news
Life Sciences
Results 101 - 120 of 5101.
Life Sciences - Health - 12.07.2024

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.
Life Sciences - Health - 11.07.2024
New discovery hope for people with neurodevelopment disorders
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.
Health - Life Sciences - 08.07.2024

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.
Life Sciences - 08.07.2024
Brain size riddle solved as humans exceed evolution trend
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.
Health - Life Sciences - 04.07.2024

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.
Health - Life Sciences - 03.07.2024

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.
Life Sciences - Health - 03.07.2024

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.
Life Sciences - Psychology - 02.07.2024
Genetic study points to oxytocin as possible treatment for obesity and postnatal depression
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.
Social Sciences - Life Sciences - 02.07.2024
Huge study identifies suicide risk factors to improve preventions
In the largest study of its kind, scientists at the University of Warwick have investigated a range of contributing risk factors for suicide - helping to identify individuals who might benefit from interventions. The behavioural and biological predictors, include elevated white blood cells, neuroticism, childhood experiences and reduced grey matter in the brain.
Health - Life Sciences - 02.07.2024
Cutting-edge genomic test can improve care of children with cancer
Whole genome sequencing has improved clinical care of some children with cancer in England by informing individual patient care. Research published today supports the efforts to provide genome sequencing to all children with cancer and shows how it can improve the management of care in real-time, providing more benefits than all current tests combined.
Life Sciences - Veterinary - 02.07.2024

A new study from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) into the movement and gaits of hippopotamuses on land has found that while they almost exclusively trot, the fastest-moving hippos become airborne for substantial periods of time. This research will improve scientific understanding of how the size of large animals influences their movement on land, support the reconstruction of the evolutionary biomechanics of hippo lineages and help veterinarians diagnose or monitor hippos that have problems moving or are experiences lameness.
Health - Life Sciences - 01.07.2024
Largest ever genetic study of age of puberty in girls shows links with weight gain
Genes can indirectly influence the age at which girls have their first period by accelerating weight gain in childhood, a known risk factor for early puberty, a Cambridge-led study has found. Other genes can directly affect age of puberty, some with profound effects. Many of the genes we've found influence early puberty by first accelerating weight gain in infants and young children.
Life Sciences - 26.06.2024

Neuroscientists at UCL have discovered how the brain reacts to threats in order to escape if needed, in a new study in mice. These findings could help unlock new directions for discovering therapies for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study, published today in Current Biology , outlines how researchers at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL studied a region of the brain called the periaqueductal gray (PAG), which is known to be hyperactive in people with anxiety and PTSD.
Life Sciences - Health - 20.06.2024

University of Manchester scientists have linked one of the ways that cells respond to stressful conditions with restricted healthy hair growth. The Manchester Hair Research Group team unexpectedly discovered the link in a lab experiment where they were testing a drug to see if it cultivates human scalp hair follicles in a dish.
Health - Life Sciences - 19.06.2024
Potential ’life-transforming’ mole reversal therapy shown in rare condition
Researchers at UCL, the Francis Crick Institute and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) have designed a new genetic therapy in mice, that could alleviate debilitating giant moles that occur in a rare skin condition. The treatment could be used to reverse moles, and therefore prevent affected children and adults from developing cancer.
Health - Life Sciences - 18.06.2024
Poor metabolic health linked to worse brain health
People with poor metabolic health are more likely to have memory and thinking problems and worse brain health, according to a new study by researchers at Oxford Population Health. The study is published in Diabetes Care , and is the largest study into metabolic and brain health to date. Poor metabolic health, also known as "metabolic syndrome", is defined as having three or more of the following: a large waist circumference, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, sometimes known as 'good' cholesterol.
Health - Life Sciences - 18.06.2024

A team of researchers, led by scientists at UCL and University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany, have developed a simple blood test that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to predict Parkinson's up to seven years before the onset of symptoms. Parkinson's disease is the world's fastest growing neurodegenerative disorder and currently affects nearly 10 million people across the globe.
Life Sciences - 13.06.2024

Momentary shifts in mood, even those lasting just a matter of seconds, profoundly alter the brain's response to pleasurable experiences in people with bipolar disorder, finds a new study by UCL researchers. Previous research shows that mood can make us experience events in more positive or negative light - irrespective of having bipolar disorder.
Life Sciences - Environment - 12.06.2024

A new study by the Milner Centre for Evolution suggests that mating systems of birds have a stronger effect on evolution rates than previously thought. New research led by the University of Bath's Milner Centre for Evolution shows that shorebird species where females breed with multiple males in each season evolve significantly faster than monogamous species.
Life Sciences - 11.06.2024
What’s going on in our brains when we plan?
Study uncovers how the brain simulates possible future actions by drawing from our stored memories. In pausing to think before making an important decision, we may imagine the potential outcomes of different choices we could make. While this 'mental simulation' is central to how we plan and make decisions in everyday life, how the brain works to accomplish this is not well understood.
Music - Today
Taylor Swift fans may be ready to 'Shake Off' plastic vinyl records, new University of Glasgow study shows
Taylor Swift fans may be ready to 'Shake Off' plastic vinyl records, new University of Glasgow study shows
Innovation - Feb 14
Scaling sustainable carbon fibre production: A breakthrough in lignin-based innovation
Scaling sustainable carbon fibre production: A breakthrough in lignin-based innovation
