news 2009

Michael Browne, Head of European Research and Development at UCL said: ?These grants are designed to allow exceptional established research leaders in any field of science, engineering and scholarship to pursue risk-taking, interdisciplinary and pioneering research. The Advanced Grant scheme, in particular, is highly competitive (with an overall success rate of seven percent) and highly prestigious.

The University of Plymouth's world-leading ocean acidification research has been highlighted in a United Nations report launched at the end of the Copenhagen Climate Change summit. 'Scientific Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity', compiled by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity is the most comprehensive overview to date of all existing scientific evidence on ocean acidification - including breakthrough research led by the University of Plymouth’s Jason Hall-Spencer.

PA321/09 Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia sheds new light on the molecular basis of lung diseases. The new findings provide hope for better treatment for lung diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma.

Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy ageing than reducing calories, new research at UCL suggests. The new study may help explain why 'dietary restriction? (also known as calorie restriction) ' reducing food intake whilst maintaining sufficient quantities of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients ' appears to have health benefits.

Combination therapies to tackle multiple changes in the brain may be needed to combat the growing problem of dementia in ageing societies, according to a study by the University of Sheffield. The findings, which were published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine, show that multiple abnormal (pathological) processes in the brain are often involved in cases of dementia, and that the drugs currently in development to treat individual brain pathologies may have a limited impact on the overall burden of dementia in the population.

Links: UCL researchers were part of the team to discover that mutations in either of two related genes can cause a severe form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in young children. Erik Glocker (UCL Infection & Immunity) said: 'This discovery is a milestone in research on inflammatory bowel disease, and will enable us to gain further insights into the physiology and immunity of the intestine.' Glocker found the first mutation in the protein IL10R2 identified in the study.

The Kentish-Snowy Plover, a small shorebird found in the US and Europe, is suffering from an identity crisis after scientists at the University of Sheffield and the University of Bath have found genetic evidence that the populations are, in fact, separate species. Historically, biologists classified the Kentish Plover, found in Europe, and its look-a-like, the Snowy Plover, from the US, as being different varieties of the same species due to their similar looks.

Robots of the future could have fingertips as sensitive as those of people, thanks to research by the University of Sheffield into the way brains interpret senses. Researchers at the University, along with experts at the University of Edinburgh, connected artificial mouse whiskers to a robotic brain to better understand how the brain processes information relayed by our sense of touch.

The research, published online on 18 October 2009 in the journal Nature Chemistry has identified an imaging agent, which will enable scientists to understand the processes that occur within living cells and help develop new treatments for a range of diseases, including cancer. The imaging agent has helped to easily identify four-stranded DNA structures within the nucleus of cells, known as quadruplexes.

UCL scientists have extended the lifespan of mice by up to a fifth and cut the number of age-related diseases the animals suffer. The research which mimics the health benefits of reducing calorie intake and suggests that drug treatments for ageing and age-related diseases are feasible. In the 1930s scientists showed that reducing the calorie intake of laboratory rats while maintaining sufficient vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients in the animals can have health benefits.

PA 230/09 The University of Nottingham has played a crucial role in the discovery of two new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease. The results from the largest ever Alzheimer's genome-wide association study (GWAS) have been described by the Alzheimer's Research Trust as a leap forward for dementia research and could provide valuable new leads in the race to find treatments and possible cures for the disease.

PA 226/09 New research at The University of Nottingham could help prevent the harmful blood clots associated with heart disease and stroke, the single greatest cause of disease-related death worldwide. Scientists have gained new insights into the coagulation of blood in a study which could pave the way for new treatments aimed at preventing thrombosis — clots in the blood that obstruct the flow of blood through the circulatory system — as well as treatment of the inherited bleeding disorder thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

The research findings, published in the Journal of Ecology, show that climate change during the winter months is having a significant impact on the plant life in parts of the Arctic. Research into this area has received little attention when compared with summer warming studies, despite the detrimental effects winter warming is having.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered a previously unknown step in early inflammation which is controlled by omega -3 and omega -6 fatty acids, potentially leading to clarification around conflicting health and diet advice on these two essential nutrients. Ed Rainger, from the Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences at the University, has revealed how omega 3 fatty acids from dietary fish oil can block a previously unknown step in blood vessel inflammation.

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.

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).

'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.

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.