DES ABEND NEWS

The use of genetically modified (GM) crops is underway in Kenya after a ban was reversed last month, but not everyone is so certain of GM’s role in the country. Credit: Alliance for Science. By: Derry Salter. For the latest four seasons, Kenya has seen no annual rain, with fellow African counties like Ethiopia and Somalia succumbing to the same fate. 1.5 million have fled their homes in the last year to seek for food and water. 4 million people in Kenya remain starving. Earlier last month, Kenya lifted their ban on the use of genetically modified crops after seeing the worst drought to affect the country in over 40 years. Reversing the ban was the first move to hopefully improve crop yields and the future of food security in the country. GM was first banned in Kenya in 2012, with a scientific report concerning a close relationship between cancer in rats and GM crops providing the basis for the ruling. Scientists celebrated the lift of the ban and many see GM crops as the answ...

* This article deals with topics of suicide which may be triggering to some readers* Last week, Universities UK announced new “information sharing” guidance for universities concerning suicidal students following pressure from petitions. Credit: Getty Images. By: Derry Salter. New guidance from Universities UK (UUK), a group representing 140 universities, provided update to universities last week informing them to contact key family members or friends if they have serious concerns about a student’s mental health. This step even recommends universities contact these people even without the student’s permission in a bid to lower suicide rates. Most universities see students register “trusted contacts” at the beginning of the year, which can be contacted if the student is in danger or it is an emergency, even without the student’s consent.   UUK reiterated that staff “should make every reasonable effort to secure consent”, but also recognised that “there are some circumstances...

  * This article deals with topics of suicide and self-harm which may be triggering to some readers* The tragic death of Molly Russell, 14, in 2017 has proved to be a ‘watershed moment’ after inquest  rules  social media  contributed  to her suicide. Credit: BBC News. By: Derry Salter. Molly Russell took her life in 2017. After her death, her family looked into her Instagram and Pinterest accounts and uncovered distressing material concerning depression and suicide. In the last six months of her life, Molly used her Inst a gram account more than 120 times a day. Her father stated that Instagram “helped kill my daughter. ” In a record move, the coroner investigating Molly’s death called for her social media in f o r mation to be handed over in November 2019. Jess Elliott, family barrister, first told the courts of social media’s involvement in Molly’s death in 2019 stating that the platforms provided a c cess to “a self-supplying world of self-harm and suicide.”...

A vaccine that can help cure and prevent malaria has been developed at the University of Oxford. It has been described by scientists as ‘world changing’. Photo: Forbes. By: Sam Feierabend. The team developing it expect the vaccine to be rolled out next year, after trials found that the jab is up to 80% effective against the disease. Crucially, the vaccine is very cheap to make, ensuring that countries that malaria affects most can afford a constant supply. Malaria has been one of the hardest diseases for humans to understand for hundreds of years, with the parasite spread by mosquitos constantly moving throughout the bloodstream making it incredibly difficult to target for immunisation. Even after advancements in nets and pesticides, malaria continues to ravage the world, there is around 229 million cases per year and 406,000 deaths estimated – 94% of all these from Africa. The trial took place on children and infants in Burkina Faso, one of the countries hardest hit by the disease...

Mississippi’s capital, Jackson, is the latest victim of environmental racism, with over 150,000 residents left without safe drinking water. The government’s continuous failures means that there is little to be done to put an end to this catastrophe. Credit: BBC. By: Derry Salter. There is no drinking water in Jackson, but the residents continue to receive water bills. There is no investment in infrastructure, so the residents are forced to become beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program just to afford to buy clean bottled water. There is no care for the residents, so children are receiving online schooling because the schools can’t ensure safe running water. With numerous residents going at least 18 months without running water, Jackson is a city in crisis. The population of Jackson is more than 80% Black and the city has been drained of resources by the White Republican leaders for many years. Wealthy White people began fleeing Jackson in the late 70s after t...

A third of Pakistan is underwater. Citizens remain homeless, sitting on beds outside worn tents in flooded streets strewn with litter. Pools of dirty flood water have collected and are slowing down any drainage. Credit: Sky News. By: Derry Salter. On Friday 26 August, the National Disaster Management Authority said that more than 900 people have been killed since June – 34 of which were in the 24 hours prior. Just two and a half weeks later, and the death toll has surpassed 1,300. Sadly, one in three victims are said to be children.   The UN’s disaster relief agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has stated that at least 184,000 are in relief camps. On Friday 2 September, another 2,000 people were rescued from the floodwaters. The problem will not simply go away.   People in Southern Pakistan have been hit the hardest as surges of water continuing to flow down the Indus river threatening nearby communities. 1.2 million people in the Sindh provi...

Last week saw a major step forward in ensuring the wellbeing and safety of women requiring access to abortion services. On 30 August, at-home early medical abortions were made permanent for women (and other non-female identifying pregnant people) in England and Wales. Credit: The Guardian. By: Derry Salter. This new legislation will allow women to access pills via a teleconsultation and the pills will be taken from home for gestation of up to nine weeks and six days. The move comes after all independent sector abortion clinics were reapproved to continue providing their services across England and Wales; these approvals remain valid until 31 July 2026. The government aim to publish safeguarding guidance for any under-18s wishing to access the early medical abortion, which will be published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The guidance shows that every young person should have access to early medical abortions and all clinics will look after their holistic and saf...

* This article deals with topics of suicide and self-harm which may be triggering to some readers* Research undertaken recently by the BBC has found that at least 20 patients aged 18 or under have died in NHS or privately-run mental health care units. This numbers only increases when patients are discharged, jumping up to a further 26 deaths within a year of leaving units due to a lack of ongoing support . Credit: The New York Times By: Derry Salter. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are the main focus of the recent research, as their units look after over 4,000 young patients each year. The aim of these units are to help patients with a variety of different diagnoses to recover through specialist care; some patients are in units for weeks, others are years.   The inquest reflects on previous data, which saw nine deaths in CAMHS wards between 2010 and 2014.   Patients have criticised the lack of proper support in units as well, with claims that nurses a...

  The ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK has plunged millions into financial obscurity. For some however, the most recent development will hit hardest; McDonald’s are putting up the prices of their cheeseburgers. Credit - inkl.com By: Sam Feierabend. The global fast-food chain sent out a statement with the harrowing news that, for the first time in 14 years, the price of the famous 99p cheeseburger will increase to £1.19 – a 20% increase. Their CEO has stated that, despite the restaurant’s commitment to providing food for good value, nothing can escape the increasing pressures on price that the world is facing. It is worth noting that not all prices are changing, and the increases vary from restaurant to restaurant – only the items most affected by inflation will see change. This comes after multiple companies have increased prices over the past few months. Unilever, the company who own brands such as Marmite and Ben and Jerry’s, announced price hikes of up to 11.2% while ...

Earlier last week, the government announced that doctors in England will undergo mandatory training in order to better treat female medical conditions. This move is part of the NHS’s latest move to improve women’s health; it hopes to see an increase in funding for mobile breast cancer screening and an increase in access to fertility treatments. Credit: Maciek Musialek By: Derry Salter. In England, women live on average four years longer than men, but spend more of their life in poor health. Gynaecology waiting lists are at an all time high as the gender gap in treatment continues to grow.   In Spring 2021, the government called for evidence from academics, campaigners and the general public to collect views on women’s health. The report concluded that there is a general lack of understanding among a preponderance of medical professionals about health conditions that only affect women. After interviewing 100,000 women, the report asserted that 80% found that the NHS do not l...

On Thursday 21 July, Baroness Hallett opened the public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Baroness promised to be ‘fair and robust’ as well as aiming to conduct the inquiry as quickly as possible; however, no time frame was provided for its completion. Credit: BBC News . By: Derry Salter. With lives lost, the economy crumbling and education pushed to the backburner, the inquiry hopes to give those who suffered the most information on whether more could have been done to avoid this sombre fate. The first key area of investigation will be the UK’s preparedness for the pandemic; this formally opens on 20 September with public hearings taking place in Spring 2023.   The second area of investigation focuses on the UK’s response to the first wave of the pandemic, as well as branching into the third area of investigation concerning the introduction of public restrictions and the scientific data which informed these decisions. Hearings are not expecte...