins in the North Atlantic before arcing over the Mediterranean and finishing in the Indian Ocean. Luxor in Egypt sits in the middle of the path, which will see the longest totality of six minutes and 23 seconds. The last time a totality lasted this long on land was in 1991 – and the next time will not be until the year 2114. Nasa advises anyone hoping to see the solar eclipse to choose a viewing location based on the weather, rather than how close it is to the path of totality. 'It's much more important to watch the weather forecasts a day or two before the eclipse and choose a location with the best chance of a cloud-free sky during the eclipse,' the US space agency wrote in a blog post. 'Good weather is the key to successful eclipse viewing - better to see a shorter eclipse from clear sky that a longer eclipse under clouds.' Anyone not directly under the path of totality will still be able to see a partial eclipse on 2 August 2027, which will be visible from as far north as Iceland and as far south as Madagascar.
BBC News
42 minutes ago
- BBC News
Go for your check-ups, father with prostate cancer urges men
A father-of-three has advised men not to put off routine check-ups after his own doctor's visit revealed he had stage three prostate maker Neil Maggs, 50, told BBC Radio Bristol presenter Joe Sims he could have died within 18 months had he not had prostate removal surgery in March last year."Just go and get it done – it's better to be alive," said Mr Maggs, from Fishponds in also spoke about the physical repercussions of the operation, which he said were "a massive wake-up call", affecting his mental health and sense of identity. "If your identity is, 'I'm a man, I'm a virile man', then suddenly you're having to wear a nappy at the age of 50 and can't get an erection, it becomes like a midlife crisis," he said. Symptoms of prostate cancer do not usually appear until the prostate is large enough to affect the tube that carries urine, according to the disease tends to affect over-50s, and although there is not a definitive test for it, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test can indicate whether cancer is the cancer is slow-growing, it can be there for decades before it is presenter Dermot Murnaghan, cyclist Chris Hoy and former US President Joe Biden are all living with prostate Maggs said he was convinced into going for a routine check-up for over-40s in January 2024, after telling a nurse he urinated later had to have a biopsy – which he described as "arguably the worst part" of his experience."The needle to numb you, it felt like someone was squeezing my balls, and punching me in the face at the same time," he said. The diagnosis came back within a week. "The moment I knew was when the nurse came out and bowed her head."I was basically near to stage four, on stage three and a half – stage four is basically fatal where you need palliative care and you will die from it," he the time his surgery was scheduled, he had "fallen into a sense of thinking, 'this could be it'"."I was kind of ready for the possibility," he said. "I wanted to be present and be with my family – it's a feeling that's kind of stayed with me." 'Moments that get you' But Mr Maggs, whose children are 13, nine and eight, said nothing could have prepared him for the mental struggle after the prostate removal surgery."For some men who have never faced their demons, it's a massive wake-up call," he said after the operation "there are moments that can get you". "I was less prepared for that," he said. "Your testosterone is less so there is a physical thing that affects your mental health."Mr Maggs said "quite a few of my mates and family have had a check-up" following his diagnosis and surgery. He now has a PSA check every two months and has been told his current levels and prognosis are both good.
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shortest day in history set for TOMORROW as Earth's rotation mysteriously gets even faster
Scientists have announced that tomorrow could be the shortest day of your life, breaking a mark that was just set two weeks ago. That's because Earth's rotation has continued to pick up speed, and is expected to spin even faster than it did on July 9, when everyone on the plant experienced a day that was 1.3 milliseconds shorter than normal. New data has revealed that the Earth appeared to have spun even faster a day later on July 10, making the day 1.36 milliseconds shorter than usual. A millisecond equals one thousandth of a second, which is so impossibly difficult to measure that takes an atomic clock to track the numbers, measuring what's called 'Length of Day,' or LOD. LOD marks the time it takes Earth to rotate once, down to the millisecond. Normally, that process takes exactly 86,400 seconds, or 24 hours, to complete. However, Earth's rotation has been speeding up in recent years. While the cause is still a mystery, new research from NASA has suggested it may be connected to the moon's gravitational pull. The major uptick in speed this summer has led to the possibility that scientists will have to add a negative leap second to the calendar by 2029, meaning one second will be taken away from our clocks to keep them in sync. While the tiny change may seem insignificant, researchers have found that the shorter day can affect everything from satellite systems and GPS accuracy to how we measure time itself. Earth's rotation is affected by a number of different factors, both on the planet and out in space. Some of the potential reasons include changes in the atmosphere, the melting of glaciers worldwide shifting water volume, a change in motion inside the Earth's metal core, and a weakening magnetic field. NASA researchers have also suggested that this year's acceleration is actually a result of Earth hitting the moon's 'orbital sweet spot,' causing the planet to receive a tiny speed boost. Before this recent acceleration in Earth's spin, the planet was actually slowing down, due to the moon's gravitational pull, which has been stretching our days into the 24-hour cycle we now live by in modern times. Geoscientist Stephen Meyers, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found that as the moon moves further away, its changing gravitational impact on Earth would slowly make days incrementally longer. However, scientists recently observed variations in the planet's rotation, causing the planet to speed up in 2020, 2022, and 2024. On July 9 and now again on July 22, the moon will be at its furthest point from Earth's equator, which alters its gravitational pull on our planet's axis. In simpler terms, the moon has been spinning the Earth like a top, holding on to the planet at the midpoint, which is usually closer to the moon than the north or south poles. On July 22, and again on August 5, the moon's gravity will exert more of a pull on the Earth's poles, essentially spinning our planet at its top, which naturally makes it rotate faster. The fastest day recorded so far was just over one year ago on July 5, 2024, when Earth spun 1.66 milliseconds faster than the standard 24 hours. Although scientists have been recording Earth's rotation since the 1970s, they only started noticing record-breaking changes on a regular basis in 2020. That year, July 19 came in 1.47 milliseconds short. On July 9, 2021, there was another 1.47 millisecond drop. In 2022, Earth recorded its shortest day on June 30, shaving off 1.59 milliseconds from the usual 24 hours. In 2023, the planet's rotation slowed again, and no new records were set. In 2024, however, the speed picked up. Several days broke the previous records, making it the year with the most consistently shorter days on record. These estimates are based on past observations and computer models, and include systematic corrections and smoothing to account for natural fluctuations. Right now, the world has kept time using Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC. Sometimes we've added a leap second to stay in sync with Earth's slow shifts. Due to these ongoing spikes in our rotation, however, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) has already announced that no leap second will be added in 2025.
