Chris Bird
Freelance Journalist

Biomedical Scientist. December 2008
Towards the end of 1958 an accident at the Boris Kidric Nuclear Science Institute at Vinca, near Belgrade, in what was then Yugoslavia, exposed six engineers to radiation doses estimated at 300 to 1200 rads (3-12 Gy). Since radiation preferentially damages the most rapidly dividing body cells it was inevitable that these patients would suffer bone marrow failure. Shortly after the accident five of the patients were transferred to the Marie Curie Hospital in Paris where they received bone marrow transplants in an effort to save their lives. This was the first therapeutic use of bone marrow transplants and, although none of those original patients survived, the technique has now become a key weapon in the fight against a wide range of cancers and immunodeficiency disorders. (more…)

Biomedical Scientist. January 2009.
In October 2008 Professor Harald zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for his investigation of how cervical cancer is triggered by virus infections. His research made it possible to develop a vaccine against the third most frequent cancer affecting women with the potential to drastically reduce the incidence of this disease. (more…)

Article first appeared on Transition Town Totnes website

About fifteen people gather on a Saturday evening to talk about ecologically sound and sustainable building. The venue is Jim and Kate Carfrae’s stunning straw bale house in Totnes but, for tonight at least, neither our hosts or their home are the main attraction. (more…)

New non-pharmaceutical ways to reduce Surgical Site Infections.
A European symposium at the Society for Surgical Infection Congress. Turkey, April 30th 2008.

“Surgical site infection (SSI) is today the most important problem facing surgeons,” said Professor Miguel Cainzos (more…)

‘The Observer’ June 15th 2008
Cob, a common building material until around a hundred years ago, is making a comeback in Devon as more people discover the advantages of building and living in a ‘mud’ house. (more…)

The credibility of those who deny that global warming is both real and responsible for climate change is rapidly sinking to the level of those who deny the link between AIDS and HIV. (more…)

‘Self Build & Design’ June 2008
When Jan and Jerry Sharpe decided they wanted to build their own house cob was the obvious choice. “Our business is repairing old buildings and in Devon that frequently means working with cob,” explained Jan. (more…)

Although I didn’t realise it at the time, the evening of November 8th 2007 was even busier than normal in the rapidly developing world of genetic screening. (more…)

Biomedical Scientist - in press.
The closely related cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors referred to as metabolic syndrome is a controversial area. (more…)

Healthcare Equipment & Supplies
There are two things made in Ireland that are inside hundreds of thousands of people at any one time. The first, of course, is Guinness. The second, less well known but just as popular with the 500,000 patients who have one, are the prosthetic knee joints made by the Stryker plant in Limerick. (more…)