science wire

An experimental cancer therapy for prostate cancer may be able to treat men without surgery and offer fewer side effects, according to the results of a UCL-led study published in the British Journal of Cancer today. A group of 172 men with prostate cancer that had not spread were treated under general anaesthetic with High-Intensity-Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), which uses sound waves to kill cancer cells.

UCL is delighted to announce three new appointments, which will shape the development of life and biomedical sciences at UCL in the coming years.

Giving the keynote speech at the launch of the UCL Energy Institute on 29 June 2009, Lord Hunt, Minister of State for the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), said that high-quality academic research would provide the blueprint for a low-carbon world.

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation (Gatsby) and the Wellcome Trust (Wellcome) are collaborating for the purpose of developing a new research centre in neural circuits and behaviour, to be called the Sa

Gary Parkes, a GP who gained his PhD from UCL in March this year, has pipped his PhD supervisor Professor Trish Greenhalgh (UCL Primary Care & Population Sciences) into second place in the Royal College of General Practitioners? (RCGP) Research Paper of the Year Award 2009.

Ashwani Jha (UCL Institute of Neurology) has been awarded £170,000 from the Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) for research into parts of the brain that are associated with specific symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

The UCL Institute for Global Health's 10th Symposium, 'Fatal Neglect: Forgotten issues in child health' was held on 10 June 2009, in collaboration with Save the Children UK, Tearfund, 'The Lancet', Water Aid and World Vision.

UCL is showcasing pioneering research in biology, health and space science as part of the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition.

Seven key appointments for UCL Partners (UCLP), Europe's largest academic health science centre, were announced today, including a managing director of the partnership and six programme directors who

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has agreed a landmark resolution in response to the final report of the UCL-led Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH).

Professor Nora Groce (Leonard Cheshire Disability & Inclusive Development Centre at UCL) chaired the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Mainstreaming Disability in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva.

Increasing population density, rather than boosts in brain-power, appears to have catalysed the emergence of modern human behaviour, according to a new study by UCL scientists published .

Six briefing papers on managing the health effects of climate change ' commissioned from UCL by the Commonwealth Secretariat for the May 2009 meeting of Commonwealth Health Ministers ' have been published.

Young Londoners with an appetite for lust got the chance to learn about the subject from every angle at an innovative new variety show this week.

Members of the UCL community are invited to the next UCL Institute for Global Health Symposium, 'Fatal Neglect: Forgotten issues in child health', on 10 June 2009.

Jeremy Garson (UCL Centre for Virology) and Jim Huggett (UCL Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health) have been at the heart of developing a new set of guidelines on the way scientists the world over use qPCR - a technology crucial to forensic analysis and diagnosing diseases. Below Huggett explains how and why they went about it.

Staff are advised that the 'town meeting? on developmental cognitive neuroscience on 9 June 2009 will now be held at the Kennedy Lecture Theatre in the UCL Institute of Child Health due to the high number of participants.

Shortly after the publication of the UCL?Lancet Commission on Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change report, UCL was represented at the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting on Health & Cl

A UCL Town Meeting on Risk & Disaster Reduction (RDR), held on 20 May 2009, heard that the number and severity of disasters worldwide was growing, and that to reduce both risk of disasters and disasters themselves would require the application of the breadth of UCL's expertise.

UCL researchers are promoting exercise for people aged 65 and over as part of a new NHS-funded project.

Professor John Hardy (UCL Institute of Neurology), recently named as a Fellow of the Royal Society, is the most highly cited author on Alzheimer's disease research in the UK and fifth internationally, according to a recent study.

A major report on managing the health effects of climate change, launched jointly by 'The Lancet? and UCL today, says that climate change is the biggest global-health threat of the 21st century.

Mind,  the leading mental health charity, is running its 2009 Mental Health week from 9?16 May. This year, the charity is aiming to raise awareness on men's mental health problems by hosting media events and appealing for parliamentary action.

Gyorgy Szabadkai (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology) has been awarded £270,000 from the Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) for research into a gene - named PARK7 - which is linked to certain forms of Parkinson's disease.

Raising public awareness Laura Marlow, research psychologist at the Health Behaviour Research Centre (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) 'Many cancers are now believed to be preventable through lifestyle changes and Cancer Prevention Week is a good opportunity for us to raise awareness of how individuals can take responsibility for reducing their risk of cancer.