Clare Wilson
@ClareWilsonMed
Followers
5K
Following
2K
Media
58
Statuses
6K
Science writer at i news https://t.co/8vovV0Wv20. Personal account. Clare.Wilson(at)https://t.co/tkzuYVlcxT
London
Joined June 2011
WHO says there are preliminary signs omicron is milder as hospitalisations in South Africa remain low.
115
449
2K
Banning baby milk from food banks is a basically #breastfeeding advocates trying to starve low-income families into submission
46
193
621
I respect the right of anyone to continue masking if they wish, but most of us don't want to, and it's wrong to try to persuade us otherwise by telling lies about covid - or mpox
345
40
338
Surprising news. Nearly all randomised placebo-controlled trials of multivitamins find no health benefit - but this one finds they improve memory
4
55
234
A PR firm has just sent me a list of the "best countries to move to, to lose weight", because they have lowest national BMI, and their number one country is Ethiopia.
15
46
189
In a world first, a man who was paralysed after breaking his neck can now walk simply by thinking about it, using a brain-computer interface
6
44
137
The more we learn about the brain's waste disposal system, the weirder it gets. Latest is that we may be able to activate glymphatic system by looking at certain visual stimuli
0
37
151
I haven't said STOP PRESS for a while but I said it today when the results for Pfizer's antiviral were released. If these results hold up it is brilliant brilliant news and changes everything
12
50
148
Research on how to preserve more organs for transplants could one day be used to save people currently considered dead.
1
31
125
An Insight I wrote in March about the fact that cancer cases in people under 50 have been rising for three decades, and no one knows why, has just been made free to read
11
44
125
We're not supposed to eat fat. Not supposed to eat sugar either. Now we can't have sweeteners, according to WHO. Oh and there is no safe level of booze apparently. What the hell is left?.
78
15
120
This is the most shocking story I have ever written - it's about how babies and mums are STILL being harmed by natural/normal birth ideology - even though they are flouting NHS policy
10
46
122
I have never got the angst about missed GP appointments. GPs are nearly always running late, so doesn't it just let them catch up? [PS my GP is ace, no GP-bashing please.].
14
4
103
Most people who die from #cancer are killed by the spreading of secondary tumours, but we know little about this process. New study has found breast cancer spreads in only two or three waves
0
36
91
In future we may block pain with an implant that cools nerves from inside the body - although so far only tested on rats.
4
31
78
I was honoured to receive the Harding award today for this article on why a new breed of genetic tests are promising something completely different New Scientist has put it in front of the usual paywall to celebrate. So non-subscribers, fill yer boots!.
18
19
79
@DrJlo29 I'm no doctor so forgive such a basic question but do you perform intubation using the penis?.
2
6
71
"The most glaring danger of C-section targets is that if you limit access to a potentially life-saving intervention , you risk lives being lost. And that is what happened."
3
22
66
The common sweetener, erythritol, has been linked with heart attacks and strokes by several kinds of research - I didn't realise how many different foods and drinks it gets added to
2
18
58
"Shrill." .If only those women complaining about the avoidable deaths of their babies would lower the pitch of their voices. .
A cold, defensive and misguided rapid response in the BMJ about the #EastKent maternity inquiry report. How many maternity staff have similar views?
2
16
57
April Fools for our times: made a fake lateral flow positive and told the family we would have to isolate for the whole Easter school holidays.
11
3
55
@DrJessTaylor According to UK data women are at no more risk of the clots then men - women have just been vaccinated more, because healthcare and care home workers are mainly women.
1
3
48
Dear @ItsuOfficial I love your chicken Thai rice bowl but no food can be both "high in energy and low in calories", honest. @One_Angry_Chef.
4
13
46
I did not know that 73 per cent of the DNA in the standard reference human genome came from one individual, who was African American. From our coverage of the new human pangenome by @mjflepage.
5
13
45
#Inflammation has been touted as a cause of heart attacks for so long, yet this hasn't translated into new treatments. That may be about to change
2
10
47
My fave thing about writing that Black Death Origin Story is I found out the plague spread to Crimea when diseased corpses were catapulted over town walls.
2
19
39
Huh, is there anything #Ozempic et al CAN'T do? Now a study in mice finds they turn down systemic inflammation in brain - so GLP-1 mimics now being investigated for Alzheimer's
0
13
38
In pregnancies that end in miscarriage, differences can be detected in embryo development up to four months before the miscarriage happens
1
7
36
@millihill No I just can't let the ironing thing go. If she's in too much pain to stand, she certainly can't get the ironing board out herself. So presumably her partner gets the ironing board out, sets it up next to sofa with big pile of ironing + says: "There you are luv. You're all set.".
1
0
37
The risk of long covid may have been overstated due to bad science. NB - this is not the same as saying no one has long covid.
57
7
36
@IanDunt Try the Unpaywall Chrome extension. If you click on a paper and there is a legal copy of it anywhere on the web, it will find it for you. There often is.
2
6
33
Vegetarian women have a one third higher chance of breaking their hip as they get older.
7
14
34
The new Alzheimer's treatment lecanemab has just had full approval in US - but questions remain about its side effects and whether any benefits would even be noticeable, as we covered here
2
12
33
Drones can deliver defibrillators to people after cardiac arrest faster than ambulances
4
6
34
The replication crisis in science is now so bad, scientific bodies have to give prizes to people trying to stop the publishing of flawed/fraudulent research. Here's my long read on the how the problems should be fixed.
The 2023 BNA Credibility Prizes recognise outstanding efforts to make neuroscience as credible as possible. There's a cash prize for the student category, and all winners receive passes to our 2023 International Festival of Neuroscience. Full details:
2
11
34
Monkeys are fooled by sleight-of-hand magic tricks but only if they have opposable thumbs
1
8
33
It's not true that only cancer cells have "cancer-causing mutations", says @Kat_Arney at #newscientistlive @newscievents @newscientist
1
8
28
We just found a new anatomical structure in the brain – and it might shed light on Alzheimer’s disease. Find out more in tomorrow’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly health newsletter, sent to your inbox every Saturday – sign up here
0
4
30
Good news for people taking immunosuppressants. A two-week break of methotrexate after covid jab doubles the antibody response.
0
15
30
So many of New Scientist’s newly unpaywalled features on exercise are busting myths. I take a look at what we do and don’t know about physical fitness in this week’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly email, every Saturday. Sign up here.
0
8
29
If you thought the trailer for #Goop Lab was bad, wait til you see the whole series. I just did and now I'm the one who needs an exorcism
3
16
27
How important is flexibility? A recent long-read on just how much stretching you really need to do, made free to read as part of New Scientist's week-long push on exercise.
0
5
25
Vitamin B3 supplements linked to higher risk of heart attacks and strokes
13
15
28
"These findings are sufficiently alarming for me to alter my behaviour - I walk as far from the kerbside as I can"
3
14
25
About two thirds of IVF embryos mysteriously stop developing - now we may have some clues about what's going on.
1
13
27
Important contribution to the "get junk food out of hospitals" debate here. Explains why having a McDonald's in a children's hospital is absolutely appropriate.
A great example to illustrate there is no such thing as junk food. Context is everything. In hospitals processed hyperpalatable foods can be life savers.
3
2
26
Elon Musk’s brain implant #Neuralink: sci-fi or sci-flop? Sign up here for New Scientist’s free weekly health news round-up to find out, sent to your email inbox every Saturday.
1
4
25
You thought Breast is Best is already being pushed on new mums too hard? Wait until health staff get new guidance from NICE that will turn them into the "breastfeeding police"
6
6
24
Strep A, monkeypox, hepatitis in children…why are infections behaving so strangely this year? To find out, sign up here for Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly round-up of health news, free every Saturday.
5
7
18
I don't want advice on commercial babyfoods from anyone who hasn’t PERSONALLY been up past midnight to batchcook and puree 2kg of carrots in the grim knowledge they will be woken up once in the night to breastfeed, then up for good at 5.30am when the birds wake up the 2-year-old.
1
7
24
@StuartJRitchie @theipaper Was it really for the paper, or was this all to get out of your turn for bottle sterilising duty?.
1
2
24
New study suggests common advice to give babies no solid foods before 6 months could be major cause of rise in peanut allergies We covered this in 2020
0
12
24
The commonest reason for older people to be taking #antidepressants is as a pain treatment - now we know they mostly don't work
3
9
22
How to tackle insomnia is the subject of tomorrow’s Health Check. It’s a free weekly email from New Scientist, which includes a round-up of the most important health news, sent out on Saturdays. Sign up here
0
3
23
How refreshing to read a non-judgemental unbiased, clear-eyed take on what for many is a life-saving invention.
Baby formula is a kind of superfood, capable of delivering a kaleidoscope of nutrition.
3
9
21
This "flamingo balance test" thing isn't as straightforward as it appears. New Scientist explains why
1
7
19
If there's one thing that nearly every researcher in the world agrees on. it's that more research is needed.
4
0
19
Gum disease is linked with diverse range of health conditions, from heart attacks to Alzheimer’s, and now rheumatoid arthritis. Learn more in Saturday’s Health Check, New Scientist’s weekly health news email – free sign-up here
2
2
18
It turns out we have been treating Crohn's disease all wrong. We should be using the strongest medicine straight away, not keeping it as a last resort
22
7
19
Why doesn’t exercise lead to sustained weight loss? Find out in New Scientist’s weekly health email, sent to your inbox every Saturday. It’s free to sign up up here:
2
5
21
This could be the oldest known alphabet - on 4000-year-old clay cylinders unearthed from a Syrian tomb.
1
4
21
Australia really clamping down hard on #vaping - will in future only be obtained from pharmacies with a doctor's prescription Is it the only country to take this position?.
3
8
20
@ElliotElinor @Novembervivi It is always always always the adult daughters who are expected to wipe their parents bums. Not the sons.
1
0
19
What would be impact in UK if we “let coronavirus rip”? New study from only city in the world to have achieved herd immunity sheds some light. Sign up for New Scientist’s Saturday health email to find out This story is NOT available on website or magazine.
3
3
19
Mindfulness and meditation may seem like simple techniques to ease stress but could they sometimes leave people worse off? Find out by signing up for New Scientist’s free weekly health round-up email here
4
3
20
Selfish genes in the flesh? New study supports theory that pregnant women and their fetuses have competing interests over pregnancy duration and baby's birthweight
1
6
19
For a tour through the different theories on the biological causes of #depression and how antidepressants work, sign up for tomorrow's Health Check, a weekly health email from New Scientist
4
7
17
Monkeypox is not going to be the next pandemic, as I explain in New Scientist’s free weekly health newsletter, sent to your inbox every Saturday morning. Sign up for it here
1
5
16
Now vaccines are working so well, where do we go from here? Find out in tomorrow’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly health news email
2
6
16
@millihill I'm still trying to imagine bothering to do any ironing when you're in too much pain to stand.
1
0
15
@millihill The problem with saying "women deserve safe birth AND positive experience" is that sometimes prioritising the experience jeopardises safety. RCM has come to realise that, thankfully. Next up: the NCT et al.
3
1
16
Just how old could the oldest person live to be? Maybe the current record (of 122) is going to start being broken.
2
10
18
Royal College Midwives website advised that during births midwives should “wait and see + trust their intuition”. Who wrote this nonsense?.
3
8
16
Message to all I communicate with electronically: I'm going to stop putting an exclamation mark after I say "Thanks" going forward. Please don't take it personally, I'm doing this with everyone as a time-saving measure.
4
1
13
Why do we #sleep? The answer isn’t as obvious as you might think – as I explore in tomorrow’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly newsletter. Sign up at to start getting the email every Saturday.
1
3
16
Why crunching the numbers makes getting the AZ jab a no-brainer. Arm yourself by reading tomorrow's New Scientist health email, sent to your inbox every Saturday. It’s free to sign up up here:
0
3
14
Studying turtles that don't seem to age could let us crack the secret of longevity. Read more, in New Scientist's free weekly health round-up email, every Saturday - sign up here
1
4
14
The risk of long covid from omicron may be less than half that from the previous variant delta - not really surprising because we know a milder short-term illness is less likely to lead to lingering symptoms
3
4
11
@neef1979 A phobia is an irrational fear. Is it even possible to have an irrational fear of childbirth when it is completely rational to fear physical damage to your body? Entire concept of tokophobia should be abandoned.
1
1
15
No it's pure ideology. This stuff is safe enough to be sold at supermarket normally, without any specialist advice on hand, and has shelf life lasting months, probably years.
@ClareWilsonMed I noticed this at my local foodbank and thought it must be some sort of safety thing - this is ridiculous!.
0
5
13
How prepared are we for the next pandemic? I look at the lessons from covid-19 in tomorrow’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free weekly health newsletter. Sign up here
0
4
12
@NHSEngland @actiononsugar Oh for Heaven's sake, who decided having #SugarAwarenessWeek over #Halloween was a good idea?.
1
0
13
The paper that my recent story about negative effects from #mindfulness was based on has just been published online, at
3
3
12
Are you more likely to catch coronavirus by touching a contaminated surface or breathing it in? Find out more by signing up for New Scientist's weekly health newsletter, sent out Saturdays
4
8
14
Why are superspreading and “stuttering” so important in #coronavirus epidemic now? Find out in tomorrow’s Health Check newsletter, from New Scientist
0
3
14
@RuthAnnHarpur You could equally argue women are too vulnerable and mentally ill to make critically assess the non-evidence-based claims of breastfeeding benefits they are continually bombarded with.
1
1
13
Hate bad news? Like good news? In this week’s Health Check, New Scientist’s free round-up of health news, sent out every Saturday, I highlight the year’s top five good news stories from my beat. Sign up here
0
2
5
If you stir-fry kale at a high temperature for just a couple of minutes, with some garlic and a dash of soya sauce. it's still horrible.
this is great, by @ameliargh "I leave my water and my sleep up to my body. I leave kale alone, full stop.".
5
0
13