news 2011

Remote lochs along the west coast of Scotland are turning up new evidence about the origins of life on land. A team of scientists exploring rocks around Loch Torridon have discovered the remarkably preserved remains of organisms that once lived on the bottom of ancient lake beds as long as a billion (1000 million) years ago.

By Colin Smith Scientists have developed a way of studying cells by comparing how proteins inside them bind with one another. The team, from Imperial College London, have developed an algorithm called MI-GRAAL that enables them to study protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, where a cell's proteins bind together in complex networks so that they can carry out their functions.

An international group of scientists has used a powerful new X-ray technique to observe for the first time at the molecular scale how muscle proteins change form and structure inside a contracting muscle cell. The study, led by scientists from King's College London, Università di Firenze (Italy), and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble (France), is published in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Loch fossils show life harnessed sun and sex early on Remote lochs along the west coast of Scotland are turning up new evidence about the origins of life on land. A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield, the University of Oxford and Boston College, who are exploring rocks around Loch Torridon, have discovered the remarkably preserved remains of organisms that once lived on the bottom of ancient lake beds as long as a billion (1,000 million) years ago.

New treatment can destroy prostate cancer from within A `Trojan´ system developed by researchers at the Universities of Sheffield and York attacks cancerous cells from within and potentially offers a safer treatment for prostate tumours. The technique involves the use of a patient´s own white blood cells called macrophages to deliver an oncolytic viruses to tumours that is tailored specifically to grow in and destroy the cancer cells.

A major infectious problem after organ transplantation, cytomegalovirus (CMV), could potentially be targeted with a vaccine, according to new results from a phase II clinical trial led by scientists from UCL and doctors at the Royal Free Hospital. The results of this Phase II proof-of-concept study, published in The Lancet today, show that a vaccine preparation moderated the severity of CMV infection in patients waiting for kidney and liver transplants and, in some cases, may have interrupted transmission of the virus from donor to recipient.

A study of the 'spectral colour' of animal populations and their habitats shows they are linked, and that both are becoming more blue. Scientists say this has an effect on extinction rates - news Thursday 7 April 2011 Adapted from a news release by British Ecological Society The 'colour' of our environment is becoming 'bluer', a change that could have important implications for animals' risk of becoming extinct, say ecologists from Imperial College London this week.

Scientists from the University of Manchester are among a group of researchers investigating how genetic differences among individuals contribute to the way ecological communities form, interact and change over time. They say that understanding how individuals interact and form sustainable communities can help society to address issues including food security, prevention of disease and the coexistence between humans and nature in a crowded world.

Scientists from the Universities of Birmingham and Bristol have discovered how marine bacteria join together two antibiotics they make independently to produce a potent chemical that can kill drug-resistant strains of the MRSA superbug. Working with Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi-Sankyo, and funded by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the researchers' work paves the way for the creation of new hybrid antibiotics that may help to solve the growing problem of bacterial infections that are resistant to essentially all antibiotics.

Adapted from a news release by British Ecological Society The 'colour' of our environment is becoming 'bluer', a change that could have important implications for animals' risk of becoming extinct, say ecologists from Imperial College London this week. In a major study published this week in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology , researchers examined how quickly or slowly animal populations and their environment fluctuate over time, something ecologists describe using 'spectral colour'.

Scientists at King's College London have discovered specific cells responsible for ensuring that different parts of the eye come together during development, according to a paper published . These findings significantly enhance understanding of how the different components of the eye are organised into a functional organ, and therefore reveal clues as to the possible causes of congenital malformations that lead to life-long visual impairment.

Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a role in regulating how much alcohol people drink, in a study of over 47,000 people published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The researchers say that finding a common genetic variation influencing levels of alcohol consumption may lead to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying alcohol drinking behaviour in the general population.

Imperial College London and King's College London News Release Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a role in regulating how much alcohol people drink, in a study of over 47,000 people published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers say that finding a common genetic variation influencing levels of alcohol consumption may lead to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying alcohol drinking behaviour in the general population.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow have shown that when parts of our vision are blocked, the brain steps in to fill in the blanks. The team from the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology conducted a series of experiments that showed how our brains predict what cannot be seen by drawing on our previous experiences to build up an accurate picture.

Researchers at King's College London and Osaka University in Japan have identified specific bone marrow cells that can transform into skin cells to repair damaged skin tissue, according to a study published today in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) . The team has uncovered how this process works, providing new insights into the mechanisms behind skin repair.

PA 109/11 Scientists have uncovered five new genes in the search for the genetic make-up of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). Their work into this devastating condition is already changing the way people are thinking about treating and diagnosing the disease. The results of this latest study, in which The University of Nottingham played a key role, are published today April 3 2011 .

Science Cath Harris | 01 Apr 11 An Oxford University scientist has taken our understanding of the origin of life a step further. Professor Don Fraser from the Department of Earth Sciences has carried out neutron scattering experiments to try to find out more about the role of geochemistry in determining the origin of our amino acids - key building blocks of life on Earth - and specifically why the DNA-coded amino acids that make up our proteins are all left-handed.

Science Cath Harris | 01 Apr 11 An Oxford University scientist has taken our understanding of the origin of life a step further. Professor Don Fraser from the Department of Earth Sciences has carried out neutron scattering experiments to try to find out more about the role of geochemistry in determining the origin of our amino acids - key building blocks of life on Earth - and specifically why the DNA-coded amino acids that make up our proteins are all left-handed.

Links: UCL Ear Institute Research paper in Current Biology The antennal ears of different fruit fly species are actively tuned to high-frequency components of their respective mating songs, according to new research led by UCL scientists. During courtship, male fruit flies serenade females with a 'love song' produced by quiet, close-range wing vibrations.

Adapted from a news release issued by Cancer Research UK Thursday 31 March 2011 Scientists have discovered an essential protein that controls inflammation induced by "tumour necrosis factor" (TNF) - an important part of the body's defences against infection and a driver of cancer-associated inflammation, according to research published in Nature today.