news 2016
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Environment - Health - 29.12.2016 
Languages still a major barrier to global science, new research finds
Over a third of new conservation science documents published annually are in non-English languages, despite assumption of English as scientific 'lingua franca'. Researchers find examples of important science missed at international level, and practitioners struggling to access new knowledge, as a result of language barriers.
Health - 29.12.2016 
Can paint strokes help identify Alzheimer’s?
A new University of Liverpool study published in 'Neuropsychology!' shows that it may be possible to detect neurodegenerative disorders in artists before they are diagnosed. Psychologist Dr Alex Forsythe from the University's School of Psychology and her team, working with Dr Tamsin Williams of Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Trust, Vale of York and Maynooth University, Ireland, examined 2092 paintings from the careers of seven famous artists who experienced both normal ageing and neurodegenerative disorders.
Health - Environment - 26.12.2016 
Divide and rule, or how plant diversity increases the sustainability of their resistance
In the Yuanyang region of China where rice cultivation is a tradition, scientists from INRA and CIRAD, working in collaboration with a Chinese team, have focused on the defence mechanisms of rice against its pathogenic agents.
Health - Environment - 26.12.2016 
Divide and rule, or how plant diversity enhances the sustainability of their resistance
In the Yuanyang region of China where rice cultivation is a tradition, scientists from INRA and CIRAD, working in collaboration with a Chinese team, have focused on the defence mechanisms of rice against its pathogenic agents.
Health - 23.12.2016
Health - 23.12.2016
Life Sciences - Health - 22.12.2016
Health - Life Sciences - 22.12.2016
Health - Economics - 22.12.2016
Health - Life Sciences - 22.12.2016
Health - Life Sciences - 22.12.2016 
Forces at play: A new infection route for bacteria
Snapshots from a Molecular Dynamics simulation of a single shigella toxin particle binding to its lipid partners in the vesicle membrane (side and top views).
Life Sciences - Health - 21.12.2016 
New disease could signal hope for sufferers of brain ageing conditions
New disease could signal hope for sufferers of brain ageing conditions A new genetic disease which results in neurodegeneration has been discovered by experts at the University of Sussex. In a study published today, Wednesday 21 December, in the top scientific journal Nature, the team from the University of Sussex's Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) reveal they have discovered the disease, ataxia oculomotor apraxia type XRCC1 , which is caused by a genetic mutation that disrupts the repair of our DNA.
Life Sciences - Health - 21.12.2016 
Optical control of a neuroreceptor alleviates chronic pain
Pain serves as a valuable warning signal, but when it becomes chronic, pain should be considered as a real disease.
Life Sciences - Health - 21.12.2016
Administration - Health - 21.12.2016
Life Sciences - Health - 21.12.2016 
Distinctive brain pattern may underlie dyslexia
A distinctive neural signature found in the brains of people with dyslexia may explain why these individuals have difficulty learning to read, according to a new study from MIT neuroscientists. The researchers discovered that in people with dyslexia, the brain has a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input - a trait known as neural adaptation.
Health - Chemistry - 21.12.2016 
One more piece in the puzzle of liver cancer identified
Manuela Baccarini and her team at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna are one step closer to unravelling the mechanisms behind liver cancer. The researchers discovered that RAF1, a protein known as an oncogene in other systems, unexpectedly acts as a tumour suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Life Sciences - Health - 21.12.2016 
Aging & cancer: An enzyme protects chromosomes from oxidative damage
EPFL scientists have identified a protein that caps chromosomes during cell division and protects them from oxidative damage and shortening, which are associated with aging and cancer. When cells divide, they pack up all of their genetic material in the tightly wrapped chromosomes. The ends of our chromosomes have a unique structure, named a telomere.
Life Sciences - Health - 20.12.2016 
Gene discovery helps children with movement disorder walk again
UCL researchers have discovered a new genetic cause for dystonia, a movement disorder, enabling treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation which has been so successful that children have been able to walk again. The team of researchers from UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University of Cambridge and the NIHR Rare Disease Bioresource have identified mutations in a gene, called KMT2B, in 28 patients with dystonia.
Health - Life Sciences - 20.12.2016 
Researchers model how ’publication bias’ does - and doesn’t - affect the ’canonization’ of facts in science
Arguing in a Boston courtroom in 1770, John Adams famously pronounced , "Facts are stubborn things,” which cannot be altered by "our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passion. But facts, however stubborn, must pass through the trials of human perception before being acknowledged - or "canonized” - as facts.
Health
Results 1 - 20 of 1492.
Over a third of new conservation science documents published annually are in non-English languages, despite assumption of English as scientific 'lingua franca'. Researchers find examples of important science missed at international level, and practitioners struggling to access new knowledge, as a result of language barriers.
A new University of Liverpool study published in 'Neuropsychology!' shows that it may be possible to detect neurodegenerative disorders in artists before they are diagnosed. Psychologist Dr Alex Forsythe from the University's School of Psychology and her team, working with Dr Tamsin Williams of Tees, Esk, and Wear Valleys NHS Trust, Vale of York and Maynooth University, Ireland, examined 2092 paintings from the careers of seven famous artists who experienced both normal ageing and neurodegenerative disorders.
In the Yuanyang region of China where rice cultivation is a tradition, scientists from INRA and CIRAD, working in collaboration with a Chinese team, have focused on the defence mechanisms of rice against its pathogenic agents.
In the Yuanyang region of China where rice cultivation is a tradition, scientists from INRA and CIRAD, working in collaboration with a Chinese team, have focused on the defence mechanisms of rice against its pathogenic agents.
Christmas holidays linked to rise in heart attacks
University of Melbourne researchers have found an increase in heart attacks around the festive period may be due more difficult access to hospitals, combined with stress, an excess of alcohol and a fatty diet. Previous research from the USA has established that the Christmas holidays are related to more heart attacks, however, it was thought it could be due to the season - winter - when mortality rates are at their highest.
University of Melbourne researchers have found an increase in heart attacks around the festive period may be due more difficult access to hospitals, combined with stress, an excess of alcohol and a fatty diet. Previous research from the USA has established that the Christmas holidays are related to more heart attacks, however, it was thought it could be due to the season - winter - when mortality rates are at their highest.
Christmas holidays linked to rise in heart attacks
University of Melbourne researchers have found an increase in heart attacks around the festive period may be due more difficult access to hospitals, combined with stress, an excess of alcohol and a fatty diet. Previous research from the USA has established that the Christmas holidays are related to more heart attacks, however, it was thought it could be due to the season - winter - when mortality rates are at their highest.
University of Melbourne researchers have found an increase in heart attacks around the festive period may be due more difficult access to hospitals, combined with stress, an excess of alcohol and a fatty diet. Previous research from the USA has established that the Christmas holidays are related to more heart attacks, however, it was thought it could be due to the season - winter - when mortality rates are at their highest.
Study named as People’s Choice for Science magazine’s ‘Breakthrough of the Year 2016’
Cambridge research that will enable scientists to grow and study embryos in the lab for almost two weeks has been named as the People's Choice for Science magazine's 'Breakthrough of the Year 2016' It's a natural human instinct to be curious about where we come from, but until now, technical hurdles have meant there's been a huge gap in our understanding of how embryos develop Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz The work, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka
Cambridge research that will enable scientists to grow and study embryos in the lab for almost two weeks has been named as the People's Choice for Science magazine's 'Breakthrough of the Year 2016' It's a natural human instinct to be curious about where we come from, but until now, technical hurdles have meant there's been a huge gap in our understanding of how embryos develop Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz The work, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka
Protein that activates immune response harms body’s ability to fight HIV
UCLA-led researchers suggest that blocking type I interferon may help combat the virus that causes AIDS Enrique Rivero In findings they call counterintuitive, a team of UCLA-led researchers suggests that blocking a protein, which is crucial to initiating the immune response against viral infections, may actually help combat HIV.
UCLA-led researchers suggest that blocking type I interferon may help combat the virus that causes AIDS Enrique Rivero In findings they call counterintuitive, a team of UCLA-led researchers suggests that blocking a protein, which is crucial to initiating the immune response against viral infections, may actually help combat HIV.
Healthy behaviors determine weight-loss surgery success
Bariatric surgery can slim your body, but attitude and behavior also play key roles in long-term weight loss, according to new research from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. 'Although very effective, bariatric surgery is a not a low-effort means of losing weight,' said lead author Anna-Leena Vuorinen of VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, who performed the research as a visiting scholar at the Food and Brand Lab.
Bariatric surgery can slim your body, but attitude and behavior also play key roles in long-term weight loss, according to new research from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab. 'Although very effective, bariatric surgery is a not a low-effort means of losing weight,' said lead author Anna-Leena Vuorinen of VTT Technical Research Center of Finland, who performed the research as a visiting scholar at the Food and Brand Lab.
Study provides roadmap to more personalized cancer treatment
FINDINGS Researchers have found that people with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the KRAS-variant inherited genetic mutation have significantly improved survival when given a short course of the drug cetuximab in combination with standard chemotherapy and radiation. The study was led by UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center member Dr. Joanne Weidhaas in collaboration with colleagues at the NRG Oncology RTOG.
FINDINGS Researchers have found that people with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and the KRAS-variant inherited genetic mutation have significantly improved survival when given a short course of the drug cetuximab in combination with standard chemotherapy and radiation. The study was led by UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center member Dr. Joanne Weidhaas in collaboration with colleagues at the NRG Oncology RTOG.
Snapshots from a Molecular Dynamics simulation of a single shigella toxin particle binding to its lipid partners in the vesicle membrane (side and top views).
New disease could signal hope for sufferers of brain ageing conditions A new genetic disease which results in neurodegeneration has been discovered by experts at the University of Sussex. In a study published today, Wednesday 21 December, in the top scientific journal Nature, the team from the University of Sussex's Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) reveal they have discovered the disease, ataxia oculomotor apraxia type XRCC1 , which is caused by a genetic mutation that disrupts the repair of our DNA.
Pain serves as a valuable warning signal, but when it becomes chronic, pain should be considered as a real disease.
Stressed snakes strike first
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Whether a wild cottonmouth snake will attempt to strike in an encounter depends on its baseline stress level, according to a team of scientists led by undergraduate researcher Mark Herr. "Most people think a snake is more likely to strike after you have handled or harassed it," said Tracy Langkilde , professor and department head of biology.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Whether a wild cottonmouth snake will attempt to strike in an encounter depends on its baseline stress level, according to a team of scientists led by undergraduate researcher Mark Herr. "Most people think a snake is more likely to strike after you have handled or harassed it," said Tracy Langkilde , professor and department head of biology.
NHS hospitals that outsource cleaning ‘linked with higher rates of MRSA’
New research shows that NHS hospitals that employ private cleaners are associated with a higher incidence of MRSA, a 'superbug' that causes life-threatening infection and has previously been linked with a lack of cleanliness. The superbug is becoming increasingly difficult to treat. As from 2005, trusts have been required to regularly report incidents of MRSA, which has enabled researchers to produce empirical evidence for the first time that compares the rates of infection in hospitals that outsource cleaning with those using in-house cleaners.
New research shows that NHS hospitals that employ private cleaners are associated with a higher incidence of MRSA, a 'superbug' that causes life-threatening infection and has previously been linked with a lack of cleanliness. The superbug is becoming increasingly difficult to treat. As from 2005, trusts have been required to regularly report incidents of MRSA, which has enabled researchers to produce empirical evidence for the first time that compares the rates of infection in hospitals that outsource cleaning with those using in-house cleaners.
A distinctive neural signature found in the brains of people with dyslexia may explain why these individuals have difficulty learning to read, according to a new study from MIT neuroscientists. The researchers discovered that in people with dyslexia, the brain has a diminished ability to acclimate to a repeated input - a trait known as neural adaptation.
Manuela Baccarini and her team at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna are one step closer to unravelling the mechanisms behind liver cancer. The researchers discovered that RAF1, a protein known as an oncogene in other systems, unexpectedly acts as a tumour suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma.
EPFL scientists have identified a protein that caps chromosomes during cell division and protects them from oxidative damage and shortening, which are associated with aging and cancer. When cells divide, they pack up all of their genetic material in the tightly wrapped chromosomes. The ends of our chromosomes have a unique structure, named a telomere.
UCL researchers have discovered a new genetic cause for dystonia, a movement disorder, enabling treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation which has been so successful that children have been able to walk again. The team of researchers from UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University of Cambridge and the NIHR Rare Disease Bioresource have identified mutations in a gene, called KMT2B, in 28 patients with dystonia.
Arguing in a Boston courtroom in 1770, John Adams famously pronounced , "Facts are stubborn things,” which cannot be altered by "our wishes, our inclinations or the dictates of our passion. But facts, however stubborn, must pass through the trials of human perception before being acknowledged - or "canonized” - as facts.
