news 2011

Life Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 25.12.2011
Three new eczema genes discovered
Researchers from Children of the 90s at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with 22 other studies from across the world, have discovered three new genetic variants associated with the skin condition eczema, a chronic inflammatory disease that afflicts millions of patients around the world.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 23.12.2011
MRI scan ’better’ for heart patients
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan for coronary heart disease is better than the most commonly-used alternative, a major UK trial of heart disease patients has shown. The findings by University of Leeds researchers could change the way that people with suspected heart disease are assessed, potentially avoiding the need for tests that are invasive or use ionising radiation.

Physics/Astronomy - 22.12.2011
New Particle at the Large Hadron Collider Discovered by ATLAS Experiment
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University, analysing data taken by the ATLAS experiment, have been at the centre of what is believed to be the first clear observation of a new particle at the Large Hadron Collider.

Psychology - 21.12.2011
Telling the truth
New research from Cambridge University and others shows that, with sensitive ing, young children can be reliable witnesses in cases of abuse.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 20.12.2011
New malaria vaccine may stop deadly parasites in their tracks
A new malaria vaccine with the potential to neutralise all strains of the most deadly species of malaria parasite has been developed by an Oxford University-led team. The scientists from the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford have shown that their vaccine induces an antibody response in animal models that is capable of neutralising all the strains they tested of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum .

Life Sciences - Chemistry - 20.12.2011
New insight into why locusts swarm
Learning is when you change your behaviour in the light of new experience, and this is what a locust needs to do when it gets caught up in the crowd." —Dr Swidbert Ott from the University of Cambridge Department of Zoology New research has found that a protein associated with learning and memory plays an integral role in changing the behaviour of locusts from that of harmless grasshoppers into swarming pests.

Physics/Astronomy - Mathematics - 16.12.2011
First hints of the Higgs boson?
Physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider have received an early Christmas present. Using apparatus partly designed in Bristol, the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) collaboration has presented the first tentative evidence of the Higgs boson.

Mathematics - Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics - 15.12.2011
Less knowledge, more power: Uninformed can be vital to democracy, study finds
Contrary to the ideal of a completely engaged electorate, individuals who have the least interest in a specific outcome can actually be vital to achieving a democratic consensus. These individuals dilute the influence of powerful minority factions who would otherwise dominate everyone else, according to new research published in Science.

Physics/Astronomy - 14.12.2011
Laboratory avalanches reveal behaviour of ice flows
Avalanches created in controlled laboratory environments are helping us to understand the potentially lethal processes that these natural disasters unleash. In September 2002, one hundred million cubic metres of rock and ice separated from the northern slope of the Kazbek massif in North Ossetia, Russia.

Life Sciences - 14.12.2011
Why buttercups reflect yellow on chins – and it doesn’t have anything to do with whether you like butter
Scientists discover why buttercups reflect yellow on chins - and it doesn't have anything to do with whether you like butter Our research provides exciting insight into not only a children's game but also into the lengths to which flowers will go to attract pollinators." —Dr Beverley Glover, Department of Plant Sciences

Physics/Astronomy - 13.12.2011
Search for Higgs boson at an “exciting beginning”, Durham University expert says
Search for Higgs boson at an “exciting beginning”, Durham University expert says The search for the Higgs boson is at a "very exciting and positive beginning", according to a Durham University physics expert.

Life Sciences - Environmental Sciences - 13.12.2011
Insight could help develop new crops
Crops that can cope with sudden changes in the weather could be developed, thanks to fresh discoveries about plants. University scientists have studied how tiny algae survive by renewing old or damaged cell proteins.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 13.12.2011
Antimalarial drugs appear safe in early pregnancy
Malaria in early pregnancy significantly increases the risk of miscarriage, but taking antimalarial drugs is relatively safe and reduces this risk. That's the finding of the largest ever study to assess the effects of malaria and its treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Life Sciences - 12.12.2011
Step forward in foot-and-mouth disease understanding
Scientists have discovered a mechanism they believe may play a key role in the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in animals. Researchers at the University of Leeds have been studying an enzyme - called 3D - which plays a vital role in the replication of the virus behind the disease.

Medicine/Pharmacology - 9.12.2011
Bowel cancer screening proven to save lives
The Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England is on course to cut bowel cancer deaths by 16 per cent, according to a University of Nottingham-led study of the first 1 million test results. But the survey suggests that better screening techniques should be developed because bowel cancers on the right side of the body were not as likely to be picked up as those on the left.