news 2016

People are being warned to take the current trend for 'pink' chicken liver recipes with a pinch of salt. Research from Manchester, Bangor and Liverpool universities found that a current trend to serve 'rare' chicken livers is potentially exposing the public to the risk of Campylobacter food poisoning.

An international study involving UCL has made advances in understanding the ways in which genetic risk factors alter gene function in schizophrenia. The study, published today in Genome Biology and funded by the Medical Research Council , combined genetic sequence information with measures of gene regulation in schizophrenia patients and matched controls.

The greatest threat to sustainable groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic Basin is contamination and not depletion, according to a study co-authored by UCL researchers and published this week . Using groundwater measurements from across the region, the study reveals that over 60% of accessible groundwater is no longer safe to drink or usable for irrigation due to high concentrations of arsenic or salinity.

A research team, led by Cardiff University, has made a significant step towards the development of a simple blood test to predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Funded by the Alzheimer's Society, the group of researchers from Cardiff University, King's College London and the University of Oxford studied blood from 292 individuals with the earliest signs of memory impairment and found a set of biomarkers (indicators of disease) that predicted whether or not a given individual would develop Alzheimer's disease.

Birds that have to work harder during breeding season will feel the effects of their exertions the following year, according to research by Oxford University scientists. A new study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology found that migratory seabirds suffered negative repercussions when they had to spend more time rearing chicks, including decreased breeding success when they returned to the colony the following spring.

Specific mutations in the protein associated with Parkinson's Disease, in which just one of its 140 building blocks is altered, can make a dramatic difference to processes which may lead to the condition's onset, researchers have found.

Building up proteins from scratch, rather than piecing together fragments of existing proteins, could make designing new nanomaterials easier. Proteins perform a myriad of functions essential for life. They also make up important and useful biological materials, for example spider silk, which is exceptionally strong but still flexible.

A new technique developed by biomedical engineers could help to unlock the full potential of a promising treatment for bone regeneration, creating better therapies for spinal injuries, bone grafts and other orthopaedic surgeries. In a new paper published today (Saturday 27 August) in the journal Science Advances , scientists from the University of Glasgow discuss how they have used a cheap, commercially-produced polymer to help stimulate 'growth factors' - molecules which help the body to regenerate.

A large international study of more than 200,000 people in nearly 50 countries has revealed that people with psychosis engage in low levels of physical activity, and men with psychosis are over two times more likely to miss global activity targets compared to people without the illness. The research, led by King's College London and the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust, also offers important insights into the barriers that prevent people with psychosis from engaging in regular physical activity.

Extensive systems of fossilised riverbeds have been discovered on an ancient region of the Martian surface, supporting the idea that the now cold and dry Red Planet had a warm and wet climate about four billion years ago, according to UCL-led research. The study, published in Geology and funded by the Science & Technology Facilities Council and the UK Space Agency, identified over 17,000km of former river channels on a northern plain called Arabia Terra, providing further evidence of water once flowing on Mars.

Clear evidence of a planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System, has been found by an international team of scientists led by astronomers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Using facilities operated by ESO (the European Southern Observatory) and other telescopes, The planet, called Proxima b, orbits its parent star every 11 days and has a temperature suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface.

Scientists have identified two genes that are switched on only when a child is suffering from a bacterial infection. This could allow doctors to quickly distinguish between a viral or bacterial illness, and identify early cases of potentially deadly infections. The international team of scientists, led by researchers at Imperial College London and funded by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre , hope to now use the findings to develop a rapid test for use in hospitals and doctors' surgeries.

Learning disabilities are more common in children who were conceived between January and March - the time of year when there is insufficient sunlight to produce vitamin D - according to a new study led by the University of Glasgow. Professor Jill Pell talks about her research The study, which is published today in the American Journal of Epidemiology , was written in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cambridge, the NHS and the Scottish Government.

The first global-scale genetic study of Salmonella Enteritidis bacteria, which is a major cause of blood poisoning and death in Africa and food poisoning in the Western world, has discovered that there are in fact three separate types. Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and University of Liverpool found two novel African types, which looked the same, but were genetically different from the Western type.

A new multimillion pound study, which will see the most thorough and rigorous series of tests to detect Alzheimer's disease ever performed on volunteers, is announced today (Monday 22 August). The Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study is funded by the National Institute of Health Research and the MRC and hopes to dramatically improve the success rate of clinical trials for treatments in Alzheimer's disease.

Making an assistive robot partner expressive and communicative is likely to make it more satisfying to work with and lead to users trusting it more, even if it makes mistakes, a new UCL-led study suggests. But the research also shows that giving robots human-like traits could have a flip side - users may even lie to the robot in order to avoid hurting its feelings.

Research reveals that large areas of 'degraded' forest in Southeast Asia can play an important role in conserving mammal diversity. Mammals can be one of the hardest-hit groups by habitat loss, and a lot of research has been carried out to find the best ways to conserve mammal diversity. Much of this research has focussed on very large-scale changes in land use and the impacts this will have on overall mammal diversity.

New research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the Health Policy Consult in Ghana shows that prescribing indicators for Africa deviate significantly from targets set out by the World Health Organization (WHO).

A new multimillion pound study will see the most rigorous series of tests to detect Alzheimer's disease ever performed on volunteers. The Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) and hopes to dramatically improve the success rate of clinical trials for treatments in Alzheimer's disease.

New research led by scientists from King's College London and the University of Bristol has found that a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may be linked to symptoms of ADHD in children who show conduct problems early in life. Published today in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , this study is the first to indicate that epigenetic changes evident at birth may explain the link between unhealthy diet, conduct problems and ADHD.