Scientists find hundreds more genetic risk factors for depression

A global study has identified 300 previously unknown genetic risk factors for depression because it included a much wider population sample.According to the World Health Organization, 3.8% of the population has depression at any one time, affecting about 280 million people.While a range of factors including adverse life events, physical ill health and stress can increase the risk of developing depression, it also has a genetic component.An international team of researchers, led by the University of Edinburgh and King’s College London, studied anonymised genetic data from more than 5 million people in 29 countries, with one in four from non-European ancestries

NHS trust admits liability for doctor who sexually abused patients

A hospital trust has admitted liability for the actions of a doctor found to have used invasive and intimate procedures on patients for sexual gratification.Dr Iuliu Stan, who worked for the Royal Cornwall hospitals NHS trust between 2015 and 2020, was found by a tribunal to have subjected a number of patients to “unnecessary” use of rectal medication for men and boys.A misconduct hearing held last year was told Stan inappropriately prescribed and administered rectal medication without obtaining informed consent, offering a chaperone or providing alternative options.The tribunal found that Stan’s behaviour was “sexually motivated in relation to multiple patients”.In statement, the Royal Cornwall hospital said: “We have written to affected individuals to admit liability for the actions of Dr Stan and to offer an unreserved apology to victims

Are ultra-processed foods changing the shape of our jaws?

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have caused concern among experts for their potential impact on human health, but now scientists have warned they might also affect how our bodies develop, in particular our jaws.We take a look at the issue and explore what, if anything, should be done.A number of studies based on skull measurements of individuals from different populations have revealed the shape of the human jawbone is associated with diet.Populations that rely on agriculture have been found to have different shaped, typically smaller, jawbones than hunter-gatherers. This has been found in populations that lived either side of the transition to farming and in those living at a similar point in time but with a different diet

Move body and mind: five exercises to improve mental health, from twists to lunges

Combining ideas from therapy with physical activity can bring huge health benefits, say the therapists pioneering a holistic approachA paradox at the heart of current thinking on health is that we’re all aware, perhaps agonisingly so, that exercise is good for us and can be especially beneficial to mental health. As the number of people presenting to their doctors with mood disorders continues to climb, more GPs are urging us to exercise more. It has even been available on the NHS as treatment for mild mental health issues since 2019. But for many people, doing more exercise remains a hard ask.We all know we should do more exercise and arguments for its benefits hardly need repeating: improved blood pressure, better sleep, strength, mobility, confidence, mood and posture, perhaps even a better reflection when we look in the mirror

Drones flying into jails in England and Wales are national security threat, says prisons watchdog

Drones have become a “threat to national security”, the prisons watchdog has said, after a surge in the amount of weapons and drugs flown into high-security jails.Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, called for urgent action from Whitehall and the police after inquiries found that terrorism suspects and criminal gangs could escape or attack guards because safety had been “seriously compromised”.His demands follow inspections at two category A prisons holding some of England and Wales’s most dangerous inmates. HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire had thriving illicit economies selling drugs, mobile phones and weapons, and basic anti-drone security measures such as protective netting and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair, inspectors found.In a report released on Tuesday, Taylor said the police and prison service had “in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs” despite knowing they were holding “extremely dangerous prisoners”

Charities forced to ‘evict’ adults in their care to stay solvent, survey finds

Charities providing specialist care to thousands of vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and severe autism are having to “evict” residents to avoid insolvency because of tax and wage rises and local authority funding cuts.Non-profit providers say their work is in a “state of acute precarity” with many preparing to cut services, close doors to new residents and effectively evict tenants because the fees councils pay no longer meet the cost of care.The warning comes as concerns grow that the government, which announced a three-year review of social care headed by Lady Casey a fortnight ago, is not moving swiftly enough to avert a worsening crisis in the sector.The annual Sector Pulse Check survey of more than 200 social care providers, both private and charitable, says many are on the brink as they struggle to remain viable in the face of cash-strapped councils’ refusal or inability to meet the rising cost of services.It says charities increasingly have to threaten to walk away from contracts – effectively evicting individuals in residential care – to force councils to pay the full cost of specialist services