news 2013

Koalas' low-pitched voice explained by unique organ The pitch of male koalas' mating calls is about 20 times lower than it should be, given the Australian marsupial's relatively small size, University of Sussex research reveals. Dr Benjamin Charlton and Dr David Reby, reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 2 have discovered the koalas' secret: they have a specialised sound-producing organ that has never before been seen in any other land-dwelling mammal.

Team from University of Alberta and Alberta Health Services develop new technique to determine if tumours fed by estrogen. University of Alberta researchers John Mackey (left) and Russ Greiner have developed a computer algorithm that predicts whether breast cancer cells are fuelled by estrogen, a technique that could one day replace traditional testing in a clinical lab.

A new brain connectivity study from Penn Medicine published today in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences found striking differences in the neural wiring of men and women that's lending credence to some commonly-held beliefs about their behavior.

A single dose of the hormone oxytocin, delivered via nasal spray, has been shown to enhance brain activity while processing social information in children with autism spectrum disorders, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in a new study published in the Dec. 2 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A simple urine test could distinguish between aggressive and less aggressive bladder cancers according to a new University of Birmingham study published in the British Journal of Cancer. The test could quickly detect patients with the most advanced and aggressive forms of bladder cancer, helping to tailor and speed up their treatment.

It's historically known as 'the king of diseases and the disease of kings' and was long thought to be caused by an overindulgent lifestyle, but now scientists at The University of Nottingham have confirmed that 'gout' strongly runs in families. Researchers in the Division of Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology studied the whole population of Taiwan (23 million) where gout is most prevalent in the world.

For the first time, researchers at Umeå University have succeeded in showing how the DNA polymerase epsilon enzyme builds new genomes. The detailed image produced by these researchers shows how mutations that can contribute to the development of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer lead to changes in the structure of the protein.

A Stanford study highlights the critical importance of strong technical skills in launching tech ventures, casting doubt on the conventional wisdom that a founding team with diverse business skills is the best approach. New research on entrepreneurship shows that diverse business skills are not always the secret to success in the world of tech start-ups.

Tiny bits of plastic trash could spell big trouble for some of the smallest and most crucial members of the marine ecosystem according to scientific findings released today. Research conducted by Plymouth University and the University of Exeter has revealed the unpalatable situation confronting the lugworm when it is exposed to high levels of microplastic in ocean sediments.

Study finds no correlation between violent crime and flexible alcohol licensing following the 2003 Licensing Act, with researchers describing the policy intervention as "built on weak evidence".

Postdoctoral researcher Mahmoud Moradi, left, and biochemistry professor Emad Tajkhorshid discovered how a transporter protein changes its shape to shuttle other molecules across the cell membrane. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Researchers have tried for decades to understand the undulations and gyrations that allow transport proteins to shuttle molecules from one side of a cell membrane to the other.

Agents of the immune system called natural killer (NK) cells may have an important role in asthma, according to research. NK cells are best known for eliminating cancer cells and cells infected by viruses, but the new study suggests that they might be partly to blame for inflammation in the airways in asthma.

New research suggests that it should be possible to influence how bacteria manage nitrogen, in order to create better fertilisers for crops. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient, but most plants cannot process it from the air. They depend on bacteria in the soil to provide them with nitrogen in a usable form.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Archaeologists find more bodies at Durham University site Durham University archaeologists have found the remains of many more human bodies at a dig on the City's World Heritage Site, providing clear evidence of a centuries-old mass grave.

Expert wine tasters cannot tell which grapes are in sparkling wines when asked to taste them blind, an Oxford University-led study has found. And the champagnes they rated highly weren't always the most expensive, showing that you don't necessarily have to fork out when buying champers for your Christmas party.

Think you can figure out a way to unlock one of the biggest secrets of the universe? The recently launched third Gravitational Lensing Accuracy Testing challenge (GREAT3) is giving researchers the opportunity to do just that. GREAT3, which is led by Carnegie Mellon University's Rachel Mandelbaum and UCL's Barnaby Rowe, invites researchers from fields including astrophysics, statistics and machine learning, to test new and existing methods for measuring weak gravitational lensing.

I strongly suspect that there are more lakes awaiting discovery as our radar investigations of the ice-sheet base continue Julian Dowdeswell The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters , discovered two subglacial lakes 800 metres below the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The two lakes are each roughly 8-10 km2, and at one point may have been up to three times larger than their current size.

A novel malaria vaccine developed at Oxford University has shown promising results in the first clinical trial to test whether it can protect people against the mosquito-borne disease. The trial was carried out in Oxford by researchers led by Professor Adrian Hill of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, along with colleagues from the biotechnology company Okairos.

The Schmallenberg virus that causes birth defects in sheep and cattle was carried to the UK by midges blown over from French and Belgian farms, say Oxford University scientists. Schmallenberg was first seen in Germany in 2011 and spread rapidly across Europe through Culicoides midges, the same insects that carry the bluetongue virus.

Scientists have discovered a new drug target for treating malaria. The discovery a novel experimental antimalarial compound class that inhibits the development of multiple malaria-causing Plasmodium species at each stage of infection in the human host. The on-going research to develop imidazopyrazines as a new treatment for malaria is supported by the Wellcome Trust and Medicines for Malaria Venture.