Technique that examines fragments of foetal DNA in mother’s bloodstream could limit need for invasive screening, according to researchers

A new maternal blood test that can detect thousands of serious genetic conditions in the developing foetus could limit the need for invasive screening during pregnancy, according to scientists.

The test, to be described at the European Society for Human Genetics conference in Gothenburg on Saturday, relies on detecting tiny fragments of a foetus’s DNA that circulate in the mother’s bloodstream during pregnancy. Using advanced sequencing techniques, scientists were able to identify a very high proportion of genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are currently only reliably diagnosed using amniocentesis or other invasive tests.

Journalist and healthcare campaigner was driving force behind patient safety initiative after death of 13-year-old daughter

The healthcare campaigner and journalist Merope Mills has been made a CBE in the king’s birthday honours list for services to patient safety.

Mills, a senior editor at the Guardian, was a driving force behind the introduction of an initiative in England said to have potentially saved hundreds of lives. She has spent years campaigning for the introduction of Martha’s rule under which patients, relatives and staff can seek a second opinion if they have concerns about the care being provided.

Is my metabolism slowing with age? What’s the secret to good skin? And is there anything I can do about my crows feet? Medical, health and diet experts offer a midlife MOT

According to the dietician Rick Miller: “By the time a man hits his mid-40s, several physiological changes are already under way. Testosterone drops at around 1-2% annually from the mid-30s, insulin sensitivity decreases and the liver’s capacity to process certain nutrients changes. The diet that kept a man lean and energetic in his 30s simply stops working.”

The confusion over hantavirus and Ebola is a reminder that we must do better at explaining how to respond to an outbreak

Two unfolding outbreaks continue to command global attention. As a hantavirus outbreak tied to a cruise ship appears to be petering out, Ebola cases continue to mount in Africa. Alongside them have emerged familiar artifacts of the Covid era, including dashboards, trackers, maps, risk estimates and a polarized mix of alarming and dismissive takes.

Once again, we’re able to watch disease spread in almost real time. Yet despite all the information, many people are left asking the same questions: what can I trust? How bad is this, really? What should I do?

Desperate US parents paying up to $20,000 a session for a procedure scientists say could be bogus

Autistic children as young as 18 months old are being injected with human stem cells derived from umbilical cords in unapproved, unproven and potentially harmful “treatments” that scientists warn are proliferating across the US under the active encouragement of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as “regenerative medicine” to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs. Parents who have taken their children through the process talked about their hopes and fears for a therapy that appears to be gaining ground in the US.

Feeling abandoned and overwhelmed, families are turning to controversial new therapies backed by the US health secretary

Landyn Holdren is an eight-year-old autistic child who has high support needs and is nonspeaking. His mother, Christy Holdren, says he can be self-harming, slapping his chest, face or head when distressed.

Later this month, she will spend $15,000 on an unapproved stem cell treatment she hopes might help him.

My friend Joseph Ana, who has died aged 73, spent the best part of two decades in the UK working for the NHS as a urologist and then as a GP. But his heart was always in his native Nigeria, to where he returned to become a health commissioner. He used the knowledge and experience he had gained in the UK to help rebuild faith in the local healthcare system, overseeing, among other things, improvements in vaccination rates and the introduction of a state-wide ambulance service.

Joseph was born in Zaria in Nigeria, to Onun Onebieni Uguana Ana, who worked on the railways, and Ubu Ana, his first wife. The family compound was in Ikot-Ana in Cross River state, and his family were kingmakers, choosing a king from among the two royal families.

UN agency head warns of ‘major threat’ as global testing and treatment falls

A funding crisis and increasing repression of human rights are making the resurgence of an HIV epidemic more likely, the international agency tackling Aids has warned.

Winnie Byanyima, head of UNAids, said: “It’s the biggest disruption since the global HIV response was put together and it poses a major threat to the progress we have had.”

I think I’ll leave new methods to measure biological age to the Kardashians. Too much knowledge about your mortality can be bad for your health

In the season 5 finale of The Kardashians, the family took a commercially available blood test to discover how fast their bodies were ageing. It came as little surprise, given their privileged lifestyles, that the reality TV stars were said to be ageing more slowly than most mortals of the same age. Khloé, then 39, found she had a biological age of 28. Cue whoops of joy and much smugness.

The Kardashians join a growing list of celebrities who have taken similar tests and then crowed about their “biological ages”. Now, there’s a new test on the block.

Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of This Book May Cause Side Effects

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zones

Low emission and clean air zones attract controversy whenever they are proposed, but there is growing evidence that they work in improving air quality. The Bradford zone was followed by a reduction of about 25% in GP visits for heart and breathing problems and survey data shows that the central London zone was followed by a reduction in the likelihood of a person taking sick leave.

Now analysis of health records has found emergency admissions to hospital reduced after the introduction of the T-charge and ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) in central London.