Editor's note

Clinics in the UK are offering stem cell “therapy” for children with autism. The procedure involves taking stem cells from young children’s bone marrow or fat tissue and injecting it into the child’s bloodstream. The hope – and it is just a hope – is that the stem cells will replace the faulty cells in the affected organs. But as Darius Widera, an expert in stem cells, points out, you first need to know what causes a condition before you can treat it with stem cells. And little is known about the exact type of nerve cells implicated in autism.

Widera says the cellular complexity in autism makes designing a stem cell treatment “more than challenging”. Although this type of treatment may one day be effective, that day is still a long way off. In the meantime, desperate parents are paying around £10,000 for a treatment that has no scientific evidence to back it.

If you live in the south of England, you might have noticed that the sky was exceptionally blue on Monday. This is because the atmospheric pressure reached the highest level since records began in 1692. And, as the fallout over actor Laurence Fox’s remarks about racism and white privilege rages unabated, we look at inequality in the entertainment business.

Clint Witchalls

Health + Medicine Editor

Top stories

ZouZou

Autism: stem cell clinics are offering treatments despite lack of evidence it works

Darius Widera, University of Reading

To successfully treat people with stem cells, you first need to know which cells are faulty.

Jan Duplnszki/Shutterstock

London just broke a 300-year-old weather record – but you probably didn’t even notice it

Stephen Burt, University of Reading

Humans are not very sensitive to changes in air pressure, but they can have a big effect on the weather.

Ian West/PA Wire/PA Images

Laurence Fox: thanks for the chance to talk about the inequality that is rife in the UK’s entertainment industry

Beth Johnson, University of Leeds

Race, gender and social class still play a massive part in deciding who gets ahead in film, TV and radio.

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