news 2012

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 19.06
New virus isolated from patients with severe brain infections
A new virus has been identified in patients with severe brain infections in Vietnam by a team led by Oxford University researchers. - Further research is needed to determine whether the virus is responsible for the symptoms of disease.

Earth Sciences - Administration/Government - 19.06
New research casts light on adults who choose to go missing
Researchers from a project which aims to deepen understanding of adults who choose to go missing are presenting their results for the first time today (Wednesday 19 June). - Around 327,000 incidences of people reported as missing are reported to authorities each year in the UK, but little research exists which could provide practical insights to benefit those with responsibility for and to missing adults.

Computer Science/Telecom - 18.06
What makes people click?
A new study has analysed tens of thousands of articles available to readers of online news and created a model to find out 'what makes people click'. - The researchers developed a model of "news appeal" based on the words contained in an article's title and text intro, which is what a reader uses when they choose to click on a story. - The study by academics at the University of Bristol's Intelligent Systems Laboratory is published in a series of publications.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 17.06
’Chase and run’ cell movement mechanism explains metastasis
A mechanism that cells use to group together and move around the body - called 'chase and run' - has been described for the first time by scientists at UCL. - Published , the new study focuses on the process that occurs when cancer cells interact with healthy cells in order to migrate around the body during metastasis.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 14.06
Vitamin B3 shows potential for neurological disease Friedreich’s ataxia
Vitamin B3 may be useful in treating the inherited neurological disease Friedreich's ataxia, new findings suggest. - Friedreich's ataxia is a debilitating disease with no cure. It typically takes hold in childhood and robs people of their coordination and motor functions over time.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 13.06
Medieval leprosy genomes reveal insights into the history of the disease
An international team led by the University of Tübingen and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, including scientists at the University of Birmingham (UK), have found that the leprosy bacillus has not changed dramatically during the past millennium, according to research published today (13th June 2013) .

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 13.06
Diving mammals evolved underwater endurance
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shed new light on how diving mammals, such as the sperm whale, have evolved to survive for long periods underwater without breathing. - The team identified a distinctive molecular signature of the oxygen-binding protein myoglobin in the sperm whale and other diving mammals, which allowed them to trace the evolution of the muscle oxygen stores in more than 100 mammalian species, including their fossil ancestors.

Microtechnics/Electroengineering - Physics/Material Science - 12.06
Controlling magnetic clouds in graphene
12 Jun 2013 - Wonder material graphene can be made magnetic and its magnetism switched on and off at the press of a button, opening a new avenue towards electronics with very low energy consumption.

Chemistry - Earth Sciences - 12.06
X-rays reveal new picture of ’dinobird’ plumage patterns
12 Jun 2013 - The first complete chemical analysis of feathers from Archaeopteryx, a famous fossil linking dinosaurs and birds, reveals that the feathers of this early bird were patterned – light in colour, with a dark edge and tip to the feather – rather than all black, as previously thought.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 11.06
New layer of the human cornea
PA 190/13 - Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a previously undetected layer in the cornea, the clear window at the front of the human eye. - The breakthrough, announced in a study published in the academic journal Ophthalmology, could help surgeons to dramatically improve outcomes for patients undergoing corneal grafts and transplants.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 10.06
Walking or cycling to work linked to health benefits in India
People in India who walk or cycle to work are less likely to be overweight or obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure, a study has found. - These findings suggest that encouraging more people to use physically active modes of transport could reduce rates of important risk factors for many chronic diseases, say the researchers from Imperial College London and the Public Health Foundation of India.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 7.06
New, more accurate test for Down’s syndrome developed
Researchers at King's College London and King's College Hospital, part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre, have developed a new, non-invasive blood test that can reliably detect whether or not an unborn baby has Down's syndrome.

Business/Economics - 7.06
Face shape indicates success in men
Face shape indicates success in men - A factor behind the success of top UK male business leaders is the shape of their faces, according to University of Sussex research published today (Friday 7 June).

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 7.06
Genome sequencing reveals mucosal melanoma’s bullseye
07 Jun 2013 - Scientists may have found a molecular 'bullseye' for a rare form of melanoma, opening up opportunities for new targeted treatment, according to new research* being published in the Journal of Pathology today (Friday).

Business/Economics - 6.06
Europe winning war on undeclared work
Research from the University of Sheffield has found that the wider range of policy approaches and measures which have been introduced in all EU Member States over the past five years have had a significant impact on preventing businesses and people from engaging in undeclared work.