Edinburgh doctors complete UK's first frozen testicular tissue transplant to preserve a cancer survivor's fertility
Doctors at NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh carried out the UK's first transplant of frozen testicular tissue in August 2026, giving a 19-year-old student a shot at future fatherhood after chemotherapy for a serious blood disorder. The tissue was removed and frozen when he was 16, before treatment that can destroy the cells needed to make sperm; sperm freezing isn't an option for boys who haven't gone through puberty, and until now there was no established way to protect their fertility. The patient has recovered well and will be monitored for several months before doctors examine whether the reimplanted tissue has begun producing sperm. It is only the second such transplant reported worldwide, after a Belgian case in January 2025 whose recipient is now producing sperm; the Edinburgh programme has stored tissue for more than 1,200 UK patients since 2015.
Read more →Edinburgh doctors complete UK's first frozen testicular tissue transplant to preserve a cancer survivor's fertility
Doctors at NHS Lothian and the University of Edinburgh carried out the UK's first transplant of frozen testicular tissue in August 2026, giving a 19-year-old student a shot at future fatherhood after chemotherapy for a serious blood disorder. The tissue was removed and frozen when he was 16, before treatment that can destroy the cells needed to make sperm; sperm freezing isn't an option for boys who haven't gone through puberty, and until now there was no established way to protect their fertility. The patient has recovered well and will be monitored for several months before doctors examine whether the reimplanted tissue has begun producing sperm. It is only the second such transplant reported worldwide, after a Belgian case in January 2025 whose recipient is now producing sperm; the Edinburgh programme has stored tissue for more than 1,200 UK patients since 2015.
Experimental drug shows early sign of slowing motor decline in people at high risk of Parkinson's
Australian biotech Syntara reported on October 7 that its drug SNT-4728 produced a statistically significant improvement in clinician-rated motor symptoms (MDS-UPDRS Part III score, p=0.021) in a Phase 2 trial of 41 people with isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder, a condition that carries a high risk of later developing Parkinson's. The result follows an earlier readout in July showing the drug reduced inflammation in the putamen, a brain region tied to motor control, in two-thirds of treated patients. The company reported no serious treatment-related adverse events. Presenting the data at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Seoul, researchers and Parkinson's UK called the findings encouraging while cautioning that the trial is small and that the effect's durability still needs confirmation in larger studies.
Read more →Experimental drug shows early sign of slowing motor decline in people at high risk of Parkinson's
Australian biotech Syntara reported on October 7 that its drug SNT-4728 produced a statistically significant improvement in clinician-rated motor symptoms (MDS-UPDRS Part III score, p=0.021) in a Phase 2 trial of 41 people with isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder, a condition that carries a high risk of later developing Parkinson's. The result follows an earlier readout in July showing the drug reduced inflammation in the putamen, a brain region tied to motor control, in two-thirds of treated patients. The company reported no serious treatment-related adverse events. Presenting the data at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Seoul, researchers and Parkinson's UK called the findings encouraging while cautioning that the trial is small and that the effect's durability still needs confirmation in larger studies.
WWF's Living Planet Report finds tigers, sea turtles, bluefin tuna and some elephant populations rebounding
The Living Planet Report 2026, published October 8 by WWF and the Zoological Society of London, found that average monitored wildlife populations have fallen 73% since 1970, but highlighted four species as proof that losses can be reversed. Wild tiger numbers grew from about 3,200 in 2010 to roughly 5,700 by 2025. Green sea turtles became, in 2025, the first marine turtle species moved from endangered to least concern on the IUCN Red List after 50 years of conservation work across some 80 nesting countries. Both Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna populations, once collapsed from overfishing, are no longer considered overfished. African elephant populations remain endangered overall but are stable or growing where local communities lead land management. The report says half of all tracked wildlife populations are now stable or increasing, and WWF is pressing governments to build on the gains at the UN biodiversity summit opening October 19 in Yerevan.
Read more →WWF's Living Planet Report finds tigers, sea turtles, bluefin tuna and some elephant populations rebounding
The Living Planet Report 2026, published October 8 by WWF and the Zoological Society of London, found that average monitored wildlife populations have fallen 73% since 1970, but highlighted four species as proof that losses can be reversed. Wild tiger numbers grew from about 3,200 in 2010 to roughly 5,700 by 2025. Green sea turtles became, in 2025, the first marine turtle species moved from endangered to least concern on the IUCN Red List after 50 years of conservation work across some 80 nesting countries. Both Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna populations, once collapsed from overfishing, are no longer considered overfished. African elephant populations remain endangered overall but are stable or growing where local communities lead land management. The report says half of all tracked wildlife populations are now stable or increasing, and WWF is pressing governments to build on the gains at the UN biodiversity summit opening October 19 in Yerevan.
New Zealand's giant wētāpunga rebounds after 15-year breeding and release programme
A study published October 2 in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology documents the recovery of the wētāpunga, the world's heaviest insect, after 15 years of captive breeding and 45 translocations releasing roughly 11,000 insects to 10 new wild island sites. The species' conservation status has improved from Threatened - Nationally Endangered in 2004 to Threatened - Nationally Increasing by 2022. Monitoring on Motuora and Tiritiri Matangi islands has now recorded at least four generations of wētāpunga born in the wild there, a milestone researchers say confirms the released populations have truly established themselves. Butterfly Creek developed the early captive-breeding methods, which Auckland Zoo later scaled up to rear and release thousands more insects in communal creches. Lead author Dr Chris Green called it one of the most comprehensive invertebrate conservation case studies ever undertaken in New Zealand.
Read more →New Zealand's giant wētāpunga rebounds after 15-year breeding and release programme
A study published October 2 in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology documents the recovery of the wētāpunga, the world's heaviest insect, after 15 years of captive breeding and 45 translocations releasing roughly 11,000 insects to 10 new wild island sites. The species' conservation status has improved from Threatened - Nationally Endangered in 2004 to Threatened - Nationally Increasing by 2022. Monitoring on Motuora and Tiritiri Matangi islands has now recorded at least four generations of wētāpunga born in the wild there, a milestone researchers say confirms the released populations have truly established themselves. Butterfly Creek developed the early captive-breeding methods, which Auckland Zoo later scaled up to rear and release thousands more insects in communal creches. Lead author Dr Chris Green called it one of the most comprehensive invertebrate conservation case studies ever undertaken in New Zealand.