Science blog

We pay tribute to Peter Rainey – a passionate and dedicated patient advocate who helped put people affected by cancer at the heart of our research programme.

In this week’s news: survey reveals misconceptions around HPV and a prominent American figure wrongly suggests measles cures cancer.

Our Grand Challenge scientists at the National Physical Laboratory are using their expertise in measurement to draw a new map of cancer. The team hopes it will point to ways to diagnose and treat the disease.

There’s no convincing evidence that artificial sweeteners increase cancer risk. But can they help weight loss? We take a look at the latest research.

In this week’s news: NHS England roll out lung cancer scanning, and a planned cervical screening test switch could see the time between screenings extended to 5 years.

The roll-out of mobile NHS scanners will save lives from lung cancer. But staff shortages, stop smoking services and treatment inequalities can’t be ignored.

Scientists are working to document all the faults in the DNA of cancer cells to help them understand how cancer works.

In this week’s news: vaping as a stop smoking tool and why a ‘cancer cure in a year’ is unlikely.

We answer 5 common questions about heated tobacco products, from what’s in them and if they’re safe to whether they can help someone quit smoking.