news 2012

Medicine/Pharmacology - 22.02
Family history is a significant tool in detecting heart disease risk
PA 57/12 A new study by researchers at The University of Nottingham has proved that assessing family medical history is a significant tool in helping GPs spot patients at high risk of heart disease and its widespread use could save lives.

Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics - 22.02
Less is more: Study of tiny droplets could have big impact on industrial applications
Under a microscope, a tiny droplet slides between two fine hairs like a roller coaster on a set of rails until — poof — it suddenly spreads along them, a droplet no more. That instant of change, like the popping of soap bubble, comes so suddenly that it seems almost magical.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Agronomy/Food Science - 22.02
Exposure to micronutrients prior to pregnancy has been associated with gene modifications in offspring
Scientists find that micronutrients affect methylation, which has been associated with changes in the immune system.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 22.02
Study closes debate on folic acid and heart disease
Taking folic acid supplements is not going to have any meaningful effect on your risk of coronary heart disease. That's the conclusion of a comprehensive study led by Oxford University researchers that pretty much closes the door on this debate once and for all.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 22.02
Map reveals cancer hotspots
A new technique is helping researchers to pinpoint genetic information that contributes to cancer development. A research team, led by Professor Thomas Preiss from the John Curtin School of Medical Research at The Australian National University, has used a new mapping technique to reveal tell-tale "sign posts" in DNA's lesser-known relative, RNA - ribonucleic acid.

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 21.02
Cocaine and the teen brain: Yale research offers insights into addiction
When first exposed to cocaine, the adolescent brain launches a strong defensive reaction designed to minimize the drug's effects, Yale and other scientists have found. Now two new studies by a Yale team identify key genes that regulate this response and show that interfering with this reaction dramatically increases a mouse's sensitivity to cocaine.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 21.02
What cancer cells need to travel
Cancer cells must prepare for travel before invading new tissues, but new Cornell research has found a possible way to stop these cells from ever hitting the road. Researchers have identified two key proteins that are needed to get cells moving and have uncovered a new pathway that treatments could block to immobilize mutant cells and keep cancer from spreading, said Richard Cerione, Goldwin Smith Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine.

History/Philosophy - 21.02
Nottingham academic reveals insight into early prehistoric human occupations
Image courtesy of EFAP (Epipalaeolithic Foragers in Azraq Project) PA 56/12 Some of the earliest evidence of prehistoric architecture has been discovered in the Jordanian desert, providing archaeologists with a new perspective on how humans lived 20,000 years ago.

Arts and Design - 21.02
Crime rates unsettled in Marcellus Shale drilling areas, study finds
There are no definitive findings that Marcellus Shale drilling activity has affected crime rates in Pennsylvania, but more study is needed, according to a preliminary report conducted recently by the Justice Center for Research at Penn State.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 21.02
‘Stealth’ properties of cancer-causing genetic mutations identified
Scientists have discovered that cancer-causing genetic mutations have better-disguised electronic signatures than other mutations - a trait which could help them fly under the radar of the body's defence mechanisms.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Chemistry - 20.02
Yale Center for Molecular Discovery created at West Campus
The road from discovering a novel insight to turning it into a practical biomedical application is full of twists, turns, and dead ends, but a combined center at Yale's West Campus seeks to provide University faculty with the knowledge and tools to navigate from basic science to new breakthroughs in disease management.

Official Event - Administration/Government - 20.02
Sussex showcases academic research online
Sussex showcases academic research online Months of work culminated this week with the launch of Sussex Research Online (SRO), which showcases the University's research to the external world and contains a record of all research ‘outputs' by academics at Sussex.

Life Sciences - Environmental Sciences - 20.02
Wildlife and cows can be partners, not enemies, in search for food
  Princeton University researchers conducted two large-scale experiments in Kenya that offer the first experimental evidence that allowing cattle to graze on the same land as wild animals can result in healthier, meatier bovines by enhancing the cows' diet.

Agronomy/Food Science - Medicine/Pharmacology - 20.02
Faulty fat sensor implicated in obesity and liver disease
Imperial College London Media Release Defects in a protein led by researchers at Imperial College London. The findings highlight a promising target for new drugs to treat obesity and metabolic disorders.

Earth Sciences - Physics/Astronomy - 20.02
Science of the stick-slip
Scientists have succeeded in modelling what happens when two bodies slide against each other and thereby release the pressure; a discovery that has implications for the understanding of the magnitude of earthquakes.