The NHS has named the first 11 hospital trusts that will map DNA on a scale never before attempted by sequencing the genomes of tens of thousands of patients, in a project that promises to transform the understanding of cancer and rare diseases. As part of the three-year initiative, an estimated

A new class of antibody found in the blood of patients with dengue fever has boosted hopes for a vaccine against the virus, which debilitates millions and kills tens of thousands each year. Cases of dengue fever have soared in the past 50 years to nearly 100 million a year as improved transport and

People who live near fracking operations should be monitored for chemical contaminants and health problems, according to researchers who surveyed the risks posed by substances used in the process. Scientists in the US found that many of the 750 or so chemicals that are pumped into the ground at

Metastatic lung cancer is hard to treat. So if there were a treatment for people with the disease that had minimal side effects, could extend not just the quantity of life but also its quality, we’d expect it to be a blockbuster. There is indeed such a treatment, as described in research published

Scientists have raised hopes that brain damage caused by strokes, stab wounds and even bullets could one day be repaired by converting structural cells into functioning neurons. For the first time, they have managed to regenerate damaged areas of the cerebral cortex of living animals by