news 2016

Researchers have compiled the first comprehensive carbon footprint league table for fresh food so chefs, caterers and everyday foodies can cook meals without cooking the planet. The greenhouse gas emissions dataset by researchers at Lancaster University and RMIT University and will help consumers and catering firms calculate the environmental impact of the fresh food they eat and the menus they serve.

International survey also indicates 1.5 million people die following complications Data gathered in 27 countries is first global evaluation of surgical outcomes and mortality rates Infection of surgical wounds is found to be most frequent complication Survey finds deaths following complications at similar levels in low, middle and high income countries Authors call for hospitals worldwide to work to reduce the incidence of preventable com

Almost 50 years after Nobel prize-winner Andrew Huxley published his seminal findings about muscle contraction, scientists from the University of Bristol have retraced Huxley's steps. Their findings, published today in the Biophysical Journal, could change our understanding of the response of muscles to changes in length during physical activity.

Over 100 years ago, the American artist Abbot Thayer proposed that the reason so many animals are darker on their backs than their bellies is to disguise their 3D shape and so improve camouflage. This theory has been tested by scientists from the Universities of Bristol, St Andrews and Abertay and their findings are published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA .

Researchers identify specific areas of DNA sequence that are related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life. Researchers have identified 12 specific areas of the DNA sequence that are robustly related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life.

A Cardiff University study has found that children using screen-based media devices at bedtime have over double the risk of inadequate sleep duration compared to children without access to such a device. The study which comprised a systematic review of 20 existing observational studies, involving 125,198 children, also found that sleep quality and day-time sleepiness were affected to a similar magnitude.

A study by the University of Oxford, looking at rates of violent re-offences among former prisoners in Sweden, has shown that prescribing psychotropic medications can cut the risk of violent reoffending. Prescribing ex-prisoners psychotropic medications after release is associated with a decrease in reoffending, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford.

What is in a name? Well researchers at the University of Glasgow have discovered many Scottish place names reveal a lot about the country's past culture, heritage and history.

Why do we use non-human primates? Monkeys and apes are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and because of their high cognitive abilities and complex social behaviour, biomedical research using these animals requires additional justification and high welfare standards. Due to the high degree of genetic, anatomical and physiological conservation, non-human primates can be the best models for understanding human biological processes.

[Embed: J is for Jay]   What species of birds do we use? Our researchers study social and physical cognition in corvids (members of the crow family, which includes jackdaws, rooks and jays), from studies of alliance formation and post-conflict behaviours in rooks, and food-sharing in jackdaws, to tests of what jays and rooks understand about tools.

Why do we use mice? Over eight out of ten animals used in research at Cambridge are mice. Their short life span and fast reproductive rate make it possible to investigate biological processes in many areas, at all stages of the life cycle. The mouse makes an excellent model for human disease because the organisation of their DNA and their gene expression is similar to humans, with ninety-eight percent of human genes having a comparable gene in the mouse.

Our Facebook status updates, 'likes' and even photos could help researchers better understand mental health disorders with the right ethical safeguards, argue researchers from the University of Cambridge, who suggest that social networks may even be used in future to provide support and interventions, particularly among young people.

Researchers have identified the first known example of fossilised brain tissue in a dinosaur from Sussex. The tissues resemble those seen in modern crocodiles and birds. The chances of preserving brain tissue are incredibly small, so the discovery of this specimen is astonishing. Alex Liu An unassuming brown pebble, found more than a decade ago by a fossil hunter in Sussex, has been confirmed as the first example of fossilised brain tissue from a dinosaur.

A new treatment that might one day help all patients with haemophilia, including those that become resistant to existing therapies, has been developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Within three years, we hope to be conducting our first-in-man trials Trevor Baglin Around 400,000 individuals around the world are affected by haemophilia, a genetic disorder that causes uncontrolled bleeding.

Patients admitted to NHS major trauma centres at the weekend have near identical outcomes to those admitted during the week, according to a new study of more than 49,000 patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal. NHS major trauma services in England show no signs of a 'weekend effect', Oxford University-led research has found.

A team of researchers from Cardiff University and Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute has succeeded in creating a three-dimensional mammary gland model that will pave the way for a better understanding of the mechanisms of breast cancer. Using a cocktail of growth factors, scientists were able to grow mouse mammary cells into three-dimensional mammary tissue.

The ten UK universities who do the most world-leading biomedical research have announced their animal research statistics, revealing that they collectively conducted a third of all UK animal research in 2015. The top ten institutions conduct more than two thirds of all UK university animal research between them, completing a combined total of 1.37 million procedures.

Researchers have identified the cause of chronic, and currently untreatable, pain in those with amputations and severe nerve damage, as well as a potential treatment which relies on engineering instead of drugs. We wanted to see if we could come up with an engineering-based treatment as opposed to a drug-based treatment.

Inherited heart disease can be successfully detected within families by screening one-to-two year old children at the time of their routine vaccinations, according to a clinical study led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) that involved over 10,000 children. The researchers from QMUL's Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine estimate that, with effective treatment, the screening strategy could prevent about 600 heart attacks in people under the age of 40, each year in England and Wales, if the programme was rolled out by public health agencies.

A combination of historical and genetic research reveals the error and hype that led to the coining of the term 'Patient Zero' and the blaming of one man for the spread of HIV across North America.