news 2010

A new drug could significantly reduce the risk of strokes and blood clots in patients with irregular heartbeats. A study found a new drug rivaroxaban cut the risk of blood clots and strokes by one-fifth compared with the most popular existing treatment, warfarin. The research by the University of Edinburgh and Duke University in North Carolina was carried out in 45 countries and involved 14,000 patients Irregular heart beats One in five people more than 70 years old is likely to be diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, which can lead to blood clots and cause strokes.

The diet and health of the poorest people in developing countries could benefit from cash-for-work schemes, Cambridge University research has shown for the first time. Despite previous concerns that the physical labour and long hours involved in humanitarian cash-for-work schemes could be detrimental to the health of the extreme poor, the study has provided the first clear evidence of a positive impact on enrolled households.

PA 316/10 The University of Nottingham has helped to uncover new evidence that the number of young carers in the UK is way beyond original official estimates and could be as many 700,000 — eight per cent of all children and four times more than originally thought.

Media coverage of the UN's Copenhagen summit on climate change in 2009 'under-reported' the climate science, according to a new study published by Oxford University's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ). It finds that most journalists reported extensively on 'the drama and minutiae of the negotiations' but that in the balance between capturing the drama and explaining the essential background to climate change, the science received scant coverage.

Scientists have discovered the origin of a unique type of cell known for its ability to support regeneration in the central nervous system. Their findings raise the possibility of obtaining a more reliable source of these cells for use in cell transplantation therapy for spinal cord injuries. Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), as the name suggests, ensheath and protect the nerve fibres in the olfactory nerve, which transmit olfactory (smell) information to the brain from receptor cells sitting in the lining of the nose.

'Space-time cloak' to conceal events revealed in new study Cloak allows objects to move undetected, according to a paper in the Journal of Optics - News release Scientists have developed a recipe for manipulating the speed of light as it passes over an object, making it theoretically possible to 'cloak' the object's movement so that an observer doesn't notice, according to a paper in the Journal of Optics .

Scientists have gained strong confirmation of the direct connection between the FTO gene and obesity, obtaining the first direct evidence that overactivity of the gene leads to overeating and obesity in mice. The research team from the University of Oxford and Medical Research Council (MRC), with funding from the Wellcome Trust and MRC, have published their results .

They may help to explain why decades of study into the causes of the disease have so far failed to lead to a cure. Alzheimer's disease is widely believed to be caused by the gradual accumulation in the brain of amyloid-beta peptide which is toxic to nerve cells. Amyloid beta peptide is formed from a protein known as APP, which is found in three forms.

Press release issued 12 November 2010 The economic climate has made Britons more pessimistic about their future financial situation than they were a year ago, reflecting a general international trend towards increased financial anxiety, according to the latest research from the University's Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC).

A dogged piece of detective work by a University professor has uncovered the truth about how one of the world's greatest playwrights died 54 years ago. Rumours have long surrounded the official version of Bertolt Brecht's death from a heart attack in 1956 in Communist East Berlin. But Professor Stephen Parker, from The University of Manchester, has now proved that the iconic German poet, playwright and theatre director suffered as a child in the early 1900s from undiagnosed rheumatic fever, then a poorly understood condition.

X-rays illuminate the mechanism used by HIV to attack human DNA Imperial scientists have made an important advance in understanding how retroviruses infect human cells. Thursday 12 November 2010 Adapted from a news release issued by Diamond Light Source. Scientists from Imperial College London have used data collected at Diamond Light Source , the UK's national synchrotron facility, to advance the understanding of how HIV and other retroviruses infect human or animal cells.

Science | Health 11 Nov 10 The computer game Tetris may have a special ability to reduce flashbacks after viewing traumatic images not shared by other types of computer game, Oxford University scientists have discovered in a series of experiments. In earlier laboratory work the Oxford team showed that playing Tetris after traumatic events could reduce memory flashbacks in healthy volunteers.

Quantum computers a step closer to reality thanks to new finding Quantum computers may be much easier to build than previously thought, suggests a new study in Physical Review Letters Quantum computers should be much easier to build than previously thought, because they can still work with a large number of faulty or even missing components, according to a study published today in Physical Review Letters .

More intensive treatment using statin drugs to lower levels of bad cholesterol leads to even greater reductions in the risk of a heart attack or stroke than with regular statin doses. That's the conclusion of two Oxford University-led studies published in the medical journal  The Lancet  today. The reduction in risk is proportional to the reduction achieved in bad cholesterol levels, even in patients with already low levels.

Family behaviour helps schizophrenics avoid relapse Working to change the behaviour of family members may be an effective treatment for people with schizophrenia, according to a new study co-authored by a researcher at the University of Sheffield. The research team, which included John Rathbone from the University´s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) reviewed the most up-to-date evidence on the subject and found that patients whose families received psychosocial interventions were less likely to relapse.

The preservation of a protein found in particular synapses in the brain plays a key role in protecting against vascular dementia after a stroke, say researchers at King's College London. The study, funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, is published in the 9 November issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The largest ever clinical trial in patients hospitalised with severe malaria has concluded that the drug artesunate should now be the preferred treatment for the disease in both children and adults everywhere in the world. The study, led by Professor Nick White of Oxford University, compared treatment with artesunate, which is used in Asia to treat severe malaria, against quinine, which has been in use worldwide for over 300 years.

Scientists have found that the fat cells and tissues of morbidly obese people and animals can reach a limit in their ability to store fat appropriately. Beyond this limit several biological processes conspire to prevent further expansion of fat tissue and in the process may trigger other health problems.

Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, spoke at this month's Biomedical Forum at King's, where he discussed the vision and strategy of the Wellcome Trust in supporting translational research. Sir Mark highlighted the importance of researchers being able to demonstrate that tax payers' money is funding research that is attempting to answer important questions.

University of Manchester scientists have created a new material which could replace or compete with Teflon in thousands of everyday applications. Professor Andre Geim, who along with his colleague Professor Kostya Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize for graphene – the world's thinnest material, has now modified it to make fluorographene – a one-molecule-thick material chemically similar to Teflon.