Ann Barrett obituary

In 1968, when Ann Barrett qualified in medicine, the fast-changing specialty of oncology was a magnet for young doctors as new drugs and technology were beginning to nudge up survival rates. In her distinguished 40-year oncology career, Barrett, who has died aged 83, played a key part in improving cancer outcomes, particularly for children, becoming a world authority on paediatric radiotherapy.As chair of radiation oncology first at the University of Glasgow and then at the University of East Anglia, she was highly influential in the profession with more than 150 published academic papers. She had a significant impact on student education and was a leading contributor to several textbooks that are still “go-to” classics, including Practical Radiotherapy Planning (1985, now in its fifth edition, 2023), and Cancer in Children: Clinical Management (1975, now in its seventh edition, as the Oxford Textbook of Cancer in Children, 2020).After training at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London and various junior doctor posts, in 1977 Barrett became a consultant at the Royal Marsden hospital, a world leader in cancer research; Barrett specialised in brain tumours in children and in irradiating the central nervous system (the brain and spine)

Dame Shirley Porter obituary

There was a time in the late 1980s when Shirley Porter was the second most famous and powerful female politician in Britain: “the Iron Lady of the town halls”. Like her heroine, Margaret Thatcher, she was a grocer’s daughter, though the family business, Tesco, was somewhat bigger than the prime minister’s corner shop. Porter’s eventual fall from grace was devastating both for her personal reputation and for Thatcherism’s perceived way of doing things. She was, simply, the most corrupt politician of her time.Porter, who has died aged 95, was pursued by the district auditor from her power base at Westminster city council, where she was leader for eight years, 1983-91, and eventually found to have acted illegally in selling council houses with the aim of increasing Conservative votes, in what became known as the “homes for votes” scandal

Slow Alzheimer’s diagnoses ‘mean UK patients missing out on experimental treatments’

People with Alzheimer’s disease are missing out on experimental treatments because they are not diagnosed early or accurately enough to be enrolled in clinical trials, a UK charity has said.Trials of Alzheimer’s drugs reached a record high this year, according to data published on Tuesday, but Alzheimer’s Research UK said too few UK patients were taking part because their diagnoses were delayed or were not specific enough.The warning suggests patients are being left behind as research gathers momentum and branches out to tackle the condition on multiple fronts, a strategy that scientists consider to be crucial for halting the disease.Dr Sheona Scales, the director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the recent surge in clinical trials was driving demand for participants, but without a large and diverse range of patients to match to trials the UK risked missing out. “People won’t have access to the next generation of Alzheimer’s treatments,” she said

‘Group is a lifesaver’: strangers buy Wetherspoon’s meals for homeless people through app

Carl used to own pubs – several of them – and a string of hotels. Then two years ago, rising costs forced him into bankruptcy. Now he sleeps on the beach in summer, and in winter sits in an all-night McDonald’s nursing a single cup of coffee.Carl’s daughters are in a different part of the country with his ex-wife. To maintain the illusion that he lives a normal life, Carl is careful only to video-call them from the local Wetherspoon’s with a meal and a drink carefully positioned in shot

Parliament must heed public opinion on assisted dying | Letters

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent research and policy centre that aims to put ethics at the centre of decision-making about bioscience and health so that we all benefit. We agree that public views should be central to the debate on assisted dying (Editorial, 29 April). This is why we commissioned England’s first citizens’ jury on assisted dying in 2024, which produced rich and independent evidence about what the English public think about assisted dying, and the ethical, social and practical considerations that underpin their views.Over eight weeks, 30 jurors – who were reflective of the demographic makeup of the English population – spent a total of 24 hours hearing evidence from experts, engaging with perspectives from all sides of the debate, and deliberating in groups.At the final vote, the jury concluded that the law should be changed to permit terminally ill adults, with capacity, to access an assisted death

Man produces sperm from testicular tissue frozen as a child in breakthrough trial

In a groundbreaking fertility trial, a man whose testicular tissue was frozen before he underwent chemotherapy as a child to be re-transplanted 16 years later has been able to produce sperm.It is the first time a transplant of cryopreserved prepubertal testicular tissue has been demonstrated to restore sperm production in an adult patient. The 27-year-old man had the sample frozen when he was 10, before undergoing potent chemotherapy as part of treatment for sickle cell disease.“This is a huge finding,” said Prof Ellen Goossens, of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, who led the trial. “Many more people will have hope that they can have biological children