news 2011

Predictions of the ground-level pollutant ozone will be more accurate in future according to research published today (25 September) by environment scientists at research centres including the University of Birmingham Geoscience. Ozone is formed in the atmosphere when volatile organic compounds like isoprene - which is emitted by some plants - react with nitrogen oxides from car engines or industry.

Novel use of CT scanning technology has allowed researchers at the University of Bristol to create a four-dimensional picture of how ants build their nests. Ant nests are some of the most remarkable structures in nature. Their relative size is rivalled only by our own skyscrapers but there is no architect or blueprint.

An international team of researchers has for the first time sequenced the genome of a man who was an Aboriginal Australian. They have shown that modern day Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendents of the first people who arrived on the continent some 50,000 years ago and that those ancestors left Africa earlier than their European and Asian counterparts.

New research from the University of Leeds shows that past trends in climate must be very carefully understood before using them to model the future. Climate scientists found that models are generally good at seeing past trends - but that there are important differences that must be recognised when predicting future climate patterns.

Sirtuins, proteins believed to significantly increase lifespan in a number of organisms - and the claimed target of some anti-ageing creams - do not, in fact, affect animal longevity, according to new research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the European Union. Sirtuins had previously been linked to ageing and longevity in yeast, the nematode worm and the fruit fly, organisms commonly used as models for the biology of human ageing.

Families suffering from a history of motor neuron disease have helped an international team locate a new gene linked to the incurable disease. The investigators studied a large group of Finnish patients and a family from Gwent who have lost many relatives to early onset motor neuron disease (MND) and the neurodegenerative disease fronto-temporal dementia, also known as Pick's disease.

Families suffering from a history of motor neuron disease have helped an international scientific team locate a new gene linked to the incurable disease. The investigators studied a large group of Finnish patients and a family from Gwent, South Wales who have lost many relatives to early onset motor neuron disease (MND) and the neurodegenerative disease frontotemporal dementia, also known as Pick's disease.

Families suffering from a history of motor neuron disease have helped an international scientific team locate a new gene linked to the incurable disease. The investigators studied a large group of Finnish patients and a family from Gwent, South Wales who have lost many relatives to early onset motor neuron disease (MND) and the neurodegenerative disease fronto-temporal dementia, also known as Pick's disease.

Scientists have discovered how living organisms – including humans – avoid poisoning from carbon monoxide generated by natural cell processes. Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that can prove fatal at high concentrations; the gas is most commonly associated with faulty domestic heating systems and car fumes, and is often referred to as 'the silent killer'.

Common woodland invertebrates (including woodlice, millipedes and worms) can help ensure the survival of weaker species of woodland fungi, according to new research from the School of Biosciences. Huge fungal networks, often stretching over several hectares of woodland, compete with each other for space and resources and, now, findings have shown that invertebrates living on the woodland floor have the potential to govern the outcome of these battles.

Common genetic variants contribute to the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, an international research consortium has discovered. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are common and often devastating brain disorders, affecting around one per cent of the world's population. A team including Cardiff University scientists has found new molecular evidence that 11 genetic regions have strong links with these diseases, including six regions not previously observed.

Researchers have found a way to prevent HIV from damaging the immune system, in a new lab-based study published in the journal Blood . The research, led by scientists at Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University, could have important implications for the development of HIV vaccines. HIV/AIDS is the third biggest cause of death in low income countries, killing around 1.8 million people a year worldwide.

Ever since the era of silent films, smoking has played a major part in film symbolism. Think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Robert De Niro in Goodfellas. But iconic scenes such as these could be damaging the health of teenagers, who are more likely to smoke after watching films depicting the habit.

A new technique which lets scientists 'see' our brain waves at work could revolutionise our understanding of the human body's most complex organ and help transform the lives of people suffering from schizophrenia and ADHD. Although, scientifically, the brain is the most studied organ in our body we still know relatively little about it.

Deforestation in the rainforests of West Africa reduces rainfall over the rest of the forest, according to new University of Leeds research published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study shows that changing land use from forest to crop land reduces rainfall over neighbouring trees by around 50% due to changes in the surface temperature which affects the formation of rain clouds.

Recent work at Plymouth University on how animals breathe underwater suggests that decreases in water quality and oxygenation will have an even greater impact on the diversity of aquatic life than was previously thought. These are the exciting findings of Wilco Verberk and colleagues from Plymouth University who have made a significant breakthrough in understanding how oxygen levels in water affect the diversity of life in the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers.

Mineral inclusions discovered in diamonds prove that surface rocks can be subducted into the deep part of the Earth's mantle. The isotopic composition of the diamonds confirms that recycling of crustal materials, including carbon, extends into the lower mantle. The theory of plate tectonics is at the centre of our understanding of how the Earth works.

A molecule which helps restrain the body's immune response is also capable of stimulating defences against virus infection by promoting the survival of immune cells known as Natural Killer (NK) cells, new University research has uncovered. Ian Humphreys, School of Medicine, and a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow believes that the findings will have important implications for the design of vaccines to combat viral pathogens.

Scientists have developed a ground-breaking technique that uses a urine test to help to diagnose adrenal cancer. The test, which enables endocrinologists to distinguish between harmless and cancerous tumours, uses a biomarker tool to measure excreted levels of steroid hormones which are produced by the adrenal glands.

A Cardiff team has identified a weakness in breast cancer stem cells which could help prevent the disease from spreading. The team has found a laboratory method to switch off breast cancer stem cells' resistance to a particular drug. The breakthrough offers the long-term possibility of blocking the cells from creating new tumours in patients.