news 2013

Researchers have found that listeners engage with classical music more when musicians improvise. A collaboration of researchers from Imperial College London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama examined the electrical signals in the brains of musicians and listeners. Although improvisation is not commonly associated with classical music, the new study suggests that introducing elements of improvisation into classical concerts could increase audience engagement.

A process that could revolutionise solar energy harvesting has been efficiently demonstrated in solution for the first time. We are only beginning to understand how this process works, and as we learn more we expect improvements in the technology to follow Brian Walker Solar cells offer the opportunity to harvest abundant, renewable energy.

A way of using nanoparticles to investigate the mechanisms underlying 'mystery' cases of infertility has been developed by scientists at Oxford University. The technique, published in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine , could eventually help researchers to discover the causes behind cases of unexplained infertility and develop treatments for affected couples.

A specialist £20 million research centre, funded by the Wolfson Foundation and dedicated to carrying out first-in-human studies, opens in London today. Researchers at the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre (LWENC) will investigate exciting new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Researchers are working on solutions that involve better understanding of how drugs react with an individual's genetic make-up The Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Drug Safety Science at the University of Liverpool has launched a public guide book, to explain how greater understanding of drug side-effects could help tailor treatments to patients.

The team identified a red squirrel that recovered naturally from squirrelpox and was released back into the population A study by the University of Liverpool has found that the red squirrel population along the Sefton coastline seems to be recovering from a serious outbreak of squirrelpox in 2008. Researchers from the University, in collaboration with the Lancashire Wildlife Trust , have been monitoring the red squirrel population at the Seaforth Coastal reserve, which had fallen by 85% as a result of the outbreak.

A new treatment approach for tackling cancer of the food pipe (oesophagus) has been developed by researchers at Cardiff and Velindre NHS Trust. Oesophageal cancer is widely considered to be one of the most difficult cancers to treat, with 8000 new diagnoses every year, equating to over 150 people a week.

It's exciting how economical bacteria are, able to harness the thermal free energy from unfolded subunits and convert it into a coherent directed transport Dr Lewis Evans Cambridge scientists have uncovered the mechanism by which bacteria build their surface propellers (flagella) - the long extensions that allow them to swim towards food and away from danger.

Many surgeons are seriously affected on an emotional level when complications occur in the operating theatre, according to a new study. Researchers at Imperial College London ed 27 surgeons about the personal and professional impact of surgical complications. Many reported that they receive inadequate support from their institutions for dealing with such incidents.

Latest research shows that the presence of the genetic mutation for lighter skin - found in "almost 100%" of Europeans - broadly conforms to many cultural and linguistic differences, as well as ancestral, in the wider Indian population. In India, this genetic variant doesn't just follow a 'classical' theory of natural selection Mircea Iliescu The genetic mutation in SLC24A5 is known to be pivotal in the evolution of light skin, and is responsible for a significant part of the skin colour differences between Europeans and Africans.

In it together: research reveals the joy of the crowd The rush-hour commute or Oxford Street at Christmas are rarely much fun, but for some the experience of a packed crowd can be highly enjoyable, a research project led by University of Sussex psychologist Dr John Drury has found. The findings, published today (Wednesday 13 November 2013) in the open access journal PLOS ONE , 1 explain why people actually seek out and find pleasure in dense, crowded areas.

12 Nov 2013 Members of the public would prefer to look at human hands or robotic hands rather than prosthetic hands which they view as eerie, a new study by The University of Manchester has shown. Researchers hope their study, published in the Journal Perception, and future work in this area will help improve designs for prosthetic limbs.

12 Nov 2013 Research by the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester has found that people experiencing depressive episodes display increased brain activity when they think about themselves. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging technologies, scientists found that people experiencing a depressive episode process information about themselves in the brain differently to people who are not depressed.

12 Nov 2013 Research by the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester has found that people experiencing depressive episodes display increased brain activity when they think about themselves. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging technologies, scientists found that people experiencing a depressive episode process information about themselves in the brain differently to people who are not depressed.

Artificial materials based on simple synthetic polymers can disrupt the way in which bacteria communicate with each other, a study led by scientists at The University of Nottingham has shown. The findings, published in the journal Nature Chemistry , could further our knowledge on how better to control and exploit bacteria in the future and will have implications for work in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

Under-18s who experience psychosis go untreated after their first psychotic symptoms for twice as long as adults, according to new research. Psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions, are a feature of several disorders of mental health, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists recognise that starting medication for psychosis early greatly improves the chances of a successful outcome, but the study reveals that teenagers are much less likely than adults to get timely access to mental health services and appropriate drug treatment.

08 Nov 2013 The genetic make-up of a patient's tumour could be used to personalise their treatment, and help to decide whether they would benefit from receiving additional drugs as part of their radiotherapy programme, according to a recent study involving scientists from the Manchester Cancer Research Centre.

Natural aerosols, such as emissions from volcanoes or plants, may contribute more uncertainty than previously thought to estimates of how the climate might respond to greenhouse gas emissions. An international team of researchers, led by the University of Leeds, has shown that the effect of aerosols on the climate since industrialisation depends strongly on what the atmosphere was like before pollution – when aerosols were produced only from natural emissions.

New research shows clear association between ACE inhibitors - drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease - and acute kidney injury These results are the first to estimate to what extent these drugs may be contributing to the growing incidence of acute kidney injury Dr Laurie Tomlinson Cambridge scientists have found an association between ACE inhibitors (and similar drugs) and acute kidney injury - a sudden deterioration in kidney function.

A study looking into what happens to the brains of sportspeople in the aftermath of a concussion - and what could happen if they suffered a subsequent head injury - has been launched by researchers at the University of Birmingham.