news 2024

Scientists reveal how coffee wilt fungi gained genes to better infect arabica and robusta crops. A new study reveals how genetic interactions between fungal pathogens contributed to the repeated outbreaks of coffee wilt disease threatening arabica and robusta coffee. Coffee wilt disease is caused by Fusarium xylarioides , a soil-borne fungus that invades coffee plants through the roots, eventually blocking water uptake and causing the plants to wilt.

Specialist macrophages play a key role in the control of muscle and movement Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered that specialist macrophages - a type of white blood cell -play a key role in the control of muscle contraction and locomotion. The discovery overturns previous assumptions that muscle contraction and movement is controlled solely by the nervous system - including the brain and spinal cord.

Researchers uncover a 'chemical metronome' in the brain, which helps to synchronise the master clock telling us when it's time to sleeep. In a study of brain cells from mice and humans, researchers have found that star-shaped cells called astrocytes rhythmically produce a chemical pulse that helps the brain's master clock to keep time, influencing our circadian rhythm and sleep-wake cycle.

Large language models, a type of AI that analyses text, can predict the results of proposed neuroscience studies more accurately than human experts, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour , demonstrate that large language models (LLMs) trained on vast datasets of text can distil patterns from scientific literature, enabling them to forecast scientific outcomes with superhuman accuracy.

A study led by the University of Glasgow has revealed differences in the brains of paediatric and adult patients' that might explain the sometimes catastrophic outcomes seen in children following a traumatic brain injury. In findings published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the researchers found first pathological evidence that the pattern of damage to blood vessels after a severe brain injury appears to be age-dependant.

An Imperial-led study has highlighted how rare variants of a gene regulating the gut lining may increase the risk of MIS-C by up to four times. Scientists have uncovered genetic variants which help to explain why some children with mild COVID-19 go on to develop a severe inflammatory condition weeks after their infection.

Researchers from our top-rated Psychology department have discovered that social bonding behaviours in chimpanzees, like grooming and play, can spread through groups much like contagious yawns or laughter in humans. Observing chimpanzees at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, scientists found that individuals were more likely to start grooming or playing after seeing others engage in the same behaviour.

A potentially life-changing heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, can be caused by the cumulative influence of hundreds or thousands of genes and not just by a single "aberrant" genetic variant, as was previously thought, finds a new study co-led by researchers at UCL. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the heart becomes progressively enlarged and weakened, reducing its ability to pump blood efficiently.

Fighting bowel cancer with the bacteria Salmonella could be a step closer thanks to a new discovery by researchers at the University of Glasgow and the University of Birmingham. The new study, funded by Cancer Research UK and published today in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, studied the response of T cells to a specially engineered safe form of Salmonella in mice with colorectal cancer.

People with a high mammographic density (HMD) are more likely to develop breast cancer. Dr Isobel Taylor-Hearn is investigating why. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in UK women aged between 35 and 49. Routine breast screening doesn't start until women are 50. Overall, around 12% of the female population will get breast cancer at some point during their lifetime.

Two conflicting memories can both be activated in a worm's brain, even if only one memory actively drives the animal's behaviour, finds a new study by UCL researchers. In the paper published in Current Biology , the researchers showed how an animal's sex drive can at times outweigh the need to eat when determining behaviour, as they investigated what happens when a worm smells an odour that has been linked to both good experiences (mating) and bad experiences (starvation).

The ageing and failure of cells that occurs when the liver is damaged can spread to other organs, suggests a new study in mice and humans from researchers at UCL, the University of Edinburgh and the CRUK Scotland Institute. In the study, published in Nature Cell Biology , scientists demonstrate for the first time that the deterioration of cells in a damaged liver can activate a process associated with ageing and impaired function, which then transmits to otherwise healthy organs elsewhere in the body.

An international team of researchers, including Dr Peter Etchells from our Department of Biosciences, have published new research which brings to light new discoveries in the development and understanding of stem cells. The new study, published by the journal Science, saw researchers from Durham, University of Helsinki and Utrecht University collaborate to identify the key components required to control the balance of stem cells in plants.

Neuroscientists at UCL have discovered brain cells that form multiple coordinate systems to tell us "where we are" in a sequence of behaviours, in a new study in mice. These cells can play out different sequences of actions, just like a music box can be configured to play different sequences of tones.

A drug commonly used to treat glaucoma has been shown in zebrafish and mice to protect against the build-up in the brain of the protein tau, which causes various forms of dementia and is implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers from the University of Oxford have identified a key biochemical mechanism relevant to the development of Huntington's Disease. This discovery opens up the possibility of studying the disease before its clinical onset and eventually stopping its progression. The study, published in Nature Metabolism , has shown for the first time the biochemical change responsible for the development of Huntington's disease, and how blocking this change stopped disease progression.

The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, palaeontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from swimming to walking, about 390 million years ago. Writing in the journal Science Robotics , the research team, led by the University of Cambridge, outline how 'palaeo-inspired robotics' could provide a valuable experimental approach to studying how the pectoral and pelvic fins of ancient fish evolved to support weight on land.

A new drug called Ellorarxine is offering hope to those suffering from motor neurone disease (MND), according to a recent study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Researchers from our top-rated Chemistry department have found that this novel compound, developed by Nevrargenics Ltd., could significantly improve the neuronal health of MND patients and enhance their nervous system's ability to regenerate.

People with aphantasia - individuals who report experiencing no visual imagery at all - also showed reduced activation of the brain's visual cortex in response to sounds, according to a new study. The research - led by the University of Glasgow and published in Current Biology - uncovers new insights into the relationship between visual imagery and multisensory integration in people with 'blind imagination,' or aphantasia.

Bonobos, endangered great apes that are among our closest relatives, might be more vulnerable than previously understood, finds a genetics study led by a UCL researcher that reveals three distinct populations. The three groups of bonobos have been living separately in different regions in Central Africa for tens of thousands of years, according to the study published in Current Biology by an international research team co-led by UCL, University of Vienna, and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology scientists.