The tide of foreign-trained medics in the United Kingdom could put patients' lives at risk because some may have poor English language skills, experts have warned.
The warning comes after a survey by the General Medical Council found that only 37 percent of the 240,000-strong medical register declared themselves as white British.
Separate figures revealed that over 88,000 of that number were trained abroad.
US scientists believe they can produce a ready made supply of blood vessels for use in heart bypass surgery.
A study on baboons and dogs in Science Translational Medicine suggests vessels could be stored for up to a year and used by any patient.
Blood-carrying tubes can already be grown from a patient's own cells, but this takes several months.
UK experts said the research was exciting.
British scientists have developed the world's first reliable blood test for vCJD, which could reveal the true extent of the disease's prevalence in the population.
The breakthrough means large numbers of people could be sampled to give an accurate estimate of how many people are infected with the fatal brain disorder, which can remain dormant in humans for decades.
The new test is 100,000 times more sensitive than the current method, which involves extracting a small piece of tonsil tissue and analysing it.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) is the human equivalent of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), which affects cattle.
A Government review published today could mark a "turning point" for health and safety in the UK, the profession’s largest international body said today.
IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) said it broadly welcomed Lord Young’s recommendations, which include a clampdown on "absurd" applications of health and safety legislation and measures to make it easier for teachers to organise school trips.
IOSH Chief Executive Rob Strange said: "We warmly welcome this review. We are sick and tired of hearing of misinterpretations of health and safety laws which end in the cancellation of perfectly safe activities.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today warmly welcomed the publication of Lord Young’s report into health and safety.
HSE has already been working with others to develop responses to two of the recommendations:
• a 20-minute online risk assessment for offices, which was launched today, with other web tools for similarly low-risk workplaces to follow
• a new Occupational Safety Consultants Register (OSCR), which will be set up in January 2011.
