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This is my take on the medical and health issues of the day, especially those involving research and ethics
00:08 UK time, Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Daniel Hopkins was told six weeks ago that he has advanced lung cancer.
The 85-year-old from Leeds knows his time left is limited, but he has also had to cope with terrible pain from the cancer, which had spread to his spine.
18:09 UK time, Wednesday, 16 May 2012
You know the feeling when you watch something and your jaw drops? That happened when I saw the footage of Cathy Hutchinson use a robotic arm to lift a flask of coffee to her mouth.
It was the first time since her stroke nearly 15 years previously that she had served herself a drink. She is one of two patients who took part in a trial of a neural interface system. A sensor containing a grid of 96 tiny electrodes is fixed to the brain and this picks up neural activity from the motor cortex and sends it to a computer which converts it to commands.
01:24 UK time, Wednesday, 16 May 2012
It may not look very exciting, but the photograph above has an important place in history. Known as Photo 51, it's an X-ray diffraction image of DNA and has at least a claim to be the most important image ever taken.
It's one of about a million artefacts being put online by the Wellcome Trust as part of an ambitious project to tell the story of genetics, from Mendel to the Human Genome Project.
15:24 UK time, Monday, 14 May 2012
A government review into the PIP breast implant scandal has found that serious lessons must be learned.
The review was led by Health Minister Lord Howe and examined the role of the Department of Health and the UK regulator the MHRA.
22:05 UK time, Tuesday, 1 May 2012
This was not like any display of anatomy I'd ever witnessed. Nearly 90 exquisite pen and ink drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.
They are about to go on display at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
18:20 UK time, Wednesday, 18 April 2012
British scientists have restored the sight of blind mice by transplanting light-sensitive photoreceptor cells into their eyes.
The work is a step towards a new treatment for patients with degenerative eye diseases.
14:53 UK time, Monday, 2 April 2012
The author of controversial research on the H5N1 bird flu virus is delighted his work looks finally set to be published.
Prof Ron Fouchier, from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, said it was the only way to advance scientific knowledge and public health.
13:29 UK time, Wednesday, 28 March 2012
In all the furore about the banned PIP breast implants, one question remains unanswered: are they safe?
The Commons Health Select Committee talks of a striking "absence of evidence" over safety issues.
17:56 UK time, Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Should I be taking aspirin every day? It's a question that I hear frequently and I guess will hear even more often after the latest research from scientists at the University of Oxford.
In a series of papers in the Lancet, the team, led by Professor Peter Rothwell found that a daily low dose of the cheap drug cut the risk of a range of cancers, and could even treat the disease.
13:49 UK time, Wednesday, 14 March 2012
News that all ferry companies and all but two airlines have stopped importing animals destined for research laboratories has led to warnings that it could setback the search for new medicines. But how important are animals in medical research and what are they used for?
There were 3.7 million "scientific procedures" on animals in 2010 according to figures from the Home Office. This total includes the breeding of genetically modified animals which nearly half that total. Excluding breeding, the number of procedures was 2.1 million.
19:21 UK time, Monday, 12 March 2012
The case of Tony Nicklinson represents a fundamental challenge to the current law on murder and euthanasia.
At present any doctor who deliberately gave a lethal dose - even if the intention was to relieve suffering - would face a murder charge.
03:56 UK time, Thursday, 8 March 2012
Taking a sample from one part of a tumour may not reveal its full genetic identity, according to research by scientists from Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
They carried out the first genome-wide analysis of the genetic variation between different regions of the same tumour using samples of kidney cancer.
17:52 UK time, Tuesday, 28 February 2012
A huge amount of media attention in recent months has focussed on PIP breast implants, but far less on another potentially faulty device - hip replacements.
Around 70,000 people a year get a new hip and they are among the most successful operations in modern medicine.
14:46 UK time, Monday, 27 February 2012
India has been officially removed from the list of polio endemic countries. The announcement was made in Delhi at a polio summit. It was a decision that was widely trailed in my coverage of polio from India last week and confirms the remarkable achievement the country has had in tackling the disease.
The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh said "It is a matter of satisfaction that we have completed one year without any single new case of polio being reported from anywhere in the country. This gives us hope that we can finally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the entire mother earth. The success of our efforts shows that teamwork pays".
01:32 UK time, Monday, 20 February 2012
You might well ask what a retired dentist from Berkshire, a businessman from Derbyshire who makes shovels, and a nurse practioner from Lancashire are all doing in the backstreets of Delhi.
Two causes unite them: Rotary and polio.
01:29 UK time, Monday, 20 February 2012
Fergus added analysis to:
The world is now at a crossroads - it can build on the success of immunisation in India which has been polio-free for a year.
If it does not, the risk is the virus will re-establish itself here and in other countries.
14:45 UK time, Tuesday, 7 February 2012
About 1,000 private patients with PIP breast implants have contacted the NHS in England.
The figure was given by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, in evidence to the Commons Health Select Committee.
17:35 UK time, Tuesday, 31 January 2012
A group which advises the US government on biosecurity has explained why it wants two research papers on H5N1 bird flu to be censored.
Two scientific research teams have modified influenza strains to create mutant avian influenza viruses that can be transmitted efficiently between mammals. In one case, the virus remained highly pathogenic.
16:55 UK time, Monday, 30 January 2012
Politicians, health experts and drug companies have agreed a plan to combat 10 neglected tropical diseases over the next decade.
They aim to eliminate diseases such as leprosy and Guinea worm and drastically reduce cases of others, including river blindness and schistosomiasis.
17:49 UK time, Thursday, 26 January 2012
There are 40,000 individual stories from the women in Britain with PIP implants.
Debbie Lewis is one of them and she agreed to let us film her replacement surgery.
Fergus began working for the BBC in 1984 and has reported on health, science and medicine for nearly 20 years. Follow Fergus on Twitter.
He has reported for the BBC from around the world on topics such as stem cells, obesity, HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, polio and swine flu.
Fergus has had his genes sequenced, his heart, brain and other body parts scanned, as well as being vaccinated against bird flu for his reports.
He appeared in a BBC TV drama with Julie Walters. He didn't win any awards for his acting, but has won several for his journalism.
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