news 2009

A major lead for potential new treatments for Parkinson´s has been discovered by researchers at the University of Sheffield´s Department of Biomedical Science. The study, primarily funded by the Parkinson´s Disease Society and published online by the journal Nature Neuroscience this week, identified a pathway inside nerve cells that could be stimulated to protect the dying cells affected by Parkinson´s.

The antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are unlikely to prevent complications in children who have swine flu, according to research published by the BMJ today. While the study shows that antivirals shorten the duration of flu in children by up to a day and a half, it also shows that they have little or no effect on asthma flare-ups, increased ear infections or the likelihood of children needing antibiotics.

New research from the University of Birmingham has uncovered the reason why a strain of fungus has evolved to cause fatal infections in the Pacific Northwest of America. The fungus Cryptoccocus gattii is normally a very rare cause of human disease in the tropics. However, in recent years an aggressive strain of this fungus has spread across the Pacific Northwest of America, causing at least eight deaths and more than 200 infections in a single outbreak on Vancouver Island (VIO).

The amount of money spent in delivering maternity care in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) does not have a significant impact on rates of infant or perinatal mortality, researchers at the University of Birmingham have found. Nick Freemantle, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, found that between 70% and 80% of variations between PCT infant and perinatal mortality can be explained by a combination of social deprivation, ethnicity and maternal age.

'Mindblind Eyes: An Absence of Spontaneous Theory of Mind in Asperger Syndrome?: Science paper A new study co-led by Professor Uta Frith (UCL Institute of Neuroscience) sheds light on how adults with Asperger's Syndrome successfully negotiate social interaction. Highly intelligent adults with Asperger's Syndrome have difficulties with day-to-day social interaction.

Professor Matthew Walker (UCL Institute of Neurology) and Robin Williams (Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London) have been awarded £415,234 by the National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction to fund research into identifying new epilepsy treatments. Epilepsy affects at least 40 million people worldwide, making it the most common serious neurological condition in humans.

Researchers at UCL have found that when it comes to our vision, objects are hard to identify when we look at them using the corner of our eye because our brain tends to assume the world is regular and cannot deliver more than a simplified sketch. Known as 'crowding', this is a problem for millions of people who have lost their central vision through eye disease such as glaucoma and are forced to use the edges of their visual field to perform everyday tasks such as reading or recognising their friends.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered genetic mutations that cause a rare childhood neurological disorder that could also have important implications for our understanding of Parkinson's disease. Led by Professor Eamonn Maher and Manju Kurian, the Birmingham team conducted detailed genetic sequencing in two families who had children diagnosed with infantile parkinsonism-dystonia (IPD) - a rare, recently discovered, genetic condition that produces symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease in children.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have identified a protein present in non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) that could form the basis of a vaccine to protect against the infection that kills many tens of thousands in the developing world. In research published in PNAS, researchers reveal that a protein found on the surface of NTS called OmpD, may protect against these infections when purified from the bacteria and used in a vaccine.

PA 193/09 A microscopic single-celled organism, adapted to survive in some of the harshest environments on earth, could help scientists gain a better understanding of how cancer cells behave. Experts at The University of Nottingham were astonished to discover that the archaeon Haloferax volcanii was better at repairing DNA damage if enzymes, that are widely considered to be critically important in coordinating the repair of DNA, were mutated.

Women who get less than the recommended eight hours? sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns, according to a UCL research published today in the journal SLEEP . The study, which was conducted with the Sleep Medicine Unit at the University of Warwick, showed that women who reported sleeping eight hours had significantly lower levels of a marker related to coronary heart disease (Interleukin-6) than those who reported sleeping seven hours per night.

A team of researchers at UCL's Ear Institute is using a unique machine to deepen our understanding of how the brain responds to sound. The Ear Institute's new small-animal magnetoencephalograph, or MEG for short, is the most advanced machine of its type in the world. Its installation is a result of a collaboration between UCL, the Kanazawa Institute of Technology (KIT) in Japan and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, France.

PA 181/09 Discovered back in the 1600s quinine was the first effective treatment in the fight against malaria - and it continues to be a commonly used treatment against this devastating disease. But the drug is associated with a long list of side effects which can range from sickness and headaches to blindness, deafness and in rare cases death — and until now no one knew why.

PA 176/09 Rape trial juries need better guidance in the courtroom - and a better understanding of rape victims - to help them reach their verdict. Professor Vanessa Munro of The University of Nottingham and Dr Louise Ellison of the University of Leeds found jurors have a poor understanding of the various ways in which women might react when raped, the levels and types of injuries they might sustain and the different behaviours they might display in the witness box.

PA 173/09 In December 2007 a team of experts, led by The University of Nottingham, unveiled an extraordinary set of high-resolution images that gave an insight into the plan of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk. The new research demonstrated that Caistor is a site of international importance — and tomorrow there will be an event to showcase the work and to clarify some of the mysteries of this buried roman town and highlight the impact of the research in developing Caistor as a cultural resource for Norfolk.

A University of Plymouth lecturer is the lead author of a prestigious new Royal Society publication examining the effects of plastics on the environment and human health. Richard Thompson, who is one of the foremost researchers on this topical subject, was chosen to edit the 180 page special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B which is published online today pending hard copy publication towards the end of the summer.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have identified an elusive male gene in the field poppy that stops self-fertilization, a mechanism that prevents inbreeding, and promotes greater genetic diversity. Plant biologists had already uncovered that poppies prevent self-fertilization when a female gene on the stigma tells it which pollen to accept or reject, triggering several chemical signals to stop pollen tube growth.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have uncovered a novel cause of androgen excess that may help to improve diagnosis and lead to the development of more effective treatment options for the condition polycystic ovary syndrome that affects between 5-15% of women. Researchers have discovered that a mutation in an enzyme responsible for deactivating the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is sufficient to cause the over production of androgens in females.

A researcher from the University of Sheffield is contributing to the world´s largest project to explore the origins and impact of one of the most deadly forms of extreme weather - the tornado. Jacqui Wilmshurst, a PhD student from the University of Sheffield´s Department of Psychology, is part of a team of researchers working on the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornados Experiment 2 (VORTEX2) which is tracking tornados in the USA to understand more about their origins and the effects they have on the communities which are at risk of being devastated by them.

University of Birmingham researchers are looking for physically inactive women to help discover if exercising regularly can boost the immune system and lower the risk of catching colds and flu. The team - from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences - are looking to recruit women from the Birmingham area, aged 35-65, who wish to increase their physical activity levels.