news 2017

New insights into the life and mysterious death of Jumbo the elephant - a celebrity animal superstar whose story is said to have inspired the film 'Dumbo' - will be revealed in a BBC One documentary hosted by Sir David Attenborough and featuring a University of Nottingham archaeologist on Sunday 10 December.

MIT researchers have discovered a way to make bacteria more vulnerable to a class of antibiotics known as quinolones, which include ciprofloxacin and are often used to treat infections such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus . The new strategy overcomes a key limitation of these drugs, which is that they often fail against infections that feature a very high density of bacteria.

Using a computer model, Imperial researchers have come up with a better way to determine the dynamics of groups where dominance plays a role. Dominance hierarchies, where some individuals within a group monopolize resources and mating opportunities, are common throughout the animal kingdom. However, the 'steepness' of the hierarchy is different between species.

The theory that education protects against Alzheimer's disease has been given further weight by new research from the University of Cambridge, funded by the European Union. The study is published today in The BMJ . Many studies have shown that certain risk factors are more common in people with Alzheimer's disease, but determining whether these factors actually cause Alzheimer's is more difficult Hugh Markus Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia.

About 15 million Americans will have either Alzheimer's dementia or mild cognitive impairment by 2060, up from approximately 6.08 million this year, according to a new study by researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The findings highlight the need to develop measures that could slow the progression of the disease in people who have indications of neuropathological changes that could eventually lead to Alzheimer's dementia, said Ron Brookmeyer, professor of biostatistics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the study's lead author.

Research news It is the double strands of our genes that make them so strong. Using a technique known as DNA origami, biophysicist Hendrik Dietz has been building nanometer-scale objects for several years at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Now Dietz and his team have not only broken out of the nanometer realm to build larger objects, but have also cut the production costs a thousand-fold.

Using a bioinformatics and experimental approach, scientists at EPFL have found that rendering mitochondria resistant to damage can halt diseases caused by amyloid toxicity, such as Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and neurodegeneration worldwide. A major hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of toxic plaques in the brain, formed by the abnormal aggregation of a protein called beta-amyloid inside neurons.

In 2006, Caltech's Paul Rothemund (BS '94)-now research professor of bioengineering, computing and mathematical sciences, and computation and neural systems-developed a method to fold a long strand of DNA into a prescribed shape. The technique, dubbed DNA origami, enabled scientists to create self-assembling DNA structures that could carry any specified pattern, such as a 100-nanometer-wide smiley face.

For many people with advanced Type 2 diabetes, taking insulin is a regular part of their routine, helping them control their blood sugar by signaling the metabolism of glucose. But recently, researchers have been investigating GLP-1, a peptide that gets activated when people eat, triggering insulin through a more natural pathway.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study finds that viruses share some genes exclusively with cells that are not their hosts. The study, reported in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, adds to the evidence that viruses swap genes with a variety of cellular organisms and are agents of diversity, researchers say.

In the SLAY method, each bacterium is genetically engineered to produce a molecule on its cell surface that is part peptide and part tether-like a playground tetherball. This arrangement allows the peptides to mimic free-floating drugs in the human body. Ashley Tucker/University of Texas at Austin AUSTIN, Texas - Biologists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a method for rapidly screening hundreds of thousands of potential drugs for fighting infections, an innovation that holds promise for combating the growing scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Scientists have identified a protein involved in the life cycle of the malarial parasite, paving the way for a new vaccine to reduce disease spread. Malaria, a disease caused by the transfer of the Plasmodium parasite from certain mosquitos to humans, is responsible for 429,000 deaths every year according to the World Health Organisation.

Researchers seeking to pinpoint the cause of a rise in Legionnaires' disease over the past decade in Connecticut discovered a link between those living near some of the state's rivers and within specific watersheds. An analysis of 17 years of data by lead author Kelsie Cassell, M.P.H. '17 and a post graduate research assistant at the Yale School of Public Health, found that elevated rainfall and greater stream flow were associated with an increased incidence of the disease.

Cells - the building blocks of our bodies - are encapsulated by membranes. The same goes for the specialized compartments within our cells. These membranes are extremely thin, oily films, containing proteins and fatty molecules called lipids. For decades, scientists have argued about how cell membranes organize and maintain distinct regions enriched in particular protein and lipid types.

Imagine you're in a restaurant, hungry, anxious and a bit irritable awaiting your food order to arrive at the table. The server exits the kitchen with a tray full of steaming plates and a flood of relief washes over you. But the server ferries the food right past you to another table, and the unpleasant sensation of hunger returns - at least until you take the first bite of your very own meal.

Carnegie Mellon University engineers and cognitive neuroscientists have demonstrated that a new high-density EEG can capture the brain's neural activity at a higher spatial resolution than ever before. This next generation brain-interface technology is the first non-invasive, high-resolution system of its kind, providing higher density and coverage than any existing system.

MIT engineers have devised a 3-D printing technique that uses a new kind of ink made from genetically programmed living cells. The cells are engineered to light up in response to a variety of stimuli. When mixed with a slurry of hydrogel and nutrients, the cells can be printed, layer by layer, to form three-dimensional, interactive structures and devices.

o Spinal muscular atrophy is a leading genetic cause of infant death worldwide o Approximately 1 in 40 of the general population are genetic carriers of SMA o Currently no screening programme for SMA in UK Research from the University of Warwick indicates that most people are in favour of newborn screening for the potentially deadly condition spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Tuberculosis could be fought more effectively with future drugs - thanks to new research into an old antibiotic by University of Warwick and Francis Crick Institute Deeper understanding of how simple but effective drug D-cycloserine attacks bacteria opens up possibility of development of new, desperately needed antibiotic drugs Bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to drugs - new drugs needed to curb this deadly global crisis

Research news A safety switch that automatically stops the device for example before it overheats are built into many electrical appliances. The body's cells are also equipped with this kind of "emergency stop" functions. They make sure that a defective cell doesn't grow uncontrollably, becoming a tumor cell.