Publisher Health

Three years into a five-year pledge to completely phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, a Cambridge study finds that 94% of pheasants on sale for human consumption were killed using lead.
The pledge, made in 2020 by nine major UK game shooting and rural organisations, aims to protect the natural environment and ensure a safer supply of game meat for consumers. Lead is toxic even in very small concentrations, and discarded shot from hunting poisons and kills tens of thousands of the UK’s wild birds each year.
A Cambridge-led team of 17 volunteers bought whole pheasants from butchers, game dealers and supermarkets across the UK in 2022-23. They dissected the birds at home and recovered embedded shotgun pellets from 235 of the 356 pheasant carcasses.
The main metal present in each shotgun pellet was revealed through laboratory analysis — conducted at the Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, UK. Lead was the main element in 94% of the recovered shot pellets; the remaining 6% were predominantly composed of steel or a metal called bismuth.
The results are published today in the Conservation Evidence Journal.
At the request of the Defra Secretary of State, the UK Health & Safety Executive assessed the risks to the environment and human health posed by lead in shots and bullets. Their report proposes that the use of lead ammunition be banned, and this is currently under review. While remaining committed to phasing out lead shot voluntarily, many shooting organisations do not support the proposed regulatory restrictions.

“If UK game hunters are going to phase out lead shot voluntarily, they’re not doing very well so far,” said Professor Rhys Green in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology, first author of the study.
He added: “The small decrease in the proportion of birds shot with lead in the latest UK shooting season is nowhere near on track to achieve a complete transition to non-toxic ammunition in the next two years.”
This is the third consecutive year the team has conducted the analysis. Their latest study shows a small improvement on the 2021/22 and 2021/20 shooting seasons, when over 99% of the pheasants studied were shot using lead ammunition.
In separate initiatives, some suppliers of game meat for human consumption — including Waitrose & Partners — have voluntarily announced their intention to stop selling game killed using lead shot. An assurance scheme has also been launched to encourage suppliers and retailers to facilitate the transition.
The team did not find any pheasant on sale in Waitrose in 2022/23 despite repeated visits to 15 different stores. Waitrose staff reported that the company had not been sufficiently assured by any supplier in 2022/23 that all pheasants had been killed using non-lead ammunition.

“Waitrose is the only retailer we know of fully complying with the pledge not to supply pheasant killed using lead, but it’s only managing this by not selling any pheasant at all,” said Green.
Steel shotgun pellets are a practical alternative to lead, and the vast majority of shotguns can use them or other safe lead-free alternatives. Shooting magazines and UK shooting organisations have communicated positive messages for three years about the effectiveness and practicality of non-lead shotgun ammunition.
Shooting and rural organisations — including the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust — have consistently provided information and detailed guidance to encourage the transition from lead to non-lead ammunition since 2020.
“Denmark banned lead shotgun ammunition in 1996, and a successful transition was made to steel and bismuth. It’s safer for the environment and gives game shooting a better image,” said Green.
A previous study led by Green found that pheasants killed by lead shot contain many fragments of lead too small to detect by eye or touch, and too distant from the shot to be removed without throwing away a large proportion of otherwise useable meat. This means that eating pheasant killed using lead shot is likely to expose consumers to raised levels of lead in their diet, even if the meat is carefully prepared to remove whole shotgun pellets and the most damaged tissue.
Lead has been banned from use in paint and petrol for decades.It is toxic to humans when absorbed by the body and there is no known safe level of exposure. Lead accumulates in the body over time and can cause long-term harm, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease and kidney disease in adults. Lead is known to lower IQ in young children, and affect the neurological development of unborn babies.

Chronic pain impacts around 20 per cent of the population. Along with the medical and physical effects it can have far-reaching consequences for employment, lifestyle and mental health.
A new Edith Cowan University (ECU) study has found that for people living with chronic pain it’s not necessarily how intense their pain is, but the extent to which it interferes with their daily life that can pose the biggest threat to their mental health.
ECU researchers Tara Swindells and Professor Joanne Dickson surveyed more than 300 people living with non-cancer-related chronic pain. Participants answered questions about their mental wellbeing, their ‘pain intensity’ and how much pain interfered (‘pain interference’) with their simple everyday pursuits and activities that mattered to them.
Professor Dickson said their research findings suggest that as a result of pain, people might not have the psychological and/or physical capacity to participate in activities that help them attain their personal goals, which can have significant implications for their mental wellbeing.
“The good news is that this research showed personal goal flexibility (i.e., the ability to adapt and to adjust to life’s difficulties and obstacles) in how we strive to maintain or achieve the things that matter to us can provide a protective buffer in maintaining and promoting mental wellbeing,” she said.
The mental health impact
Counter to prediction, Ms Swindells said the study showed ‘pain interference’ was reported as more problematic than ‘pain intensity’ for people living with chronic pain.

“These results suggest that it may be the pain interference on daily life, rather than the intensity of the pain, that impacts more negatively on mental wellbeing,” she said.
“Based on our results, it would seem that people can find ways to maintain their mental wellbeing when their pain intensity is high, so long as it does not interfere with important aspects of their daily life.”
How being ‘mentally’ flexible helps
Ms Swindells said the study investigated how persistently pursuing valued goals (goal tenacity) and adjusting those valued goals in response to setbacks or obstacles (goal flexibility) might help to explain how some individuals with chronic pain maintain a sense of mental wellbeing.
“The findings highlighted, for the first time, that distinct goal motivational processes appear to have a protective and buffering effect in maintaining mental wellbeing in those with chronic pain,” she said.

“Specifically, we found that goal flexibility and goal tenacity seem to buffer the negative emotional impacts of pain interference on mental wellbeing, and flexibility even more so than tenacity.
“So if you’re able to adjust, adapt and find ways to still achieve what matters to you most in the face of life’s obstacles, that’s going to help protect your mental wellbeing.”
Ms Swindells emphasised pain management and mental health are multi-faceted.
“Previous pain-related research has shown that physical factors (e.g., sleep, injury, disease) and social factors (e.g., employment, social support, economic factors) play a significant role in pain management,” she said.
“The findings from our study add to this body of knowledge. They indicate that variations in adaptive psychological processes provide another useful lens to understand the relationship between pain interference and mental wellbeing. ”
The findings from this study have implications for informing public health policy developments and public health campaigns focused on promoting psychological strengths rather than deficits, for example positive self-care messaging related to pain management.

Mutations of the gene encoding dystrophins have long been known to cause the debilitating muscle-wasting disease DMD, which affects one in every 5,000 boys born. People with the condition will usually only live into their 20s or 30s.
Now, a study, led by the University of Portsmouth, has found that the same gene has a role in oncology. A team of international researchers analysed a broad spectrum of malignant tissues, including from breast, ovarian, and gastrointestinal cancer patients.
The DMD gene expression was reduced in 80 per cent of these tumours. This low expression of dystrophins was associated with a more advanced stage of cancer and reduced survival across different tumours.
The paper, published in Cancers, calls for a re-evaluation of the current view that dystrophin expression is only important in muscles, and when found across numerous tissues is the result of an “illegitimate transcription.”
Senior author, Professor Darek Gorecki from the School of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences at the University of Portsmouth, said: “The findings that the DMD gene has a role in tumours, expands the growing evidence of its significance beyond Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
“Further investigation is needed to better understand the role of DMD in malignancies and how it may be exploited in monitoring cancer progression and treatment.”
Moreover, these findings build on the recent discovery that the disease begins much earlier than previously thought. In 2021, the team published results of modelling DMD to look at its development, from its initial trigger and first manifestation. They found evidence of abnormalities even before birth in the embryo.
Given the similarities between early embryo development and cancer formation, including invasive potential, changes in gene expression and other vital behaviours, the team decided to investigate the DMD gene across the spectrum of tumours, which led to this discovery.
Most boys with DMD are diagnosed between two and five years old by which time the damage to their bodies is already significant.
Professor Gorecki says these new findings should be taken into consideration as delay in identifying the condition may be preventing therapeutic interventions that could help slow, if not stop, disease progression.
“The job of DMD, the largest human gene known, is far more complex than previously believed,” he explained.
“It must be better understood if we want to find effective treatments for pathologies caused by its mutations.”

An earlier first birth, a higher number of live births, and starting periods at a younger age are all linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular problems in women, according to new research.
The study, led by Imperial College London researchers, provides evidence for a causal relationship between sex-specific factors and cardiovascular disease in women, and identifies potential ways to mediate this increased risk.
The study is the most comprehensive analysis to date of reproductive factors specific to women and their links to a range of cardiovascular diseases, including atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rate), coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. The researchers hope it will help doctors to better understand and monitor women’s risk factors and intervene where appropriate.
Researchers from Imperial’s National Heart & Lung Institute, University of Cambridge and Yale School of Public Health analysed genetic data linked to women’s age at first birth, their number of live births, their age at their first period (menarche), and their age at menopause. They looked at previous studies involving more than 100,000 women.
Observational research has previously identified that some reproductive factors are associated with cardiovascular disease for women in later life, but such studies are limited as they have been unable to support a causal relationship.
By using a statistical technique called Mendelian Randomization, the researchers were able to show a link between the genes that predict reproductive factors and the risk of multiple cardiovascular diseases. This type of analysis enables researchers to cut through the noise of factors such as diet, economic background and physical activity levels that can otherwise complicate the overall picture, and so it points to causal links.

The analysis showed that earlier first birth, a higher number of live births, and earlier menarche were associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke in women. However, it did not find an association between the age of menopause and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers also found that much of the increased risk for earlier menarche resulted from this factor being associated with women having a higher body mass index (BMI). This means that lowering a person’s BMI could help to reduce this risk. The increased risk for earlier first birth could be partly limited by acting on traditional cardiometabolic risk factors, such as BMI, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Dr Maddalena Ardissino, lead author of the study, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said: “Women are often mischaracterised as being at low risk for cardiovascular disease, leading to delays in diagnosis. Even when they are diagnosed, they tend to receive less targeted treatment than men.
“This study shows a clear link between reproductive factors and cardiovascular disease. This doesn’t mean that women should worry if they’ve had their period at a young age, or if they had an early first birth. Our research shows that the additional risk of cardiovascular disease can be minimised if traditional risk factors like BMI and blood pressure are well-controlled. These findings highlight the need for doctors to monitor these risk factors closely in women and intervene where needed.”
Dr Fu Siong Ng, senior author for the study, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said: “Many of the previous studies on cardiovascular disease have focused on men, but our research shows that there are sex-specific factors that influence the risk for women.

“While we cannot say exactly how much these factors increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, our study shows that reproductive history is important and it points towards a causal impact. We need to understand more about these factors to make sure that women get the best possible care.”
Further research is needed to understand the extent of the relationship between reproductive factors and cardiovascular disease risk, such as whether there is a linear or non-linear relationship between a factor and increased risk.
Cardiovascular disease has often been thought of a man’s disease, as men are more likely to develop it at an earlier age than women. However, this group of diseases is a serious problem for women.
Research by the British Heart Foundation has shown that coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer in the UK each year, with more than 800,000 women in the UK living with the disease. It is also estimated that around 380,000 women alive in the UK today have survived a heart attack.
Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said: “The misconception that cardiovascular disease mostly affects men is costing women their health, and even their lives.
“It’s critical that women are empowered with the knowledge of what could put them at higher risk of developing heart disease or stroke in the future. This includes the well-known risks that affect everyone — but for women, there may be additional risk factors from their reproductive years to add to the list.
“If we’re going to save more women’s lives, asking about periods and pregnancy must be routine when assessing every woman’s risk of heart disease and stroke.”
The study was supported by funding from the British Heart Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

Experts from the University of Barcelona, the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM-CSIC) and the Aragon Nanoscience and Materials Institute of Aragon (INMA) — a joint institute of the CSIC and the University of Zaragoza — have developed a new method to detect RNA viruses based on the triplex-forming probe technology. This innovative methodology opens up new options for detecting viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, the influenza A virus (H1N1) or the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a pathogen that affects newborn babies and requires careful differential diagnosis.
This interdisciplinary study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, is led by Carlos J. Ciudad and Verónica Noe, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB) of the University of Barcelona; Ramón Eritja, Anna Aviñó, Lluïsa Vilaplana and M. Pilar Marco, from IQAC-CSIC and CIBER of Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN); Manuel Gutiérrez, Antoni Baldi and César Fernández, from IMB-CNM-CSIC, and Valeria Grazu and Jesús Martínez, CSIC researchers at the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials and Aragón INMA (CSIC-UNIZAR) and the CIBER-BBN.
The study was carried out in the context of the PoC4CoV project, led by M. Pilar Marco and César Fernández and funded through the CSIC’s Global Health Platform (PTI). The research study has continued as part of a project funded by La Marató de TV3 2020 to fight against COVID-19, in which experts from the Faculty of Chemistry of the UB also participate.
Polypurine hairpins to capture viral RNA
The new methodology is based on the ability of polypurine hairpins (PPRHs) — designed by the UB’s cancer therapy group — to capture viral RNA and form a high-affinity triplex. When this hybrid structure is connected to a molecular probe and placed in contact with the sample from the affected patient, a detection signal of the viral agent is obtained. The method presented in the scientific publication is called the Triplex Enhanced Nucleic Acid Detection Assay (TENADA).
“PPRHs are unmodified single-stranded DNA hairpins consisting of two specular domains of antiparallel polypurines. These domains, connected to each other by a thymidine loop, are linked by intramolecular reverse-Hoogsteen bonds. The molecular hairpins can bind specifically to polypyrimidine sequences in single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) or RNA viruses via Watson-Crick bonds, thus forming an antiparallel triplex,” says Professor Carlos J. Ciudad, from the UB’s Department of Biochemistry and Physiology.

An effective and faster methodology than the PCR test
An advantage in the detection of viral RNA is that the PPRH methodology can be applied without the intervention of reverse transcriptase — the enzyme that converts RNA to DNA — or the thermocycler (the device that amplifies samples of genetic material with the polymerase chain reaction or PCR). In addition, it has a sensitivity and specificity equivalent to that of the PCR test and can provide results in less than an hour.
As part of the study, the team used the sandwich hybridisation strategy in several biodetection devices. This strategy uses two oligonucleotides: a triplex-forming PPRH hairpin acting as a capture probe and a labelled duplex-forming DNA oligonucleotide acting as a detection probe.
“The triplex-forming PPRH hairpins were designed to bind to SARS-CoV-2 polypyrimidine sequences, while the detection probes were designed as complementary to a region close to the target site of the polypyrimidines. Thus, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is detected by the formation of the ternary complex on the biosensor’s surface,” says Professor Verónica Noé (UB-IN2UB).
This methodology has been implemented in a compact electrochemical device that integrates a two-electrode electrochemical cell on a chip — manufactured in the IMB-CNM-CSIC Micro and Nanofabrication Clean Room — and a fluidic component on paper, and in a thermal lateral flow system implemented in nitrocellulose and using plasmonic nanoparticles and thermal paper which has been developed at INMA (CSIC-UNIZAR).
TENADA: applications in biomedical research
PPRHs are described in the scientific literature as tools for gene silencing of several genes mainly involved in cancer. In addition, they have also been incorporated as probes in biosensors for the detection of small RNA molecules (miRNA) to determine DNA methylation status and for the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii.
Now, the new TENADA methodology proves to be effective not only in the detection of viral particles. The high affinity of PPRHs for viral RNA is a property that can be applied to inhibit the virus replication process. For this reason, the antiviral properties of the polypurine hairpin clips CC1PPRH and CC2PPRH in cells of the VeroE6 lineage infected with SARS-CoV-2 virions are now also being studied.
Moreover, the work carried out by the different groups involved has also been the basis of a technology that was patented and licensed in July 2022 through the participation of the UB Patent Centre, the CSIC and the CIBER-BBN. In addition, this patent has been licensed on a non-exclusive basis to the Spanish company Nanoinmunotech through the management of the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG-UB) in the process of protecting the technology and the company’s licensing agreement.