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New research has provided the first evidence to prove that active and engaged television viewing does help to accelerate language change. In particular the study, funded by Economic and Social Research Council and published in the American journal 'Language', looked at how watching the television soap 'EastEnders' is altering certain features of the Scottish accent.

'Eat less salt' is a mantra of our health-conscious times and is seen as an important step in reducing heart disease and hypertension. Too much salt in the diet - and specifically sodium - is widely acknowledged as a major risk factor for high blood pressure however, scientists have found that salt's other oft-overlooked constituent chloride might also play an important role.

Analysis of the genome of a parasitic worm that infects livestock worldwide has revealed potential targets for treatments and vaccines. Five enzymes essential to the survival of barber pole worm have been identified with two already being studied as potential drug targets against other pathogens. A team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Glasgow's College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences sequenced the genome of Haemonchus contortus, which resides in the gut of sheep and other livestock globally.

A genetic mutation that can lead to haemorrhagic stroke has been identified by scientists - along with a drug to potentially treat it. Research published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics highlights a mutation in the gene COL4a2 that causes bleeding in the brain. COL4a2 is a protein that is expressed by the gene of the same name, which forms a structure outside the cell called a basement membrane.

Declassified spy photography has uncovered a lost Roman Eastern frontier, dating from the second century AD. Research by archaeologists at the Universities of Glasgow and Exeter has identified a long wall that ran 60 kilometers from the Danube to the Black Sea over what is modern Romania. It is considered the most easterly example of a man-made frontier barrier system in the Roman Empire.

Anyone who has had frequent blood pressure checks knows that blood pressure is never constant. We've all had stressful days and we generally attribute high swings in blood pressure to this. Needless to say we are reassured if a subsequent blood pressure check a few days or weeks later shows a lower reading.

The Faroe Islands were colonised much earlier than previously believed, and it wasn't by the Vikings, according to new research. New archaeological evidence places human colonisation in the 4 th to 6 th centuries AD, at least 300-500 years earlier than previously demonstrated. The research, directed by Dr Mike J Church from Durham University and Símun V Arge from the National Museum of the Faroe Islands as part of the multidisciplinary project "Heart of the Atlantic", is published in the Quaternary Science Reviews.

An international team, including scientists from The University of Glasgow and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has described the mutational processes that drive tumour development in 30 of the most common cancer types. The discovery could help to treat and prevent a wide range of cancers. Professor Biankin, Regius Chair of Surgery and Director of Translational Research Centre, was part of a team that analysed 7,042 tumours and identified 21 distinct mutational signatures and the cancer types in which they occur.

New research published in the 'Biochemical Journal' has identified molecules occurring naturally in fruit that may play an important role in the future treatment of heart disease. Molecules called flavanoids, which are found in citrus fruits - particularly grapefruit - have proven effective at reducing the inflammation which can lead to deadly cardiovascular disease.

Scientists at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde have discovered rotational speed can be determined by measuring Doppler Shift - the same effect utilised in radar speed guns. Doppler Shift is a phenomenon everyone is aware of, if perhaps not by name, and is most often experienced by the sound of a siren from a police car or ambulance rising and falling in pitch as it passes by.

Those diagnosed with bi-polar are more likely than the general population to be under-treated for common physical health problems like high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, according to new research. The research looked at over 1,750,000 records from within 314 primary care practices in Scotland.

Vitamin C and vitamin E dramatically reduce the lifespan of voles, biologists have found, raising questions about the benefits of vitamins as a health supplement. A new paper published in the journal Biology Letters explains the research. The team fed field voles a diet supplemented with high levels of vitamin E or vitamin C from the age of two months in either warm or cold conditions and compared their longevity to groups of voles fed a regular diet.

Regular exercise can strengthen the body's 'clock' and help it stay synchronised as it grows older, according to a new study. Every form of life has a 'body clock' that allows synchronisation of various bodily functions, such as sleeping and eating, to the 24-hour light-dark cycle of the day. In mammals, the clock, or suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), is located deep in the brain in the hypothalamus and is directly connected to the optic nerve.

Researchers from a project which aims to deepen understanding of adults who choose to go missing are presenting their results for the first time today (Wednesday 19 June). Around 327,000 incidences of people reported as missing are reported to authorities each year in the UK, but little research exists which could provide practical insights to benefit those with responsibility for and to missing adults.

New research and detailed records of over 1,000 paintings have gone online as part of an ongoing project to research over 22,000 artworks held in public collections around the UK. The National Inventory of Continental European Paintings (NICE Paintings) project is cataloguing and digitising all of the pre-1900 Continental European oil paintings in the UK's public collections and making them available to the public, alongside new supporting information.

Biologists have discovered for the first time that the biological rhythms of city-dwelling organisms are changing in response to city living. Researchers measured the circadian rhythms of groups of urban and rural blackbirds in southern Germany and found that the city-dwellers had faster and less robust internal clocks than rural blackbirds.

New research has revealed a letter written in 1310 by Robert Bruce to King Edward II, presenting historians with fresh information about a pivotal time in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The letter was sent less than four years before Robert Bruce won a famous victory at the Battle of Bannockburn against the English king which paved the way for Scottish independence.

Encouraging interim data from the world's first clinical trial examining the safety of neural stem cell treatment in stroke patients has been reported by researchers ahead of an application for Phase II trials. Updated interim data from the PISCES trial, which has seen the brains of ischaemic stroke patients injected with neural stem cells to test the safety and tolerability of the treatment, was presented to the 22 nd European Stroke Conference in London today.

The human brain is able to identify individuals' voices by comparing them against an internal 'average voice' prototype, according to neuroscientists. A study carried out by researchers at the University of Glasgow and reported in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that voice identity is coded in the brain by reference to two internal voice prototypes - one male, one female.

High blood pressure is something that has traditionally been a problem in Scotland, but might there be a link to our climate? A new study has found that some people's blood pressure is affected more by the cold weather and this blood pressure sensitivity to temperature may be a marker of early mortality.