Gold Standard?

Workers at Queensland University in Australia have reportedly developed a cheap 10 minute blood test with a 90% chance of demonstrating the presence of cancer cells in the body (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/04/scientists-develop-10-minute-universal-cancer-test). Small amounts of cancer cells with their modified DNA appear in the blood. The cancer cell DNA has a different pattern of methyl groups from that found in normal cells, causing them to respond differently to gold nanoparticles added to the samples. This produces a distinctive difference in the colour of the suspensions with (remaining pink) and without (changing to blue) cancer cells. The test has, thus far, been carried out only on breast, prostate and colorectal sufferers but there is an intention to see what it does in other cancer groups. Although this screen does not tell the tester where the cancer is located or how problematic it is likely to be (these would require more detailed and traditional investigations), as a rapid test, it does seem to be a very promising development. 

French Farce?

I don't suppose, given the levels of widely-supported rioting in Paris, there was much else the French Government  could do but to cancel the ecologically-motivated increases in fuel, electricity and gas taxes (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/04/french-government-to-suspend-fuel-tax-increase-say-reports). It chimes with a comment by one of the Katowice (Poland and scene of the UN Climate Change conference) coal miners to the effect that those ecologists ought to remember who is doing more for the planet (ecologists or coal miners)! Such attitudes and the political responses to them might well be the planet's epitaph.

Mixed Messages?

The UN is making the point that the current generation is the last that can make the changes needed to avoid catastrophic climate change (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/03/we-are-last-generation-that-can-stop-climate-change-un-summit) and St David (Attenborough) is suggesting that civilisation itself is at risk, speaking at a coal mine supported meeting in Poland (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/03/david-attenborough-collapse-civilisation-on-horizon-un-climate-summit). In Australia (currently an Environmental bad-boy), enlightened schoolchildren are protesting about climate damaging government policies but, in France, people are rioting partly about increases in fuel prices (a measure designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions). The UK government appears hell-bent on encouraging fracking and the US wants more coal mining and oil extraction even in national parks. As they say "the prognosis doesn't look too good". It seems that people generally know what needs to be done but they would rather that someone else did it at their expense.

He-Man

A Chinese scientist, called He, has reportedly produced female gene-edited twins in contravention of even the relatively lax laws in China (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/29/work-on-gene-edited-babies-blatant-violation-of-the-law-says-china). This is a very difficult situation as you can't really put the genie back in the bottle. It looks as if gene editing of humans is here to stay.

It's Just Not Cricket!

There are lots of people predicting that insects will increasingly replace traditional animal sources of protein in our diets (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/09/dan-barber-20-years-from-now-youll-be-eating-fast-food-crickets). Certainly, they can be cultured much more quickly than beef, chicken, lamb and pork and are associated with nothing like the same environmental problems. There is not actually much anatomical difference between a locust and a prawn (the former possibly has the cleaner diet) but I still think that people (not withstanding the popularity of "I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here") will have to be inventive to get the population heavily into insect grub.

'Brave' Kentish 'Hunters'

A pretty horrific story of a family of Mute swans (the pair with 5 cygnets) being slowly massacred in Kent by a person or persons unknown, before being put in plastic bags and thrown into a stream (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/dec/02/killing-of-swan-family-in-kent-brings-calls-for-airgun-regulation). Apparently, that county has a very high incidence of airguns being used on wild animals (apparently, even grass-eating birds).There seems to be a good case for regulating the ownership of these weapons.

Climate Change and Health

The World Health Organisation has suggested that the impact of climate change on human health are already with us (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/28/climate-change-already-a-health-emergency-say-experts). They point out that, not only are we losing food crops in many parts of a warming, sometimes more arid world, but heatwaves are also increasing death-rates in both younger and older citizens (they are more vulnerable). Transmitted human diseases, such as dengue fever, are also spreading to new regions of the planet. They think that we should take the situation seriously.