news 2017

New study finds "messy" microscopic structures on petals of some flowers manipulate light to produce a blue colour effect that is easily seen by bee pollinators. Researchers say these petal grooves evolved independently multiple times across flowering plants, but produce the same result: a floral halo of blue-to-ultraviolet light.

The gentle touch of another individual soothes the effects of social exclusion, one of the most emotionally painful human experiences, according to new UCL research. The study, published today in Scientific Reports and funded by the European Research Council, tested the impact of a slow, affectionate touch against a fast, neutral touch following social rejection and found a specific relationship between gentle touch and social bonding.

Injecting DNA into injured horse tendons and ligaments can cure lameness, new research involving scientists at Kazan Federal University , Moscow State Academy and The University of Nottingham has found. The gene therapy technology was used in horses that had gone lame due to injury and within two to three weeks the horses were able to walk and trot.

The accepted view of why some primates, including apes and humans, have evolved to have large brains is contested in new research from the Department of Anthropology. The study also questions whether brain size is a useful indicator of cognitive ability. Brain size and behaviour The research project, led by PhD student Lauren Powell, and published in Royal Society's Proceedings B journal , has found little evidence to support a long-held view that larger brains have developed to help primates cope with increasingly complex social structures - known as the Social Brain Hypothesis.

New study finds "messy" microscopic structures on petals of some flowers manipulate light to produce a blue colour effect that is easily seen by bee pollinators. Researchers say these petal grooves evolved independently multiple times across flowering plants, but produce the same result: a floral halo of blue-to-ultraviolet light.

Researchers have analysed a well-preserved preening gland in a 48-million-year-old bird fossil and discovered original oil and wax molecules within it. The fossil is from the famous Messel locality in Germany, well known to preserve birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, insects and leaves with exceptional details.

For the first time, a strong link has been established between high blood pressure and the most common heart valve disorder in high-income countries, by new research from The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford. The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, followed 5.5 million adults in the UK over 10 years.

Tough species of corals can go mobile and lay the foundations for new reefs in otherwise inhospitable areas, a study shows. Scientists have discovered that the rolling and resilient corals can act as a base upon which other corals attach and build reefs by creating their own stable habitats. The finding sheds new light on the mobile corals - called coralliths - which grow on pebbles or fragments of dead reefs, and can survive being buffeted by waves and ocean currents.

UCL researchers have developed a quick and simple test to predict which people with early-stage Parkinson's disease are likely to develop dementia. Lead researcher Dr Rimona Weil (UCL Institute of Neurology) says that dementia is a serious concern among people with Parkinson's, as the disease can often develop into dementia, but early warning markers are currently lacking.

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Bedfordshire, in collaboration with multinational company ABB, have designed and tested a series of plasmonic nanoantenna arrays that could lead to the development of a new generation of ultrasensitive and low-cost fluorescence sensors that could be used to monitor water quality.

Scientists have for the first time directly observed gravitational waves, in addition to light, emitted from the spectacular collision of two neutron stars. The detection marks the first time that a cosmic event has been viewed in both gravitational waves and light. The gravitational wave signal, named GW170817, was detected at 1:41pm UK time on 17 August by two identical detectors in Washington and Louisiana and a third detector in Pisa, Italy.

In a galaxy far away, two dead stars begin a final spiral into a massive collision. The resulting explosion unleashes a huge burst of energy, sending ripples across the very fabric of space. In the nuclear cauldron of the collision, atoms are ripped apart to form entirely new elements and scattered outward across the Universe.

University of Bath astrophysicists have been closely involved in the first ever combined detection of both light and gravitational waves from the merging of two neutron stars, a cataclysmic cosmic event. The findings, involving an international team of thousands using a global collection of gravitational wave detectors and groundand space-based astronomical telescopes, heralds a new era in modern astrophysics and help us understand the most powerful and violent events in the Universe.

Stereotypes suggest that women love to talk, with some studies even finding that women say three times as much as men. But, new research from a team from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, shows there is an exception to this rule: professional STEM events, which could be indicative of the wider problem of gender inequality in the field.

Scientists have identified a key gene in blood vessels which could provide a new way to assess and potentially treat liver disease. The findings come from a study , published Communications, which highlights how a single gene, called ERG, plays a key role in keeping the liver healthy. According to the group, led by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Birmingham , the work on mice and human cells highlights how this 'master gene' is fundamental to maintaining the health of blood vessels and the specialised cells which line their inside, called the endothelium.

A gene commonly implicated in blood cancers could hold the key to limiting the development of heart failure in patients who have survived a heart attack, paving the way for new treatment options. A new study, published today in Circulation, shows that the gene Runx1 increases in damaged heart muscle after a heart attack.

Easter Island has long been a source of intrigue and mystery. How did such a small community of people build so many impressively large statues? And what happened to cause that community to collapse? Researchers have also been curious about what kind of contact the Easter Islanders might have had with South Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Patients taking psilocybin to treat depression show reduced symptoms weeks after treatment following a 'reset' of their brain activity. The findings come from a study in which researchers from Imperial College London used psilocybin - the psychoactive compound that occurs naturally in magic mushrooms - to treat a small number of patients with depression in whom conventional treatment had failed.

A new study into the genetics underlying restless legs syndrome has identified 13 previously-unknown genetic risk variants, while helping inform potential new treatment options for the condition. As many as one in ten people of European ancestry is affected by restless legs syndrome, in which sufferers feel an overwhelming urge to move, often in conjunction with unpleasant sensations, usually in the legs.

Protein fragments taken from grass can help protect hay fever patients from allergic reactions to pollen grains. The findings come from a study to be published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, which shows that the approach could potentially overcome complications associated with current immune-based therapies for hay fever.