Human challenge studies in the study of infectious diseases
What can deliberately infecting healthy people tell us about infectious diseases? How is this useful for developing treatments, and how do we manage the risks?

A POSTnote that explores the role of biobanks in health research.
Biobanks (331 KB , PDF)
Biobanks are repositories of biological samples, physical measurements and outcome and behavioural data collected for research, clinical practice or public health monitoring. Most biobanks are established to investigate the common determinants of mortality and morbidity. This briefing updates POSTnote 180 and summarises biobank activity in the UK and the legal, ethical and practical issues.
Biobanks (331 KB , PDF)
What can deliberately infecting healthy people tell us about infectious diseases? How is this useful for developing treatments, and how do we manage the risks?
A POSTnote summarising proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act (1983) to improve patient choice, highlighting relevant research evidence and stakeholder perspectives.
This note will outline the latest knowledge about the role for psychedelic drugs to treat a wide range of mental health disorders and the recent data on risks and benefits.