news 2014

New evidence of myelin's essential role in learning and retaining new practical skills, such as playing a musical instrument, has been uncovered by UCL research. Myelin is a fatty substance that insulates the brain's wiring and is a major constituent of 'white matter'. It is produced by the brain and spinal cord into early adulthood as it is needed for many developmental processes, and although earlier studies of human white matter hinted at its involvement in skill learning, this is the first time it has been confirmed experimentally.

Press release issued: 17 October 2014 Scientists have used computer simulations to show how bacteria are able to destroy antibiotics - a breakthrough which will help develop drugs which can effectively tackle infections in the future. Researchers at the University of Bristol focused on the role of enzymes in the bacteria, which split the structure of the antibiotic and stop it working, making the bacteria resistant.

Scientists in Cambridge have found hidden signatures in the brains of people in a vegetative state, which point to networks that could support consciousness even when a patient appears to be unconscious and unresponsive. The study could help doctors identify patients who are aware despite being unable to communicate.

Poor quality data is informing the future of our patient care, warns study An investigation into how patient outcomes are assessed in clinical trials has revealed a worrying lack of consistency, raising concerns about funding being wasted on the acquisition of poor quality data. Information collected through clinical trials plays a crucial role in improving the standard of patient care.

A new study suggests the aspirations of women in Mongolia have rapidly shifted.  Before the rapid economic transition of the 1990s, the wealthiest women in the Communist-style era had big families. However, women today are less interested in babies and driven more by money and status. The research by Oxford University and Sheffield University was based on interviews with 9,000 women in Mongolia, a country that underwent a sudden transition from a Soviet-style state to mass privatisation.

Being physically active three times a week reduces the odds of being depressed by approximately 16%, according to new UCL research undertaken as part of the Public Health Research Consortium. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found a two-way relationship between depression and physical activity.

New research shows that chimpanzees search for the right tools from a key plant species when preparing to 'ant dip' - a crafty technique enabling them to feast on army ants without getting bitten. The study shows that army ants are not a poor substitute for preferred foods, but a staple part of chimpanzee diets.

Scientists from QMUL, UCL, Zoological Society of London, and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) in Madrid, tracing the real-time impact of viruses in the wild have found that entire amphibian communities are being killed off by closely related viruses introduced to mountainous areas of northern Spain.

Scientists at King's College London, the University of Manchester, and the University of Liverpool have found that an infant's preference for a person's face, rather than an object, is associated with lower levels of callous and unemotional behaviours in toddlerhood. The study, published in Biological Psychiatry , assessed if 213 five-week-old infants spent longer tracking a person's face compared to an inanimate object - in this case a red ball.

Researchers have devised a new test to help doctors diagnose ovarian tumours and choose the most appropriate treatment. Successful treatment depends in part on accurately identifying the type of tumour, but this can be difficult. As a result, many women with cancer are not sent to the right specialist surgeon, or those with a benign cyst may have a more serious operation than they need.

Cancer Research UK scientists have shown that a fat molecule found in the body directs the most serious type of skin cancer to spread, according to research published in PLOS Biology . The team at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute at the University of Glasgow, revealed that melanoma cells give themselves the 'green light' to move using a naturally-occurring fat molecule, called lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have found vital new evidence on how to target and reverse the effects caused by one of the most common genetic causes of Parkinson's. Mutations in a gene called LRRK2 carry a well-established risk for Parkinson's disease, however the basis for this link is unclear.

How the fruit fly could help us sniff out drugs and bombs A fly's sense of smell could be used in new technology to detect drugs and bombs, new University of Sussex research has found. Brain scientist Professor Thomas Nowotny was surprised to find that the 'nose' of fruit flies can identify odours from illicit drugs and explosive substances almost as accurately as wine odour, which the insects are naturally attracted to because it smells like their favourite food, fermenting fruit.

A new study has shown that older people living in towns and cities in Northern Ireland are a quarter more likely to be admitted to care homes than people living in rural areas. Researchers from the University of Glasgow found that rural dwellers had greater access to informal networks of care, such as family, friends and neighbours, which decreased their reliance on the care system.

Scientists at Imperial College London have developed a new cancer drug which they plan to trial in multiple myeloma patients by the end of next year. In a paper published today in the journal Cancer Cell , the researchers report how the drug, known as DTP3, kills myeloma cells in laboratory tests in human cells and mice, without causing any toxic side effects, which is the main problem with most other cancer drugs.

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and UCL (University College London) have identified what they believe could be a cause of pre-term premature rupture of the fetal membrane (PPROM), which accounts for 40 per cent of pre-term births, the main reason for infant death world-wide. The researchers, whose work was funded by the charity Wellbeing of Women, used bioengineering techniques to test the effect of repetitive stretch on tissues of the amniotic membrane which surrounds and protects the baby prior to birth.

Conventional estimates for the collapse of the Aegean civilization may be incorrect by up to a century, according to new radiocarbon analyses. While historical chronologies traditionally place the end of the Greek Bronze Age at around 1025 BCE, this latest research suggests a date 70 to 100 years earlier.

Scientists have successfully demonstrated a new way to control the "spin" of an electron - the natural intrinsic angular momentum of electrons which could underpin faster computing in the future. The technique counterintuitively makes use of the ever-changing magnetic field of the electron's environment - one of the main obstacles to traditional methods of spin control.

10 October 2014 The ideal cost per dose for a new meningitis vaccine ranges from £3 up to a possible £22 only if several vaccine favourable factors all coincide, according to research which has analysed how to maximise the reduction in cases while making a new vaccination programme cost-effective.

Two new studies have been used to make the most detailed weather map for a planet outside the solar system, where typical daytime highs reach 1500 degrees Celsius and winds exceed the speed of sound. The atmosphere of such a bizarre world provides a unique laboratory with which to acquire a better understanding of planet formation and planetary physics Nikku Madhusudhan A team of scientists, including astronomers from the University of Cambridge, have made the most detailed map ever of the temperature of an exoplanet's atmosphere, and traced the amount of water it contains.