news 2017

Protecting an area for wildlife can work-but only if there is robust political governance. That's the research conclusion of twenty-three years of bird counting by an international team of researchers, including a scientist from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath and published in the journal Nature .

Community screening for osteoporosis could prevent more than a quarter of hip fractures in older women - according to new research involving researchers from the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol and local hospitals, and led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The study, published today in The Lancet, reveals that a simple questionnaire, combined with bone mineral density measurements for some, would help identify those at risk of hip fracture.

Researchers from Lancaster University are exploring whether technology could be the key to tackling the UK's loneliness epidemic by better connecting older adults with their communities. Ironically, isolation and loneliness have spread rapidly as communication has become easier - particularly among older adults.

Online GP consultation systems may not be the silver bullet for reducing GP workload and patient waiting times that government policymakers are hoping for, NIHR-funded research from the University of Bristol has found. These systems offer the potential to revolutionise use of primary care, but only with careful implementation and effective marketing, the researchers concluded.

Billions of dollars of financial investment in global conservation has significantly reduced biodiversity loss, according to a new Oxford University research. Image credit: Shutterstock Billions of dollars of financial investment in global conservation has significantly reduced biodiversity loss, according to a new Oxford University research.

Telephone consultations to determine whether a patient needs to see their GP face-to-face can deal with many problems, but a study led by researchers at the Cambridge Centre for Health Services Research (University of Cambridge and RAND Europe), found no evidence to support claims by companies offering to manage these services or by NHS England that the approach saves money or reduces the number of hospital referrals.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new type of MRI scan to predict the risk of having a stroke, thanks to funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The non-invasive technique, described in a paper published in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging , produces a quantitative result that can accurately indicate whether plaques in the carotid arteries - those that supply the brain with blood - are rich in cholesterol, and therefore more likely to cause a stroke.

Evidence in a new research report published today shows that the government of Uzbekistan acted as an organised crime network, with state agencies conducting racketeering activity that benefited political heiress Gulnara Karimova, the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the leader of Uzbekistan from 1989 to his death in 2016.

A UCL-led study found that homeless people who are terminally ill are falling between cracks in services, and not able to access the same level of support as others. Researchers from the UCL Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, Pathway, St Mungo's and Coordinate My Care worked with homeless people and care professionals and found that many homeless people who may be approaching the end of their lives are living in homeless hostels.

Teenage pregnancy rates have dropped in areas of the country most affected by government cuts to spending on sex education, according to a new study. In recent years local authorities in England have been forced to make significant cuts to public expenditure, with one particular health target affected: reducing rates of teen pregnancy.

Researchers at the University of Bristol's Centre for Academic Primary Care are looking for men who are concerned that they are, or have been, abusive in their relationships with women to take part in a new study that will help improve how we support men in changing their behaviour. Abusive behaviour can involve a range of actions, including physically hurting someone, pushing or shoving them, frightening them, or controlling or pressuring them into doing what you want or not doing what they want.

Researchers into the common hearing condition 'tinnitus' are calling for help from the public for a new study to try to improve future medical investigations into the problem. The COMIT'ID study is being run by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre based at The University of Nottingham.

Research led by University of Birmingham scientists in collaboration with Northwestern University in Chicago, US, has provided fresh insight into the role of male hormone in supporting and disrupting the production of eggs by ovarian follicles. The study, newly published online in the journal Endocrinology, measured for the first time the production of hormones by the isolated ovarian follicle during its development, using highly sensitive and specific mass spectrometry.

Overhunting results in wide-spread declines in tropical mammal & bird populations Tropical mammal and bird populations dramatically decline in overhunted areas - new research reveals. The major study published in the renowned journal Science, reveals hunting accounts for a 83 percent decline in mammal populations and a 58 percent decline in bird populations in the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa and Asia.

Wearing silk clothing offers no additional benefit for children who suffer from moderate to severe eczema, a study led by researchers at The University of Nottingham has found. The results of the trial, published in PLOS Medicine and funded by the National Institute for Health Research, revealed that wearing specialist silk garments did not reduce the severity of eczema for the children taking part, not did it reduce the amount of creams and ointments used for their eczema, or the number of skin infections experienced.

Cash is not a sufficient incentive for pregnant women in India to take up free institutional delivery services, new research shows. Less than 50% of eligible women take up the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) Indian Government cash incentive scheme. A team of researchers based at institutions in India, Australia, and the UK, including Public Health Foundation of India, the University of Adelaide, and Lancaster University, identified that more significant factors are at play, including familial support and transport challenges.

The development of new treatments for pancreatic cancer is set to be transformed by a network of clinical trials, aiming to find the right trial for the right patient, after a £10 million investment from Cancer Research UK. The investment will support the PRECISION Panc project which aims to develop personalised treatments for pancreatic cancer patients, improving the options and outcomes for a disease where survival rates have remained stubbornly low.

Young males and people who use drink or drugs are at greater risk of developing a gambling habit, according to new research from the University of Bristolk. Experts say it is an indication of an area that needs more attention if primary care services are to help those in need. The study, funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) and published in the British Journal of General Practice today, found that around one in 20 people waiting to see their GP at a group of surgeries in Bristol reported having a gambling problem.

The University of Bristol has been awarded a grant of £46,938 by the Forces in Mind Trust for a 15-month study to investigate domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in UK military families. The research will investigate what criteria might constitute specialist DVA provision for this group, and what service providers, if any, already meet these criteria, in order to help improve signposting to the service providers best placed to meet the needs of UK military families suffering DVA.

A one-off screening test reduces the risk of developing bowel cancer by more than one third and could save thousands of lives, a study has found. Researchers based at Imperial College London found that the test - which examines the lower part of the large bowel - prevented more than half of potential bowel cancers from developing in that area and two thirds of deaths were avoided.