news 2016

DNA has been used as a 'molecular building block' to construct synthetic bio-inspired pores which will improve the way drugs are delivered and help advance the field of synthetic biology, according to scientists from UCL and Nanion Technologies. The study, published today and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Leverhulme Trust and UCL Chemistry, shows how DNA can be used to build stable and predictable pores that have a defined shape and charge to control which molecules can pass through the pore and when.

David Norman (Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences) discusses how palaeontologists can interpret fossil footprints to find clues as to whether dinosaurs performed dance-like mating rituals. Studying dinosaurs is a lot like being a detective. Just as Sherlock Holmes was noted for his ability to interpret the behaviour of victims or criminals using footprints, palaeontologists have a similar practice when looking for evidence of dinosaur behaviour known as ichnology.

Scientists find inspiration from the sea to monitor wild animal hunting in African forests Researchers hoping to help stem the rate of unsustainable hunting in West and Central Africa have developed two monitoring indicators based in part on methods used to track population trends of organisms in an entirely different ecosystem: the sea.

Computer-based games can have a beneficial effect on learning, according to ground-breaking new research from the University of Bristol. The brain-imaging study shows that - contrary to popular belief - technological game-playing can involve brain activity that positively supports learning. The research, with students at Bristol, is linked to a bigger classroom study which will involve 10,000 secondary school pupils across the UK - and for which participants are currently being recruited.

Scientists at Imperial College London have discovered how flu viruses 'hijack' cell machinery when they infect the body. The findings which infects over 800 million people worldwide every year. In the research, the team used hamster-chicken hybrid cells to discover why avian influenza virus (bird flu) cannot usually infect mammal cells.

People have evolved to have subconscious urges to over-eat, and limited ability to avoid becoming obese, especially in winter, a study by the Universities of Bristol and Exeter has found. There is not yet an evolutionary mechanism to help us overcome the lure of sweet, fatty and unhealthy food and avoid becoming overweight for understandable and sensible reasons, according to researchers.

A drug commonly used to treat leukaemia is showing potential as a treatment that could slow the progression of the muscle-wasting condition, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy most commonly affects boys, with around 2,400 people in the UK affected by the condition. There is currently no cure and most patients are not expected to live past the age of 30.

Scientists have discovered how the distinctive piebald patches seen in black and white cats and some horses are formed in the womb. Their insights could shed light on medical conditions that occur early in development, such as holes in the heart, which are caused by cells not moving to the right place as an embryo develops.

A new technique that monitors the movement of chickens can be used to predict which flocks are at risk of becoming infected with Campylobacter - the most common bacterial source of food poisoning in humans in the UK. Research by scientists at Oxford University has found that by using a camera system to analyse the 'optical flow' of chickens, at-risk flocks can be detected when the birds are only seven to 10 days old - much earlier than is usually possible with conventional on-farm sampling methods.

West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia are most at risk from bat viruses 'spilling over' into humans resulting in new emerging diseases, according to a new global map compiled by scientists at UCL, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Edinburgh. The map shows risk levels due to a variety of factors including large numbers of different bat viruses found locally, increasing population pressure, and hunting bats for bushmeat.