news 2011

Preparations are underway for a unique test of engineering technology that could open up new ways to reduce atmospheric temperatures caused by climate change, and complement conventional measures to reduce carbon emissions. The test, the first of its kind in the UK, is expected to take place in the next few months, it was announced today at the British Science Festival in Bradford.

Archaeology is no longer just about digging holes. New research by a team led from the University of Leeds promises to improve the investigation of our heritage from the air. The work should revolutionise the use of 'state-of-the-art' remote sensing technology, improving the 'hit rate' of aerial archaeology without physically disturbing sites of cultural heritage.

The gaudy plumage and acrobatic displays of birds of paradise are a striking example of sexual selection, Charles Darwin's second great theory of evolution. But new research shows that this powerful process may collapse when mothers can decide whether to have a son or a daughter. Choosing the sex of our offspring may seem totally beyond our control, but some animals have a remarkable capacity to manipulate this.

by Sam Wong Monday 12 September 2011 Two major studies published this week in Nature and Nature Genetics have identified a total of 23 gene regions associated with measures of blood pressure. The findings, from the International Consortium for Blood Pressure Genome-Wide Association Studies, represent a major advance in our understanding of the inherited influences on blood pressure and offer new potential therapeutic targets for prevention of heart disease and stroke - the biggest cause of death worldwide.

Lee Cronin [mp4] Scientists at the University of Glasgow say they have taken their first tentative steps towards creating 'life' from inorganic chemicals potentially defining the new area of 'inorganic biology'. Professor Lee Cronin, Gardiner Chair of Chemistry in the College of Science and Engineering, and his team have demonstrated a new way of making inorganic-chemical-cells or iCHELLS.

An international team of scientists, led by Stephen Barker of Cardiff University, has produced a prediction of what climate records from Greenland might look like over the last 800,000 years. Drill cores taken from Greenland's vast ice sheets provided the first clue that Earth's climate is capable of very rapid transitions and have led to vigorous scientific investigation into the possible causes of abrupt climate change.

Babies can distinguish painful stimuli as different from general touch from around 35-37 weeks gestation - just before an infant would normally be born - according to new research. In a study published online in the journal Current Biology, scientists show that neural activity in the brain gradually changes from an immature state to a more adult-like state from 35 weeks of development.

Scientists have succeeded in purifying a protein found in bacteria that could reveal new drug targets for inherited breast and ovarian cancers as well as other cancers linked to DNA repair faults. The study is published . The team, based at The University of Manchester's Paterson Institute for Cancer Research and the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, are the first to decipher the structure of a protein called PARG – which plays an important role in DNA repair and acts in the same pathway as PARP.

Ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth provides clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after the Earth was formed. During the formation of the Earth, molten iron sank to its centre to make the core.

The UK riots may have damaged properties and businesses, but the real damage hasn't even been properly considered yet, say University of Nottingham experts.

Researchers are a step closer towards creating a new class of medicines and vaccines to combat drug-resistant and deadly strains of fungal infections, following a new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . Yeast infections are the fourth most common cause of infection acquired by people in hospitals, although in healthy people they are most usually associated with vaginal or oral yeast infections known as thrush.

Nearly 17 million people suffer from stomach upsets in the UK every year, leading to around 11 million lost working days, new research by The University of Manchester has found. The study, published today by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), is the biggest of its kind for more than 10 years and looked at the impact of all cases of infectious intestinal disease (IID), not just those linked to food, on the UK population.

Making friends is a key part of school life, often shaping our futures and helping us develop as individuals. With youngsters across the country returning to school this week, new research has identified the factors which influence these relationships, with academic achievement, mother's education and personality found to be essential in the friendship formation process.

A new form of resistance to fungal disease has been discovered in oilseed rape, one of the world's most important crops, which could hold the key to developing disease resistant crops. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is attacked by the Light Leaf Spot fungus (Pyrenopeziza brassicae), which can reduce yields by a third.

Professional interpreters are under-used in the NHS according to new research from the University of Birmingham. The researchers identify language barriers as an increasing obstacle to the provision of healthcare in a paper published in the journal PLoS ONE . Effective communication is instrumental in the delivery of healthcare support and a cross-sectional study of 41 general practices in the UK highlights language disparities between patients and healthcare professionals.

Researchers have developed a form of crystal that can deliver highly accurate temperature readings, down to individual milli-kelvins, over a very broad range of temperatures: -120to +680 degrees centigrade. The researchers used a "birefringent" crystal which splits light passing through it into two separate rays.

Facial expressions have been called the "universal language of emotion," but people from different cultures perceive happy, sad or angry facial expressions in unique ways, according to new research from the University of Glasgow. Facial Recognition [mp3] Scotsman: Happy or sad face? Depends on your culture Fifteen Chinese people and 15 Caucasians living in Glasgow took part in the study.

Scientists have discovered a genetic cause of extreme thinness for the first time. The research shows that people with extra copies of certain genes are much more likely to be very skinny. In one in 2000 people, part of chromosome 16 is duplicated, making men 23 times and women five times more likely to be underweight.

UCL scientists are part of an international team which has developed a novel X-ray technique for imaging atomic displacements in materials with unprecedented accuracy. The team has applied the technique to determine how a recently discovered class of exotic materials - multiferroics - can be simultaneously both magnetically and electrically ordered.

A major discovery by archaeologists working in Perthshire will cast new light on understanding of the earliest history of Scotland. Broch Discovery [mp3] A team from the Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot (SERF) project have uncovered near the village of Dunning an exquisitely preserved Iron Age broch filled with evidence of early between the Picts and the Roman Empire.