news

Children with HIV who can resist the disease progressing could point the way to new treatments for HIV infection that are more widely applicable to infected adults and children alike, an international team of researchers led by Oxford University has found. A study published in Science Translational Medicine looked at paediatric non-progressors  (PNPs), the 5 - 10% of children infected with HIV in whom the disease does not progress.

It has long puzzled scientists why, after 3 billion years of nothing more complex than algae, complex animals suddenly started to appear on Earth. Now, a team of researchers has put forward some of the strongest evidence yet to support the hypothesis that high levels of oxygen in the oceans were crucial for the emergence of skeletal animals 550 million years ago.

It has long puzzled scientists why, after 3 billion years of nothing more complex than algae, complex animals suddenly started to appear on Earth. Now, a team of researchers has put forward some of the strongest evidence yet to support the hypothesis that high levels of oxygen in the oceans were crucial for the emergence of skeletal animals 550 million years ago.

A research team led by the University of Oxford has found a promising treatment for degenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) , a leading genetic cause of child death. Pip6a is highly effective at delivering SSOs to a wide variety of tissue in the body. Dr Suzan Hammond, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics SMA occurs when people lack a gene called survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1).

Cancer cell division of two prostate cancer cells in the final stage of cell division (cytokinesis). The cells are joined by several thin cytoplasmic bridges. Active monitoring is as effective as surgery and radiotherapy, in terms of survival at 10 years, reports the largest study of its kind, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Oxford researchers launch the Online Labour Index,  which finds US employers are the number one users of the 'online gig economy? (representing 52% of the market) but over the last few months UK employers have been fast catching up.

An updated Cochrane Review, led by a University of Oxford researcher, provides an independent, rigorous assessment of the best available evidence to date about electronic cigarettes for quitting smoking. The conclusions of this updated Review are unchanged since the last review was published two years ago: electronic cigarettes may help smokers stop their smoking, and the included studies did not find any serious side effects associated with their use for up to two years.

Those with a taste for adult education classes have long known it, but now Oxford University scientists have confirmed that taking part in the weekly sessions can boost wellbeing - regardless of the subject studied.

Cancer cell division of two prostate cancer cells in the final stage of cell division (cytokinesis). The cells are joined by several thin cytoplasmic bridges. Active monitoring is as effective as surgery and radiotherapy, in terms of survival at 10 years, reports the largest study of its kind, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Flock leaders who attempt to give their fellow pigeons incorrect information about their direction of travel can be overruled by the collective wisdom of the group, according to new research from the University of Oxford. Recent modelling work has predicted that the mistakes of a misinformed leader will propagate down a hierarchical decision-making system such as a pigeon flock.

A quote from Professor Sir Peter J Ratcliffe FRS: In clinical medicine, if one doesn't know what to do, one would be better to do nothing.

A new study by the Saïd Business School finds that low-quality infrastructure investments pose significant risks to the Chinese and the global economy. It argues that over half of the infrastructure investments in China have destroyed rather than generated economic value. The study authored by Atif Ansar, Bent Flyvbjerg, Alexander Budzier and Daniel Lunn is based on the largest dataset of its kind.

A team involving Oxford University scientists has, for the first time, discovered tiny magnetic particles from air pollution lodged in human brains - and researchers think they could be a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers led by Lancaster University found abundant magnetite nanoparticles in the brain tissue of 37 individuals aged three to 92 who lived in Mexico City and Manchester.

Scientists have identified a new genetic mutation responsible for the black colouring of the coats of pigs in Hawaii, which is different to the Asian or European mutations leading to the black colour. Their paper suggests that human societies have independently selected domesticated pigs that express the trait of black-coloured coats on at least three separate occasions because they liked the novelty colour.

A major review of the available evidence on the safety and efficacy of statin therapy,  published in The Lancet , intends to help doctors, patients and the public make informed decisions about the use of the drugs. The authors warn that the benefits of statin therapy have been underestimated, and the harms exaggerated, because of a failure to acknowledge properly both the wealth of evidence from randomised trials and the limitations of other types of studies.

Scrub typhus, a disease transmitted through 'chiggers' that kills at least 140,000 people a year in the Asia-Pacific region, may now be endemic in a part of South America, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers from Oxford University and the Pontificia Universidad Católica and Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile confirmed a cluster of cases of the life-threatening tropical disease in a large island off of Chile, more than 12,000 kilometres from its usual range on the other side of the Pacific.

Italian women consistently do the most housework. However, the researchers' analysis of 66 surveys across 19 countries shows 'traditional' countries are catching up on gender equality. Researchers have looked at the time spent doing housework by men and women living in 19 countries from the early 1960s up to the first decade of the 21st century.

Birds that have to work harder during breeding season will feel the effects of their exertions the following year, according to research by Oxford University scientists. A new study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology found that migratory seabirds suffered negative repercussions when they had to spend more time rearing chicks, including decreased breeding success when they returned to the colony the following spring.

A new multimillion pound study, which will see the most thorough and rigorous series of tests to detect Alzheimer's disease ever performed on volunteers, is announced today (Monday 22 August). The Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study is funded by the National Institute of Health Research and the MRC and hopes to dramatically improve the success rate of clinical trials for treatments in Alzheimer's disease.