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New understanding about how the gut balances between 'good' and 'bad' bacteria could provide new clues for managing chronic gut diseases Immune cells called group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) play an essential role in establishing tolerance to symbiotic microbes that dwell in the human gastrointestinal tract, according to a new study.

Altruistic behaviour takes place in a different part of the brain to similar activity to help oneself, new research has found. An area of the brain specifically involved in putting in effort to help others out has been pinpointed by scientists at the University of Birmingham and University of Oxford.

Fresh evidence that water can change from one form of liquid into another, denser liquid, has been uncovered by researchers. The research was carried out at the University of Birmingham and Sapienza Università di Roma. A new kind of 'phase transition' in water was first proposed 30 years ago in a study by researchers from Boston University.

Large dinosaur predators, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, evolved different shapes of eye sockets to better deal with high bite forces, new research has shown. While in many animals - and most dinosaurs - the eye socket is just a circular hole in the skull housing the eyeball, this is very different in large carnivores.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 infection, can be transmitted from mother to baby before, during and after childbirth - but such occurrences are rare, a new study reveals. Overall, fewer than two per cent of babies born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection also test positive for the virus, but they are more likely to test positive when the women have severe COVID-19 or were diagnosed after childbirth.

Tools that can produce accurate models of indoor air quality are to be designed in a project led by the University of Birmingham. The new project "Indoor Air Quality Emissions & Modelling System (IAQ-EMS)", is funded by the Strategic Priorities Fund. It aims to increase the understanding of indoor air pollutants and enable people planning or assessing an indoor space to build an accurate picture of the likely sources, levels and risks of pollutants.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham working in partnership with firms NitroPep Ltd and Pullman AC have developed new antimicrobial technology for air filters which can in seconds kill bacteria, fungi and viruses including SARS-CoV-2 - providing a potential solution to prevent the spread of airborne infections.

A team led by scientists at the University of Birmingham has come a step closer to uncovering the purpose of a distinctive set of modifications found at the beginning of messenger RNA which have long remained a fundamental mystery in molecular biology. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are vital for protein production.

Ordinary potted house plants can potentially make a significant contribution to reducing air pollution in homes and offices, according to new research led by the University of Birmingham and in partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). During a series of experiments monitoring common houseplants exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) - a common pollutant - researchers calculated that in some conditions, the plants could be able to reduce NO2 by as much as 20 per cent.

A team of geneticists and archaeologists have analysed the fine-scale genetic structure and ancestry of nearly 1,200 people from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and found genetic traces of population mixing spanning thousands of years. The research team from the University of Birmingham, Oxford University and the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre Abu Dhabi (ICLDC) think that these genetic traces reflect the movement of people in the Middle East after major cultural transitions, such as the invention of agriculture, as well as desertification of the region in the past 6,000 years.

An object hidden below ground has been located using quantum technology - a long-awaited milestone with profound implications for industry, human knowledge and national security. University of Birmingham researchers from the UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Timing have reported their achievement in Nature .

A rare exoplanet which orbits around two stars at once has been detected using a ground-based telescope by a team led by the University of Birmingham. The planet, called Kepler-16b, has so far only been seen using the Kepler space telescope. It orbits around two stars, with the two orbits also orbiting one another, forming a binary star system.

A new study led by the University of Birmingham will evaluate the effectiveness of an online training programme for improving social workers' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs when working with LGBTQ+ young people. In conjunction with What Works for Children's Social Care , the study will determine the effectiveness of LGBTQ+ diversity training for social workers and its impact on practice with LGBTQ+ young people.

Cockatoos have shown an extraordinary ability to complete a task by combining simple tools, demonstrating that this cognitive ability is not found only in primates. According to researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, the University of Birmingham, and the University of Vienna , the findings could shed new light on how our ancestors evolved the ability to design and use tools.

Patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiency are at higher risk of mortality following SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with the general population, according to a new study led by the University of Birmingham. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected individuals with primary immunodeficiency (PID) and secondary immunodeficiency (SID).

Fears over job security and quality of work for a new class of disaffected citizens - the 'precariat' - could explain the rise of popular extremist parties across Europe, according to a new study. Studying the 2017 national elections in France and the Netherlands, researchers discovered a link between electoral support for radical populist parties of both the right and left and 'precarity' - a lack of economic security and stable occupational identities.

Study shows impaired antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination in blood cancer and arthritis patients being treated with widely used drug Certain blood cancer and arthritis patients have a significantly reduced antibody response to double COVID-19 vaccination in the first six months of being treated with a widely used drug, reveals a new study.

Water quality in rivers is affected by underpinning 'natural' hydrogeological and biogeochemical processes, as well as interactions between people and their environment that are accelerating stress on water resources at unprecedented rates. Pollutants can move at different speeds and accumulate in varying quantities along rivers where the mix of the complex 'cocktail' of chemicals that is making its way towards the ocean is constantly changing, a new study reveals.

Common air pollutants from both urban and rural environments may be reducing the pollinating abilities of insects by preventing them from sniffing out the crops and wildflowers that depend on them, new research has shown. Scientists from the University of Reading , the University of Birmingham and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology found that there were up to 70% fewer pollinators, up to 90% fewer flower visits and an overall pollination reduction of up to 31% in test plants when common ground-level air pollutants, including diesel exhaust pollutants and ozone, were present.

In languages spoken around the world, words describing rough surfaces are highly likely to feature a 'trilled /r/' sound - a linguistic pattern that stretches back over 6,000 years, a new study reveals. Language scientists first analysed words for 'rough' and 'smooth' in a worldwide sample of 332 spoken languages - discovering a strong link between the sounds of speech and the sense of touch, which has influenced the structure of modern languages.