news 2018

Prospective students Current students Vaccinia virus, a poxvirus closely related to smallpox and monkeypox, tricks cells it has infected into activating their own cell movement mechanism to rapidly spread the virus in cells and mice, according to a new UCL-led study. The findings explain how the virus mimics infected cells' own proteins to kick-start the signalling pathway enabling the cell to move around.

A large fruit-eating bat native to Mauritius is the subject of controversy over the announcement of a major cull to protect the Indian island's fruit crops, despite a lack of evidence as to the extent of damage directly attributed to the endangered species. An international team of researchers, including the University of Bristol, that monitored the damage directly caused by the Mauritian flying fox to commercial fruit has found the bat is responsible for only some, and could be managed effectively without the need to cull.

Scientists from the University of Glasgow will be giving the public a chance to get more than flat-packed furniture and meatballs at Glasgow's IKEA this month, as they join Saturday shoppers to showcase the university's world-changing research. On November 24, around 100 world-renowned researchers and students from the University's College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences (MVLS) will be across 10 activity stands in and around IKEA Braehead's showroom and café for the "at home with Life Sciences" event.

Scientists have sequenced 15 ancient genomes spanning from Alaska to Patagonia and were able to track the movements of the first humans as they spread across the Americas at "astonishing" speed during the last Ice Age, and also how they interacted with each other in the following millennia.

New genetic analysis of white rhino populations suggests it could be possible to rescue the critically endangered northern white rhinoceros from extinction, using the genes of its less threatened southern cousin. Analysing genetic samples from 232 rhinos, researchers from Cardiff University and the University of Venda found that despite the northern and southern populations of white rhinos splitting from each other one million years ago they have occasionally shared genes during cold and arid periods, when African grasslands expanded, as recent as 14,000 years ago.

Our ability to selectively forget distracting memories is shared with other mammals, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. The discovery that rats and humans share a common active forgetting ability - and in similar brain regions - suggests that the capacity to forget plays a vital role in adapting mammalian species to their environments, and that its evolution may date back at least to the time of our common ancestor.

Women who are 'larks', functioning better at the beginning of the day than the end of the day, have a lower of risk breast cancer, according to new research led by the University of Bristol presented at the 2018 NCRI Cancer Conference today [Tuesday 6 November]. The study of several hundred thousand women, which was investigating whether the way people sleep can contribute to the development of breast cancer, also found some evidence for a causal link between sleeping for longer and breast cancer.

A chemical that highlights tumour cells has been used by surgeons to help spot and safely remove brain cancer in a trial presented by a University of Bristol academic at the 2018 NCRI Cancer Conference. The research was carried out with patients who had suspected glioma, the disease that killed Dame Tessa Jowell, and the most common form of brain cancer.

Having identified the complex physicochemical fingerprint of the parasitic hookworm, Necator americanu s, researchers at the University of Nottingham set about changing the diet of a 'friendly' microscopic worm to assess the effectiveness of immune responses to anti-parasitic vaccines currently under development.

Many deadly and newly emerging viruses like Ebola and Zika circulate in wild animal and insect communities long before spreading to humans and causing severe disease. However, finding these natural virus hosts - which could help prevent the spread to humans - currently poses an enormous challenge for scientists.

A study in mice has shown that it may be possible to detect the early signs of atherosclerosis, which leads to blocked arteries, by looking at how cells in our blood vessels change their function. The muscle cells that line the blood vessels have long been known to multi-task. While their main function is pumping blood through the body, they are also involved in 'patching up' injuries in the blood vessels.

Evidence has been building in recent years that our diet, our habits or traumatic experiences can have consequences for the health of our children - and even our grandchildren. The explanation that has gained most currency for how this occurs is so-called 'epigenetic inheritance' - patterns of chemical 'marks' on or around our DNA that are hypothesised to be passed down the generations.

People with higher iron levels may be at greater risk of certain types of stroke, a new study has found. Researchers from Imperial College London analysed genetic data from over 48,000 people and revealed that higher iron levels are associated with an elevated risk of a certain type of stroke, called a cardioembolic stroke.

Researchers have developed a three-dimensional 'organ on a chip' which enables real-time continuous monitoring of cells, and could be used to develop new treatments for disease while reducing the number of animals used in research.

A combination of three drugs has been used to target the most common genetic mutation responsible for cystic fibrosis in patients for the first time. In the trial, patients who received one new drug as well as two existing drugs had a significant improvement in lung function compared to patients taking the two existing tablets or placebo.

25 October 2018 Elevated body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight accounting for a person's height - has been shown to be a likely causal contributor to population patterns in mortality, according to a new study led by the University of Bristol using measurements and mortality data from 500,000 people.

The influenza virus can evolve resistance to an anti-flu drug currently in development for use in pandemics, a study has found. Scientists at Imperial College London, in collaboration with Public Health England, have discovered that two genetic mutations would be needed for the virus to develop resistance to favipiravir, an experimental antiviral developed in Japan.

A new £20m research centre aimed at finding effective treatments for dementia was officially opened at Cardiff University today. More than 70 scientists from around the world have been recruited to the centre with the aim of expanding the group to 100 in the near future. The Cardiff centre is one of six that together make up the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) which has been established across Britain with a total £290m investment.

People at high genetic risk of stroke can still reduce their chance of having a stroke by sticking to a healthy lifestyle, in particular stopping smoking and not being overweight, finds a study in The BMJ today. This drives home just how important a healthy lifestyle is for all of us, even those without an obvious genetic predisposition Hugh Markus Stroke is a complex disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle.

A team from UCL, University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has operated on the abnormally developed spinal cords of two babies in the womb, in a medical first for the UK. The team repaired the defect in the spine of two babies with open spina bifida, in separate operations this summer.