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Scientists at UCL and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne have discovered how a specific genetic mutation may damage nerve cells in frontotemporal dementia and motor neurone disease. The research, which suggests a potential new target for treating the two brain diseases, was funded by Alzheimer's Research UK, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust.

UCL scientists have discovered a new method to efficiently generate and control currents based on the magnetic nature of electrons in semi-conducting materials, offering a radical way to develop a new generation of electronic devices. One promising approach to developing new technologies is to exploit the electron's tiny magnetic moment, or 'spin'.

Advice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies is 'unacceptably inconsistent', finds new UCL research. The study, published in the British Dental Journal, looked at the brushing advice given by dental associations across ten countries, toothpaste and toothbrush companies and in dental textbooks.

The happiness of over 18,000 people worldwide has been predicted by a mathematical equation developed by researchers at UCL, with results showing that moment-to-moment happiness reflects not just how well things are going, but whether things are going better than expected. The new equation accurately predicts exactly how happy people will say they are from moment to moment based on recent events, such as the rewards they receive and the expectations they have during a decision-making task.

An evolutionarily ancient and tiny part of the brain tracks expectations about nasty events, finds new UCL research funded by the Medical Research Council. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , demonstrates for the first time that the human habenula, half the size of a pea, tracks predictions about negative events, like painful electric shocks, suggesting a role in learning from bad experiences.

A rare gene variant discovered by UCL scientists is associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and alcoholism, confirms new research. People with the variant are around 2 to 3 times more likely to develop schizophrenia or alcohol dependence, reports a new UCL study.

Initial findings from one of the largest cognitive science experiments ever conducted have shown that mobile games can be used to reliably address psychology questions, paving the way to a better understanding of how cognitive function differs across populations. With its first comprehensive set of results published today, the Great Brain Experiment, a free mobile app run by neuroscientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, uses 'gamified' neuroscience experiments to address scientific questions on a scale that would not be possible using traditional approaches.

A reduction in alcohol consumption, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, could be linked to improved cardiovascular health, including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower body mass index and blood pressure, according to new research published in the BMJ . These latest findings challenge the results of previous observational studies which found that the consumption of light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol (12-25 units per week) may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health.

Long-term time-lapse microscopy has elicited surprise findings about the rhythm of body segment formation during embryo development. The scientists discovered that the development of vertebrate embryos (animals with backbones, including humans) is partly determined by a genetic Doppler effect. The study was led by researchers at UCL, the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and Max Planck Institutes in Germany.

Around half of the genes that influence how well a child can read also play a role in their mathematics ability, say scientists from UCL, the University of Oxford and King's College London who led a study into the genetic basis of cognitive traits. While mathematics and reading ability are known to run in families, the complex system of genes affecting these traits is largely unknown.

Insights into how cells move through the body could lead to innovative techniques to stop cancer cells from spreading and causing secondary tumours, according to new UCL research. Scientists discovered that cells can change into an invasive, liquid-like state to readily navigate the narrow channels in our body.

Newly found fossils show animals built living reefs twenty million years earlier than previously thought. The animals - called Cloudina - were the first in the world to have a hard shell and are believed to have built the reefs to protect themselves from predators, or to get a competitive advantage in acquiring food or living space.

The secret of how salamanders successfully regrow body parts is being unravelled by UCL researchers in a bid to apply it to humans. For the first time, researchers have found that the 'ERK pathway' must be constantly active for salamander cells to be reprogrammed, and hence able to contribute to the regeneration of different body parts.

A powerful new model to detect life on planets outside of our solar system, more accurately than ever before, has been developed by UCL researchers. The new model focuses on methane, the simplest organic molecule, widely acknowledged to be a sign of potential life. Researchers from UCL and the University of New South Wales have developed a new spectrum for 'hot' methane which can be used to detect the molecule at temperatures above that of Earth, up to 1,500K/1220°C - something which was not possible before.

The immune system and body's response to damaged cells play a key role in the development of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), finds new UCL-led research. These findings will enable researchers to develop new treatments that target the body's response to damaged cells. FTD is the second most common form of young-onset dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

A class of drug currently being used to treat leukaemia has the unexpected side-effect of boosting immune responses against many different cancers, reports a new study led by scientists at UCL and the Babraham Institute, Cambridge. The drugs, called p110? inhibitors, have shown such remarkable efficacy against certain leukaemias in recent clinical trials that patients on the placebo were switched to the real drug.

The way we navigate from A to B is controlled by two brain regions which track the distance to our destination, according to new UCL research published in Current Biology, funded by the Wellcome Trust. The study found that at the beginning of a journey, one region of the brain calculates the straight line to the destination (as the crow flies), but during travel a different area of the brain computes the precise distance along the path to get there.

A simple blood test is currently in development that could help predict the likelihood of a woman developing breast cancer, even in the absence of a high-risk BRCA1 gene mutation, according to new UCL research. The research, published in Genome Medicine, identifies an epigenetic signature in the blood of women predisposed for breast cancer owing to an inherited genetic mutation of the BRCA1 gene.

"Where does it hurt?" is the first question asked to any person in pain. A new UCL study defines for the first time how our ability to identify where it hurts, called "spatial acuity", varies across the body, being most sensitive at the forehead and fingertips. Using lasers to cause pain to 26 healthy volunteers without any touch, the researchers produced the first systematic map of how acuity for pain is distributed across the body.

London's international fish trade can be traced back 800 years to the medieval period, according to new research published today in the journal Antiquity . The research, led by archaeologists from UCL, Cambridge and UCLan, provides new insight into the medieval fish trade and the globalisation of London's food supply.