news 2014

Researchers have found new evidence that explains how some aspects of our personality may affect our health and wellbeing, supporting long-observed associations between aspects of human character, physical health and longevity. A team of health psychologists at The University of Nottingham and the University of California in Los Angeles ( UCLA ) carried out a study to examine the relationship between certain personality traits and the expression of genes that can affect our health by controlling the activity of our immune systems.

In a triumph for cell biology, researchers have assembled the first high-resolution, 3D maps of entire folded genomes and found a structural basis for gene regulation-a kind of "genomic origami" that allows the same genome to produce different types of cells. The research appears online today in Cell .

Scott Rick, assistant professor of marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, is an expert on understanding the emotional causes and consequences of consumer financial decision-making. He shares his thoughts on how consumers can protect themselves and prosper in the new year.

In the hunt for better knowledge on the aging process, researchers from Lund University have now enlisted the help of small birds. A new study investigates various factors which affect whether chicks are born with long or short chromosome ends, called telomeres. The genetic make-up of our cells consists of genes lined up on chromosomes.

Following recent dispute over its origins in Europe, Dr Rob Knell from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences explains why he is yet to be convinced by any alternative to the theory that Columbus brought syphilis across the Atlantic. In 1495 a horrific new disease appeared in Europe. Acquired by sexual contact and initially spread through Europe by mercenary soldiers from the army of King Charles VIII of France returning from a successful invasion of Italy, this new disease was extraordinarily unpleasant.

The preventive effect of breast cancer drug 'tamoxifen' remains virtually constant for at least 20 years - with rates reduced by around 30 per cent - new analysis published in The Lancet Oncology reveals. The IBIS-I trial (International Breast Cancer Intervention Study), led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by Cancer Research UK, examined the long-term risks and benefits of taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk of the disease (aged 35-70 years old, primarily with a family history of breast cancer).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Where did the songbird get its song? What branch of the bird family tree is closer to the flamingo - the heron or the sparrow? These questions seem simple, but are actually difficult for geneticists to answer. A new, sophisticated statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas at Austin can help researchers construct more accurate species trees detailing the lineage of genes and the relationships between species.

A cost of culture Study shows how association, learning can lead to exposure to disease T he ability to adopt new behaviors and ideas - whether learned or invented - has helped humans develop everything from stone tools and agriculture to revolutionary technologies like the World Wide Web. But new research shows that this ability may come with a very real cost, in an increased exposure to potentially deadly diseases.

A class of drug for treating arthritis - all but shelved over fears about side effects - may be given a new lease of life following new research. The new study, led by Imperial College London and published in the journal Circulation , sheds new light on the 10-year-old question of how COX-2 inhibitors - a type of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) - can increase the risk of heart attack in some people, and suggests a possible way to identify which patients should avoid using it.

Press release issued: 10 December 2014 Researchers based in Bristol and London have uncovered a link between Lewy body diseases like Parkinson's and the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's. The findings could help to explain the close relationship between Parkinson's, more commonly known for causing movement difficulties, and dementia.

ANN ARBOR-Earth's oceans may not have come mostly from comets smashing into the planet and melting billions of years ago. That's according to the Rosetta mission's first results, which poke holes in the prevailing theory of how we got our water. An instrument designed and built, in part, at the University of Michigan took the measurements that led to the findings.

ANN ARBOR-As if holiday travel isn't stressful enough. Now University of Michigan researchers say we're likely sharing that already overcrowded airline cabin with countless tiny creatures including house dust mites. "What people might not realize when they board a plane is that they can share the flight with a myriad of microscopic passengers- including house dust mites-that take advantage of humanity's technological progress for their own benefit," said U-M biologist Pavel Klimov.

Using a gene-editing system originally developed to delete specific genes, MIT researchers have now shown that they can reliably turn on any gene of their choosing in living cells. This new application for the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system should allow scientists to more easily determine the function of individual genes, according to Feng Zhang, the W.M. Keck Career Development Professor in Biomedical Engineering in MIT's Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biological Engineering, and a member of the Broad Institute and MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research.

Topics Arts & Humanities Business, Law, Society Campus & Community Science & Health World & Environment A new combination of cancer drugs delayed disease progression for patients with hormone-receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to a multi-center phase II trial. The findings of the randomized study (S6-03) were presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec.

o Longer sperm are better at fertilising eggs, study reveals o But females also influence a male's fertilising success o Research may produce clues to understanding human fertility The chance of a male fathering offspring may not be a simple race to the egg, but is influenced by the length of the male's sperm, say scientists from the University of Sheffield.

Animals that regulate their body temperature through the external environment may be resilient to some climate change but not keep pace with rapid change, leading to potentially disastrous outcomes for biodiversity. The study by The University of Queensland and the University of Sydney showed many animals can modify the function of their cells and organs to compensate for changes in the climate and have done so in the past.

Researchers at The University of Queensland are part of a global team that has identified a new type of artificial stem cell. UQ Associate Professor Christine Wells (right) said Project Grandiose had revealed it could track new ways to reprogram a normal adult cell, such as skin cells, into cells similar to those found in an early embryo.

Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, delivers a warning to the Conservative Party about the likely effects of an increasingly reactive policy on immigration. A day or two before David Cameron made his long-awaited ' big speech ' on immigration, Nick Clegg warned him not to float plans that would see 'the British people..plunged into a cycle of wild overpromising and inevitable disappointment, their scepticism confirmed.' That Clegg had a point should surprise no-one.

Analysis of thousands of NHS records has uncovered a link between an increased dosage of insulin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and a heightened risk of death in patients. In a report published today in the journal of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism , researchers from the School of Medicine were also able to show a correlation between patients treated with a higher dosage of insulin and a raised risk of cancer development, heart attacks and stroke.

Donald Trump's ego may be the size of his financial empire, but that doesn't mean he's the picture of mental health. The same can be said about the self-esteem of people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, or unemployed. New research from UC Berkeley underscores this mind-wallet connection. Berkeley researchers have linked inflated or deflated feelings of self-worth to such afflictions as bipolar disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, anxiety and depression, providing yet more evidence that the widening gulf between rich and poor can be bad for your health.