Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Housing census figures in Ireland paints a bleak picture?

A BLEAK PICTURE OF HOMELESSNESS, OVERCROWDING AND RELIANCE ON OVERPRICED RENTALS

   

Even the Irish Government admits that its plans to increase the supply of new homes will fall woefully short of expanding demand. The State needs to build about 35,000 new homes every year to begin making a dent in the housing crisis,

The Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said last week. He admits that the current target is to build only some 25,000 new houses a year, a third less. It was a challenge, he confessed, that reflects a “fundamental structural problem in the housing sector”.

The first Central Statistics Office “thematic” report on housing from the 2016 census paints a bleak picture: homelessness, overcrowding, and forced reliance on an overpriced rental sector, on the rise, while home ownership and house-building have declined – a perfect storm of rising demand and falling supply.

Perhaps most dramatic is the stark contrast between the 0.4% growth (just 8,800 units) in the housing stock between 2011 and 2016 and the previous five-year period – the latter, at 225,232 new dwellings, was 26 times larger.

Close to one in 10 of the population now lives in some 95,013 overcrowded households which have more people than rooms, a rise in five years of 28%. The hidden homeless. And the number of owner-occupied homes also fell between 2011 and 2016 causing the overall rate to drop from 69.7% to 67.6%, a level last seen in 1971. We are moving backwards, fast.

For most young people renting is the only option and now exceeds owner-occupation among under-35s . And in a squeezed market like Dublin, rents have inevitably soared – up some 30 per cent in the capital since 2011, if you are lucky enough to find somewhere.

Yet, why is there not a more serious attempt to incentivise bringing the 183,000 homes that are currently vacant back into use? And why the obsession with building homes-to-buy for first-time buyers at ever-inflating prices, when the real demand is for affordable social and affordable housing and rental properties? Time for a broader range of solutions, Says Mr Coveney.

Meanwhile: —

New data shows just 2,076 homes built last year

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FIGURES SHOW NEW HOMES FALLING FAR SHORT OF GOVERNMENT’S 15,000 ESTIMATE. 

  

THE NUMBER OF NEW HOMES BUILT IN THE STATE LAST YEAR WAS JUST 2,076, A FRACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S 15,000 ESTIMATE, ACCORDING TO NEW FIGURES.

The number of new homes built in the State last year was just 2,076, a fraction of the Government’s 15,000 estimate, according to new figures obtained under the Freedom of Information.

Taken from the Building Control Management System, which is widely acknowledged as the most reliable construction database, the figures cast further doubt on the Government’s estimate of homebuilding rates in the economy.

They show that, when one-off homes are excluded, just 848 estate houses and apartments were completed in 2016 compared to an official Department of Housing estimate of 8,729.

In Dublin city, the most populous part in the State, just 68 scheme homes and apartments were completed last year.

The figures for other local authorities were also well below official estimates; Fingal (121), Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown (78), South Dublin (69) and Cork City (21).

In three local authorities, Longford, Leitrim and Roscommon, there were no housing completions recorded at all in 2016, while a further eight counties recorded fewer than 10 completions.

The figures stand in stark contrast to the Department of Housing’s official housing completion figure for 2016 of 14,932.

The discrepancy stems from the department’s use of ESB metering data as a proxy to count new builds. Electricity connections can be triggered by work to existing buildings or by formerly vacant units coming back on stream.

Ghost estates in Ireland?

The official figures are also likely to have been inflated by the finishing out of so-called ghost estates built during the boom.

Dublin architect Mel Reynolds said the Government’s housing targets, contained in its Rebuilding Ireland strategy, are based on new-build levels that were “fictional”.

He said the remarkably low output figure for scheme homes and apartments also raised questions about the Government’s new Help-to-Buy scheme, which has been blamed for fuelling further inflation in the market.

Mr Reynolds said there were now almost five Help-to-Buy scheme applicants for every new home being built.

The Department of Housing has repeatedly defended its use of the 14,932 completion figure, suggesting electricity connections have been used as a proxy for completions since the 1970s, as developers would not connect a property to the grid until it is ready for sale.

It also claims the Building Control Management System database is not an accurate measure of homebuilding activity as it was only established in 2014 and may fail to capture projects commenced prior to that.

Last week, Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said he hoped the level housing supply could be accelerated to 25,000 units a year by the end of next year. However, he indicated the State may need to build 35,000 units before demand in the market can be met.

Minister Varadkar supports an SSIA-style scheme to top up personal pensions

VARADKAR SAYS A PLAN IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE MORE SAVING’S.

  

A new SSIA-style savings scheme should be introduced to try to tackle our ‘pensions time bomb’, according to Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar.

The original State-backed five-year SSIA plan, introduced in 2001, offered a bonus of €1 for every €4 saved monthly, subject to an agreed maximum.

Now Minister Varadkar wants a similar type of incentive for workers to pay into their own “personal” pension fund. The plan would give them additional retirement cover – on top of their State pension entitlement – and employers would be required to match their contributions.

“The minister’s preferred option would be an SSIA-type top-up from the Government, rather than the current system of a tax-relief incentive,” a spokesperson confirmed to the Sunday Independent.

“The SSIA top-up is very well understood, much more so than tax relief.

“It costs much the same, and would add to an individual’s pension income, as the money would go into their personal pension savings account.”

The fund would have to be phased in over a period of time with contributions starting at a “low level” in the first year.

The most favoured model would be similar to the Australian, Singaporean and New Zealand systems, and specially “tailored” for Ireland.

Every worker would be automatically enrolled in the scheme – but would have the right to avail of an opt-out clause. The fund would be the “private property” of the individual, could not be expropriated by any government, and could be inherited by a partner or family members if the worker passed away before drawing down any benefits.

It could be transferred to another jurisdiction, and there would be flexibility as to when benefits accrued could be taken out. The SSIA scheme of 16 years ago was generally regarded as a success, generating a huge national savings kitty.

Only a third of private-sector workers have a pension. During the recession years, many people sacrificed saving for their retirement as they battled to cope with more immediate bills such as mortgages, heating and food.

Meanwhile, the latest census data shows the proportion of those in the older age bracket continues to increase.

There are now 296,837 males and 340,730 females aged 65 or older in Ireland.

The number of men in this age category has gone up by 22% since 2011, compared with an increase of 16% for women. Medical experts predict improved medical care and other lifestyle changes will result in people generally living longer.

Financial studies show the demise of the traditional ‘permanent pensionable job’ as the nature of the workplace changes. Problems in many company schemes are an added complication.

Dermot O’Leary, chief economist with Goodbody Stockbrokers, suggests an SSIA-style government initiative could help deal with the ‘ticking pensions time bomb’.

He said recent census figures provided further confirmation that the over 60s segment of the population will increase in the coming years.

He suggested there would be obvious benefits to an SSIA-style scheme linked to pensions provision.

Nutritionists now agree there’s only one fruit that must find a place in your shopping basket “Berries”?

  

Every fruit has its nutritional benefits but there is only one that seems to be winning the battle across the board when it comes to the expert’s advice.

If you tend to opt for berries of the red variety over blue because of their appealing buy me attractions, it might be time to change that because blueberries have multiple health benefits with 17 different dietitians agreeing that they’re one of the best superfoods available.

After surveying a group of nutritionists and cross-referencing their answers, Byrdie found the non-assuming berry came out on top.

WHY IS THAT?

Nutritionist Frida Harju, sums it up perfectly, when explaining:

“If you are going to add one fruit to your diet, make it blueberries. They have been labelled a superfood due to their high levels of polyphenols, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory compounds that help to combat memory loss and enhance your mood.”

Due to the high amount of antioxidants present in blueberries, they help cardiovascular health and brain health.

They’re also high in fibre, good for your skin, aid digestion and unlike other fructose-laden fruits, blueberries have been shown to improve blood glucose and insulin levels.

If food shopping is on your Weekly to-do list, make sure blueberries find their way into your basket…

‘Hobbits’ Now claimed as one of the earliest forms of the human species?

  

A model of a female Homo floresiensis right picture.

HOBBITS, KNOWN AS HOMO FLORESIENSIS, COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST ARCHAIC FORMS OF HUMAN ACCORDING TO NEW RESEARCH.

Remains of hobbits were discovered on an Indonesian island in 2003, and since then scientists have debated where they originated from.

While some claim they were just short Homo sapiens, new Australian National University (ANU) research claims the hobbits were most likely a sister species to Homo habilis – who lived in Africa about 1.75 million years ago.

There’s also a chance that they even proceeded the Homo habilis, making them one of the oldest forms of humans.

They were about 3.5ft tall and used stone tools.

“It’s possible that Homo floresiensis evolved in Africa and migrated, or the common ancestor moved from Africa then evolved into Homo floresiensis somewhere,” study leader Dr Debbie Argue says.

Dr Argue said the analyses could also support the theory that Homo floresiensis could have branched off earlier in the timeline, more than 1.75 million years ago.

“If this was the case Homo floresiensis would have evolved before the earliest Homo habilis, which would make it very archaic indeed,” she said.

The hobbits lived on the Indonesian island of Flores until as recently as 54,000 years ago.

Prior to the ANU study it was believed that the Homo floresiensis evolved from Homo erectus, a larger human that lived on the Indonesian mainland of Java.

However the ANU researchers say that’s almost certainly not the case.

“We can be 99 per cent sure it’s not related to Homo erectus and nearly 100 per cent chance it isn’t a malformed Homo sapiens,” Professor Mike Lee said.

The research was published in the Journal of Human Evolution.

It’s unclear whether Bilbo Baggins is connected to the Homo floresiensis, or how he and his relatives made their way to Hobbiton from Indonesia.  

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Former Finance Minister McCreevy not saying whether a property bubble existed in Ireland

 

Charlie McCreevy has denied that he was reckless with the public finances, and resisted answering whether he thought a property bubble existed in Ireland during the boom.

The former Finance Minister says his record in office has been misrepresented , and he stands by it.

The former Fianna Fáíl TD began his evidence at the Banking Inquiry this afternoon with a vigorous defence of his record running the country’s finances.

“Since the recent national downturn, critics are suggesting that we should not have spent all of this money,” he said.

“If we had spent less, it would have meant larger budget surpluses. Some of us have gone on to say we should have built up further rainy day funds … are these people for real?”

However, the inquiry went into private session for some time after the former minister was accused of failing to answer questions.

Mr McCreevy would not give a direct answer when he was asked if he thought Ireland had experienced a property bubble.

The former minister said he wouldn’t answer questions that didn’t relate to his time in office – to the frustration of Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty.

“You are avoiding answering a very simple question which is very relevant,” Doherty said.

After being reminded of his legal obligations by the inquiry chairman, Ciaran Lynch, McCreevy responded that he did not believe there was a property bubble “during my time”, and said he did not believe his policies had fuelled it.

On-the-spot fines for dangerous cyclists to be introduced

Minister says fines will come in this month and crack down on cycling on footpaths

    

Bike-users will soon be faced with on-the-spot fines for dangerous cycling on footpaths, according to the Minister for Transport Paschal Donohue.

Bike-users will soon be faced with on-the-spot fines for dangerous cycling on footpaths, according to the Minister for Transport Paschal Donohue.

The new fixed fine penalties for reckless cycling are expected to come into effect by late July this year.

Prior to the new fine system, dangerous cyclists would have received a court summons for carrying out any of 36 different cycling offences.

The fines will be enforced by An Garda Síochána, following the update of the PULSE system for the cycling offences.

Mr Donohue acknowledged certain circumstances in which some cyclists may use footpaths due to road traffic, but said that would be left up to the discretion of gardaí.

“I don’t want to move to a situation where any kind of an adult feels they can’t be on a footpath, for example when they might be taking their kids to school,” the minister said on RTÉ Radio.

“What I do want to see change, and we are going to make that change, is where people are cycling dangerously on a footpath at risk to themselves and other people”.

The minister also announced on Wednesday the free use of leap cards for children between July 6th and 19th on any form of public transport where the card is accepted, following the recent sale of the one millionth leap card.

Men lose ability to think rationally around beautiful women

 

Research in China has shown that attractive women are able to manipulate men into making unfair deals by clouding their judgement. Should men never do business with a beautiful woman?

A long story

If your brain turns to mush around beautiful women rest assured, it’s a scientific inevitability.

In a study at Zhejiang University in China, published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, 21 male students looked at 300 photographs of women — half had  been classified by another group of men as attractive, half as unattractive.

The participants then played a computer game where they had to come to do a financial deal with the women in the pictures, splitting a small sum of pretend money.

Researchers found that the men were much more likely to accept an offer from the ‘attractive’ women and accepted unfair offers far more readily. They also accepted a fair offer from an attractive woman faster.

Scans of the hapless males’ brains showed greater activity in the reward areas of the brain when they dealt with ‘attractive’ women and more sensitivity to the areas of the brain that deal with dissatisfaction when an unfair offer was table by a woman rated as ‘unattractive.’

Interestingly, the men realized that they would never meet any of the women when playing the game but still bent over backwards to please those they found more attractive.

This isn’t the first study to demonstrate how powerless men are in the presence of female beauty.

A recent study from University College London and the University of Bristol, quoted in the Huffington Post, found that men donate more generously to charity when the fundraisers are attractive women. Interestingly, women didn’t show the same pattern with attractive men.

So the next time you are faced with a beautiful woman over the boardroom table, maybe it’d be best to take a cold shower before you sign anything.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Do men have a crucial Achilles heel when it comes to doing business with women?

Disrupt Your Feed: Men are so easy to manipulate, they really shouldn’t be allowed to do business at all.

A study in Finland showed that better looking political candidates of both sexes did 20 percent better than those candidates rated as less attractive.

Former ghost estate turned into homes for people on housing list

 

The above development in Dublin 13 was officially opened recently.

The housing charity CLÚID took over a ghost estate on Dublin’s Northside over six years ago and they have now refurbished over 200 units there.

Speaking at the official opening today Karen Kennedy from Clúid said, “When we first visited this development over six years ago, there were high rates of anti-social behaviour, rubbish was piled up on the streets, and there were derelict buildings everywhere.

“Today, almost all the properties are occupied, houses have been turned into homes, and there is a growing sense of community everywhere you look.”

Resident Helen Maguire said: ‘I am just beyond happy.

Before moving here, me and my son were living in a one bed emergency accommodation hotel room. My landlord moved back into the property I was living in and I had been extremely anxious ever since. We were totally unsettled.

“Having a long-term lease is a massive relief for me. The service Clúid provides is very reassuring and I always have a point of contact when I need one. The whole process has been life-changing for me. Belmayne is my home now.”

Transformation 

In 2009, Clúid partnered with two other Approved Housing Bodies to purchase 75 complete but unsold dwellings. At the same time, Dublin City Council purchased 59 units and appointed Clúid as management agent.

In 2014, Clúid signed a lease agreement with NARPS for a further 125 properties.

Belmayne is located in an area of Dublin with a high demand for all types of housing, so Clúid proposed a mixed tenure community that would cater for people with a range of needs and incomes.

60% of the 125 units acquired in 2014 are social rented dwellings for people on Dublin City Council’s housing waiting list.

Of these, one third is reserved for people who have experienced homelessness. The remaining 40% are let at market rents to those who can afford to pay a higher rent.

Karen Kennedy commented: “We are absolutely delighted to be providing long-term housing for people on the social housing waiting list in this area.

“Belmayne has been transformed from an underutilised, unfinished development into a thriving community.”

Plankton found with a human-like eye

   

The miniature multi-cellular eye is similar to that of humans, scientists have discovered

A single-celled blob of marine plankton has evolved a miniature multi-cellular eye similar to that of humans, scientists have discovered.

The “ocelloid” so surprised researchers that originally they mistook it for the eye of an animal the organism had eaten.

Lead scientist Greg Gravelis, from the University of British Columbia in Canada, said: ” It’s an amazingly complex structure for a single-celled organism to have evolved.

“It contains a collection of sub-cellular organelles that look very much like the lens, cornea, iris and retina of multicellular eyes found in humans and other larger animals.”

Experts are still not sure exactly how the plankton organisms, called warnowiids, use the eye. They are known to employ harpoon-like structures to hunt plankton prey, which is often transparent.

One theory is that the eye helps warnowiids to detect shifts of light passing through the bodies of their prey, showing them in which direction to hunt.

Dr Brian Leander, also from the University of British Columbia, said: “The internal organisation of the retinal component of the ocelloid is reminiscent of the polarising filters on the lenses of cameras and sunglasses. It has hundreds of closely packed membranes lined up in parallel.”

The researchers collected samples of warnowiids off the coasts of British Columbia and Japan and used a 3D microscope technique to analyse the eye-like structure.

The study, reported in the journal Nature, sheds light on how very different forms of life can develop similar traits in response to their environments, a process called convergent evolution.

“When we see such similar structural complexity at fundamentally different levels of organisation in lineages that are very distantly related, then you get a much deeper understanding of convergence,” said Dr. Leander.     

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Safety targets to feature in Ireland’s 2013 National Service Plan

  

The HSE’s 2014 HSE National Service Plan will set out targets in respect of each programme area “to ensure that health, safety, quality of care performance can be evaluated throughout the year, in order to identify any emerging areas of concern,

The Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly has said should any such concerns arise, this will make it possible to implement necessary remedial measures without delay.

The 2013 Service Plan required the HSE to continue to focus its delivery of services on the dual challenge of protecting patient outcomes, while at the same time.reducing costs. 2014 will be no different in this regard and any measures impacting on the health system as a result of Budget 2014 will also be assessed against these criteria — with the outcomes of this consideration set out in the NSP for 2014, Dr Reilly said. The Plan will be submitted to Dr Reilly shortly for approval.

In setting out the operating framework for the delivery of HSE services throughout 2014, the Plan will look to deliver the maximum level of safe services possible, with prioritisation, where necessary, of certain services to meet the most urgent needs.

The healthcare system has, over recent years, had to deal with a number of major challenges, including reduced overall levels of funding and employment numbers, demographic pressures and increased numbers of people with chronic illnesses, said Dr Reilly.

Despite this, major improvements in mortality and morbidity rates have been achieved in certain core areas, including diseases of the circulatory system, where the death rate per 100,000 has fallen by almost 36 per cent since 2002. Overall cancer rates have reduced by 8 per cent in the same period.

“This has been achieved during a period when the average length of stay in acute hospitals has also reduced and the number of patients receiving the treatment they require without having to stay in hospital (i.e. day-case patients) has increased as a percentage of total discharges by over 50 per cent,” Dr Reilly told the Dáil.

Forty of the Ireland’s worst ghost estates to be demolished

 

Developments with no hope of being finished to be bulldozed next year after list of 40 drawn up

Council officials have been in touch with the property developers involved and their banks to draw up plans for dealing with the worst cases.

The demolition of the State’s worst unfinished ghost estates will begin next year under a plan devised by Minister of State for Housing Jan O’Sullivan.Ms O’Sullivan has drawn up a list of 40 estates for demolition in the next 12 months.Others are likely to be added when the initial programme is complete. A spokesman for the Minister of State said yesterday that 40 estates which have no hope of being developed will be bulldozed next year.

Some of them are at a very rudimentary stage with no completed houses in the developments.

Commercial viability
He said the Department of the Environment had been working with local authorities to identify estates with no hope of commercial viability.

Council officials have been in touch with the property developers involved and their banks to draw up plans for dealing with the worst cases.

The legal owners of the properties are now considering whether to comply with requests by the local authorities to clear the sites or propose alternative plans to deal with them.

Most of the ghost estates targeted for demolition are not close to the main urban centres and are owned by small local developers.

The spokesman said some of them have partially built houses on them but many have just foundations and groundworks and could be returned to green field status relatively easily.

The latest inventory of unfinished estates provided by local authorities to the department shows that there are less than 1,300 of them in the country. This compares with 1,770 a year ago.

A significant number of unfinished estates have been brought up to standard over the past year with local authorities providing proper road access as well as footpaths, roads, lighting and other services.

A fund of €10 million was allocated in the budget to provide these facilities in estates where most of the houses have been occupied.

Councils can apply to draw down money from this fund and Ms O’Sullivan is hoping that the provision of basic services will persuade developers to finish off the houses in the improved estates.

‘Private finance’
“If this works by attracting the private finance to finish out a number of estates we can make the case to do it again.

“As of now we have the funding for 2014 but €10 million is just enough for the first phase of a programme to deal with problem estates,” said the department spokesman.

Mothers granted leave to challenge law on resource hours for 

DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN 

 

Two mothers have been granted leave to challenge the current rules on resource hours for children with Down Syndrome in the High Court next month.

The High Court has granted leave for two mothers of children with Down Syndrome to challenge the law on the provision of resource teaching hours to children with the disability.

One of the women. whose five-year-old son has Down Syndrome and is currently schooled in the mainstream system, wants her son to be allocated resource teaching hours, but Down Syndrome is not currently recognised as a disability by the Department of Education.

A child with the disability must be diagnosed with second disability from the Department of Education’s ‘Low Incidence Disability’ list in order to qualify for resource teaching hours.

“My son has Down Syndrome and he is not entitled to support in the mainstream schools,” the mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told TheJournal.ie today.

“We’re asking the State to recognise our children and give them adequate support.”

The State has been given until 5 December to respond to the case. The woman said this evening that she is “naturally nervous” but wants the nation to realise that Down Syndrome is a disability.

She said that having met with Education Minister Ruairi Quinn she feels this is now the only option left for her.

Doctors should always put patient care before cost

A top PROFESSOR SAYS

   

Doctors should always try to do the best they can for their patients without the consideration of cost, a leading ophthalmologist has said.

The Full Professor and Chair at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Vita-Salute, Scientific Institute, San Raffaele, Milan, Italy — described by the Irish College of Ophthalmologists (ICO) as one of the world’s top ophthalmic experts — commented: “Our role should not be to ask for less for our patients. As doctors, we work for the best for our patients, then someone else with responsibility for allocation of resources should worry about feasibility, maybe a politician.”

Prof Francesco Bandello, in Dublin last month for the International Retina and AMD Congress 2013, was commenting on the ongoing debate in the specialty — whether to prescribe Avastin (bevacizumab), a cheaper off-label drug originally licensed for cancer, or the relatively more expensive licensed Lucentis (ranibizumab), for the treatment of wet Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Irish Medical Times reports as the results of a ground-breaking investigation into the prevalence of the chronic eye condition in Ireland (some 7 per cent of over 50-year-olds have AMD) were presented by Principal Investigator of the Macular Pigment Research Group, Waterford IT, Prof John Nolan, at the International Retina Conference hosted in Dublin last week by Irish patient-led research charity Fighting Blindness.

However, Prof Bandello said: “The problem is financial. If we have enough money I think there is no question about it, we must use Lucentis, because it is developed specifically for ophthalmology with less side-effects. But if we have insufficient money, then it should be about watching the costs.”

Although he believes Avastin works equally well, Prof Bandello queried: “Were it your mother or brother or sister, you would give them Lucentis but what is the limit?”

Resources will become increasingly important in the future as people live longer and because all over the world nobody has money to treat everyone in the best possible way so we have become communistic,

Test’s for aggressive (tiger) type prostate cancer could help men

AVOID TOUGH DECISIONS ON SURGERY

   

Prostate cancer patients could be screened to detect aggressive tumours (like above left) after scientists identified a protein linked to severe forms of the disease.

Currently there is no reliable way to distinguish between life-threatening prostate cancers, known as “tigers”, and less harmful “pussycats” which cause few or no symptoms. 

Patients with high levels of the protein NAALADL2 are more likely to need surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy while those with low concentrations could be spared unnecessary treatment, researchers said.

Currently there is no reliable way to distinguish between life-threatening prostate cancers, known as “tigers”, and less harmful “pussycats” which cause few or no symptoms.

The Cancer Research UK scientists, from the University of Cambridge, studied biopsies of prostate tumours and found that NAALADL2 caused prostate cancer cells to behave more aggressively and invade healthy tissue.

Results published in the Oncogene journal showed that those with high levels of the protein were twice as likely to relapse after treatment than those with low levels.

The findings suggest that screening for high levels of the protein could help doctors pinpoint patients with aggressive tumours, researchers said.

Some 41,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK and about 10,700 die from the disease annually.

Lead author Dr Hayley Whitaker said: “This is early research, but if clinical trials confirm our results then it could help clinicians to tell which patients have a more aggressive tumour and need proportionally aggressive treatment, while sparing patients with low grade tumours unnecessary radiotherapy or surgery.

“This is an important step along the path to developing a much-sought after test that could distinguish between different types of prostate cancer.”

Professor Malcolm Mason, Cancer Research UK’s prostate cancer expert, added: “I hope that this research brings forward the day when I can say to patients: ‘We know that your cancer doesn’t need treatment’ – a crucial development that could spare thousands of patients from enduring arduous treatment with unpleasant side effects.

Egyptians mummified snack portions for journey of death

A STUDY REVEALS

 

Embalmed portions of ribs and roasts placed in coffin as well as cats and dogs, researchers say

Carefully embalmed and wrapped beef ribs all set for the hungry mummy on the way to the next world, from the tomb of Yuya and Tjuiu (1386-1349 BC).

Ancient Egyptians if they were rich enough, planned ahead for their journey from life into death. They had their bodies mummified and had their cats and dogs turned into mummies so they could go too. Some went further still, taking along “meat mummies” so they could enjoy a snack on the way.A new study released this evening by the US Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences shows that embalming treatments were used to prepare portions of ribs and roasts that were wrapped in bandages and placed in the coffin along with the mummy.

Prof Richard Evershed and colleagues from the University of Bristol analysed four of these packed lunches to see what was used to prepare them. The recipe seems to have varied depending on the meat mummy being analysed. The external bandages wrapped round a victual calf mummy contained a mix of substances derived from animal fat, but there were no waxes or resins. The researchers established that the balm used was deliberately applied and was not something that emerged from the meat itself.

Similar animal fat-derived compounds were found on a wrapped goat leg, but the balm was not used on mummified duck meat. But mummified beef ribs were a different matter, with a treatment used made of fat or oil along with beeswax and “Pistacia resin”, a luxury item in ancient Egypt, the authors note.

It is not clear why one recipe was used over another when preparing these handy meals, but there was no risk of going hungry when crossing over to the next world.