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A new study takes a tour of the history of research into human embryology and development to show the "cycles of attention" that led to major scientific breakthroughs. Analysing the past sheds light on the present resurgence of research on human development. That's the lesson of a new study by Professor Nick Hopwood , from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, that is published in the Journal of the History of Biology .

Scientists are using new technology to help endangered animals by listening to their sounds. The research, conducted by The University of Warwick and the University of New South Wales in Australia, analyses animal sounds from endangered species including types of elephants, whales and birds. It uses a new method adapted from tech used to analyse brain waves in neuroscience.

Scientists have invented a new way to deliver treatment into the brain using a parasite. The study - led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and an international team of researchers, and published in Nature Microbiology - has also made the first successful step in finding out whether the parasites could be engineered for this purpose.

Scientists have discovered a way to control mutation rates in bacteria, paving the way for new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics are given to kill bad bacteria, however with just one mutation a bacteria can evolve to become resistant to that antibiotic, making common infections potentially fatal.

Proteins in the blood could predict the onset of many diverse diseases, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. The research team, who measured thousands of proteins in a drop of blood, report the ability of protein 'signatures' to predict the onset of 67 diseases including multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, motor neurone disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and dilated cardiomyopathy.

New research in Nature Communications investigates the effect of sexual size dimorphism on genome evolution. Mammals that have evolved more developed brains tend to have a smaller size difference between males and females of that species, according to new research in Nature Communications led by the University of Bath.

Scientists have discovered that 'turning off' a protein called IL-11 can significantly increase the healthy lifespan of mice by almost 25%. Researchers in the UK and Singapore have found that targeting the production of a key inflammatory protein in mice can extend their lifespan, reduce age-related disease and make older animals less frail.

Researchers have analysed data from 127 studies to reveal 'thresholds' for when logged rainforests lose the ability to sustain themselves. The results could widen the scope of which forests are considered 'worth' conserving, but also show how much logging degrades forests beyond the point of no return.

A new study shows that retired rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have abnormal levels of certain proteins in their blood. This may make them more prone to developing diseases such as motor neurone disease (MND). This is what new research led by our bioscientists has found as part of the UK Rugby Health project.

Scientists have developed a new approach to store and distribute crucial protein therapeutics without the need for fridges or freezers. The breakthrough, published in the journal Nature , could significantly improve accessibility of essential protein-based drugs in developing countries where cold storage infrastructure may be lacking, helping efforts to diagnose and treat more people with serious health conditions.

Scientists develop first bone marrow model which supports human stem cells Scientists have created the first bioengineered bone marrow model which can support the type of human stem cells that are crucial for bone marrow transplants and in vitro study work. The research - published in Nature Communications and led by the University of Glasgow - replicates key aspects of the human bone marrow microenvironment, to enable the support of rare long-term hematopoietic stem cells, or LT-HSCs.

The Last Common Universal Ancestor (LUCA), from which life evolved into bacteria, plants and animals, was older and more complex than previously thought. An international team of researchers, including Dr James Clark from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, has shed light on Earth's earliest ecosystem, showing that within a few hundred million years of planetary formation, life on Earth was already flourishing.

A group of scientists at UCL have successfully created mechanical force sensors directly in the developing brains and spinal cords of chicken embryos, which they hope will improve understanding and prevention of birth malformations such as spina bifida. The study, published in Nature Materials and in collaboration with the University of Padua and the Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), uses innovative biotechnologies to measure the mechanical forces exerted by the embryo during its development.

A global collaboration involving University of Manchester scientists has discovered the gene whose variants potentially causing neurodevelopmental disorders in hundreds of thousands of people across the world. The findings of the University of Oxford led study, published in Nature , are an exciting first step towards the development of future treatments for the disorders which have devastating impacts on learning, behaviour, speech, and movement.

Scientists from The University of Manchester have uncovered a more efficient and sustainable way to make peptide-based medicines, showing promising effectiveness in combating cancers. Peptides are comprised of small chains of amino acids, which are also the building blocks of proteins. Peptides play a crucial role in our bodies and are used in many medicines to fight diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and infections.

We've helped clarify centuries of controversy surrounding brain size evolution - and resolved some puzzling complexities in the relationship between brain size and body mass. Researchers from the University of Reading and the Department of Anthropology here at Durham analysed an enormous dataset of brain and body sizes from around 1,500 species.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa - an environmental bacteria that can cause devastating multidrug-resistant infections, particularly in people with underlying lung conditions - evolved rapidly and then spread globally over the last 200 years, probably driven by changes in human behaviour, a new study has found.

Bowel cancer cells have the ability to regulate their growth using a genetic on-off switch to maximise their chances of survival, a phenomenon that's been observed for the first time by researchers at UCL and University Medical Center Utrecht. The number of genetic mutations in a cancer cell was previously thought to be purely down to chance.

A key mechanism which detects when the brain needs an additional energy boost to support its activity has been identified in a study in mice and cells led by UCL scientists. The scientists say their findings, published in Nature , could inform new therapies to maintain brain health and longevity, as other studies have found that brain energy metabolism can become impaired late in life and contribute to cognitive decline and the development of neurodegenerative disease.

Scientists have identified a gene which, when missing or impaired, can cause obesity, behavioural problems and, in mothers, postnatal depression. The discovery, reported today in Cell , may have wider implications for the treatment of postnatal depression, with a study in mice suggesting that oxytocin may alleviate symptoms.