news 2018

A Star Trek- inspired handheld device based on a silicon chip could help make rapid, sophisticated medical diagnostics more accessible to people around the world, scientists say. In a new paper published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics , researchers from the Universities of Glasgow describe the latest development in their 'multicorder' project, inspired by Star Trek's famous tricorder device, which the show's medics use to make quick and accurate diagnoses.

Depression during pregnancy is unlikely to directly impact babies in the womb and lead to emotional or behavioural problems after birth, according to a new study by King's College London researchers published in The Lancet Psychiatry . Up to 1 in 5 expectant mothers will experience depression during pregnancy, with such episodes being associated with the development of emotional and behavioural problems in childhood.

Dr Jessica Eccles , NIHR Clinical Lecturer at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), has been awarded a $100,000 grant by Dysautonomia International to develop her research on postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). POTS, an under-studied disorder, is characterised by clinical symptoms such as lightheadedness, fatigue, shortness of breath, tremors, heart palpitations and fainting or near-fainting upon moving from a prone to upright position.

A new outbreak of a rare but preventable eye infection that can cause blindness, has been identified in contact lens wearers in a new study led by UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital researchers. The research team found a threefold increase in Acanthamoeba keratitis since 2011 in South-East England. Reusable contact lens wearers with the eye infection are more likely to have used an ineffective contact lens solution, have contaminated their lenses with water or reported poor contact lens hygiene, according to the findings published today in the British Journal of Ophthalmology .

Researchers from the University of Oxford's Department of Zoology have demonstrated pre-clinical success for a universal flu vaccine. Influenza is thought to be a highly variable virus, able to mutate and escape immunity built up in the population due to its circulation in previous seasons. However, influenza seasons tend to be dominated by a limited number of antigenically and genetically distinct influenza viruses.

The findings of a study led by the University of Birmingham suggests that exercise during the first few months of diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes could delay the progression of the condition. Study participants who continued an active exercise regime after Type 1 diagnosis extended their partial remission, also known as the 'honeymoon' period, by five fold compared to those who didn't exercise.

Removing displays of tobacco products from shops may have reduced the proportion of children buying cigarettes by 17 per cent. These are the findings of a new study from Imperial College London. The research, the first analysis of the impact of the 2015 tobacco display ban in England, assessed survey responses from 18,000 11-15 year olds from across England between 2010 and 2016.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have discovered a new molecule that plays a key role in the immune response that is triggered by influenza infections. The molecule, a so-called mini viral RNA, is capable of inducing inflammation and cell death, and was produced at high levels by the 1918 pandemic influenza virus.

Using some of the most advanced neuroimaging equipment in the world, researchers at Cardiff University's Brain Imaging Research Centre (CUBRIC) are set to study the brain function and structure of 170 healthy volunteers as part of a research project to uncover the mysteries that still surround our most complex organ.

Researchers at King's College London have discovered a vicious feedback loop underlying brain degeneration in Alzheimer's disease which may explain why so many drug trials have failed. The study also identifies a clinically approved drug which breaks the vicious cycle and protects against memory-loss in animal models of Alzheimer's.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have discovered a new molecule that plays a key role in the immune response that is triggered by influenza infections. The molecule, a so-called mini viral RNA, is capable of inducing inflammation and cell death, and was produced at high levels by the 1918 pandemic influenza virus.

Researchers have identified compounds that could prevent malaria parasites from being able to infect mosquitoes, halting the spread of disease. Preventing transmission of malaria is a key part of efforts to eliminate the disease. A person can be cured of the disease using drugs that wipe out the replicating form of the parasite, but still carry dormant, sexual forms.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource are calling for 40,000 people with depression or anxiety to join the online Genetic Links to Anxiety and Depression (GLAD) Study, funded by the NIHR.

Researchers have found that the signals in people's brains differ depending on a particular aspect of an individual's personality, termed Schizotypy, a discovery that could improve the way schizophrenia is characterised and treated. The study - Attenuated Post-Movement Beta Rebound associated with schizotypal features in healthy people - published in Schizophrenia Bulletin was led by the University of Nottingham and the findings suggest that many mental illnesses may be thought of as extreme variants of a normal personality.

Women that have undiagnosed sexually transmitted infections may be at greater risk of experiencing negative premenstrual symptoms (PMS), according to new Oxford University research. The study was conducted as part of a long term partnership with the female health, fertility and period-tracking app, CLUE.

Antibodies could protect against heart attacks, according to a study by researchers from Imperial College London. The researchers, funded by the British Heart Foundation , studied patients with high blood pressure, of whom 87 had developed coronary heart disease. They also studied a further 143 patients who had their heart arteries extensively studied using cutting edge techniques.

Medication use to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has significantly increased across the world, however prescription rates are still far below diagnosis rates in most Western countries, a major new study co-led by UCL has found. This study, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry , provides the most comprehensive analysis yet of trends in ADHD medication use.

A simple blood test can detect the earliest changes caused by Huntington's disease, even before scans can pick up any signs in the brain, a new UCL-led study has found. The study, published today in Science Translational Medicine , builds on recent evidence by the same research team, which found that a novel blood test can predict the onset and track the progression of the disease in people who carry the gene responsible for the incurable and fatal brain disorder.

Research from Oxford University published in the journal  Genome Research  has found that a special combination of epigenetic modifications crucial to stem cell growth evolved in animals much earlier than previously appreciated. These findings imply that our stem cells, and those of simple animals such as planarian worms, have much more in common at the epigenetic level than previously thought.

MATT Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met Cancer Research scientists at the University of Birmingham today (Thursday, 23 August) to learn about their life-saving work. The minister saw first-hand the pioneering research taking place at the Cancer Research UK Centre , particularly in the fields of bowel and lung cancer.