news 2020

How the immune system adapts to pregnancies has puzzled scientists for decades. Now, findings from an international group of researchers, led by experts at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, reveal important changes that occur in the thymus to prevent miscarriages and gestational diabetes. The thymus is a central organ of the immune system where specialised immune cells called T lymphocytes mature.

Have you ever wondered how we remember the last place we saw our car keys or other objects like mobile phones and glasses? This new research shows we have a type of brain cell that's sensitive to the distance and direction of objects, they call these Vector Trace cells. These are in addition to GPS-like brain cells, which can store maps of places we have been, like our kitchen or a holiday destination.

COVID-19 and lockdown measures drove some individuals more than others to use alcohol to cope with stress, a new study has revealed. While overall alcohol consumption appeared to fall, a study published in  BMJ Open  found that more than one in three adults (36%) increased their consumption during the first lockdown.

A study of more than 23,000 samples carried out by teams across the UK shows Oxford Nanopore's COVID-19 test, LamPORE, is highly accurate for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic population settings. The study was performed on both swab and saliva samples across four NHS sites, showing very high LamPORE test accuracy, as follows: These data support the use of LamPORE for testing of both symptomatic people, and those without symptoms.

A new smartphone app developed by researchers at UCL and Birkbeck, University of London, is enabling doctors to remotely monitor their patients' progression of Parkinson's symptoms, as reported in a new clinical trial. The findings, published in npj Parkinson's Disease , show that the app can provide clinicians with a more complete picture of a person's condition than they can get from a typically brief medical check-up.

A pioneering new eye test, developed by scientists at UCL in collaboration with the Western Eye Hospital, London, may predict wet AMD, a leading cause of severe sight loss, three years before symptoms develop. Researchers hope their test could be used to identify the disease early enough so that treatment can effectively prevent any vision loss.

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Bristol and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has revealed that where fat is on our body may lead to different health outcomes for men and women. The research, co-funded by World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK, found that having more body fat around your waist is more dangerous for women than it is for men when it comes to risk of developing colorectal cancer (also known as bowel cancer).

A commonly-used treatment for chronic subdural haematoma - the build-up of 'old' blood in the space between the brain and the skull, usually as a result of minor head injury - could lead to a worse outcome than receiving no medication, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge. Our trial sought to determine if dexamethasone should be offered routinely to all patients with chronic subdural haematoma or if its use should be abandoned.

Researchers have identified the driving force behind a cellular process linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and motor neurone disease. There is still so much to learn about this system, which is incredibly important to fundamental biomedical science Clemens Kaminski In a study published today in Science Advances , researchers from the University of Cambridge show that tiny components within the cell are the biological engines behind effective protein production.

A new study has revealed paying patients are 20 per cent less likely to die or develop major complications, such as reintervention or stroke, after cardiac surgery than NHS patients - findings researchers say cannot be explained by socioeconomic factors alone. The study, led by academics at the University of Bristol, looked at the data of over 280,000 patients who underwent adult cardiac surgery over a ten-year period from 2009 to 2018 at 31 NHS cardiac units in England.

Researchers at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute have rebuilt a human thymus, an essential organ in the immune system, using human stem cells and a bioengineered scaffold. The study in mice marks an important step towards building artificial thymi for use in transplants. The thymus is an organ in the chest where T lymphocytes, which play a vital role in the immune system, mature.

A team of scientists has shown that a key type of immune cell "self-renews? in humans. It is an unexpected discovery, as it was previously thought this specific type of "senescent? killer immune cell had reached "end-stage? and would die following one more stint at helping people fight off - or live with - certain infections.

Researchers have developed a way to use a simple home aroma diffuser to test whether N95 and other types of sealing masks, such as KN95 and FFP2 masks, are properly fitted, a result which could be used to help protect healthcare workers and the public from contracting or transmitting COVID-19.

The proportion of adults with diagnosed diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, report researchers from UCL and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), who have analysed the latest results from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The report, which is commisisoned by NHS Digital, analyses data from over 8,200 adults and 2,000 children living in private households in England and shows the percentage of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes has risen since 1994, from 3% to 9% among men and from 2% to 6% among women.

Poverty linked to higher risk of Covid-19 death, study suggests People in Scotland's poorest areas are more likely to be affected by severe Covid-19 - and to die from the disease - than those in more affluent districts, according to a study of critical care units. The first nationwide study of its kind found patients from the most economically disadvantaged areas had a higher chance of critical care admission, and that intensive care units there were more likely to be over capacity.

The majority of University of Bristol students are complying with government COVID-19 guidelines and are self-isolating when receiving a positive test, indicates a study that has investigated student social contact patterns and behaviours. The research led by scientists at the University of Bristol is published on the pre-print server medRxiv.

The UK Government's hesitancy to bring in tougher Covid restrictions exacerbated investor herding, market volatility and greater harm to its economy compared to countries with swifter and more decisive pandemic responses, new research indicates. Countries with more stringent government responses to the coronavirus crisis benefitted from lower levels of investor herding, newly published research from the University of Sussex Business School , Southampton Business School and University of Brescia (Italy) reveals.

Apathy - a lack of interest or motivation - could predict the onset of some forms of dementia many years before symptoms start, offering a 'window of opportunity' to treat the disease at an early stage, according to new research from a team of scientists led by Professor James Rowe at the University of Cambridge.

The drug remdesivir is likely to be a highly effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2, according to a new study by a team of UK scientists. Writing , the researchers describe giving the drug to a patient with COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder, and observing a dramatic improvement in his symptoms and the disappearance of the virus.

Neuroscientists at UCL have found no significant association between COVID-19 and the potentially paralysing and sometimes fatal neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome. Researchers say the findings, published in the journal  Brain*,  along with a linked scientific commentary** by UCL and other international experts, should provide the public with reassurance, as the UK's national coronavirus vaccination programme is rolled out.