science wire

For a long time, the key question in physiotherapy was: does it help? Now, it is time to take the next step: understanding how physiotherapy works.

A teenager with a rare, life-limiting genetic condition is off to university after receiving a pioneering gene therapy developed by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH).

A large international study has found that spironolactone, a medication for high blood pressure and heart failure, does not reduce the risk of heart-related death or hospitalizations in people with kidney failure receiving dialysis, despite earlier smaller studies suggesting benefit. The study - led in the UK by the University of Glasgow and published in The Lancet - are part of the ACHIEVE trial, the largest trial to date on the drug spironolactone in people receiving dialysis.

In a breakthrough for healthcare, researchers from Simon Fraser University's School of Computing Science have unveiled a powerful artificial intelligence framework poised to transform drug development and potentially accelerate the discovery and manufacturing of new medicines.

Professor Christina Pagel (UCL Mathematics) warns that the US Secretary of Health and Human Services' efforts to undermine vaccines spreading around the world.

Women with obesity who participate in weight loss programmes before starting in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are 47% more likely to conceive naturally than those receiving minimal or no weight loss support, according to the most comprehensive systematic review of the evidence to date. The University of Oxford-led research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, analysed 12 international trials involving 1,921 women.

Cambridge researchers play key role in evidence leading to approval of new treatment for hereditary blindness The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today announced the approval of a new treatment for a form of hereditary blindness for use on the NHS in England. Cambridge researchers played a pivotal role in providing the evidence that led to this important development.

Researchers say their software could become a new standard of care to address overprescribing in Canada McGill researchers have developed and are licensing a digital tool to help safely reduce patients' use of medications that may be unnecessary or even harmful to them.

A plant-based agent inhibits a protein that, among other things, is responsible for the dreaded thickening of the bronchial wall Asthma medications often lose their effectiveness over time, and do not prevent the bronchial tissue from thickening.

High levels of a hormone found in cells in the gut could underlie many cases of chronic diarrhoea and help explain up to 40% of cases of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Cambridge.

Clinical trial led by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, Western highlights potential of high tibial osteotomy A clinical trial led by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute (

Routine testing for Legionella in hospitalised pneumonia patients leads to faster diagnosis and better-targeted treatment, according to a new study led by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH). Published in the peer-reviewed journal Pneumonia, the findings also underscore the need to promote shorter antibiotic treatment courses in line with national guidelines - this is important to improve patient safety and fight antimicrobial resistance.

New studies highlight significant issues over suitability for public use of some commercially available health tests Off-the-shelf health tests need much greater regulation due to significant concerns over claims and the suitability of the tests for the public, a landmark study has found.

Infections or reactivations of the BK polyomavirus are among the most common complications following kidney transplantation.

ANU researchers and global partners are launching a clinical trial to improve treatment for Kaposi sarcoma, one of the most common and deadly cancers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Canadian collaboration identifies optimal treatment approach to improve outcomes after emergency department discharge Most children seeking emergency department (ED) care due to vomiting are discharged home.

Despite an overall decline in prescribed opioid use in Canada over the past decade, a recent study found that people in poorer areas receive three times the prescriptions for opioids than those in wealthier areas.

A new clinical trial led by Swiss TPH and partners on Pemba Island, Tanzania, has shown that combining moxidectin with albendazole is far more effective than current standard treatment for whipworm infections in school-aged children. Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the results strengthen the evidence base for expanding current treatment options and are expected to inform future guide-lines for soil-transmitted helminth control.

Thousands of women who undergo radiotherapy for low-risk breast cancer could be spared some of the side effects of treatment after a study confirmed that more targeted treatments are just as effective at controlling the disease in the long term.

Removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels on GP records could combat antibiotic resistance and save lives, an NIHR-funded clinical trial led by the University of Leeds has found.

A study coordinated by Swiss TPH, in collaboration with partners in India, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania, has found that introducing pulse oximeters and digital clinical decision support tools into pri

Freie Universität Berlin-affiliated scientists contribute to Microsoft Research breakthrough in protein modeling A major scientific advance in protein modeling, developed by Microsoft Research AI for Science, has been published in the July 10 issue of Science . The study introduces Bioemu, a generative deep learning system that emulates the equilibrium behavior of proteins with unprecedented speed and accuracy.

Professor Joanna Moncrieff (UCL Psychiatry) argues in The Conversation that a new review of antidepressant withdrawal effects risks underestimating the potential harms to long-term antidepressant users by focusing on short-term, studies.

A new study has opened in Manchester which could improve screening and early detection of lung cancer for high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma survivors, following a £1.3 million funding award.

The largest review of 'gold standard' antidepressant withdrawal studies to date has identified the type and incidence of symptoms experienced. The largest review of 'gold standard' antidepressant withdrawal studies to date has identified the type and incidence of symptoms experienced by people discontinuing antidepressants, finding most people do not experience severe withdrawal.

A Carnegie Mellon University-led team is receiving $5.4 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop technologies for transporting drug molecules in red blood cells. Abundant and persistent, red blood cells have a lifetime of about four months in the human body and travel to every organ and tissue.

The largest review of 'gold standard' antidepressant withdrawal studies to date has identified the type and incidence of symptoms experienced by people discontinuing antidepressants, in a study involving UCL authors, finding that most people do not experience severe withdrawal.

Patients in a structured exercise program experienced a 37 per cent lower risk of death and a 28 per cent reduction in recurrence or development of new cancers compared to those who received only health education materials, a recent study found.

The Early Detection of Liver Disease research project (ID LIVER) takes a targeted and streamlined approach to identifying, assessing and managing patients at increased risk of liver disease in underserved communities.

A creative play programme has significantly improved new parents' and carers' mental health, according to research by the Universities of Leeds and Huddersfield.

Zoonotic diseases The infectious and multi-resistant cattle disease Salmonella Dublin can be fatal to both humans and animals and causes significant losses for farmers.

Researchers found European cough medicine Ambroxol may reduce psychiatric symptoms, improve cognitive performance About half of those diagnosed with Parkinson's develop dementia within 10 years, profoundly affecting patients, families and the health care system.

Supplementation with krill oil during an alternate day fasting diet helps to reduce the decline in both muscle mass and muscle strength. The fundings, from a new study led by the University of Glasgow and published in the journal Obesity, are the first of their kind to investigate the effects of krill oil on muscle mass and strength during diet-induced weight loss.

Cancer is costly for patients and the NHS - but it also has a significant impact on the UK economy, according to research led by the University of Leeds. The UK could save billions of pounds per year by focusing on cancer prevention, as well as finding and treating cancer earlier, according to the Cost of Cancer report , commissioned by Cancer Research UK.