news 2012

  A new spin-out from the School of Biosciences has become the latest portfolio company of university commercialisation company Fusion IP. Nanotether Discovery Science Limited ("Nanotether") is founded on the invention of three Cardiff academics - Professor Trevor Dale, Professor Adrian Harwood and Professor Paola Borri from the School of Biosciences.

Fresh insight into infection could improve scientists' understanding of allergies and inform new treatments. Edinburgh research into the immune system has shed light on the role of a cell that is involved in the body's response to allergens, such as dust, pollen or pet hair. The cell type - called a dendritic cell - is already known for helping to co-ordinate the body's response to infection.

An international research team, led from the University of Leeds, has found that a common anti-angina drug could help protect the heart against carbon monoxide poisoning. Animal studies have shown that the anti-angina drug ranolazine can significantly reduce the number of deaths from arrhythmias – irregular or abnormally paced heartbeats – that have been triggered by carbon monoxide.

The breakdown of oestrogen could play an important role in the onset of a rare but devastating condition of high blood pressure in the lungs. In a study funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in American Heart Association journal Circulation , scientists from the University of Glasgow showed that high levels of an enzyme in the lungs called CYP1B1 - which breaks down oestrogen into harmful smaller molecules - could play a role in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

New research published online first in The Lancet Neurology highlights the long-term, often hidden, after-effects of meningitis in children. The study, led by Professor Russell Viner at the UCL Institute of Child Health, shows that 1 in 3 children who have experienced meningococcal group B disease (MenB), the most common type of bacterial meningitis in the UK, will be left with after-effects.

When mimicry becomes less effective, evolving to look completely different can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others. However, because their learning is so specific, this social learning then selects for alternative cuckoo disguises and the arms race continues." —Dr Rose Thorogood, co-author on the paper from the Departement of Zoology To minimise the chance of being recognised and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises.

Two treatments found previously to be the most effective for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) have now been found to be the most cost-effective treatments evaluated in a large clinical trial. The latest results from the PACE trial show that both cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET), as supplements to specialist medical care, offer good value for money for healthcare providers when the cost of treatment is weighed up against improvement in quality of life.

Research published today in the journal Nature gives a detailed picture of how scientists are looking to the much warmer Antarctic climate of the distant past to learn more about how the planet could look in the future if climate change continues unchecked. The University of Glasgow's James Bendle is one of the authors of the paper, which is part of a major international research project to examine the Earth's climate during the 'Greenhouse world' of the early Eocene epoch, between 48 and 55 million years ago.

British children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to become short-sighted according to new research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol. Short-sightedness (myopia) can affect 25-50 per cent of young people in the West and up to 80 per cent of young people in parts of south-east Asia.

Studies of how rats and ants rescue other members of their species do not prove that animals other than humans have empathy, according to a team led by Oxford University scientists. Empathy - recognising and sharing feelings experienced by another individual - is a key human trait and to understand its evolution numerous studies have looked for evidence of it in non-human animals.

Levels of sleep problems in the developing world are approaching those seen in developed nations, linked to an increase in problems like depression and anxiety. According to the first ever pan-African and Asian analysis of sleep problems, led by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick, an estimated 150 million adults are suffering from sleep-related problems across the developing world.

Research led by the University of Birmingham has shown that a specialised drug prescribing system could help to prevent a repetition of the notorious 2002 killings of elderly patients by nurse Colin Norris. A nurse at the Leeds General Infirmary and St James Hospitals, Norris was convicted in 2008 of murdering four patients using insulin, which lowered their blood glucose levels and led to their deaths.

Running backwards can provide important insights on forces in the knee joint which can help people struggling with knee pain, a University study has found. The study, carried out by researchers from the Arthritis Research UK Biomechanics and Bioengineering Centre based in the University's School of Healthcare Studies, shows how backwards running generally exerts less pressure on the knee joint.

Mums and Dads from opposite sides of the globe will share their experience of raising their children to help researchers build a picture of the effects of culture and individual beliefs on parenting practices. Merideth Gattis from the University's School of Psychology is working with Professor Terry Au of Hong Kong University to evaluate parenting choices in Britain and China.

New research by the University of Oxford has found that the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) programme has increased real agricultural wages rates by 5.3% across India since its introduction in 2006. The study, led by Oxford, also involved researchers from the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, India.

Scientists led by the President of The University of Manchester have demonstrated a drug which can dramatically limit the amount of brain damage in stroke patients. Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, Professor Stuart Allan and their team have spent the last 20 years investigating how to reduce damage to the brain following a stroke.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a method to visualise gold on the nanoscale by using a special probe beam to image 20 atoms of gold bound together to make a cluster. The research is published today (26 July 2012) in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Nanoscale. Physicists have theorised for many years how atoms of gold and other elements would be arranged and ten years ago the structure of a 20-atom tetrahedral pyramid was proposed by scientists in the US.

Community policing methods - based on dialogue, support and trust - are significantly helping counter-terrorism efforts in post 7/7 Britain, new research at the University of Birmingham has revealed. Researchers looked at the effective use of partnership work with Muslim groups, including those deemed as 'radicals', in so called 'soft' policing methods, and found that the increased trust and access to community-based expertise is helping to prevent extremist propaganda and acts of violence.

Bowel cancer patients diagnosed through screening more likely to survive Bowel cancer patients whose disease was found through screening have a better chance of beating their disease than those diagnosed after developing symptoms, according to new research by Durham University. The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, also adds to evidence that the test used in bowel screening - which looks for blood in stool samples - is better at finding bowel cancers in men, and in the lower part of the bowel.

A University study has shown how our minds unconsciously respond to threats. Researchers studying how our minds develop fears in response to danger found that people can quickly learn to recognise a threat even when they are unaware of it. However, they also found that this learning is swiftly forgotten.