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A successful birth following a womb transplant involves three major operations. The first to receive the transplanted womb, a caesarean section to deliver the baby, then a hysterectomy to remove the womb once the recipient mother decides to have no more children.

Given a womb transplant isn't "life-saving", ethics guidelines require the procedure to be temporary. The long-term risks of organ rejection, and the drugs needed to prevent it, are considered too great once the womb has served its miraculous function.

Some medical ethicists still question the procedure as a whole, arguing it is unnecessarily risky for both the mother and baby, especially if babies are born seriously pre-term and at low birth weight.

However, this latest success, and the increasing number of healthy babies born via the procedure worldwide may change that.

Womb transplantation is on the way to becoming an acceptable, life-giving procedure for women who previously had no hope of carrying a baby of their own.

The highly infectious disease was found in a Hungarian dairy farm in Kisbajcs, close to the Slovakian border, with 1,372 animals at risk. Authorities deployed soldiers and implemented immediate health control measures, including the culling of livestock and introducing a restricted zone. Slovakia confirmed outbreaks on March 21 in farms close to the Hungarian border, a region important for Slovakian livestock production, and the EU Veterinary Emergency Team was deployed immediately.

[...]

At the few open border crossings with Hungary and Slovakia, cars must cross over an epidemic mat to prevent the virus from spreading, which also applies to pedestrians crossing the border on foot.

The entire infected first herd (1,400 cattle) was culled. Hungary established a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone, extending into Slovakia. For the second outbreak, culling of infected cattle is anticipated to be completed soon, mandatory culling of pigs in the affected areas by March 31 due to their potential role in virus transmission, and grazing restrictions enforced along a 10 km strip near the border to prevent further spread.

In their study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, scientists tested how 75 participants each responded to three drinks taken on separate occasions. One liquid was just plain water, the other was laced with the artificial sweetener sucralose and last one contained sugar.

Every participant had MRI scans taken of their brains, gave blood samples and filled out a hunger survey before and after each drink. The scans revealed that participants had increased activity in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus after consuming the sucralose solutions. This is the part of the organ that governs background processes in the body, such as temperature, tiredness and, critically, hunger levels.

Scans also showed sucralose led to increased connection between the hypothalamus and other parts of the brain involved with motivation and decision making. These effects were particularly pronounced in obese people. Dr Page said this suggested the sweetener could infuence cravings and eating behaviours.

Blood test results showed another way sucralose may influence food cravings.

When participants drank the real sugar solution scientists observed the body produced hormones linked to a reduction in appetite. However, these hormones were absent when participants drank sucralose.

Dr Page said: 'The body uses these hormones to tell the brain you've consumed calories, in order to decrease hunger.'

'Sucralose did not have that effect — and the differences in hormone responses to sucralose compared to sugar were even more pronounced in participants with obesity.'

The 75 participants were split almost equally in terms of sex, with an even mix of healthy, overweight, and obese people.

Dr Page said one finding that needed further exploration was that women seemed to have greater changes in brain activity after consuming sucralose. The team are now planning a follow-up study on exploring the impact of calorie-free sweeteners like sucralose on children.

Sucralose was discovered accidentally by a British scientist during routine experiments in the 70s.

It is about 600 times sweeter than sugar but contains virtually no calories.

While this study has suggested a link between calorie-free sweeteners and increased appetite and obesity, others have found the opposite result.

British research published last year found that, when consumed as part of food, calorie-free sweeteners produced the same appetite suppressing hormones as sugar.

However, other studies have suggested sucralose increases levels of a protein called GLUT4 that promotes the accumulation of fat in our cells, changes associated with an increased risk of obesity.

Sugar substitutes are accepted by experts as an alternative to sugar that comes without the same risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes, alongside weight gain and tooth decay.

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