Leukaemia increase sets puzzle
Article Abstract:
A significant increase in the incidence of leukemia in children is seen in Aldermaston and Burghfield, England, towns that contain nuclear-weapon production facilities. Forty-one children living in this area were reported to have leukemia, compared to an average incidence of 28.6 children in the United Kingdom in general. The increased incidence was seen in children under four years of age. An increased incidence in childhood leukemia had previously been seen in two other towns, Sellafield and Dounreay, which contain nuclear reprocessing plants. This childhood leukemia was not due to radioactive emissions from the plants, as the monitored emissions were too low. It was concluded that a combination of factors was probably involved. The head of the epidemiology unit at the University of Edinburgh said that the results were consistent with the presence of an infectious agent in a community where the people were not resistant to the agent. Since an infectious agent has never been shown to cause leukemia, this statement and the increased incidence of childhood leukemia in these communities are puzzling.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
UK physicians demand action
Article Abstract:
A report issued by the British Royal College of Physicians (RCP) recommends that genetic screening techniques and prenatal diagnosis should be available to British couples nationwide. Two genetic diseases which can be diagnosed prenatally are Down's syndrome, a condition characterized by various degrees of mental retardation, and spina bifida, a defect of the neural tube of the central nervous system in which part of the spinal cord may be exposed. The availability of the screening is expected to prevent the birth of over 2,000 severely handicapped babies annually. A cost-benefit analysis showed that it would be less expensive to fund nationwide screening than to treat the affected children. As part of the program, general practitioners and hospital consultants would be informed about what tests are available and community genetic services would be set up in each region. In addition, a code of practice would be set in place to handle the ethical issues involved in diagnosing a fetus with a genetic disease to allow individuals to make the best possible choice for them.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Dispute over monitoring
Article Abstract:
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) of the British government has been responsible for monitoring the safety of genetically engineered organisms released into the environment. However, the HSE was designed to have control over safety of the research but not over the release of products into the environment. The government proposed that a new body be responsible for environmental safety, but the HSE wants the formation of a new committee which would advise the HSE and the Secretary of State for the Environment. The Department of Trade and Industry will begin a three-year research program that will investigate new methods for detecting low numbers of genetically engineered organisms and the effects of the products released into the environment. The British government will therefore be examining more closely the release and safety of genetically engineered organisms into the environment.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1989
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Gaia and natural selection. Carbon fixation. Feedback on Gaia
- Abstracts: Ageing and the mystery at Arles. The future of ageing. Oxidants, oxidative stress and the biology of ageing
- Abstracts: Creation in silicon. Lighter than air. Formally speaking
- Abstracts: New horizons in inner space. A jump that would prove Newton wrong. The positron probe: beams of antimatter are providing some of the most detailed images yet of defects in semiconductors
- Abstracts: A random female settlement model can explain polygyny in the corn bunting. Polygyny in the dusky warbler, Phylloscopus fuscatus: the importance of female qualities