news 2021

Cambridge scientists have identified a key signal that the fetus uses to control its supply of nutrients from the placenta in a tug-of-war between genes inherited from the father and from the mother. The study, carried out in mice, could help explain why some babies grow poorly in the womb. The father's gene drives the fetus's demands for larger blood vessels and more nutrients, while the mother's gene in the placenta tries to control how much nourishment she provides Miguel Constância As the fetus grows, it needs to communicate its increasing needs for food to the mother.

Scientists investigating the DNA outside our genes - the 'dark genome' - have discovered recently evolved regions that code for proteins associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This opens up huge potential for new druggable targets. It's really exciting because nobody has ever looked beyond the genes for clues to understanding and treating these conditions before.

Adding abiraterone to the standard treatment for locally advanced prostate cancer, where the cancer has a high chance of spreading, could halve the risk of death from the disease, according to the results of a UCL-led trial. The researchers suggest that hormone therapy using abiraterone with prednisolone, could significantly reduce prostate cancer deaths and improve outcomes for thousands of people every year.

The SARS-CoV-2 Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant mutated to evade our 'innate immune system', helping establish it as the world's first 'Variant of Concern', finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and the Quantitative Biosciences Institute, University of California San Francisco. Published in  Nature , the study shows the Alpha variant, first identified in the UK, evolved to make more of its 'antagonism proteins' that nullify the body's first line of defence, known as the 'innate immune system'.

A COVID-19 booster vaccination markedly increases immune response in residents and staff within care homes, making it vital that people living and working in these settings get their third 'jab', a new study reveals. Age and frailty are already recognised as major risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes, with elderly residents of long-term care facilities suffering much higher rates of mortality during the pandemic than the general population.

New research published today has demonstrated that tiny graphene neural probes can be used safely to greatly improve our understanding of the causes of epilepsy. The graphene depth neural probe (gDNP) consists of a millimetre-long linear array of micro-transistors imbedded in a micrometre-thin polymeric flexible substrate.

Scientists have found a novel way to combine two species of grass-like plant including banana, rice and wheat, using embryonic tissue from their seeds. The technique allows beneficial characteristics, such as disease resistance or stress tolerance, to be added to the plants.

Fundamental differences in the immune response of adults and children can help to explain why children are much less likely to become seriously ill from SARS-CoV-2, finds a new study by researchers at UCL and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. The study is the most comprehensive single-cell study to compare SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults and children across multiple organs.

The differences in Covid-19 infection risk between ethnic minority healthcare workers and their white colleagues is likely due to home and work factors rather than biology, finds the largest and most detailed study on the subject, co-led by researchers at UCL. Previous research has shown that healthcare workers from ethnic minority groups are at a disproportionately higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than their white colleagues.

Whether it's the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic or our world-leading science, our stories have been top news across the country and the world. Here's some of the most popular and interesting news releases from the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health in 2021.

A Covid-19 booster vaccination markedly increases immune response in residents and staff within care homes, according to a new preprint study co-led by UCL researchers, making it vital that people living and working in these settings get their third jab. Age and frailty are already recognised as major risk factors for severe Covid-19 outcomes, with elderly residents of long-term care facilities suffering much higher rates of mortality during the pandemic than the general population.

Older patients in hospitals across China took part in a major multi-centre open-label randomised clinical trial that showed there was no difference in post-operative delirium in older people with a hip fracture, if they had a general anaesthesia, or a regional anaesthesia. Post-operative delirium is a common, serious, neurological, complication where people have a sudden change in their brain functions after an operation.

People with multimorbidity - two or more long-term health conditions - showed a greater association with chronic pain, according to a new study. The new research - from the University of Glasgow and published in the Journal of Multimorbidity and Comorbidity - represents the first study of the prevalence of chronic pain in people with a broad range of long-term conditions and different levels of multimorbidity.

Scientists have discovered that genes in human embryos rapidly become active after fertilisation, opening a new window onto the start of human embryonic life. Scientists have discovered that genes in human embryos rapidly become active after fertilisation, opening a new window onto the start of human embryonic life.

A University of Birmingham-led study shows an increased risk of patients developing illnesses including mental ill-health and heart conditions if they have a GP-inputted medical history of periodontal (gum) disease. Experts carried out a first of its kind study of the GP records of 64,379 patients who had a GP-inputted recorded history of periodontal disease, including gingivitis and periodontitis (the condition that occurs if gum disease is left untreated and can lead to tooth loss).

Lockdown affected people's sex lives in a variety of different ways with young people and those not living with a partner reporting the greatest changes, according to researchers from UCL, the University of Glasgow and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen). The peer-reviewed paper, which is the largest national study of sexual behaviours since the beginning of the pandemic, is published today in BMJ Sexually Transmitted Infections.

A proof-of-concept trial led by the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust has identified a drug that may benefit some patients hospitalised with COVID-19 pneumonia. The CATALYST trial tested UK-based bio-pharmaceutical company Izana Bioscience's namilumab (IZN-101) as a potential therapeutic to treat patients who are hospitalised with COVID-19 pneumonia, and receiving 'usual' care, as well as having high levels in their blood of a marker of inflammation known as C reactive protein (CRP).

An additional 100,000 elective operations could be cancelled in England this winter as a result of the Omicron wave leading to increased hospital admissions, a new study reveals. The modelling study, published as a peer-reviewed research letter in The Lancet, finds that the number of elective operations performed each week is closely related to the number of patients in hospital with COVID-19.

Extremely concerning levels of psychological distress are reported in results from a longitudinal study of the UK nursing and midwifery workforce during COVID-19 led by the University of Warwick. The findings could help how staff are supported in healthcare services now and in future. The results from surveys of the UK nursing and midwifery workforce taken at three time points during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 have found concerning levels of psychological distress, including experiences consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress, and anxiety in respondents.

Researchers in the UK and China have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can diagnose COVID-19 as well as a panel of professional radiologists, while preserving the privacy of patient data. By working with other countries, we can do so much more than we can alone Michael Roberts The international team, led by the University of Cambridge and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, used a technique called federated learning to build their model.