James Tapper
Journalist at The Observer / observer.co.uk
I write about science, health and other things.
- It’s bad for the Tories to make false claims about mental health, but it’s also v bad for Reform to suggest being a barrister and serving in senior positions means she can’t possibly have had mental health problems. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
- No doubt they would have said Churchill’s “black dog” made him unsuitable to lead.
- Denmark has a cancer care system that is literally the envy of health systems in the western world www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- When I’ve been writing about cancer and researching what should be in the NHS cancer plan I’ve been asking clinicians and charities like Cancer Research UK where the best care is. “Denmark,” they tell me.
- This whole, horrible situation has exposed the US’s 2nd amendment as a sham. The entire point of it, all the dead children in schools, was all apparently so that ordinary citizens could arm themselves against tyranny. When tyranny arrives, what happens? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
- Reupping this for the science and medical research peeps observer.co.uk/news/science...
- UCL and GOSH have managed to grow mini-stomachs from stem cells. It's a big deal for people with rare diseases and the large number of adults with stomach problems. observer.co.uk/news/science...
- Weird things, stomachs. It's really hard to study them because you can't read across from other animals as easily as other organs. Mice are the go-to animal to experiment on for other organs but they're safe from stomach researchers because they have a forestomach to store food before digestion.
- Looking forward to seeing the British Museum’s sarcophagi at Portrush harbour.
- Wait, all parts of the UK doesn’t actually mean Cromer and Cleator Moor?
- "I told Bibi [Netanyahu] to stop taking credit for the Dome. It's American."
- “I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace.”
- Reposted by James TapperWhat this has done in fact has simply moved content off the timeline and into private interactions with grok. So deepfake porn is still happening, in a less transparent way
- It’s not surprising that this meta analysis shows that people regain weight after stopping taking weight loss drigs but actually there are very important cavests not being mentioned in the coverage www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
- Mounjaro and Wegovy ratchet up the dose so the final one is six times stronger than the first. I asked at the @smclondon.bsky.social briefing if any of the studies involved tapering and it seems participants went cold turkey.
- We don’t know if tapering works, because no one has studied it, and no one could tell me of any study that IS looking at it. It’s possible that long term weight loss might be sustainable on much lower maintenance doses.
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View full threadPerhaps they will become more like statins. But, this study does not tell us the answer to that question, and the scientists behind it didn’t pretend that it did.
- I've seen a few posts snarking about the junk food ad ban because gambling ads are everywhere on TV. That's a reason to restrict gambling ads ofc, rather than wash our hands of restricting junk food commercials. Advertising works. Promoting a product makes more people want it.
- The number of US women smokers went from 15% to 36% in 1940-44 at the same time as they were specifically targeted by tobacco firms, as Siddhartha Mukherjee points out in his book about cancer, the Emperor of All Maladies. news.cancerresearchuk.org/2019/02/01/h...
- The same applies to junk food. In 2024, food advertising went up 26%. This is not advertising apples or pasta shells - it's mostly fast food and snacks. Sales of snacks also went up. Perhaps it was a coincidence. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
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View full threadThe real problem with the ban is that advertising creatives are so incredibly creative. I'm pretty sure a TV ad based on this sort of concept would be approved, because it just shows a brand, not a product. www.creativebloq.com/creative-ins...
- Reposted by James TapperMy friends in Austria sent this and I can't stop watching...wait for the end. 🤗💜
- Still the greatest lyric in the history of hiphop. #WeeGooseLives youtu.be/mMEnqUDon4Y?...
- Still struggling to get my head around just how fast gene editing research is going. This from @ucl.ac.uk and @greatormondst.bsky.social is another extraordinary step forward www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...
- Reposted by James TapperAround 15 million people worldwide have suffered some sort of injury that has broken the link between brain and body. Could Prof Grégoire Courtine and his NeuroRestore clinic be the embodiment of hope for them? Read more as @jamestapper.bsky.social explores: bit.ly/4itcBIU
- I was lucky enough to meet Markus Klementz recently. He lost the use of his legs after an accident and hasn't walked for seven years. Spinal injuries used to be effectively untreatable. Now they aren't and Markus is learning to stand and take a few steps. More here: observer.co.uk/news/science...
- Reposted by James TapperA business that wants to sack its employees within six months doesn’t exactly scream confidence and competence, does it? The claim is they don’t want to get stuck in tribunals. How about being better at recruitment? Or stop trying to make excuses for being bad bosses?
- Reposted by James TapperLost their minds
- Reposted by James TapperOh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
- For more on Rev. Woolf, who appears to have been arrested today: he published an editorial with @rns.org literally this week titled “Why clergy should risk assault to protest ICE” —> religionnews.com/2025/11/13/w...
- Reposted by James TapperWonderful tribute by @timadamswrites.bsky.social Rachel was always a wonderful colleague and over the past 14 months, during we experienced a horrendous period at the Guardian together, she became a cherished friend…. /cont. 🧵 observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
- Re-upping this piece on why solar storms are not just about pretty lights observer.co.uk/news/science...
- Reposted by James TapperAs nations convene in Belém, @jamestapper.bsky.social explores many have withdrawn from funds for climate mitigation and biodiversity protection, leaving species at risk of extinction. Read more: bit.ly/4hYntyn
- Reposted by James Tapper‘I don’t need a building named after me. I have the double helix’ ✍️ James Tapper on James Watson, scientist who discovered the double helix bit.ly/43koDy3
- Reposted by James TapperFowl play: smugglers cash in as dancing parrots go viral A dark trade in exotic birds is flourishing, driven by avian social media stars ✍️ James Tapper bit.ly/4nJRqDq
- Reposted by James Tapper‘A process of intimidation that the BBC’s supporters have long feared has been playing out behind closed doors is now unfolding in plain sight’ The Observer view: political interference at the BBC bit.ly/4qW3MeA
- Reposted by James TapperThe reaction to the Panorama edit has been nothing short of hysterical. Yes the BBC has some impartiality problems. But its biggest isn't the one you think. New piece from me. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...
- Reposted by James TapperI spoke to James Tapper of the Observer on whether the Conservatives realised that their deportation plan would deport most British Indians, who have been one of the the only groups of voters trending towards the party observer.co.uk/news/politic...
- Reposted by James TapperThe draft ‘deportation bill’ may alienate South Asian voters, who have shifted to the Conservatives in recent years, writes @jamestapper.bsky.social. Read more: bit.ly/3JGwGyn
- Reposted by James TapperSome of London’s poorest areas could see their share of the children’s services funding formula halved under Labour’s plans to reform local government grants. By me, for Politics Home: www.politicshome.com/news/article...
- Reposted by James TapperA breakthrough in treating Huntington’s disease. New hope for sufferers of Huntington’s disease after the discovery of a treatment which could radically slow the disease. Listen to today's Sensemaker wherever you get your podcasts to learn more: lnk.to/sb5T8tBS
- Reposted by James TapperThe news came on my 21st birthday. It was crazy. He said: ‘That’s the way the universe works sometimes, isn’t it?’ A professor battling to slow the disease that killed writer Charlotte Raven shared his good news with her daughter bit.ly/4pZjfdo
- I dont think I appreciated just how extraordinary the news about Huntington’s was until I started researching this - hopefully it comes across observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
- Children from Gaza who need surgery have been taken to Jordan and Lebanon, but they can’t get surgery because they’re too malnourished to heal afterwards. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
- MSF doctors:
- Slightly odd story from the BBC, which “understands” … what was in @theobserveruk.bsky.social yesterday.
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View full thread(That’s from AP by the way apnews.com/article/ital... )
- Story this evening in @theobserveruk.bsky.social with @catneilan.bsky.social which Keir Starmer has been good enough to confirm observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
