More than a third of people in the UK do not plan to drink alcohol this Christmas.
Nearly a quarter say they are drinking less now compared to this time last year, while four in ten people aged between 18 and 34 say they are teetotal, according to a survey carried out by price comparison website Forbes Advisor.
The survey concluded that the number of Britons turning away from booze was on the rise, driven by concerns about health as well as saving money.
More than a third of people in the UK do not plan to drink alcohol this Christmas
AI on par with X-ray specialists
Artificial intelligence (AI) is just as good at spotting medical issues on an X-ray as specialists, it is claimed.
Researchers at the University of Warwick presented the ‘learning’ software with nearly two million historic X-rays that contained the signs of 37 different medical conditions.
Results showed that about 95 per cent of the time the AI – called X-Raydar – was as accurate at diagnosing the patient as the radiologist who reviewed the scan at the time, or even more so.
Experts say that the findings could revolutionise NHS radiology, increasing the speed and accuracy of scans.
‘Comprehensive AI programs like this will be the future of medicine, with AI acting as a co-pilot for busy doctors,’ says Professor Vicky Goh, a radiology expert at King’s College London.
Click on this week’s Medical Minefield podcast to hear why doctors are at war over a £45 cholesterol-busting drug
An economist has warned that treating dementia will cost the NHS about £1billion a week by 2025.
According to Julian Jessop, a former Treasury adviser, the degenerative brain disease will account for about £50billion in annual spending due to the rising number of people developing the condition.
Nearly one million people in the UK currently have dementia – costing the country roughly £35billion a year – but the number is expected to rise to about 1.6million by 2040, according to research.
Mr Jessop presented his estimates at a meeting of the Geller Commission last week – an organisation that reviews the standard of NHS dementia care.
Nearly one in four people over the age of 65 have not been hugged in the past month, according to a survey, while one in three say they do not feel hugged enough.
The study, carried out by weighted blanket firm Kudd.ly, also found that Londoners receive almost twice as many hugs as the rest of the country – on average getting between five and nine hugs a month.
Around 40 per cent of the 2,000 respondents also said that hugging was extremely beneficial for their emotional wellbeing.
Nearly one in four people over the age of 65 have not been hugged in the past month, according to a survey, while one in three say they do not feel hugged enough
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