news 2015

Cancer researchers from the University of Glasgow and Royal Philips Cancer researchers have identified a gene which could help doctors to predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer in patients. Their research, reported in the current edition of the British Journal of Cancer, could lead to more effective personalised treatment for prostate cancer and significantly reduce the number of unnecessary prostate cancer surgeries.

Fundamental research carried out by the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry into how chemical reactions happen in a liquid has been recognised as a World Changing Idea by Scientific American, the US's leading popular science magazine. The research , which uses infrared spectroscopy and computer simulations to reveal the hidden world of solvent-solute interactions, is one of ten big advances made this year that, the magazine believes, will improve life, transform computing and maybe even save the planet.

The University of Birmingham's iconic clock tower 'Old Joe' has turned a shade of blue this week as part of the inaugural World Antibiotic Awareness Week. Today is also European Antibiotic Awareness Day, and The Lancet has published a major new Series that suggest that the global fight against antimicrobial resistance could be under threat unless the evidence base for policies to control resistance is radically improved.

The Andes have been a mountain chain for much longer than previously thought, new research from the University of Bristol suggests. The Andes were formed by tectonic activity whereby earth is uplifted as one plate (oceanic crust) subducts under another plate (continental crust). To get such a high mountain chain in a subduction zone setting is unusual which adds to the importance of trying to figure out when and how it happened.

Graphene has been hailed as a wonder material since it was first isolated from graphite in 2004. Graphene is just a single atom thick but it is flexible, stronger than steel, and capable of efficiently conducting heat and electricity. However, widespread industrial adoption of graphene has so far been limited by the expense of producing it.

To coincide with European Antibiotic Awareness Day , researchers from the University of Liverpool have edited and contributed to a special online collection of research papers relating to the use of, and resistance to, antimicrobials in horses, which is published today by the Equine Veterinary Journal .

Research published today reveals the first-ever successful elimination of a fatal chytrid fungus in a wild amphibian. This marks a major breakthrough in the fight against the disease, responsible for devastating amphibian populations worldwide. The highly-infectious chytrid pathogen has severely affected over 700 amphibian species across the globe; driving population declines, and even species extinctions across five continents.

Superflaring Red Dwarf star may have stripped away the planet's atmosphere, finds research led by the University of Warwick. Energy released by each superflare equivalent to 100 billion megatons of TNT. The most Earth-like planet could have been made uninhabitable by vast quantities of radiation, new research led by the University of Warwick has found.

Government should focus resources on supporting young people in to mainstream employment rather than encouraging self-employment, a new report recommends. Although self-employment brings advantages such as autonomy and flexibility, being your own boss can be risky and can lead to lower financial returns, with little economic benefit for disadvantaged groups.

Scientists have discovered a surprising similarity between rivers and humans: both release more carbon dioxide when they work hard. When people are physically active, their lungs release more carbon dioxide gas than when they are at rest. Now, researchers from the University of Glasgow have found for the first time that fast-moving rivers work in a similar manner, releasing more gas than slower streams.

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

A National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded study by public health experts from the University of Liverpool has found that the programme of reassessing people on disability benefits may have had an adverse effect on the mental health of claimants. In England between 2010 and 2013, just over one million recipients of the main out-of-work disability benefit had their eligibility reassessed using a new functional checklist-the Work Capability Assessment.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have, for the first time, identified how Salmonella infections that have spread to our blood and organs can lead to life-threatening thrombosis. These systemic infections trigger the development of inflammation, which in turn leads to thrombosis. Crucially, the maintenance of the sustained threat from thrombosis is independent of the continued presence of infection and instead parallels the regulation of inflammation within the host.

Seismologists at the University of Liverpool studying the 2011 Chile earthquake have discovered a previously undetected earthquake which took place seconds after the initial rupture. This newly discovered phenomena which they have called a `closely-spaced doublet' presents a challenge to earthquake and tsunami early warning systems as it increases the risk of larger-than-expected tsunamis in the aftermath of a typical subduction earthquake.

As many as 50% of all natural history specimens held in the world's museums could be wrongly named, according to a new study by researchers from Oxford University and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Even the most accomplished naturalist can find it difficult to tell one species of plant from another or accurately decide which genus a small insect belongs to.

The Scots accent is changing but unlike England where evidence shows many regional accents are becoming more homogenised the Scots accent appears to be sticking to its roots. Researchers at the University of Glasgow have studied audio recordings from across the decades, including a few rare short recordings from Scots soldiers from WW1, and have discovered that although the Scottish accent is evolving it is sticking very much to its Scottish origins.

Scientists from The University of Nottingham have uncovered the role of cyclin - the protein molecule that drives the growth of malaria within mosquitoes. The research, led by Professor Rita Tewari and Dr Bill Wickstead in the University's School of Life Sciences and published in the scientific journal PLoS Pathogens , could pave the way to better understanding of how the malaria parasite thrives within its insect and human hosts and lead to potential new treatments.

Lasers could heat materials to temperatures hotter than the centre of the Sun in only 20 quadrillionths of a second, according to new research. Theoretical physicists from Imperial College London have devised an extremely rapid heating mechanism that they believe could heat certain materials to ten million degrees in much less than a million millionth of a second.

Research provides first ever weather map of a planet outside our solar system "This is the first ever weather map from outside of solar system." Wind 20x faster than ever recorded on Earth Measurement techniques could be used to study weather on Earth-like planets Winds of over 2km per second have been discovered flowing around planet outside of the Earth's solar system, new research has found.

It covers more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface, but the exact origins of our planet's water are still something of a mystery. Scientists have long been uncertain whether water was present at the formation of the planet or if it arrived later, perhaps carried by comets and meteorites.