news 2022

A research team reveals a hidden cavity on a key SARS-CoV-2 protein to which drugs could bind. With the continuous emergence of new variants and the risk of new strains of the virus, the development of innovative therapies against SARS-CoV-2 remains a major public health challenge. Currently, the proteins that are on the surface of the virus and/or are involved in its replication are the preferred therapeutic targets, like the Spike protein targeted by vaccines.

Researchers have discovered that it is not just molecular density, but also pattern and structural rigidity, that control super-selective binding interactions between nanomaterials and protein surfaces. The breakthrough could help optimize existing approaches to virus prevention and cancer detection.

Science, Health & Technology Collins Maina Pregnant women may need to take more supplemental iron than current Health Canada guidelines recommend, after two UBC researchers found high rates of iron deficiency in a recent study. The research investigated iron deficiency prevalence among 60 pregnant women in Metro Vancouver and found that over 80 per cent of them were likely iron-deficient in late pregnancy despite taking daily prenatal supplements that provided 100 per cent of the daily iron recommendation in pregnancy.

Increasing numbers of young people reportedly make regular use of low doses of LSD or other illegal substances to improve their cognition. Disquiet among parents and educational institutions is growing. Nadia Hutten investigated this phenomenon during her PhD, supervised by Professor Jan Ramaekers. How dangerous is this type of 'microdosing'- And does it actually enhance students' performance? No, Hutten has never used drugs to improve her own mood or cognition.

The affordability of cigarettes in the Netherlands remained virtually unchanged between 2010 and 2020. Throughout this period, 100 packets of cigarettes cost smokers between 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent of their annual income. This has emerged from research by Maastricht University (UM), and makes it clear that the excise duty increases have been insufficient to make smoking less affordable.

Ancient dormant sequences in the genome impact embryonic development in unexpected ways The mammalian genome contains retroviral sequences that are in an undead but mostly "harmless" state. An international research team recently discovered how some of these retroviral gene fragments affect embryonic cells if they are unleashed.

Both sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia are genetic disorders that affect hemoglobin, and as such are categorized as beta-hemoglobinopathies. A team of scientists from Inserm, Université Paris Cité and the Paris Public Hospitals Group AP-HP at the Imagine Institute has shown the efficacy of a gene therapy approach to treat these two disorders.

Research validates an imaging platform co-developed at CTI-Bath which predicts if a cancer patient would respond well to immunotherapy. In a step likely to advance personalised cancer treatment, scientists have for the first time shown in patients that levels of biomarkers are not enough to tell which patients are likely to respond best to immunotherapy.

An international consortium has identified rare variants in two new genes that markedly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). The work was led by two research groups in France (headed respectively by Gaël Nicolas, Rouen and Jean-Charles Lambert, Lille) and a group in the Netherlands (headed by Henne Holstege, Amsterdam).

Over the last few decades, the number of obesity sufferers has continued to increase and is now one of the leading causes of death worldwide - 650 million adults are classified as obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines obesity as the accumulation of excess fat in the body, which poses risks to healthy living.

Borrowing from methods used to produce optical fibers, researchers from EPFL and Imperial College have created fiber-based soft robots with advanced motion control that integrate other functionalities, such as electric and optical sensing and targeted delivery of fluids. Over the past decades, catheter-based surgery has transformed medicine, giving doctors a minimally invasive way to do anything from placing stents and targeting tumors to extracting tissue samples and delivering contrast agents for medical imaging.

Liver cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer. A team of University of Basel researchers has now uncovered how a healthy liver cell turns into a tumor cell. Comprehensive metabolic changes convert mature liver cells into immature progenitor cells. These cells proliferate rapidly and tumors develop.

A study led by Bath's Milner Centre for Evolution investigated spread of Klebsiella bacteria between humans and the environment. An international team of scientists investigating transmission of a deadly drug resistant bacteria that rivals MRSA, has found that whilst the bugs are found in livestock, pets and the wider environment, they are rarely transmitted to humans through this route.

Two new genes that raise a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease have been discovered by researchers. An international team, involving Cardiff University's Dementia Research Institute, compared 32,000 genetic codes from patients with Alzheimer's disease and healthy individuals. The research uncovered several new genes and specific mutations in those genes that lead to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

The test, developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, aids in early detection of liver cancer-one of the leading causes of cancer deaths A novel artificial intelligence blood testing technology developed and used by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to successfully detect lung cancer in a 2021 study has now detected more than 80% of liver cancers in a new study of 724 people.

If nothing is done to improve the health of Australia's male truck drivers, 6067 lives and AU$2.6 billion in productivity could be lost over the next 10 years, Monash University-led research has found. Researchers have also found that inaction could cost an estimated $485 million in healthcare costs and 21,173 lost years of life due to work-related diseases or injury in the truck driving industry.

Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From research into how ions behave in fusion reactions, to a study on why some people develop scar tissue in their lungs following severe COVID-19 infection, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Fusion surprises Ions may behave differently in fusion reactions than previously expected, providing important insights for the future design of a laser-fusion energy source.

In about one in twenty pregnant women, ultrasound Doppler measurement in mid-pregnancy reveals that the uterus and placenta are not sufficiently supplied with blood. There is then a risk that the baby will not be adequately supplied by the mother's body and will not develop in time. In the worst case, the baby may die in the womb before birth.

In a recent study, researchers from Joanna Loizou's group from CeMM, the Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Medical University of Vienna investigated the POL? enzyme and the role it plays in DNA repair. Inhibiting POL? represents a new approach for developing specific therapies, in particular for patients with BRCA1 mutations.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are taking magnetic resonance imaging a step further. With their new method, they can visualise metabolic processes in the body. Their objective is to improve the future diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an indispensable part of medicine.