Liam Davenport
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liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Liam Davenport
@liamdjournalist.bsky.social
44 followers 21 following 86 posts
Freelance medical reporter, sharing my news stories and features, and bits that interest me.
Posts Replies Media Videos
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Three decades after ER hit the screen, some things in medicine have changed drastically—and others haven’t budged.
@neilosterweil.bsky.social revisits the show and looks at modern healthcare through that lens.
Read it here: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/thoughts-o...
#MedicineThenAndNow #ER30
Thoughts on (re)watching ER 30 years on
In many ways, medicine has made breathtaking advances since this popular TV show first aired. In other ways, nothing has changed.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Hostile hallways, silenced students and the fight for safety in schools.
@neilosterweil.bsky.social's 2001 Tales from the Morgue piece is hauntingly current, as anti-LGBTQ violence and censorship rise again.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#LGBTQRights #Education #SocialJustice
Tales from the Morgue: School of Hard Knocks
Hostile Hallways
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:18 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
A new review finds tramadol offers only modest pain relief—and carries serious risks.
It may be time to rethink its place in chronic pain care.
Read my latest for Medical News Insider: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tramadol-n...
#Opioids #ChronicPain
Tramadol no ‘magic bullet’ when it comes to chronic pain
An analysis of data on more than 6500 people from several trials has shown the opioid drug tramadol is not particularly effective, and is linked to several harms, none of which is a surprise to me.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Liam Davenport
cancertherapyadv.bsky.social
Enzalutamide plus leuprolide reduces the risk of death by more than 40% in biochemically recurrent prostate cancer compared to leuprolide alone, according to research presented at #ESMO25 by @sfreedlandmd.bsky.social of @cedarssinaicancer.bsky.social. #pcsm #gucsm #ESMO2025

shorturl.at/H6RtB
October 20, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Liam Davenport
cancertherapyadv.bsky.social
Adjuvant ensartinib improves disease-free survival compared to placebo following complete resection of ALK-positive NSCLC, according to research presented at #ESMO25. #lcsm #ESMO2025

shorturl.at/XHWQh
October 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
A toxin that arrests cell division sounds terrifying—but it might also lead to breakthroughs in cancer and antibiotic development.
In this week’s Tales from the Morgue, @neilosterweil.bsky.social dives into the strange dual life of CdtB.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
Tales from the Morgue: Toxin to Cells: You’re Under Arrest!
Bacterial toxin could be platform for new antibiotics, anticancer agents
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Fizzy drinks and depression—linked by gut bacteria or just random noise?
A German study has experts divided. The verdict? Caution, not causation.
Read the full piece: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/do-sodas-d...
#Microbiome #Depression #MedicalNews
Do sodas drown sorrows, or cause them?
German scientists suggest consuming sugary soft drinks might be linked to depression. Or is that people with depression simply have more sodas and fizzy drinks? Medical News Insider investigates.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Liam Davenport
cancertherapyadv.bsky.social
Men with #prostatecancer who closely follow the @americancancersoc.bsky.social cancer survivor guidelines after diagnosis have lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared to those who do not. Published in @jamanetworkopen.com.

https://bit.ly/4nYWww9

#pcsm #gucsm
Following ACS Survivor Guidelines Reduces Mortality in Men with Prostate Cancer
Men who improve their adherence to ACS guidelines following diagnosis have a reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality compared to those who maintain a low concordance with guideline recommendations.
bit.ly
September 30, 2025 at 7:09 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Rats who couldn’t wait for the bigger prize helped reveal how impulsivity works in the brain.
@neilosterweil.bsky.social's latest Tales from the Morgue explores the nucleus accumbens, dopamine, and what connects addiction, ADHD, and gambling.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
Tales from the Morgue: What Do We Want? Rewards! When Do We Want ‘Em? Now!
Instant Gratification, Addictive Behaviors May Lie in Specific Brain Area
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 6:35 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
At #MAP2025, AI tools showed potential to forecast:
🔹 Muscle wasting in glioma
🔹 Which CUP treatments will work
🔹 When breast cancer turns invasive
Read on: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/listening-...
#CancerResearch #AIinMedicine
Listening in on cancer: AI tools may predict cancer’s next move, treatment responses, and muscle wasting
At MAP 2025, artificial intelligence tools showed promise in outsmarting cancer by predicting tumour spread, treatment responses, and muscle wasting.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:20 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Do “natural Viagras” work?
In this week’s Tales from the Morgue, @neilosterweil.bsky.social investigates Amazonian potions, Swedish “Romance in a Bottle,” and the line between true stimulants and sex-fool’s gold.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#Aphrodisiacs #AlternativeMedicine
Tales from the Morgue: Better Loving Through Bio-Chemistry?
Natural Compounds May Give Viagra a Run for Its Money
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 21, 2025 at 9:34 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
A new obesity drug that reprograms fat cells
A diabetes med repurposed for cocaine addiction
A novel immune target in incurable leukaemia
This week’s #ShortTakes by Liam Davenport: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/short-take...
#EASD2025 #AddictionScience #CLL
Short Takes: Reprogramming obesity, cocaine dependence and a new treatment target in leukaemia
This week’s short takes include a drug shown at EASD 2025 that reprogrammes obesity to aid weight loss; using semaglutide to treat cocaine dependency; and a new hope in treating incurable leukaemia.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 11:28 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Is it time to rethink lung cancer screening age limits?
New research shows older adults can benefit—if they’re fit enough for surgery.
@neilosterweil.bsky.social's latest for Medical News Insider from #WCLC2025: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/to-screen-...
#PublicHealth #CancerCare
To Screen, or Not to Screen? It’s A Question of Age
Older people found to have lung cancer through screening are more likely to die from any cause than their younger counterparts, but are just as likely to survive the disease following surgery.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:19 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Snowmobiles + water = trouble
In this week’s Tales from the Morgue, @neilosterweil.bsky.social reports on the dangerous sport of “water skipping,” where riders race across lakes on machines destined to sink.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#ExtremeSports #SnowmobileLife #Watercross
Tales from the Morgue: ‘Water Skippers’ Get That Sinking Feeling
Snowmobiles and Water Don’t Mix, But Try Telling That to Enthusiasts.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 13, 2025 at 2:36 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Live fast, die young…unless you’re a worm on experimental drugs.
In Tales from the Morgue, Neil Osterweil explores how boosting defenses against oxidative stress extended worm lifespans by 50%—and what that suggests for humans.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#Longevity #Aging
Tales from the Morgue: The Worm Turns the Clock: Longer Living Through Chemistry
Drugs May One Day Prolong Life, Retard Aging, and Treat Degenerative Diseases
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 6, 2025 at 4:55 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
🦠 A shingles vaccine with heart benefits?
🎹 Piano music that lowers blood pressure?
💊 A new drug that might outdo current meds?
Our #ESC2025 Short Takes are here.
Full story: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/short-take...
#Cardiology #Hypertension #MedicalNews
Short Takes from ESC 2025: Shingles vaccine, the benefits of music on blood pressure, and a potential new blockbuster drug
The latest from ESC Congress 2025 shows people given the shingles vaccine have fewer heart events; predictable musical patterns may lower blood pressure; and a new drug may beat high blood pressure.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
From Lincoln’s personality test to Theodore Roosevelt’s bully pulpit—what really makes a president “great”?
@neilosterweil.bsky.social explores the psychology of U.S. presidents in this week’s Tales from the Morgue.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#PresidentialHistory #Psychology
Tales from the Morgue: Putting Presidents to the Test
Great Leaders Love the Challenges and Rise to the Occasion, Say Candidate, Historian
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 31, 2025 at 7:49 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
GLP-1s: first weight loss, then diabetes, then heart disease.
Now at #ESC2025, apparently climate change, too.
Fewer admissions, fewer emissions.
Neat idea, but not the miracle shot some want it to be. Full story: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/lose-weigh... #ozempic
Lose weight and save the planet with Ozempic
Data presented at ESC Congress 2025 suggests that weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists can both improve health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:18 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Johannes Brahms: brilliant composer, legendary curmudgeon.
Could sleep apnea explain his gruffness? Our Tales from the Morgue series by @neilosterweil.bsky.social revisits this curious medical mystery.
🔗 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
Tales from the Morgue: Was Brahms A Sorehead from Lack of Sleep?
“Lullaby” Composer May Have Been Too Pooped To Be Polite, Physician Says.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 24, 2025 at 8:45 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Could lithium become the “penicillin” for Alzheimer’s?
Harvard researchers find a lithium salt reverses memory decline in mice, while semaglutide may protect people with diabetes from dementia.
Our latest Medical News Insider report: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/of-mice-an...
Of mice and dementia: lithium could be key for treating Alzheimer’s disease
Harvard geneticists showed that a form of lithium can reverse signs of cognitive and memory decline in mice with Alzheimer’s disease; other researchers see a diabetes drug as a potential preventative.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
🪰 Fruit flies with two (make that six) left feet helped scientists identify a gene critical for sensing touch, hearing & body position. @neilosterweil.bsky.social tells the story in the latest Tales from the Morgue.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#Genetics #Neuroscience
Tales from the Morgue: Fruit Fly Klutzes Give Clues to Human Hearing, Touch
Genetic study points to mechanism for senses that rely on mechanical stimulation
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 16, 2025 at 2:10 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
A potential breakthrough in overcoming chemo resistance—
And a nationwide survey on diabetes stigma that’s hard to ignore.
Two sharp research updates from the UK, one article:
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/a-potentia...
#CancerCare #DiabetesAwareness
A potential cancer breakthrough, and stigma in diabetes
A novel means of challenging resistance to chemotherapy in cancer, and a survey revealing the stigma and blame experienced by people with diabetes, are two of the latest UK research highlights.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 14, 2025 at 6:06 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
A 3,050-year-old mummy, a modern heart test, and a probable diagnosis of sudden cardiac death.
In Tales from the Morgue, @neilosterweil.bsky.social tells the story of Horemkenesi and the science that solved his mystery.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#MummyScience #MedicalHistory
Tales from the Morgue: The Curse of the Mummy: Heart-Stopping Action!
Latter-day pathologists find elevated cardiac marker in ancient corpse
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
New research shows that every 1,000 extra steps a day—even well below the 10,000 mark—can significantly reduce heart risks in people with high blood pressure. Fast walking = even more benefit.
📖 Full story: medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/a-brisk-wa...
#hearthealth #walking #hypertension
A brisk walk a day keeps the blood pressure doctor away
If you have high blood pressure, even relatively small increases in your daily step count and walking speed could reduce the risk of heart attack, heart failure or stroke, say Australian researchers.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 7, 2025 at 11:37 AM
liamdjournalist.bsky.social
Put down that drumstick—turns out chickens might be closer cousins mice, at least genetically.
@neilosterweil.bsky.social digs into a delightful finding from the archives in the latest Tales from the Morgue.
📖 medicalnewsinsider.substack.com/p/tales-from...
#Genetics #ChickenDNA #ScienceHumour
Tales from the Morgue: Put Down That Drumstick—That's Your Cousin!
In newspaper parlance, the morgue is where old articles, reference sources, photographs, etc.
medicalnewsinsider.substack.com
August 3, 2025 at 9:14 AM