People Fixing the World How seaweed is surprisingly useful
People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We release a new edition every week. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.
(Image: A person holding clumps of dulse seaweed in Canada, James MacDonald/Bloomberg)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
‘Game-changing' new Alzheimer's drug could slow progression of disease
An Alzheimer's drug that clears away plaque build-up in the brain could slow progression of the disease and delay the onset of symptoms, early trials have shown. There is currently no cure for the disease, which can severely affect memory and impact people's ability to carry out daily tasks, and the medicines available can only reduce symptoms. But a new drug called Trontinemab is showing promising results, the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto was told. The drug has been tested on a small number of patients, but 49 out of 54 with early-stage Alzheimer's showed signs of improvement within 28 weeks during a trial, according to Roche, the pharmaceutical company behind the drug. Researchers said 91 per cent of the participants showed a reduction in clusters of protein on their brains, known as amyloid plaques – a key marker of Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is thought to be caused by an abnormal build-up of this protein around brain cells, while another protein called tau forms tangles within brain cells. These can interrupt the chemical messengers responsible for sending signals between brain cells, according to the NHS. The new drug was found to reduce amyloid proteins to a level so low that scan results on patients taking it for seven months were considered to be 'amyloid negative'. It is thought that the clearance of plaques slows down the progression of the disease and delays the onset of symptoms. 'Alzheimer's disease represents one of the greatest challenges in healthcare today, and tackling it requires early detection and effective therapeutics,' Dr Levi Garraway, chief medical officer of Roche, said. He added: 'Trontinemab is designed to target a key driver of Alzheimer's disease biology more effectively in the brain. Combining new treatment avenues with advanced diagnostics may enable earlier and potentially more effective intervention.' Professor Sir John Hardy, the chairman of molecular biology of neurological disease at University College London's Institute of Neurology, who was not involved in the trial, told The Telegraph the drug was a 'massive improvement' and works faster than other Alzheimer's drugs on the market. 'There is no doubt this could be game-changing. We hope that if we can use these drugs to people early, we can halt the progression of disease, even before people have symptoms. Now we need to see the size of the clinical effect,' he said. However, the drug does have some side effects, with five participants of 149 (3 per cent) suffering from lesions or swelling in their brains after taking it. But all the participants recovered, and it was considered to be safer than other Alzheimer's drugs that have resulted in 17 per cent of participants experiencing similar side effects. The final part of the trial, which will test the drug on a large number of patients, is yet to be carried out. But if it is successful, health bodies in the UK will need to decide whether it is cost-effective enough to use on the NHS. An estimated 982,000 people are living with some form of dementia, including Alzheimer's, in the UK, with the disease most common in people over the age of 65. But more than a third of people with the condition do not have a diagnosis. The number of those with the disease is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040, according to the Alzheimer's Society.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Tool could help improve your fitness in just 30 minutes
An early trial suggests a small device that stimulates a major nerve connecting the heart and brain could help improve fitness. The device, clipped to the outer ear, sends gentle electrical pulses to increase the activity of the vagus nerve, which regulates heart function. Wearing the stimulator for just 30 minutes a day for a week increased oxygen intake during exercise by 4 per cent in healthy volunteers. The study, led by researchers at University College London and Queen Mary University of London, involved 28 healthy volunteers and was published in the European Heart Journal. While larger trials are needed, researchers hope the device could one day be used to improve fitness, reduce inflammation, and potentially aid people with heart conditions.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
Government study to check pet dog and cat poo for superbugs
The UK government will soon be asking lots of cat and dog owners to collect and send their pet's poo for laboratory testing. Experts worry that some domestic animals might carry hard-to-treat superbugs - bacteria that have become resistant to common antibiotics. These can spread to people through close contact with pets, such as kissing and stroking, as well as handling poo, research many cases the bacteria do no harm, but some can lead to serious issues, including bloodstream infections or world-first study will monitor healthy pets, not just those that are ill. Poo samples Over half of UK adults own pets and live with them in a shared environment, meaning that bacteria, including resistant bacteria, can spread easily between animals and people, says the goverment's Veterinary Medicines studies have shown pets and owners can potentially swap pathogens, including the hospital 'superbug' Royal College will run the study over four years. Prof John Berezowski, who is one of the researchers, said they would work with pet owners and their vets to explore how best to collect all the poo samples."This initiative is critical for a better understanding of the transmission and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance in our pets," he said. The World Health Organization classes antibiotic resistance as one of the greatest public health threats facing humanity. Drug-resistant infections kill more than 1.2 million people a year globally, with the figure projected to rise to 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken, it says. To prevent transmission, experts recommend owners practise good hygiene, including washing their hands after petting their dog or cat and after handling their a pet is unwell, owners might consider isolating them in one room to prevent the spread of bacteria throughout the house, and clean other rooms thoroughly. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) arises when organisms that cause infection evolve ways to survive effective antibiotics, even minor surgery and routine operations, such as caesarean sections when giving birth, could become high-risk procedures if serious infections can't be treated.
