news 2017

Starting school at a younger age could benefit children in South Africa (24 October 2017) Children in South Africa could benefit from starting school a year earlier, according to new research by Durham University in the UK and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The study found that those children who started school in Grade R, equivalent to Reception in the UK, were better prepared for school than those who started in the usual Grade 1.

Details on oldest known marine navigation tool revealed by scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick Late fifteenth-century astrolabe - used by mariners to measure the altitude of the sun - recovered from Portuguese explorer ship which sank in 1503 Pioneering scanning analysis and 3D imaging revealed invisible navigational markings, proving the identity of the object Details of the oldest known marine navigation tool, discovered in a shipwreck, have been revealed thanks to state-of-the-art scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick.

A team of UCL researchers has devised a mathematical equation that can explain how our self-esteem is shaped by what other people think of us, in a new study published in the scientific journal eLife . The researchers used the new equation to identify signals in the human brain that explain why self-esteem goes up and down when we learn other people's judgments of us.

Details on earliest known marine navigation tool revealed by scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick Late fifteenth-century astrolabe - used by mariners to measure the altitude of the sun - recovered from Portuguese explorer ship which sank in 1503 Pioneering scanning analysis and 3D imaging revealed invisible navigational markings, proving the identity of the object Details of the earliest known marine navigation tool, discovered in a shipwreck, have been revealed thanks to state-of-the-art scanning technology at WMG, University of Warwick.

A brain network previously associated with daydreaming has been found to play an important role in allowing us to perform tasks on autopilot. Scientists at the University of Cambridge showed that far from being just 'background activity', the so-called 'default mode network' may be essential to helping us perform routine tasks.

Seventy-two new genetic variants that contribute to the risk of developing breast cancer have been identified by a major international collaboration involving hundreds of researchers worldwide.

A study of honey bee bread in Lancashire and Cumbria bee hives showed that in some samples nearly 90 per cent of the pollen came from Himalayan balsam Honey bees love the invasive plant Himalayan balsam and eat it like 'fast food' but, like humans, they thrive better on a varied diet. A study of honey bee bread in Lancashire and Cumbria bee hives showed that in some samples nearly 90 per cent of the pollen came from the invasive plant Himalayan balsam.

Abandoned sugarcane plantations across the tropics could offer us a realistic, sustainable alternative to fossil fuels - according to new research published this week. Ethanol produced from sugarcane has been one of the most successful short-term strategies to date in decarbonizing energy supply, particularly in Brazil where the sugarcane ethanol system results in just 14% of the CO2 emissions of petroleum.

A genetic fault has been identified in people with an aggressive type of leukaemia that can significantly affect how they respond to treatment. The findings come from a clinical trial led by the University of Birmingham that examined whether survival times for people with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) could be improved by adding a biological drug called vorinostat to the current standard treatment, a drug called azacitidine.

A new study finds that even low levels of logging in the Amazon rainforest may lead to great losses in biodiversity. More than 403 million hectares of tropical forests worldwide have been earmarked for timber concessions with selective logging a common economic activity. The Brazilian Amazon alone holds around 4.5 billion m3 of commercial timber volume, and the demand on Amazonian hardwood is increased as African and Asian timber stocks are exhausted.

Study suggests Alzheimer's Disease and Type 2 diabetes might both be the price of a longer lifespan, with altered insulin function the common cause. A review led by Professor Simon Lovestone, an old age psychiatrist from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, found that humans were almost unique in having Alzheimer's Disease.

Two recent studies led by the University of Bristol provide significant new hope in the fight against antibiotic resistance. By identifying what makes some bacteria resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, and how this can be reversed, the findings have demonstrated potentially life-saving consequences and could help reverse the tide of antibiotic resistance.

Ancient peoples began to systematically affect evolution of crops up to 30,000 years ago - ten millennia before experts previously thought, says new University of Warwick research Rice, wheat and barley were used so much that their evolution was affected - beginning the process that eventually turned them from wild to domesticated - as long ago as the last Ice Age Einkorn found to be on the evolutionary trajectory to domestication up to 30,000 y

The first trees to have ever grown on Earth were also the most complex, new research has revealed. Fossils from a 374-million-year-old tree found in north-west China have revealed an interconnected web of woody strands within the trunk of the tree that is much more intricate than that of the trees we see around us today.

Health scientists at the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham have heralded the discovery of a gene associated with lung fibrosis as 'a potential new avenue of treatment for further research into this terrible disease.' The breakthrough is announced today in a paper published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine .

Certain British birds have evolved longer beaks than other species, and new research suggests that our fondness for feeding them may be the reason why. Image credit: Dennis Van De Water Certain British birds have evolved longer beaks than other species, and new research suggests that our fondness for feeding them may be the reason why.

New research on our internal trade-off when physical and mental performance are put in direct competition has found that cognition takes less of a hit, suggesting more energy is diverted to the brain than body muscle. Researchers say the findings support the 'selfish brain' theory of human evolution.

The famed "bloodless death" of a landmark British poet in the Great War has been investigated by experts from the Humanities and Sciences a century after his death, in a new project undertaken at Cardiff University. Biographical and critical works about Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917) often refer to his "bloodless death", a story that emerged following his death aged just 39 at the Battle of Arras on Easter Monday in 1917.

A new approach to targeting key cancer-linked proteins, thought to be 'undruggable', has been discovered through an alliance between industry and academia. The study published in Nature shows that two novel and specific small-molecule inhibitors developed by the research teams can bind to and deactivate an enzyme that controls the stability of the p53 tumour suppressor protein.

An imaging tool honed to spot rogue proteins in the brain could benefit some patients with suspected Alzheimer's, according to a new study. The technique, called positron emission tomography (PET), is already used in hospitals to generate 3D images of organs and internal structures, helping doctors to spot signs of disease and confirm diagnoses.