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Despite the many biological differences between people of different sexes, races, ages and life histories, the chances are that if two people walk into a doctor’s office with the same symptoms, they are going to get roughly the same treatment. As you can imagine, a whole range of treatments – from drugs to testing – could be much more effective if they were designed to work with many different kinds of bodies, not just some abstract, generic human.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to three researchers who are looking at ways to make medicine better suited to you.
And New Zealand is looking at a tax on cow emissions as part of its bid to reach net zero by the middle of the century. But the key to tackling climate change is to cut emissions of fossil fuels, according to Kevin Trenberth at the University of Auckland.
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Most clinical trials overrepresent young white males.
Andresr/Digital Vision via Getty Images
Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation
Medicine works better when the treatments are tailored to fit each individual person’s biology and history. A first step is increasing diversity in clinical trials, but the end goal is precision medicine.
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Cows generate methane as they digest their food. It’s a potent greenhouse gas.
Westend61 via Getty Images
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland
New Zealand is considering a plan to tax methane from cows. But while cows and cars both emit greenhouse gases, they don’t have the same impact over time.
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The Bahama warbler (Setophaga flavescens) is endemic to the Bahamas.
Blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Photo
Diana Bell, University of East Anglia; Nigel Collar, University of East Anglia
The Bahama warbler favours large pine trees and palms, fieldwork shows.
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Marina Boulos, University of Manchester
Dealing with stressful environments is too often left in the hands of employees.
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Scott Lucas, University College Dublin
Damascus is putting politics above its people as it hinders the international aid response.
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Gena R. Greher, UMass Lowell
Pop composer Burt Bacharach died on Feb. 8, 2023, at the age of 94. He left a legacy of classic songs beloved by generations.
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Nadia Radzman, University of Cambridge
Pulses are important for many reasons. They are packed with nutrition, resilient and crucial for achieving food security in Africa.
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Andrew Feinberg, Johns Hopkins University
An epigenetic model of cancer that incorporates the concept of stochasticity could also explain why cancer risk increases with age and how biological development can be reversible.
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Justin Bradfield, University of Johannesburg
The medicine container was found in a painted rock shelter. A radio carbon date of the horn container places it at around AD 1461-1630.
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Chris Head, Bath Spa University
Lies that spiral out of control feature in both farce and ‘dramedy’ - but the latter deals with more serious issues.
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