news 2009

Researchers at the University of Sheffield, funded by the UK´s leading dementia research charity, the Alzheimer´s Research Trust, have uncovered how a type of brain cell is affected in Alzheimer´s. The team´s exciting findings are to be published later this month (May 2009)in two journals.

There is an association between schizophrenia and violent crime, but it is minimal unless there are also drug or alcohol problems, a large-scale study led by Oxford University has shown. The findings, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, highlight the importance of treating drug or alcohol problems in people with severe mental illness.

PA 136/09 Despite the global recession and the crisis in the banking sector, consumer confidence in financial services remains intact, according to a report compiled for the Nottingham University Business School. The Financial Services Trust Index 2009, by Professor Christine Ennew is based on 1400 consumer interviews and is the first of its kind to look at simple yes and no answers.

PA 130/09 It can take just hours after the symptoms appear for someone to die from bacterial meningitis. Now, after years of research, experts at The University of Nottingham have finally discovered how the deadly meningococcal bacteria is able to break through the body's natural defence mechanism and attack the brain.

The Parkinson ´s Disease Society (PDS) has announced funding of nearly £240,000 towards research at the University of Sheffield which will look into the possibility of slowing down the onset of Parkinson's disease. Dr Oliver Bandmann and his team at the University will focus on the gene PARK 2, as this is associated with an inherited form of Parkinson´s disease that strikes at an early age, but can also result in Parkinson´s disease presenting later in life.

A team led by Jonathan Roiser (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) has today published research which shows that our genes affect the decisions we make, and that these decisions are influenced by the positive or negative framing of the options on offer. This phenomenon is known as the 'framing effect'.

Were alleged major extinction events real biological catastrophes or merely the result of gaps in the fossil record' Research by a team of geologists, led by the University of Plymouth, has shed new light on a debate that has divided modern scientists and was recognised as far back as Darwin's Origin of Species.

PA115/09 University researchers have discovered a new way to tackle the problem of addictions like alcoholism, drug abuse and even over-eating.. after a discovery about the psychology of addictive behaviour. The research has revealed that addictive behaviour is determined by rapid conscious decision processes, rather than by the automatic attention grabbing power of addictive substance, as previously thought.

A study by Professor Richard Eiser, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, has shown that computer simulation can indicate why people´s prejudices are resistant to change. The study used computer simulation to look into why negative beliefs and prejudices resist correction.

PA 106/09 A relatively low dietary intake of vitamins A and C boosts the risk of asthma, suggests a systematic analysis of the available evidence published ahead of print in the journal Thorax. These findings clash with a large review of the evidence, which was published last year. Observational studies in recent years have pointed to a link between dietary antioxidant vitamins — A,C, and E — and asthma.

University of Nottingham News Press releases 2009 April Now where did I leave my car - and how do I get back there? How the brain translates memory into action. PA 104/09 When we emerge from a supermarket laden down with bags and faced with a sea of vehicles, how do we remember where we've parked our car and translate the memory into the correct action to get back there?

Research led by Professor Mark Pepys FRS (Director of the UCL Centre for Amyloidosis and Acute Phase Proteins) has identified a protein known as serum amyloid P component (SAP) as a possible therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease. In collaboration with pharmaceutical group Roche, Professor Pepys developed a new small molecule drug, CPHPC, which specifically targets SAP and removes it from the blood.

Linda Gilroy MP will be swapping legislation for a lab coat, when she visits the University of Plymouth on Wednesday 15 April as she joins psychology academic, Jeremy Goslin as part of a unique 'pairing' scheme run by the Royal Society - the UK national academy of science. During her visit, Linda Gilroy MP will get a hands-on insight into the research being conducted at the University.

Young adults with a genetic variant that raises their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease show changes in their brain activity decades before any symptoms might arise, according to a new brain imaging study by scientists from the University of Oxford and Imperial College London. The results may support the idea that the brain's memory function may gradually wear itself out in those who go on to develop Alzheimer's.

A major study of more than 40,000 patients has shown that social deprivation significantly reduces patients' chances of survival after heart surgery. Research from the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has shown that patients from more socially deprived backgrounds had poorer survival rates after cardiac surgery both immediately after the operation (in hospital) and over five years of follow up.

PA 93/09 Volunteers are needed to help increase our understanding of the social and communication difficulties experienced by people with autism. In the first study of its kind researchers will use video clips of spontaneously produced facial expressions in a real life social context to explore emotion recognition in autism.

Teaching school children about common mental health problems can reduce prejudice and negative attitudes towards mental illness, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Sheffield. The research found that teenagers who received just six lessons on mental health showed significantly more sensitivity and empathy towards people with mental health problems.

How can the marine environment benefit our physical and mental health' Could understanding rip currents help save lives' What impact will the Wave Hub have on our coast line' These are just a few of the topics that will be discussed as the Plymouth Marine Sciences Partnership (PMSP) showcases pioneering research at its first-ever research symposium, 'Marine Science for a Changing World'.

Report: 'The response of mental health professionals to clients seeking help to change or redirect same-sex sexual orientation' Researchers from UCL and St George's, University of London have published a report which indicates that a significant minority of psychiatrists and therapists still attempt to help lesbian, gay and bisexual clients become heterosexual, despite a lack of evidence that such treatment is effective or even safe.

A study led by UCL's Tali Sharot published today in the Journal of Neuroscience has found that your brain may know what you prefer before you do. Sharot, a British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, has showed that when people rate options similarly, they will choose the one that causes more activation in the caudate nucleus, a brain region involved in anticipating reward.The study also demonstrated that after a decision is made, caudate nucleus activity increases for the selected option and decreases for the rejected one.