What went right this week: how AI might save your life, plus more

An artificial intelligence tool that scans patients’ medical records for hidden signs of cancer has helped doctors detect significantly more cases of the disease. 

The cancer detection rate in GP surgeries using the C the Signs tool increased from 58.7% to 66%, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Detection rates remained broadly the same in surgeries not using the tool. 

C the Signs, which was developed by doctors, is used in around 1,400 surgeries in England. It analyses patients’ medical records – including test results, prescriptions and treatments – plus other data that might indicate cancer risk, such as postcode, age and family history.

The study monitored cancer detection rates in 35 practices using the tool from May 2021. By March 2022, it found that detection rates had increased by an average of 7.3%. 

The implementation of such tools in surgeries, the study concluded, “holds promise for reducing cancer-related mortality rates and enhancing overall patient outcomes”.

Image: National Cancer Institute

Trees play a vital role in removing methane – a potent greenhouse gas – from the atmosphere, according to a study newly published in the journal Nature.

While trees have long been known to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the study led by the University of Birmingham in England found that microbes hidden in their bark also absorb methane.

Researchers estimate that the process makes trees 10% more beneficial for the climate than previously thought. Methane is responsible for around 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times and emissions are rising faster than at any point since records began in the 1980s.

“These results show a remarkable new way in which trees provide a vital climate service,” said study lead Prof Vincent Gauci. “The global methane pledge [launched in 2021 at the COP26 climate summit] aims to cut methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade. Our results suggest that planting more trees, and reducing deforestation surely must be important parts of any approach towards this goal.” 

Image: Natalie Thornley

In an EU first, a court in Berlin has ruled that the German government’s policies to tackle air pollution are unlawful and must be improved. 

Litigation is emerging as an effective tool for ramping up environmental action, with the UK government recently defeated in the courts over its inadequate climate policies. 

Now the German government must strengthen its air pollution policies after it was defeated in court by the campaign group Environmental Action Germany (DUH) and ClientEarth, a law firm.

The court ruled that the German government’s air pollution plan relied on old data to assert that the country would meet legal targets in time. It’s the first action brought against a government under the EU’s National Emission reduction Commitments Directive (NEC Directive), which obliges member states to cut air pollution. 

“For the first time, the German government will have to remedy its long-term lack of adherence to clean air rules,” said DUH CEO Jürgen Resch. “The court has called out the delay tactics and required the government to put in place concrete measures to put an end to toxic air.”

Image: Paul Pastourmatzis

Expanding London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) has had a “positive impact” on air quality in the city’s outer boroughs, where it has reduced nitrogen oxide (NO2) from car exhausts by 13%.        

That’s according to a City Hall report, which also claims that NO2 pollution is 53% lower in central London than it would have been without the Ulez.  

The Ulez – the first of its kind in the world – was introduced to inner London in 2015 by then-mayor Boris Johnson, and expanded to outer boroughs in 2023 by current mayor Sadiq Khan. It requires owners of older, more polluting cars to pay £12.50 a day to drive in the zone. However, 97% of vehicles are compliant and a scrappage scheme, which pays owners of Ulez-non-compliant cars to get rid of them, is available. 

Despite opposition from some motorists, the Ulez appears to have widespread support: Khan’s vote share increased in May’s mayoral elections, in which the Ulez was a key topic.

Khan said the new research was “better than predicted”. The opposition Conservative party said the policy had brought a “minimal reduction” in pollution. 

Image: Sabrina Mazzeo

An immunosuppressant drug could extend women’s fertility by up to five years and is safe to use for young people, according to early results of a new study.

Rapamycin has become the darling of anti-ageing enthusiasts, having been shown to prolong the life of worms and mice. It’s given to transplant patients to prevent graft rejection, but now scientists believe it could also slow ovary ageing, thus delaying the menopause and extending fertility

It’s early days for the Validating Benefits of Rapamycin for Reproductive Aging Treatment study, run by Columbia University, US. But preliminary results suggest that it could decrease ovary ageing by 20% without women experiencing the drug’s many reported side-effects, including nausea and high blood pressure.

“The results of this study – the first in human history – are very, very exciting,” Prof Yousin Suh, co-lead on the study, told the Guardian newspaper. “It means that those with age-related fertility problems now have hope when before, they didn’t.”

Image: Alicia Petresc/Unsplash

For the first time, the majority of confirmed new HIV cases last year were recorded outside of sub-Saharan Africa.

That’s according to the UN Global Aids Update 2024, which had mixed news this week. While it noted that Aids-related deaths have halved globally since 2010 – with particular progress made in sub-Saharan Africa – cases in other regions are rising. 

“For the first time in the history of the HIV pandemic, more new infections are occurring outside sub-Saharan Africa than [within],” the report said. “This reflects both the prevention achievements in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the lack of comparable progress in the rest of the world.”

Cuts to health services and backsliding on human rights in some countries has made it harder for people, particularly marginalised groups, to access care, said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAids.

“World leaders pledged to end the AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030, and they can uphold their promise, but only if they ensure that the HIV response has the resources it needs and that the human rights of everyone are protected,” added Byanyima. 

Image: Hans Eiskonen

Make do and mend is a mantra many older generations lived by – and it’s back in vogue amid growing concern about the environmental impact of fashion. 

This week, another UK retailer launched a repair service. As of Monday, John Lewis will revive and adjust any brand of clothing, accessories and homeware, as part of a new pilot. 

The scheme was launched in collaboration with the Timpson Group, whose 2,000-plus shops offer key cutting, shoe repairs and dry cleaning nationwide, and often employ ex-offenders.

The trial will launch in five John Lewis branches: Oxford, Liverpool, Cheadle, Milton Keynes and Welwyn. Selfridges, a rival retailer, already operates a repair service and allows customers to rent clothing rather than buying it new. 

Image: Timpson/John Lewis

A tiny bird that looked like it was flying towards extinction has staged a remarkable recovery in Florida, thanks to a mammoth conservation effort. 

Once a common sight in the state, the Florida grasshopper sparrow was reduced to just 11 breeding pairs in 2018 due to the loss of its prairie habitat. The situation was so dire that scientists decided to remove remaining birds from the wild and breed them in captivity. 

This week the breeding programme reached an important milestone, as the 1,000th Florida grasshopper sparrow was released into the wild, where the birds are thought to be stabilising. The releases are not a long-term solution to save the sparrow, but they buy conservationists time to research long-term “landscape-level solutions”. 

“Conserving land is pivotal in saving the Florida grasshopper sparrow from extinction,” said Andrew Walker, CEO of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. “These little birds represent a big beacon of hope that our commitment, partnership and holistic approach can save vulnerable wildlife from the brink of extinction.”

Image: Mary Peterson, USFWS/Wikimedia Commons

Scientists have identified a genetic mutation responsible for a type of hereditary blindness in dogs – a major milestone in eradicating the condition.

Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) causes light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye to deteriorate, leading to blindness. Dogs with PRA have normal sight at birth, but by middle age they will be totally blind. There is no treatment.

However, this week scientists at the University of Cambridge, England, identified the genetic variation responsible for the condition in English shepherds – and developed a £48 test to reveal whether a dog has it. 

“Now we have a DNA test, there’s no reason why another English shepherd dog ever needs to be born with this form of progressive retinal atrophy – it gives breeders a way of totally eliminating the disease,” said lead researcher Katherine Stanbury.

While gene variants that cause PRA are often breed-specific, Stanbury’s team will screen any dog affected by an inherited eye disease. The research, the university added, could help shed light on the human version of the disease.

Image: Sam Vernon

In a win for inclusivity, the toy maker Mattel has launched a blind Barbie to “allow even more children to find a doll that represents them”.

Mattel worked with the American Foundation for the Blind to ensure the new Barbie accurately depict people with blindness or low vision.

The new addition is Mattel’s latest attempt to improve representation having launched a Barbie with Down syndrome in 2023. Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie, said: “We recognise that Barbie is much more than just a doll: she represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging.”  

Image: Mattel  

Despite the rise of Netflix and myriad other digital distractions, book clubs are booming in the UK – a plot twist that nobody, perhaps, saw coming. 

Eventbrite, the platform where anyone can advertise live events, reported a 350% increase in book club listings over the past four years. 

“The rise of book clubs is a testament to our longing for deeper connections,” said Holly Cooke, founder of The Lonely Girls Club, which has branches in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham. 

Read the full Positive News story here. 

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