news 2014

Some breathalysers on sale to the UK public vary considerably in their ability to detect potentially unsafe levels of breath alcohol for driving, Oxford University researchers have found. The findings call into question the regulatory process for approving these sorts of devices for personal use, say the researchers, particularly as false reassurance about a person's safety to drive could have potentially catastrophic consequences.

Mice that are already infected with the pathogen that causes Lyme disease appear to facilitate the spread of a lesser-known but emerging disease, babesiosis, into new areas. Research led by the Yale School of Public Health and published Dec.

Getting enough of the right kind of sleep is crucial for keeping both body and mind healthy. Now a team of researchers at MIT has moved a step closer to being able to produce natural sleep patterns. In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the researchers describe how they were able to trigger a period of rapid eye movement (REM), otherwise known as dream sleep, in mice, using a technique that shines light directly on mouse neurons.

o GSK/NIH Ebola vaccine is 'well tolerated' and generates an immune response o Larger trials in West Africa are needed to tell whether immune responses are large enough to protect against Ebola infection and disease o Results from Oxford University and other safety trials will inform plans for larger trials The first results from a trial of a candidate Ebola vaccine at Oxford University suggest the vaccine has an acceptable safety profile at the doses tested, and is able to generate an immune response.

UCL researchers have developed an innovative way to understand how the brain works by using flashes of light, allowing them to both 'read' and 'write' brain signals. The new technique, described , combines two cutting-edge technologies for reading and writing electrical activity in the brain. First, genetically encoded activity sensors enable neuroscientists to engineer nerve cells to visibly light up when they are active.

A new combination of two different approaches - virotherapy and immunotherapy - is showing "great promise" as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, according to new research from QMUL. The study, funded by the UK charity Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, investigated whether the effectiveness of the Vaccinia oncolytic virus - a virus modified to selectively infect and kill cancer cells - as a treatment for pancreatic cancer, would be improved by arming it with a gene which modulates the body's immune system.

Laura Bailey, 734-647-1848, baileylm [a] umich (p) edu or Laura Lessnau, 734-647-1851, llessnau [a] umich (p) edu ANN ARBOR-New laws regulating concussion treatment, bolstered by heightened public awareness, have resulted in a large increase in the treatment of concussion-related injuries for school-age athletes.

Participants took nearly 10 minutes longer to fall asleep and had a significantly lower amount of REM - rapid eye movement - sleep after reading from a light-emitting e-reader than they did after reading from a print book. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. You may think your e-reader is helping you get to sleep at night, but it might actually be harming your quality of sleep, according to researchers.

Scientists have developed a new method to separate cells, which could lead to more efficient medical research. In a new paper published in the Royal Society of Chemistry's journal Lab on A Chip, University of Glasgow researchers outline how they have used moving acoustic waves to very gently separate clinically useful cells from cellular debris.

A new study shows how two strains of the intestinal bug E. coli manage to hijack host proteins used to control the body's immune system. The research shows how E. coli bacteria can block key human enzymes, in a way that has not previously been shown in any other biological context. The enzymes, known as kinases, are molecular switches that control processes such as immune responses to infection and cancers in humans.

Herbal medicine can be a double-edged sword and should be more rigorously investigated for both its beneficial and harmful effects, say researchers writing in a special supplement of Science. Co-written by King's College London experts, the article reviews botanicals that have shown promising results in treating fibrosis or tissue scarring, along with some other herbs that are associated with pro-fibrotic damage to the liver, the kidney and some other organs.

Cancer patients are advised to avoid regular consumption of peanuts Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that a component of peanuts could encourage the spread and survival of cancer cells in the body. In the first study of its kind, scientists showed that a protein in peanuts, called peanut agglutinin (PNA), binds to a special sugar chain, which occurs mainly on pre-cancerous and cancer cells, and interacts with a larger protein expressed on the surface of tumour cells in the bloodstream.

New study describes a fundamental mechanism regulating a protein's shape and function, with potential applications in biotechnology and drug development. The power of such multi-disciplinary studies is that we can begin to answer questions that neither of us could do alone Jane Clarke New research has identified a fundamental mechanism for controlling protein function.

Researchers from engineering, biology and medicine teach computers to 'read the human genome' and rate likelihood of mutations causing disease, opening vast new possibilities for medicine In the decade since the genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists, engineers and doctors have struggled to answer an all-consuming question: Which DNA mutations cause disease? A new computational technique developed at the University of Toronto may now be able to tell us.

Tracking one of the deadliest food contamination organisms through produce farms and natural environments alike, Cornell microbiologists are showing how to use big datasets to predict where the next outbreak could start. Be careful where you drink One of the natural-environment sites for the listeria survey was Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management area, the 11,645-acre, mostly evergreen forest that is many Ithacans' favorite place for hiking, bird watching, skiing, horseback riding, primitive camping, fishing and other nonmotorized activities.

ANN ARBOR-Impending fatherhood can lower two hormones-testosterone and estradiol-for men, even before their babies are born, a new University of Michigan study found. Other studies indicate that men's hormones change once they become fathers, and there is some evidence that this is a function of a decline after the child's birth.

Aydogan Ozcan Tissue sample image created by a new lens-free microscope developed in the UCLA lab of Aydogan Ozcan. UCLA researchers have developed a lens-free microscope that can be used to detect the presence of cancer or other cell-level abnormalities with the same accuracy as larger and more expensive optical microscopes.

Smokers trying to quit often light up a cigarette to deal with stress. Now an interdisciplinary team of Yale researchers has shown that guanfacine, a medication approved for treating hypertension that reduces stress and enhances cognition, shows promise as a smoking cessation aid. The study was published online Dec.

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that sodium levels in Canadian chain restaurant meals have changed little since 2010, despite the food industry's commitment to offer more meals with less sodium. The researchers analyzed nutrition information from 61 sit-down and fast-food restaurants in 2013 and found that compared to levels in 2010, 54 per cent of foods did not change.

Researchers at the University of Toronto say it's a discovery that could mean a major advance in the emerging field of human regenerative medicine. But to understand its importance you must first consider the relationship between an air traffic controller and a pilot. Everyone knows the pilot gets the passengers to their destination while the air traffic controller decides when the plane can take off and when it must wait.