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Pete Blair

Professor of Epidemiology and Statistics, University of Bristol
In the last three decades the number of cot deaths, also known as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) has fallen in the UK (from over 1500 deaths to around 200 a year), an 87% decrease due in no small part to the observational studies and evidence-base we have created at the UoB. We have been instrumental in not only identifying the risk factors but ensuring parents receive the best advice to make infomed choices about safe infant care practices. Getting involved with international organisations (scientific advisor to UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative and chair of ISPID (International Society for the study and prevention of Perinatal and Infant Death)) has maximised this impact. My wider research interests include i) safe infant care practices ii) infant and child growth iii) childhood sleep iv) infant and childhood injuries and v) infant and childhood illness (in particular reducing antibiotic prescribing in children with respiratory tract infections). I run the one week Introduction to Epidemiology course and am dissertaion lead for the BSc Global Health course. I am also a consultant methodologist for both the Bristol Randomised Trial Collaboration (BRTC) Unit and the NIHR Research Design Services (RDS).

Baby box: child welfare experts say use of sleep boxes could potentially put infants' lives at risk

Jan 27, 2020 03:21 am UTC| Life

Having a baby can be expensive. So its maybe not surprising that many retailers around the world have cottoned on to the success of Finlands baby boxes a package aimed to set up new parents and their bundle of joy. The...

Economy

The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system

Given the spate of news about international trade lately, Americans might be surprised to learn that the U.S. isnt very dependent on it. Indeed, looking at trade as a percentage of gross domestic product a metric...

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget

With Jim Chalmerss third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief beyond the tax cuts although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As this weeks consumer price...

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI

Australias inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and its now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. The annual rate peaked at 7.8% in the December quarter of 2022 and is now just 3.6%, in...

Politics

US Urges China, Russia to Reject AI Control in Nuclear Arms, Align with Global Norms

Paul Dean, a senior U.S. arms control official, emphasized the critical need for China and Russia to join the U.S. in declaring that humans will always decide on the deployment of nuclear weapons, not artificial...

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the countrys youth democracys children had enormous opportunities for advancement, all thanks to successive post-apartheid governments led...

Sadiq Khan on track for third term as London mayor – but nearly half of Londoners dissatisfied with performance

Polls have consistently shown that the incumbent mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appears to be on track to win a third term in office at the upcoming mayoral elections on May 2. One poll we commissioned as part of our...

Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’

Most American workers are hired at will: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship except earned wages, and employees are at liberty to quit at their option. As the rule is generally stated, either party...

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

Science

IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these relic neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they cant harm you. In fact, only one of them is...

The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

A critical NASA mission in the search for life beyond Earth, Mars Sample Return, is in trouble. Its budget has ballooned from US$5 billion to over $11 billion, and the sample return date may slip from the end of this...

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Technology

Altcoin Market Rally Predicted, Analysts Forecast $4 Trillion Market Cap Surge

Analysts are predicting a substantial rally in the altcoin market, with projections indicating a surge that could drive the market cap to an impressive $4 trillion. This optimistic outlook is supported by positive economic...

Shiba Inu's Remarkable 12% Surge Fueled by Record SHIB Burns, Community Momentum

Shiba Inus ascent reaches new heights as the cryptocurrency experiences a remarkable 12% surge, fueled by record-breaking SHIB burns. The surge reflects robust community engagement and underscores the dynamic nature of the...

Vodafone Ventures into Crypto Integration: SIM Cards to Host Blockchain Wallets

Vodafone, the UK-based telecom giant, is pioneering a groundbreaking initiative to fuse blockchain technology with smartphone functionality by integrating cryptocurrency wallets directly into SIM cards. This innovative...

Leak: Huawei's Kirin PC Chip, Qingyun Notebooks to Launch Next Month

Leaked information hinting at the imminent debut of the highly anticipated Kirin PC chip alongside the release of new Qingyun notebooks. The introduction of this computer-dedicated CPU marks a significant milestone for...

Tesla Enhances Model Y Lineup with Longer-Range Variant, Price Adjustment

Tesla has revamped its Model Y offerings, bidding farewell to the standard range rear-wheel-drive (RWD) model while introducing a longer-range variant for an additional $2,000. This strategic maneuver aligns with Teslas...