news 2011

A large study to investigate causes of common cancers in India is being carried out through a collaboration between Oxford University and 12 leading cancer centres in India. This study, on a scale not seen in India before, will be large enough to investigate whether certain factors common in some Indian lifestyles are important in influencing the risk of cancer.

Cannabis use is associated with disturbances in concentration and memory. New research by neuroscientists at the University of Bristol, published in the Journal of Neuroscienc e [25 October], has found that brain activity becomes uncoordinated and inaccurate during these altered states of mind, leading to neurophysiological and behavioural impairments reminiscent of those seen in schizophrenia.

Scientists have discovered a way of speeding up the creation of perfect drug combinations, which could help patients recovering from critical health problems such as stroke, heart attacks and cancer. The researchers found a way of identifying ideal drug combinations from billions of others which would prevent inflammation from occurring.

Bridgend pupils got the chance to take part in a unique scientific challenge designed to help identify whether eating certain types of fats could be making us ill. The challenge, part of the Researchers in Residence programme organised by Research Councils UK and Wellcome Trust, brought Cardiff University's Professor Valerie O'Donnell together with Brynteg School pupils to outline her latest research findings and seek their support in answering the key question.

21 October 2011 New device measures viscosity of ketchup and cosmetics A device that can measure and predict how liquids flow under different conditions will ensure consumer products – from make-up to ketchup – are of the right consistency. The technology developed at the University of Sheffield enables engineers to monitor, in real time, how the viscous components (rheology) of liquids change during a production process, making it easier, quicker and cheaper to control the properties of the liquid.

A scientific consortium engaged in research relevant to the discovery of new drugs has been given a big boost, with almost £31 million in new funding over four years. Two new drug companies have also joined the public-private partnership, showing the recognised importance of this work to the drug development process.

The structure and function of a 'molecular motor' critical to the functioning of human organs and, when malfunctioning, implicated in cancer, kidney failure, and osteoporosis, has been revealed in unprecedented detail. An international team, led by chemists from Oxford University, has used highly sensitive mass-spectrometry to piece together a picture of how the motor, the energy-converting protein adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase, interacts with the fatty acids that form the membranes around our cells.

Scientists have been unclear for some time about how most probiotics work. A new study has found a scientific 'design' for a probiotic that could be used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn's disease. The research by academics at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences and School of Clinical Medicine is published online in the journal PLoS ONE .

Despite substantial reductions in the hospital death rates for heart attack patients, there are still worrying inequalities in heart attack management for the elderly, a new study has shown. The research, carried out by the University of Leeds and funded by the British Heart Foundation, showed that the risk of a heart patient dying in hospital almost halved across all age groups between 2003 and 2010.

There has been a significant increase in the amount of negative reporting of disability issues in the print media, according to a new study by the University of Glasgow. The report, commissioned by disability equality organisation Inclusion London, compared print media articles from 2004/5 and 2010/11 and found a reduction in the proportion of articles which describe disabled people in sympathetic and deserving terms.

Scientists have successfully demonstrated that they can build some of the basic components for digital devices out of bacteria and DNA, which could pave the way for a new generation of biological computing devices, in research published today . The researchers, from Imperial College London, have demonstrated that they can build logic gates, which are used for processing information in devices such as computers and microprocessors, out of harmless gut bacteria and DNA.

Young adults who were born prematurely show multiple biological signs of risks to future health, research from Imperial College London has found. The scientists, reporting their findings tomorrow in the journal Pediatric Research, say that the research indicates that urgent work is now needed to monitor preterm babies into adulthood to improve the detection of early signs of disease.

A new study has shown that racehorses are extremely sensitive to changes in daily light and, contrary to humans, can adapt very quickly to sudden shifts in the 24-hour light-dark cycle, such as those resulting from a transmeridian flight, with unexpected benefits on their physical performance. The research led by academics in the University of Bristol's Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences is published in the Journal of Neuroendocrinology .

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have found that supplementing the diet with a special combination of fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrates may help to combat chronic gum disease when combined with conventional dental therapy.

New research has shown for the first time that omega-3 in fish oil could "substantially and significantly" reduce the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. According to the University of Bristol study, funded by Arthritis Research UK and published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage , omega-3-rich diets fed to guinea pigs, which naturally develop osteoarthritis, reduced disease by 50 per cent compared to a standard diet.

Scientists have discovered an enzyme that acts as a 'fertility switch', in a study published in Nature Medicine today. High levels of the protein are associated with infertility, while low levels make a woman more likely to have a miscarriage, the research has shown. The findings have implications for the treatment of infertility and recurrent miscarriage and could also lead to new contraceptives.

Researchers have identified a large number of areas in the human genetic code that are involved in regulating the way in which the liver functions, in a new study of over 61,000 people. The work is an international collaboration led by Imperial College London and it identifies 42 genetic regions associated with liver function, 32 of which had not been linked to liver function before.

17 Oct 2011 Antiviral drugs used to target the herpes virus could be effective at slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a new study shows. The University of Manchester scientists have previously shown that the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's when it is present in the brains of people who have a specific genetic risk to the disease.

Professor Jan Brosens from Warwick Medical School has unveiled research which shows how abnormal regulation of an enzyme in the inner wall of the uterus may be at the root of infertility and miscarriage. The findings have implications for the treatment of infertility and recurrent miscarriage and could also lead to new contraceptives.

Researchers have carried out a preliminary study looking at the effects of the 'cognitive enhancement' drug modafinil on the performance of doctors who had been deprived of sleep for one night. Modafinil, discovered in the 1970s, is currently prescribed in the UK for the treatment of sleepiness associated with narcolepsy, sleep apnoea, and shift work sleep disorder, a condition that affects people who frequently have to work at night.