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There is no stable microbial community residing in the bloodstream of healthy humans, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher. The new Nature Microbiology paper makes an important confirmation as blood donations are a crucial part of medical practice. Understanding what types of microbes may be found in blood may allow the development of better microbial tests in blood donations, which would minimise the risk of transfusion-related infections.

Evidence of the widespread, and likely illegal, trading of critically endangered European eels has been uncovered using DNA testing carried out by researchers at UCL and the University of Exeter. The research team carried out "DNA barcoding" on products including jellied eels and unagi, which is used in sushi and donburi.

Illusion involving a hidden thumb confounds capuchin and squirrel monkeys for the same reason as humans - it misdirects the expected outcomes of actions they can carry out. This mirroring in our neural motor system might explain why the French drop worked for the capuchins and squirrel monkeys but not for marmosets Nicola Clayton By performing a famous magic trick for three species of monkey with differing hand structures, scientists have discovered that - in order to deceive - a conjuror needs the same anatomy as their audience.

A study, co-led by researchers at UCL, has revealed how some skin cancers stop responding to treatment at the end of life. The discovery, scientists say, provides vital clues for developing new treatments for those with a terminal diagnosis. An in-depth analysis of 14 patients who died from incurable melanoma has revealed that changes to the order, structure and number of copies of tumour DNA could cause some skin cancers to resist treatment.

Traces of ancient empires that stretched across Africa remain in the DNA of people living on the continent, reveals a new genetics study led by UCL researchers. Published in Science Advances , the collaboration between UCL geneticists working alongside anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists in Africa and beyond found evidence for when different peoples intermixed across the continent.

Researchers have mapped the complete trajectory of placental development, helping shed new light on why pregnancy disorders happen. This can help us improve laboratory models to continue investigating pregnancy disorders, which cause illness and death worldwide. Anna Arutyunyan Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), Switzerland, EMBL's European

Pathogen mapped for the first time - to understand evolution and potential treatments A parasite which has devastating impacts on agriculture and human health is the first pathogen to have its proteins located and mapped within its cells - providing clues to their function and helping to identify potential drug targets.

Scientists in Cambridge and Berlin have used a form of gene therapy to increase levels of the so-called -cold shock protein- in the brains of mice, protecting them against the potentially devastating impact of prion disease. Essentially, the cold shock protein enables the brain to protect itself - in this case, against the damage nerve cells in the brain during prion disease Giovanna Mallucci The discovery is a step towards harnessing the protective effects of cooling the brain to treat patients with acute brain injury and even to prevent dementias, such as Alzheimer-s.

Temperature influences how badly pesticides affect bees' behaviour, suggesting uncertain impacts under climate change, according to a new study. The findings indicate that future extreme temperature events under climate change could increase the impact of pesticides on bee populations and their pollination services.

Scientists have gleaned new insights into how psychedelics alter conscious experience via their action on brain activity. In a study at Imperial College London, detailed brain imaging data from 20 healthy volunteers revealed how the potent psychedelic compound, DMT (dimethyltryptamine), alters brain function.

Some people have a genetic predisposition to being an 'evening person' and new research led by University of Oxford's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science , published in the journal Sleep, finds this protects regular night shift workers against sleep penalties. Up to 25% of public sector employees in the UK do some form of night work.

Preterm infants do not get used to repeated pain in the way that full-term infants, children and adults do habituate to pain, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new Current Biology paper say that if preterm infants have not yet developed the mechanism that enables people to get used to moderate pain, medical procedures in their first few weeks of life could potentially impact their development.

Research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows that complexity can happen by chance without natural selection. Major changes in the spinal columns of mammals have been shaped by their highly variable numbers of vertebrae, according to new evidence from a team of international scientists, including researchers from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath.

Researchers at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with 25 teams across the world, have published the largest study to date of the genetic basis of endometriosis. Their study included DNA from 60,600 women with endometriosis and 701,900 without. It revealed compelling evidence of a shared genetic basis for endometriosis and other types of pain seemingly unrelated to endometriosis, including migraine, back pain and multi-site pain.

Cambridge researchers have observed a highly unusual behaviour in the endangered freshwater mussel, Unio crassus. Who'd have thought that a mussel, that doesn't even have a head or a brain, knows to move to the river margin and squirt jets of water back into the river during springtime? David Aldridge In spring, female mussels were seen moving to the water's edge and anchoring into the riverbed, with their back ends raised above the waterline.

Researchers have built the first ever map showing every single neuron and how they are wired together in the brain of the fruit fly larva. Now we can start gaining a mechanistic understanding of how the brain works. Marta Zlatic This will help scientists to understand the basic principles by which signals travel through the brain at the neural level and lead to behaviour and learning.

A new study shows that sparrows with more opposite-sex friends contribute more to the gene pool, but 'average' friendliness wins out in the long term. Scientists have assumed for a long time that traits associated with how social an animal is - such as shyness or extraversion - have a genetic basis.

Research shows the peptide called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases Research published today shows that a peptide (small protein) called PEPITEM could provide a revolutionary approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases such as hepatic steatosis (fatty liver).

A mystery about how a chemical compound found in nature could be synthesised in the lab may have been solved, scientists say - a breakthrough which could unlock new developments in medicine. Scientists from universities and research institutions in Scotland and Germany are behind the discovery, published in the journal Nature Chemistry .

Replaying prior experiences when learning something new can improve the brain's ability to make future plans and preserve memories of the past, finds new research by UCL neuroscientists. The study, published in PNAS , used brain imaging techniques to detect activity in the brains of 24 participants, while taking part in a maze task.