NEWSROOM
Refugee integration could bring £1.2bn to the UK economy
The UK’s current asylum system lost almost £4bn in costs to the end of June 2023, but one group is working to change that. A report from the cross-sector Commission on the Integration of Refugees suggests 16 ways to reduce costs by focusing on integration. Researchers at the LSE have found that the recommendations could save an estimated £1.2bn over three years, with new arrivals having their applications fast-tracked, enabling them to enter employment within six months.
AI tool detects 11 cases of breast cancer missed by doctors in NHS test
In an NHS trial in Grampian, AI tool Mia detected 11 cases of breast cancer missed by doctors, including a 6mm tumour. The patient, Barbara, had an operation and just five days of radiotherapy to treat her cancer, which otherwise may not have been found until three years later during her next routine mammogram, the BBC reports. Mia has the potential to reduce waiting times for patients from 14 days to three, and can also reduce the workload on doctors, standing in for one of the two radiologists usually needed to observe scans. Dr. Gerald Lip, who ran Mia’s evaluation at NHS Grampian, said he did not fear doctors’ jobs being replaced, but rather that the tool could free up clinicians’ time to spend with patients. Though the study still needs a formal peer review, the Royal College of Radiologists said the technology has potential.
The world has run out of cholera vaccines, as outbreaks rage in more than 20 countries
More than 1 billion lives are at risk from cholera, but zero doses of vaccine to treat the disease remain in the global stockpile, reports The Guardian. Despite efforts to stretch the supply of vaccines by giving one dose in place of the standard two, the stockpile has not been replenished because of an overdependence on one South Korean manufacturer, EuBiologics. Communities dealing with poverty, conflict, insecurity, and now climate change are the most affected by cholera, according to the Global Task Force on Cholera Control, with new cases in 2023 emerging on average every 45 seconds. Promisingly, EuBiologics is developing a simplified vaccine and Indian and South African manufacturers are looking to enter the market. But in order to stop preventable deaths, the WHO says, other producers must step up to meet demand.
A psychedelic root has helped two-thirds of addicts break free of opioids, with many cured after a single session
Ibogaine is a psychedelic drug derived from a shrub native to Gabon. It can cause cardiac arrests, deaths, and potentially save lives. As opioid deaths in the US exceed 100,000 a year, Kentucky and Ohio may fund clinical trials with the substance, The New York Times reports. Up to two thirds of those treated were cured of crack cocaine and opioid addictions almost instantly, according to small-scale studies. Ibogaine seems to work in two ways: dulling the pain of withdrawal, and imparting addicts with a desire to stay sober. Ibogaine expert Dr. Deborah Marsh of the University of Miami noted: “Ibogaine is not a silver bullet, and it won’t work for everybody, but it’s the most powerful addiction interrupter I’ve ever seen.” Ibogaine is one of a growing number of promising psychedelic treatments to have entered the public eye in recent years.
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