news 2013

Homeless women are not accessing the support of social services that they need to progress due to a lack of service coordination and the complex needs of the service users, a recent project has found. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that homeless women 'are used to making themselves invisible in order to survive' and are therefore a hard-to-reach group for social services to work with.

A study which monitored the health habits of 2,235 men over a 35-year period has found that exercise significantly reduces the risk of dementia. Published today in the  PLOS One journal by researchers from Cardiff University, the study is the longest of its kind to probe the influence of environmental factors in chronic disease.

Scientists are a step closer to understanding how some of the brain's 100 billion nerve cells co-ordinate their communication. The study is published in the journal Cell Reports. The University of Bristol research team investigated some of the chemical processes that underpin how brain cells co-ordinate their communication.

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.

01 Nov 2013 A new study has found that higher levels of racism in white Americans is associated with having a gun in the home and greater opposition to gun control policies. The research, published in PLoS One, was led by Dr Kerry O'Brien from The University of Manchester and Monash University and used data from a large representative sample of white US voters.

31 Oct 2013 People who suffer from language difficulties as children may continue to suffer from various emotional and behavioural problems as adults, according to new research by The University of Manchester. Childhood language impairment used to be seen as an early years difficulty, with children catching up gradually as they got older.

The study found that many models provided only cursory reference to the uncertainties of the information and data, or the parameters used Research by scientists at the University of Liverpool has found that greater consideration of the limitations and uncertainties in infectious disease modelling would improve its usefulness and value.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is substantially more effective than standard care at reducing symptoms of health anxiety, a study has found. The findings are good news for the 10 to 20 per cent of hospital patients who excessively worry that they have a serious, undiagnosed illness. Published in The Lancet , this is the first large-scale trial to test the effectiveness of CBT for health anxiety.

In a groundbreaking new study, Cambridge researchers have mapped out the neurobiological basis of a key aspect of human communication: intonation. If you were to read out loud the words, "I'm absolutely delighted that Kate blamed Paul and Tessa Arnold" in a flat voice, with no rises or falls and placing equal weight on each syllable, you would quickly demonstrate the fundamental importance in human communication of intonation.

Risks of hospital admissions and deaths from stroke and heart disease are higher in areas with high levels of aircraft noise, a study has found. Researchers at Imperial College London and King's College London compared data on dayand night-time aircraft noise with hospital admissions and mortality rates among a population of 3.6 million people living near Heathrow airport.

With optical fibre networks gradually approaching their theoretical capacity limits, new types of fibres such as multicore fibres have been at the focus of worldwide research to overcome critical capacity barriers, which threaten the evolution of the Internet. The University of Bristol in collaboration with the National Institute of Information and Technology (NICT) have demonstrated successfully for the first time a multicore fibre-based network, which will form the foundation for the future Internet infrastructure.

Muslim chaplains in a range of British public institutions are performing vital roles as problem-solvers, mediators and role models, a new book reveals. Understanding Muslim Chaplaincy examines the work of Muslim chaplains in universities and colleges, prisons, the armed forces, hospitals, airports, shopping malls and in the community, throughout England and Wales.

Researchers at Imperial College London are contributing to a major study testing a combination of measures to prevent HIV in South Africa and Zambia. The study will assess whether house-to-house voluntary HIV testing and prompt treatment of HIV infection, along with other proven HIV prevention measures, can substantially reduce the number of new HIV infections across communities.

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have helped a leading charity to identify critical gaps in breast cancer research which need to be urgently addressed to prevent the loss of around 185,000 lives by 2030. Four world-leading researchers, from the University's Department of Oncology, assisted the Breast Cancer Campaign (BCC) in a landmark analysis, published today (1 October 2013) in Breast Cancer Research, which shows greater investment, collaboration and renewed focus is vital.

Establishing a clearer understanding of the role lipids (or fats) play in the development of heart disease and dementia has received a major €3M funding boost through the University's first European Research Council Advanced Grant award for Life Sciences research. Awarded to Professor Valerie O'Donnell's Lipidomic Group based in the School of Medicine the funding will help the Group determine the total number and diversity of lipids in two types of blood cells that help us fight infection and prevent bleeding.

A new free-to-access 'swap-shop', where scientists deposit and exchange data could reduce the cost of research and deliver a raft of new discoveries. The architects of such a service, say it could bring about new advances faster in all fields of science, medicine and engineering by bringing together results from different sources.

New research has provided the first evidence to prove that active and engaged television viewing does help to accelerate language change. In particular the study, funded by Economic and Social Research Council and published in the American journal 'Language', looked at how watching the television soap 'EastEnders' is altering certain features of the Scottish accent.

Patients attending clinical nurse specialist clinics do not get inferior treatment to that offered by consultant rheumatologists, the results of a major new clinical trial have revealed. The results of the multi-centre trial at the University of Leeds, funded by Arthritis Research UK, showed that there may be some clinical benefit to people with rheumatoid arthritis, whose condition is managed in clinics run by rheumatology clinical nurse specialists, especially with respect to their disease activity, pain control, physical function and general satisfaction with their care.

King's MSc students are studying insect behaviour to help solve murder cases King's has been at the cutting edge of forensic science for many years, working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to develop innovative techniques and test new methods to collect and analyse evidence in criminal cases.

New research from UCLPartners, and funded by the NHS in London, has shown that centralising acute stroke services in particular London hospitals has led to significant reductions in both mortality and costs. Before 2010, stroke services in London were provided in 30 acute hospitals across the region.