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Health - Life Sciences - 30.03.2023 
Research autopsies reveal how incurable skin cancer resists treatment
A study, co-led by researchers at UCL, has revealed how some skin cancers stop responding to treatment at the end of life. The discovery, scientists say, provides vital clues for developing new treatments for those with a terminal diagnosis. An in-depth analysis of 14 patients who died from incurable melanoma has revealed that changes to the order, structure and number of copies of tumour DNA could cause some skin cancers to resist treatment.
Life Sciences - History / Archeology - 30.03.2023
Health - Life Sciences - 29.03.2023 
Cell mapping and ’mini placentas’ give new insights into human pregnancy
Researchers have mapped the complete trajectory of placental development, helping shed new light on why pregnancy disorders happen. This can help us improve laboratory models to continue investigating pregnancy disorders, which cause illness and death worldwide. Anna Arutyunyan Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Switzerland, EMBL's European
Life Sciences - Health - 24.03.2023
Life Sciences - Health - 24.03.2023 
Gene therapy approach to boost ’cold shock protein’ in the brain without cooling protects mice against neurodegenerative disease
Scientists in Cambridge and Berlin have used a form of gene therapy to increase levels of the so-called -cold shock protein- in the brains of mice, protecting them against the potentially devastating impact of prion disease. Essentially, the cold shock protein enables the brain to protect itself - in this case, against the damage nerve cells in the brain during prion disease Giovanna Mallucci The discovery is a step towards harnessing the protective effects of cooling the brain to treat patients with acute brain injury and even to prevent dementias, such as Alzheimer-s.
Environment - Life Sciences - 22.03.2023
Life Sciences - Pharmacology - 21.03.2023 
Advanced brain imaging study hints at how DMT alters perception of reality
Scientists have gleaned new insights into how psychedelics alter conscious experience via their action on brain activity. In a study at Imperial College London, detailed brain imaging data from 20 healthy volunteers revealed how the potent psychedelic compound, DMT (dimethyltryptamine), alters brain function.
Life Sciences - Career - 17.03.2023
Health - Life Sciences - 16.03.2023 
Preterm babies do not habituate to repeated pain
Preterm infants do not get used to repeated pain in the way that full-term infants, children and adults do habituate to pain, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new Current Biology paper say that if preterm infants have not yet developed the mechanism that enables people to get used to moderate pain, medical procedures in their first few weeks of life could potentially impact their development.
Life Sciences - 14.03.2023 
Mammals have evolved complexity over time
Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that complexity can happen by chance without natural selection. Major changes in the spinal columns of mammals have been shaped by their highly variable numbers of vertebrae, according to new evidence from a team of international scientists, including researchers from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.
Life Sciences - Health - 14.03.2023 
Experience of Endometriosis is rooted in genetics
Researchers at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with 25 teams across the world, have published the largest study to date of the genetic basis of endometriosis. Their study included DNA from 60,600 women with endometriosis and 701,900 without. It revealed compelling evidence of a shared genetic basis for endometriosis and other types of pain seemingly unrelated to endometriosis, including migraine, back pain and multi-site pain.
Environment - Life Sciences - 11.03.2023
Life Sciences - Health - 10.03.2023
Life Sciences - 09.03.2023 
Being friendly but not too friendly helps sparrows breed successfully
A new study shows that sparrows with more opposite-sex friends contribute more to the gene pool, but 'average' friendliness wins out in the long term. Scientists have assumed for a long time that traits associated with how social an animal is - such as shyness or extraversion - have a genetic basis.
Health - Life Sciences - 09.03.2023
Life Sciences - Chemistry - 09.03.2023
Life Sciences - Health - 08.03.2023 
Replaying experiences can help future decision making
Replaying prior experiences when learning something new can improve the brain's ability to make future plans and preserve memories of the past, finds new research by UCL neuroscientists. The study, published in PNAS , used brain imaging techniques to detect activity in the brains of 24 participants, while taking part in a maze task.
Health - Life Sciences - 03.03.2023 
Population-wide gene testing has limited ability to predict disease
Testing a population for multiple genes at once will be limited in its ability to accurately predict disease risk, argues a new paper involving UCL's Professor Aroon Hingorani. DNA sequence commonly varies between individuals at many different points throughout the genome. Some of these genetic variants influence individual risk of common diseases such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, through effects on the expression or function of the encoded proteins.
Life Sciences - Health - 02.03.2023 
To prevent death of nerve cells in most common genetic forms of MND and dementia
Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Institute of Translational Neuroscience have discovered how to prevent the death of nerve cells and protect nerves from neurodegeneration in the most common genetic forms of MND and frontotemporal dementia The researchers used a peptide, a small assembly of amino acids or protein bricks, with a cell-penetrating module to stop mutant repeated RNA molecules being transported from the cell's nucleus to
Life Sciences - Health - 28.02.2023 
Feature: Why rare diseases are key for scientific discovery
Rare diseases are varied and life-threatening, yet most still remain undiagnosed and have no effective treatments. Now, scientists at the UCL Neurogenetics Lab are focusing on these conditions, to find diagnoses and treatments that could be crucial for scientific discovery. There is a common misconception that rare diseases only affect a small number of people.
Life Sciences
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A study, co-led by researchers at UCL, has revealed how some skin cancers stop responding to treatment at the end of life. The discovery, scientists say, provides vital clues for developing new treatments for those with a terminal diagnosis. An in-depth analysis of 14 patients who died from incurable melanoma has revealed that changes to the order, structure and number of copies of tumour DNA could cause some skin cancers to resist treatment.
Ancient African empires’ impact on migration revealed by genetics
Traces of ancient empires that stretched across Africa remain in the DNA of people living on the continent, reveals a new genetics study led by UCL researchers. Published in Science Advances , the collaboration between UCL geneticists working alongside anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists in Africa and beyond found evidence for when different peoples intermixed across the continent.
Traces of ancient empires that stretched across Africa remain in the DNA of people living on the continent, reveals a new genetics study led by UCL researchers. Published in Science Advances , the collaboration between UCL geneticists working alongside anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists in Africa and beyond found evidence for when different peoples intermixed across the continent.
Researchers have mapped the complete trajectory of placental development, helping shed new light on why pregnancy disorders happen. This can help us improve laboratory models to continue investigating pregnancy disorders, which cause illness and death worldwide. Anna Arutyunyan Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Switzerland, EMBL's European
Pathogen mapped for the first time – to understand evolution and potential treatments
Pathogen mapped for the first time - to understand evolution and potential treatments A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells - providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.
Pathogen mapped for the first time - to understand evolution and potential treatments A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells - providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.
Scientists in Cambridge and Berlin have used a form of gene therapy to increase levels of the so-called -cold shock protein- in the brains of mice, protecting them against the potentially devastating impact of prion disease. Essentially, the cold shock protein enables the brain to protect itself - in this case, against the damage nerve cells in the brain during prion disease Giovanna Mallucci The discovery is a step towards harnessing the protective effects of cooling the brain to treat patients with acute brain injury and even to prevent dementias, such as Alzheimer-s.
Changing temperatures increase pesticide risk to bees
Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees' behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study. The findings indicate that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.
Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees' behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study. The findings indicate that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.
Scientists have gleaned new insights into how psychedelics alter conscious experience via their action on brain activity. In a study at Imperial College London, detailed brain imaging data from 20 healthy volunteers revealed how the potent psychedelic compound, DMT (dimethyltryptamine), alters brain function.
Having the genetics of a night owl protects night shift workers against sleep loss
Some people have a genetic predisposition to being an 'evening person' and new research led by University of Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science , published in the journal Sleep, finds this protects regular night shift workers against sleep penalties. Up to 25% of public sector employees in the UK do some form of night work.
Some people have a genetic predisposition to being an 'evening person' and new research led by University of Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science , published in the journal Sleep, finds this protects regular night shift workers against sleep penalties. Up to 25% of public sector employees in the UK do some form of night work.
Preterm infants do not get used to repeated pain in the way that full-term infants, children and adults do habituate to pain, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new Current Biology paper say that if preterm infants have not yet developed the mechanism that enables people to get used to moderate pain, medical procedures in their first few weeks of life could potentially impact their development.
Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that complexity can happen by chance without natural selection. Major changes in the spinal columns of mammals have been shaped by their highly variable numbers of vertebrae, according to new evidence from a team of international scientists, including researchers from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.
Researchers at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with 25 teams across the world, have published the largest study to date of the genetic basis of endometriosis. Their study included DNA from 60,600 women with endometriosis and 701,900 without. It revealed compelling evidence of a shared genetic basis for endometriosis and other types of pain seemingly unrelated to endometriosis, including migraine, back pain and multi-site pain.
Remarkable squirting mussels captured on film
Cambridge researchers have observed a highly unusual behaviour in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. Who'd have thought that a mussel, that doesn't even have a head or a brain, knows to move to the river margin and squirt jets of water back into the river during springtime? David Aldridge In spring, female mussels were seen moving to the water's edge and anchoring into the riverbed, with their back ends raised above the waterline.
Cambridge researchers have observed a highly unusual behaviour in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. Who'd have thought that a mussel, that doesn't even have a head or a brain, knows to move to the river margin and squirt jets of water back into the river during springtime? David Aldridge In spring, female mussels were seen moving to the water's edge and anchoring into the riverbed, with their back ends raised above the waterline.
First wiring map of insect brain complete
Researchers have built the first ever map showing every single neuron and how they are wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva. Now we can start gaining a mechanistic understanding of how the brain works. Marta Zlatic This will help scientists to understand the basic principles by which signals travel through the brain at the neural level and lead to behaviour and learning.
Researchers have built the first ever map showing every single neuron and how they are wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva. Now we can start gaining a mechanistic understanding of how the brain works. Marta Zlatic This will help scientists to understand the basic principles by which signals travel through the brain at the neural level and lead to behaviour and learning.
A new study shows that sparrows with more opposite-sex friends contribute more to the gene pool, but 'average' friendliness wins out in the long term. Scientists have assumed for a long time that traits associated with how social an animal is - such as shyness or extraversion - have a genetic basis.
Naturally occurring peptide may tackle the ’root cause’ of obesity-related conditions
Research shows the peptide called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases Research published today shows that a peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).
Research shows the peptide called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases Research published today shows that a peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).
Biochemical synthesis discovery could unlock new drug development breakthroughs
A mystery about how a chemical compound found in nature could be synthesised in the lab may have been solved, scientists say - a breakthrough which could unlock new developments in medicine. Scientists from universities and research institutions in Scotland and Germany are behind the discovery, published in the journal Nature Chemistry .
A mystery about how a chemical compound found in nature could be synthesised in the lab may have been solved, scientists say - a breakthrough which could unlock new developments in medicine. Scientists from universities and research institutions in Scotland and Germany are behind the discovery, published in the journal Nature Chemistry .
Replaying prior experiences when learning something new can improve the brain's ability to make future plans and preserve memories of the past, finds new research by UCL neuroscientists. The study, published in PNAS , used brain imaging techniques to detect activity in the brains of 24 participants, while taking part in a maze task.
Testing a population for multiple genes at once will be limited in its ability to accurately predict disease risk, argues a new paper involving UCL's Professor Aroon Hingorani. DNA sequence commonly varies between individuals at many different points throughout the genome. Some of these genetic variants influence individual risk of common diseases such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, through effects on the expression or function of the encoded proteins.
Researchers from the University of Sheffield's Institute of Translational Neuroscience have discovered how to prevent the death of nerve cells and protect nerves from neurodegeneration in the most common genetic forms of MND and frontotemporal dementia The researchers used a peptide, a small assembly of amino acids or protein bricks, with a cell-penetrating module to stop mutant repeated RNA molecules being transported from the cell's nucleus to
Rare diseases are varied and life-threatening, yet most still remain undiagnosed and have no effective treatments. Now, scientists at the UCL Neurogenetics Lab are focusing on these conditions, to find diagnoses and treatments that could be crucial for scientific discovery. There is a common misconception that rare diseases only affect a small number of people.
