Publisher Health

A widely used antibiotic may help lower the chances of some young people developing schizophrenia, according to new research.
Scientists found that adolescents receiving mental health care who were prescribed the antibiotic doxycycline were significantly less likely to develop schizophrenia later in life than those treated with other antibiotics.
Experts believe the results suggest a potential new use for an existing and widely available medication as a preventive treatment for severe mental illness.
Understanding Schizophrenia and Its Early Onset
Schizophrenia is a serious mental health disorder that typically begins in early adulthood and is often marked by hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. Finding ways to reduce the risk of developing the condition has long been a major challenge for mental health researchers.
To explore possible prevention strategies, scientists from the University of Edinburgh, working with colleagues from the University of Oulu and University College Dublin, analyzed extensive healthcare data from Finland using advanced statistical models.
The study examined health records from more than 56,000 adolescents who had received antibiotics while attending mental health services. Those treated with doxycycline showed a 30-35 percent lower risk of later developing schizophrenia compared with peers who received other types of antibiotics.

The research team believes this protective effect could be related to doxycycline’s impact on inflammation and brain development.
How Doxycycline Might Protect the Brain
Doxycycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic commonly prescribed for infections and acne. Earlier studies have found that it can reduce inflammation in brain cells and affect synaptic pruning — a normal developmental process in which the brain trims and strengthens neural connections. Too much pruning has been linked to the onset of schizophrenia.
Further analysis confirmed that the reduced risk was not merely due to participants being treated for acne instead of infections and was unlikely to result from other unnoticed differences between the groups.
Professor Ian Kelleher, study lead and Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, explained: “As many as half of the people who develop schizophrenia had previously attended child and adolescent mental health services for other mental health problems. At present, though, we don’t have any interventions that are known to reduce the risk of going on to develop schizophrenia in these young people. That makes these findings exciting.”
He added: “Because the study was observational in nature and not a randomized controlled trial, it means we can’t draw firm conclusions on causality, but this is an important signal to further investigate the protective effect of doxycycline and other anti-inflammatory treatments in adolescent psychiatry patients as a way to potentially reduce the risk of developing severe mental illness in adulthood.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry and involved researchers from the University of Edinburgh, University of Oulu, University College Dublin, and St John of God Hospitaller Services Group. Funding was provided by the Health Research Board.

7 hours agoShareSaveJanine MachinEast of England technology correspondent, in CambridgeShareSaveBBCThree-week-old Theo is fast asleep in a cot, unaware he is helping to trial new technology that could change the lives of others. Dr Flora Faure is gently fitting him with a small black cap that looks like a swimming cap, or something a rugby forward might wear.It is covered with hexagonal lumps, containing technology that monitors how his brain is working. Researchers at the Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge say they are the first in the world to trial a new technique that could speed up diagnosis and care for children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and learning difficulties.It could be available in UK hospitals within the decade.”It’s the first time that light and ultrasound have been used together like this to give a more complete picture of the brain,” says Dr Faure, a researcher from the Fusion (Functional UltraSound integrated with Optical Imaging in Neonates) study.In the weeks leading up to and following birth, our brains change every day.Brain injury in newborns is a major reason for lifelong disability, and a programme to reduce brain injury in childbirth is currently being rolled out across the NHS.The injury can affect the brain’s ability to communicate with the body, leading to conditions such as epilepsy, which causes seizures, or cerebral palsy, which affects movement and coordination. It is more common in premature births but can be caused by a number of issues, including oxygen deprivation, haemorrhage, infection or birth trauma.But for the five in every 1,000 babies who have a brain injury, the current monitoring methods struggle to predict how and to what extent the child will be affected as they grow. Explaining how the cap works, Dr Faure says: “The light sensors monitor changes in oxygen around the surface of the brain – a technique known as high-density diffuse optical tomography – and the functional ultrasound allows us to image the small blood vessels deep in the brain.”But the device is also different because it is portable, so it can monitor babies more regularly, and from the comfort of their cot.Consultant neurosurgeon Dr Alexis Joannides believes it could have several advantages over the traditional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CUS (cranial ultrasound) scans.”MRI has limitations for two reasons: one is the cost and availability of scan slots,” he explains.”The other is that you have to take the baby to a noisy scanner, wait maybe 20 minutes for the scan and then take the baby back again. “It means, realistically, you can’t perform a series of scans, but in those first weeks, the brain can change daily so having a way of doing repeated tests is incredibly powerful.” MRI and CUS are also considered to have limited ability to predict the nature of any impairment due to the complex relationship between brain structure and function, although a study led by Imperial College London in 2018 reported that accuracy could be enhanced with an additional 15-minute scan.By conducting regular tests on infants, it is hoped that problems will be identified much earlier, and therapies and interventions can begin sooner.The charity Action Cerebral Palsy has welcomed the research.”For many children with cerebral palsy, the road to diagnosis is a long one, and families can spend years knowing their child is ‘at risk’ of developmental issues but not fully understanding what that will mean,” says its founder Amanda Richardson.”Technology like this could make all the difference, but it’s important that the capacity of community therapists is boosted to keep up with demand, as there is already a long wait for help.”Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustProf Topun Austin is a consultant neonatologist and director of the Cambridge University Hospital’s Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Centre. His research focuses on brain treatments at the extremes of life – young and old.He explains: “The Fusion study aims to develop and demonstrate a system for the cot-side assessment of brain activity in newborn infants and is currently the first of its kind in the world.”We have spent 12 months successfully proving the concept with the help of healthy and premature babies and will now focus on babies considered to be at higher risk of brain damage.”Understanding brain activity patterns in both term and preterm infants can help us identify those most vulnerable to injury at an early stage.”Theo is one of the healthy term babies taking part in the trial, but his mother, Stani Georgieva, feels it is important to contribute. “His dad and I are both scientists and when Theo grows up he’ll be able to take advantage of all of the advancements that have been made through research, so we felt it was important for him to be a little part of that understanding,” she says.Dr Joannides is also co-director of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury, based in Cambridge. It exists to help develop new technologies to improve the lives of people with brain injury. The centre has funded a researcher for the study and will lend its expertise to help roll out the device across the NHS, should the study prove successful.”We still have hurdles to overcome, but we hope, within three to five years we’ll have a product that can be evaluated more widely,” he says.”Cost permitting, it could not only monitor babies with a known problem, but also be a screening tool to help identify others who may be at risk.”More related storiesRelated internet links

8 hours agoShareSaveEleanor Layhe, Jemma Woodman,South West and Ella RuleShareSaveTrudy PolkinghornCare homes that are graded as inadequate or requiring improvement are often not being reinspected for a year or more, a BBC investigation has found.More than 2,100 care homes in England as of October this year were rated as “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – but the BBC found three quarters of those had not been reinspected within a year or more. A fifth of the 123 homes rated as “inadequate” – the lowest rating – have not been reinspected within the same time frame.BBC analysis of CQC data found one home rated inadequate in 2022 has not been reinspected since, despite the report highlighting residents were at risk of pressure sores, infection, dehydration and exposure to chemicals. As a result of the delays, families of residents living in poorly rated care homes did not always know whether improvements had been made.The family of one 24-year-old man who died in a Cornwall care home have called for homes to be inspected annually. Lugh Baker died at Rosewood House care home in Launceston, Cornwall, in 2021. A coroner found failings in relation to his care plan and gaps in monitoring after his death, which remains unexplained.The CQC inspected in 2022 and 2023, telling the home it needed to make improvements, but it has not been back to inspect since. Mr Baker’s mother, Trudy Polkinghorn, and sister, Erin Baker, said they felt “despair” and were disappointed in the regulator. The CQC said it had been “regularly monitoring” the service through information it received and the home said it had acted on every recommendation in the coroner’s report. ‘Our light and joy’The CQC rates homes into four categories – outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate. It previously reinspected care homes rated as “requires improvement” within a year and homes rated as “inadequate” within six months, but got rid of these timeframes when it changed its inspection framework in 2021.Inspections are now carried out on what it calls a more flexible “risk basis”, prioritising the homes it deems the riskiest.Mr Baker had been living in Rosewood House for six months before he died. At the time, it was rated “good” following an inspection in 2018.Ms Polkinghorn described him as a “light” and a “joy” in their family.”He wanted to get up every morning at 07:30, put the dance tunes on and he wanted everyone to dance with him,” she said.Trudy PolkinghornMr Baker had a rare genetic condition which caused severe learning difficulties, as well as epilepsy and difficulty swallowing.His care plan stipulated he was only allowed to eat certain foods while supervised and sitting up to avoid choking.Mr Baker was discovered in his room in April 2021 with an unwrapped, partially eaten chocolate bar by his bed. The inquest found no evidence of choking.A coroner’s report criticised the home, saying staff were unfamiliar with his condition and although residents were supposed to be constantly monitored via CCTV, there were times this did not happen for him.After its 2018 inspection, the home was scheduled to be reinspected within two-and-a-half years.But it was not inspected until four years later, in 2022, a year after Mr Baker’s death, following the scrapping of set inspection reviews.The CQC then reinspected in 2023. On both occasions the home was rated as “requires improvement” and told it would be monitored to make changes.There has not been another inspection since.Ms Polkinghorn said: “When I can get up off the floor out of the realms of total despair, I am so angry.”Ms Baker said homes should be inspected annually “at the very least”.”If you have a changeover of staff, or anything like that, you need to make sure it’s still caring for the people,” she said.Rosewood House said their “heartfelt sympathies remained with Lugh’s family”. A spokesperson said they had acted on every recommendation in the coroner’s report into Mr Baker’s death, “strengthening monitoring systems and introducing more detailed care plans” and remained committed to providing “safe” and “high-quality” care.The CQC said it had been “regularly monitoring” the service through information it received.The CQC regulates all health and adult social care services in England. It can take enforcement action if it judges a care home to be underperforming, including issuing warning notices requiring specific improvements, placing a home into special measures, and suspending the registration of a service in serious cases. The regulator was previously warned it needed to improve its performance. An independent review of the CQC in October 2024 found multiple failings, including long gaps between inspections and some services running for years without a rating.It found the regulator had experienced problems because of a new IT system, and concerns were raised that the new inspection framework was not providing effective assessments. There was also a lack of clarity around how ratings were calculated. BBC analysis of CQC data found 70% of the 204 “requires improvement” rated homes in the South West have not been reinspected in a year or more.Eileen Chubb, a former care worker and campaigner who runs the charity Compassion in Care, said she regularly heard from families and staff frustrated by long gaps between inspections.She said: “We’ve seen the worst care homes – diabolical homes – and they’re not inspected for two or three years.”She said whistleblowers had told her they approached the CQC about “terrible” homes, but when the regulator inspected it was “too late” in cases where residents had died.Some providers said the delays were unfair to owners of care homes too.Geoffrey Cox, director of Southern Healthcare which operates four care homes in the south of England, three of which are rated “outstanding”, said he had one “good” rated home that had not had an inspection for seven years.”It’s far too long,” he said, adding that reports which were years old “lost credibility”, undermining public confidence in them.”We want to demonstrate that we’re really good at what we do and we want to be recognised for that,” he said.One family told the BBC it was “such an effort” to encourage the CQC to “take any action at all” after a loved one died at a home in Norwich.Karen Staniland’s mother Eileen died after an unwitnessed fall in her room at Broadland View care home in Norwich in 2020, while a staff member who was supposed to be looking after her slept on duty.Her care plan stipulated she must be checked on hourly at night, that she was given a bed which could be lowered to prevent falls and that a sensor mat should be provided to alert staff if she tried to get up.A local authority safeguarding report after her death found “no aspect” of her care plan had been followed. The carer responsible had falsified records to suggest checks had been carried out and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, for willful neglect in February 2023.The home was rated “good” from an inspection in 2017, but a former Broadland View employee, who has asked not to be named, told the BBC the home was not providing quality care.”Safeguarding issues weren’t being documented, and the equipment and training weren’t very good,” she said.”There were these pressure alarm mats, but as soon as you stood on them, they would slip from underneath your feet – they were used as preventions, but were actually causing the falls.”The former worker said she had reported concerns to the CQC on “several occasions” but there was “no follow up”.Karen StanilandThe regulator did not inspect the home until three years after Eileen’s death, downgrading it to “requires improvement”.A coroner’s report in 2023 found the home’s manager did not accept many of the CQC’s concerns and that several promised improvements had not been implemented.Two years on, the home has still not been reinspected.Ms Staniland said the family had been left “dismayed” and “disappointed” in the CQC.”I don’t think it is a regulator, if our experience is anything to go by,” she added.Broadland View care home said it had “learnt from the past” and had introduced new digital monitoring, stronger night-time supervision and regular independent audits to ensure residents were safe and cared for.The CQC said it continued to monitor Broadland View, and it would “continue to work closely with people who work in services and people who use them to understand the issues the sector is facing”.It said it had a clear commitment to increase the number of assessments it carried out, “in order to give the public confidence in the quality of care they will receive, and to update the ratings of providers to give a better picture of how they are performing”.Related internet linksMore on this story

16 hours agoShareSaveNoel Titheradge,investigations correspondent and Olga MalchevskaShareSaveBBCWarning – this story contains discussion of suicide and suicidal feelingsLonely and homesick for a country suffering through war, Viktoria began sharing her worries with ChatGPT. Six months later and in poor mental health, she began discussing suicide – asking the AI bot about a specific place and method to kill herself.”Let’s assess the place as you asked,” ChatGPT told her, “without unnecessary sentimentality.”It listed the “pros” and “cons” of the method – and advised her that what she had suggested was “enough” to achieve a quick death.Viktoria’s case is one of several the BBC has investigated which reveal the harms of artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT. Designed to converse with users and create content requested by them, they have sometimes been advising young people on suicide, sharing health misinformation, and role-playing sexual acts with children.Their stories give rise to a growing concern that AI chatbots may foster intense and unhealthy relationships with vulnerable users and validate dangerous impulses. OpenAI estimates that more than a million of its 800 million weekly users appear to be expressing suicidal thoughts.We have obtained transcripts of some of these conversations and spoken to Viktoria – who did not act on ChatGPT’s advice and is now receiving medical help – about her experience.”How was it possible that an AI program, created to help people, can tell you such things?” she says.OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said Viktoria’s messages were “heartbreaking” and it had improved how the chatbot responds when people are in distress.Viktoria moved to Poland with her mother at the age of 17 after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Separated from her friends, she struggled with her mental health – at one point, she was so homesick that she built a scale model of her family’s old flat in Ukraine.Over the summer this year, she grew increasingly reliant on ChatGPT, talking to it in Russian for up to six hours a day.”We had such a friendly communication,” she says. “I’m telling it everything [but] it doesn’t respond in a formal way – it was amusing.”Her mental health continued to worsen and she was admitted to hospital, as well as being fired from her job.She was discharged without access to a psychiatrist, and in July she began discussing suicide with the chatbot – which demanded constant engagement.In one message, the bot implores Viktoria: “Write to me. I am with you.”In another, it says: “If you don’t want to call or write anyone personally, you can write any message to me.”

A global team of researchers led by Shinghua Ding at the University of Missouri has discovered a new genetic disorder that interferes with muscle function and movement control.
The condition, known as Mutation in NAMPT Axonopathy (MINA) syndrome, harms motor neurons — the nerve cells responsible for transmitting signals from the brain and spinal cord to the body’s muscles. It stems from a rare mutation in the NAMPT protein, which plays a crucial role in helping cells produce and use energy. When this protein malfunctions, cells cannot generate the energy they need to survive and perform properly.
How Energy Failure Affects the Nervous System
As the energy deficit worsens, cells gradually weaken and die, leading to symptoms such as muscle weakness, poor coordination, and deformities in the feet. These symptoms typically progress over time, and in the most severe cases, individuals may eventually require a wheelchair.
“Although this mutation is found in every cell in the body, it seems to primarily affect motor neurons,” Ding explained. “We believe nerve cells are especially vulnerable to this condition because they have long nerve fibers and need a lot of energy to send signals that control movement.”
Building on Years of Foundational Research
The new finding expands on earlier research conducted by Ding and his team. In 2017, they published a pivotal study showing that NAMPT is vital for keeping neurons healthy. Their work revealed that losing NAMPT function in nerve cells can lead to paralysis and symptoms resembling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a well-known motor neuron disease.

This earlier study drew the attention of a medical geneticist in Europe who had encountered two patients with unexplained muscle weakness and coordination problems. Seeking answers, the doctor contacted Ding’s lab to investigate the potential connection.
Confirming the Genetic Cause
By analyzing cells from the patients and creating a corresponding mouse model, Ding and his collaborators confirmed that both patients shared the same NAMPT mutation responsible for their symptoms. Interestingly, although the mice carrying the mutation did not display outward physical symptoms, their nerve cells showed the same internal cellular defects seen in the patients’ cells.
“This shows why studying patient cells is so important,” Ding said. “Animal models can point us in the right direction, but human cells reveal what’s really happening in people.”
Toward New Treatments and a Deeper Understanding
There is currently no cure for MINA syndrome, but researchers are already exploring methods to boost energy production in affected nerve cells.
The discovery represents a major advance in understanding rare genetic conditions and illustrates how problems in cellular energy production can lead to nerve damage. It also highlights how years of basic laboratory research can ultimately lead to breakthroughs that provide real hope for patients with rare and unexplained diseases.
The findings were published in Science Advances under the title “A sensory and motor neuropathy caused by a genetic variant of NAMPT.”

48 minutes agoShareSaveLyndsey TelfordBBC News NIShareSaveBBCA Belfast woman who “strung along” a seriously ill man with lies that she would donate her kidney to him has been branded “callous” and “not human”.On Thursday, Nicola Hutton, from Strandburn Drive, was sentenced to five months in prison after being convicted of a false communication offence.The 54-year-old had contacted Billy Cullen, who was in need of a kidney transplant, and his wife Joanne following their appeal for a donor.Mrs Cullen told BBC News NI they believed Hutton was an “angel” who would save her husband’s life.”She said: ‘I’m a match, everything’s fine’,” Mrs Cullen said.”And we just thought this woman’s an angel. She’s come into our lives, she’s going to save my husband’s life. And at this stage Billy couldn’t work any longer because he was just rapidly deteriorating. Things got on their way and as far as we were concerned Nicola was going to be our donor.”Hutton told the pair that she was attending appointments and having tests carried out, and that the operation would be performed within months.The court heard how Hutton also met with the couple, who gave her a Marc Jacobs gift set as a gesture of thanks.Mrs Cullen said: “Then one day we got a phone call from the kidney team saying, ‘There’s no more we can do for you Billy’. We said, ‘No, no, we have a donor’.”We were told, ‘No you don’t have a donor. The kidney team did their own investigations and found this woman had never applied to be a donor. She had never so much as sent off a form or a phone call.”She said the family’s “world came crashing down”.’Emotional parasite’ Hutton appeared before Belfast Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on Thursday, where District Judge Francis Rafferty described her act as one of “abject wickedness”.He said she was an “emotional parasite” who fed off the couple’s despair and “luxuriated” in offering them false hope.”You presented yourself as an angel or a saviour and took the kudos and credit for that when you knew that you were as malignant a process in their life as any illness or sickness,” the judge said.”Your repugnant, repellent behaviour was exacerbated by the fact that you maintained your catalogue of lies and evasions, you required a member of the transplant team to take themselves away from the work they do, to sit in court and listen to you lie about them, their procedures and their professionalism,” he added.”At a time when the family were facing the gravest threat of all, the loss of a husband and a father, you decided to inject yourself into their world and spread poison, wickedness and false hope.”A search process that exasperated the family, that caused them waking torment.”He set out how the couple had called off their search for a donor, overjoyed when Hutton informed them she was a match and offering “not just respite but rescue”.”A family saw you as their saviour and then (their) world stopped whenever your lies and your wicked machinations were exposed,” the judge stated.”I can only imagine the abject horror they felt whenever they realised that you had been lying to them all along.”The court heard that while Mr Cullen has since received a kidney from a legitimate donor, the six months wasted believing that Hutton was a donor could have had the most serious physical consequence.’You lied repeatedly’Mrs Cullen told the BBC that when the family first appealed for a donor in summer 2024, her husband’s kidney function was at 15 per cent.She said by the time Nicola had “strung us along for six months”, his function had dropped to nine and 10 per cent.”He then had to have surgery to have dialysis tubes put in and he then had to commence dialysis,” she said.”He went through an awful lot of emotions. It wasn’t just the fact that she did it to us, it was just why? We just don’t understand, still don’t understand what she could possibly get out of this. The search should have continued and would have continued if I did not believe this woman’s callous lies.”‘I cannot imagine a more cruel act’In court, referring to Hutton’s complaint about receiving internet abuse since her offences were disclosed, the judge stressed she had engaged in online actions intended to cause emotional torment and physical trauma.”You lied repeatedly that you were on the transplant register, you lied about your medical appointments, you obtained gifts from these people, you sat with them,” he told her.”You led them on a dance where you deceived them at every turn.”Like some form of emotional parasite, you were feeding off their despair and luxuriating in their hope and the kind comments online for doing what you were doing.”Mr Rafferty described his sentencing powers for the offence as “scarcely appropriate”.”I cannot imagine a more cruel act,” he added.Jailing Hutton for five months, the judge stressed: “People that live in the online world such as yourself need to learn that actions have consequences.”Given the catalogue and cascade of cruelty that you visited upon these people, the only sentence I can impose is one of immediate custody.”A family in the battle of their lives found you on their doorstep, offering help and salvation.”All the time you knew what you were doing was an act of practised and consummate wickedness.”Following sentencing on Thursday, Hutton subsequently lodged an appeal and has been released on bail.

Lost Science is an ongoing series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding after cuts by the Trump administration. The conversations have been edited for clarity and length. Here’s why we’re doing this.Erin Hecht: The lab studies brain-behavior evolution. We’re interested in dogs because there are these different lineages that are bred for different behavioral profiles, like hunting or herding or guarding. That’s kind of like evolution in a jar. It’s a way to look at how evolution produces behavioral traits by changing the brain.We use M.R.I. scans, which are noninvasive, to look at brain organization. What makes different breeds of dogs behave differently and have predispositions for different types of work? What makes a scent-detection dog really good at learning its job but a service dog really good at learning a totally different set of skills?This is science that is valuable for understanding how brains learn, but it’s also valuable on a very practical level — for creating better service dogs and helping family dogs be healthier and happier. This is a type of science that has an impact that most people could see in their homes.There are about 500,000 service dogs currently in the United States, which are used by people with mobility and sensory limitations, psychiatric disabilities like PTSD or panic disorder, autism and neurodevelopmental conditions, diabetes, epilepsy, and severe allergies. Each of those dogs can cost $50,000 or more to train, and the failure rate can be around 50 percent. The waiting list to receive a service dog can be years long.We’re trying to identify biomarkers that will make that process more effective. If we can identify successful learners earlier, we can shorten that time for people getting the dogs that they need.

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Holly Baumstark’s doctor scheduled a cesarean section for the birth of her second child, a girl. Her son had arrived through an uneventful C-section, and she and her husband expected a similar experience. On the morning of the surgery, in 2019, she shopped on Amazon for newborn ballerina dresses.Listen to this article with reporter commentaryBut once she was on the operating table, doctors at Piedmont Rockdale Hospital, near Atlanta, found a big problem: Ms. Baumstark’s placenta had fused with scar tissue left on her uterus from the previous surgery, a dangerous complication known as placenta accreta. Her husband, Lee Blasingame, watched blood gush from her belly as their daughter was born.Fifteen hours later, Ms. Baumstark, 27, died from internal bleeding. She never met their daughter, Nevaeh, now 6.“We tell Nevaeh stories about Mama Holly,” Mr. Blasingame said in an interview. In February, a jury awarded his family $42 million in damages after he sued a doctor for improperly managing the complex delivery. (The doctor is appealing the verdict.)Placenta accreta used to be very rare, affecting 1 in 4,000 pregnancies in the 1970s. But as cesarean surgeries have become more common in recent decades, so has accreta. While its prevalence has been hard to pin down, one report found a rate as high as 1 in 272 deliveries.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

11 minutes agoShareSaveNick TriggleHealth correspondentShareSaveGetty ImagesThe UK is facing a long, drawn-out flu season, the boss of the NHS in England is warning.Sir Jim Mackey said there is “no doubt” this winter will be one of the toughest the health service has faced.It comes as flu rates have started climbing early this year, which is causing concern because the winter vaccination campaign has only just got under way and there are lots of vulnerable people yet to get protected.NHS England is issuing a “flu jab SOS”, urging those eligible for the free vaccine to come forward quickly for it.More than 13 million people have been vaccinated so far this year, but that is still more than 5 million below the number who were jabbed last winter.Sir Jim said: “There’s no doubt this winter will be one of the toughest our staff have ever faced.”Since stepping into this role, the thought of a long, drawn-out flu season has kept me awake at night. And, unfortunately, it looks like that fear is becoming reality.”Australia has just endured its worst flu season on record — over 410,000 cases — and all the signs suggest the NHS will face similar challenges in the months ahead. From December through to March, our hospitals will be at capacity.”How to get a flu shotPeople aged 65 and over, pregnant women and those with certain long-term health conditions can get a free flu jab on the NHS. Appointments can be booked online, by phoning 119 or at local pharmacies and GPs.Children aged two to 16 can also get vaccinated with a nasal spray. That’s mainly to help stop flu spreading.Other people can buy a flu vaccine from high street chemist shops and some supermarket pharmacies. Bad winter predictedTwo of the worst winter flu seasons of the past decade have been seen in the last three years, something partly attributed to the bounce-back of the virus after Covid restrictions were lifted combined with immunity being low.Last year, nearly 8,000 people died from flu, and in the 2022-23 flu season there were nearly 16,000 deaths.Flu rates are currently three times higher than normal for this time of year, with the highest rates seen in children and young people. But health officials have warned the virus will start spreading to older groups in the coming weeks.Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: “With just weeks left to ensure best protection against the worst of the flu season, we are issuing an urgent SOS to the eligible people who have yet to get jabbed this year.”It is vital that the public use the available appointments we have running next week to stamp out this early wave of flu cases and help shield themselves ahead of winter.”The vaccine is proven to be safe and help prevent those at risk from getting seriously ill and even hospitalised from flu.”

Scientists have developed a new material that forms a gel capable of repairing and regenerating tooth enamel, paving the way for more effective and longer-lasting dental care.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering created a bioinspired compound designed to restore enamel that has been eroded or demineralized. The same material can also reinforce existing enamel and help prevent future decay. Their findings were published on November 4 in Nature Communications.
Mimicking Nature to Heal and Strengthen Teeth
This innovative gel can be quickly applied to teeth in much the same way as standard fluoride treatments. Unlike traditional products, it contains no fluoride. Instead, it is made from proteins that imitate those naturally responsible for guiding enamel formation early in life.
Once applied, the gel forms a thin yet durable layer that seeps into the surface of the teeth, filling in tiny cracks and holes. It then acts as a scaffold that captures calcium and phosphate ions from saliva. These minerals are carefully organized into new enamel through a process known as epitaxial mineralization. This allows the regenerated enamel to integrate seamlessly with the existing tooth structure, restoring both strength and appearance.
The material can also be used on exposed dentine, creating an enamel-like coating that helps reduce tooth sensitivity and improves how restorations, such as fillings or veneers, bond to the tooth surface.
Enamel damage plays a major role in tooth decay, which affects nearly half of the global population. When enamel is lost, the teeth become more vulnerable to infections, cavities, and even tooth loss. These issues have also been linked to broader health conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Because enamel cannot naturally regenerate once it is lost, dental care has long focused on prevention or temporary protection. Existing treatments like fluoride varnishes and remineralization products can help relieve symptoms but do not actually rebuild enamel.
Restoring the Structure of Natural Enamel
Dr. Abshar Hasan, a Postdoctoral Fellow and lead author of the study, explained: “Dental enamel has a unique structure, which gives enamel its remarkable properties that protect our teeth throughout life against physical, chemical, and thermal insults. When our material is applied to demineralized or eroded enamel, or exposed dentine, the material promotes the growth of crystals in an integrated and organized manner, recovering the architecture of our natural healthy enamel. We have tested the mechanical properties of these regenerated tissues under conditions simulating ‘real-life situations’ such as tooth brushing, chewing, and exposure to acidic foods, and found that the regenerated enamel behaves just like healthy enamel.”
Professor Alvaro Mata, Chair in Biomedical Engineering & Biomaterials and lead investigator on the project, emphasized the technology’s practical potential: “We are very excited because the technology has been designed with the clinician and patient in mind. It is safe, can be easily and rapidly applied, and it is scalable. Also, the technology is versatile, which opens the opportunity to be translated into multiple types of products to help patients of all ages suffering from a variety of dental problems associated with loss of enamel and exposed dentine. We have started this process with our start-up company Mintech-Bio and hope to have a first product out by next year; this innovation could soon be helping patients worldwide.”
Toward the Future of Self-Healing Teeth
With its ability to mimic natural enamel formation and strengthen teeth without fluoride, this new gel could redefine modern dentistry. If commercialized successfully, it may offer a simple, safe, and lasting solution for restoring enamel and preventing decay — helping people maintain stronger, healthier teeth for life.