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Health - Pharmacology - 14:02

Combination vaccines against Covid-19 tested
Immune response stronger than after two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine People under the age of 60 who initially received a vaccine from AstraZeneca should be given an mRNA vaccine at their second appointment. This is recommended by the German Standing Committee on Vaccination. However, up until now, there were no data available to indicate to what extent the human organism would react to such a combined vaccination and start to form antibodies.

Life Sciences - Health - 13:05

A study points to the possibility of inducing critical states in living cells
A multidisciplinary team has managed to create a genetic circuit that allows living cells to reach critical states, stimulating new patterns of behavior. This study, published , may help to better understand the origin of cognition, and even improve the administration of drugs against tumors. These summer days it is very common to find children on the beach playing and making sand piles, creating bigger and bigger mounds, and observing the small avalanches that are created on their slopes.

Social Sciences - Health - 12:07

Wide disparities in children’s body fat between most deprived and advantaged areas
Children who live in the most deprived UK areas see far higher increases in body fat between the ages of seven and 17 compared to those from most advantaged areas, finds a new study by UCL researchers. In the study, published in The Lancet Public Health , researchers found boys from the most deprived areas have a 3% higher fat mass index (FMI)* at age seven compared to those from the most advantaged areas, and by 17 it is 23% higher.

Life Sciences - Health - 09:07

No, COVID-19 does not enter our DNA
University of Queensland researchers are refuting claims that COVID-19 can enter a person's DNA. The researchers from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute say the claims have led to "scaremongering" and people should not hesitate to be vaccinated. Professor Geoff Faulkner said his team's research published in Cell Reports showed there was no evidence of COVID-19 - or the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines - entering DNA.

Life Sciences - Health - 29.07.2021

Molecular atlas reveals how brain cells develop
Using a combination of powerful sequencing techniques and mathematical methods, researchers have traced the genetic programs that direct the development of each cell in the brain. This molecular map could help researchers to understand how the brain develops and provide insights into a range of conditions, including brain tumors and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Health - 29.07.2021

When stressed, people are quicker to jump to the worst conclusion
When under stress, people reach undesirable conclusions based on weaker evidence than when they are relaxed, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The findings, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience , show that stress can make people more likely to conclude the worst scenario is true.

Health - 29.07.2021

Moderate drinking linked to fewer heart attacks in people with heart disease
Light to moderate drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of heart attack, stroke, angina or death among those with cardiovascular disease, finds a new study led by a UCL researcher. The new BMC Medicine meta-analysis study suggest that drinking up to 105 grams of alcohol per week - equivalent to 13 UK units of alcohol, less than six pints of medium-strength beer or just over one bottle of wine - could potentially confer some protective benefits.

Health - Life Sciences - 29.07.2021

Tracking circadian rhythms from your smartwatch
Smartwatches are handy devices for people to keep track of the number of steps they take per day or to track their mile time during a run. But they are also opportunities for scientists to understand people's physiological processes while they are going about their everyday lives. In particular, scientists have been interested in tracking people's circadian rhythms through the biological data gathered by their smartwatches-specifically, their heart rate.

Health - Life Sciences - 29.07.2021

Rare disorder offers roadmap for understanding inflammatory disease
Yale researchers have discovered the underlying genetic cause of a rare childhood disorder that mimics inflammatory bowel disease, a finding that may help researchers uncover the roots of a host of other inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. For the study, a team of Yale researchers investigated a mysterious case of a young boy who was treated at Yale New Haven Hospital for abdominal pain, intermittent bouts of fever, and diarrhea over multiple days, and canker sores in his mouth.

Health - 28.07.2021

Homelessness linked to emergency hospital admissions
Patients experiencing homelessness use hospital services, especially emergency admissions, at much higher rates than housed patients according to new research published this week. The study's authors believe the research indicates the need to improve access to primary care, including GPs, along with implementing other interventions for people experiencing homelessness.

Environment - Health - 28.07.2021

Exploring how air pollution in indoor spaces affects human health
University of Birmingham experts are part of a new research programme investigating how air pollutants in indoor spaces such as homes, schools and workplaces can adversely affect human health. Researchers have received a share of £9 million funding from UK Research and Innovation across three separate four-year projects, each aimed at better understanding the composition, concentration and exposures of air pollutants and how these affect different health conditions.

Health - Social Sciences - 28.07.2021

Over a third of adults have multiple health problems in midlife
More than one in three British adults are suffering from two or more chronic health conditions in middle age, such as recurrent back problems, mental ill-health, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high-risk drinking, according to UCL researchers. The new study, published in  BMC Public Health,  shows that among Generation X - adults born in 1970 - those who grew up in poorer families are at much greater risk of having multiple long-term health problems in their late 40s.

Health - Pharmacology - 28.07.2021

Scientists use tiny bubbles to help treat common childhood cancer
Researchers at UCL have developed a new way to deliver drugs that can shut down cancer-promoting mutations in neuroblastoma. The findings in mice, show the method, which uses tiny bubbles to deliver therapies directly to tumour cells, reduced tumour growth and improved survival. Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumour found in children and accounts for about 15% of all cancer-related deaths in children.

Health - Career - 28.07.2021

Obesity and Cardiovascular Factors Combine to Cause Cognitive Decline in Latinos
Obesity is a widespread health issue, but conditions like hypertension and cholesterol are stronger predictors of worsening brain function Obesity is linked to several cardiometabolic abnormalities, such as high blood sugar and hypertension, which are considered to be risk factors for Alzheimer's disease.

Health - Life Sciences - 28.07.2021

Buying time for Australians creeping closer to Alzheimer’s
Australians living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) could know five years in advance whether they are at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease - the most common form of dementia - according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).

Health - 28.07.2021

Neandertal and Denisovan blood groups deciphered
The blood groups of three Neandertal females and one Denisovan female have been determined by a Marseille-based team including a palaeoanthropologist, population geneticists, and haematologists. Their research provides new data for understanding the origins, history, and health of these extinct hominin lineages.

Life Sciences - Health - 28.07.2021

New findings on the function of mitofusin 2 in the cellular energy metabolism
Mitofusin 2 is a key protein in the regulation of the physiology of mitochondria -cellular organelles that produce energy- involved in several neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, as well as in cancer.

Health - Pharmacology - 28.07.2021

Helping new mums sleep better without medication
Importantly, the study found that in women who suffer from insomnia symptoms during pregnancy, the benefits of CBT in enhancing the quality of their sleep lasted throughout the first two years post-birth. The study, led by Dr Bei Bei , from Monash University's Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, and published today in the journal, Psychological Medicine, suggests that CBT for better sleep should become a part of routine perinatal care.

Materials Science - Health - 27.07.2021

First synthetic tissue model developed in which blood vessels can grow
Researchers investigate which material properties support vessel formation / Study published in the journal "Nature Communications" Using lab-created tissue to heal or replace damaged organs is one of the great visions for the future of medicine. Synthetic materials could be suitable as scaffolding for tissue because, unlike natural tissues, they remain stable in the organism long enough for the body to form new natural structures.

Health - Computer Science - 27.07.2021

UK scientists designed world’s most sophisticated COVID-19 sequencing system - here’s how they did it
New bioinformatics software and cloud computing approaches developed at the University of Birmingham, have enabled the UK's COVID-19 genome sequencing effort to be the most sophisticated in the world. The system, called CLIMB-COVID was designed for the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium, set up in March 2020 to tackle the huge challenge of rapidly sequencing SARS-CoV-2 genomes.