Biology

Commission Regulation (EU) 432/2012 lists a series of requirements for producers to legally advertise the health benefits of polyphenols in their olive oil. Thanks to the OLEUM project, an easy method can now be applied to certify compliance with this regulation.

Results from a large study of volunteer blood donors in Martinique during the 2016 Zika virus outbreak - which according to state health authorities affected 568 pregnant women - are now in. They provide a precise follow-up of incident cases and seroprevalence but also important insights into the management of blood donations and the natural history of ZIKV infection in adults.

A new technology combining photoacoustics with ultrasounds has enabled the University of Twente to differentiate between arthritic and healthy fingers, diagnose liber fibrosis and even measure blood velocity. Soon, this device could also be tested for mapping the likes of skin cancer, burns or hardening of the arteries.

Researchers have found that our increasing thirst for digital technology can have negative effects on our mental and physical health, neurological development and personal relationships.

Supported through the EU-funded T-FORCES project, scientists have found that biodiverse forests did not boost carbon storage beyond a certain point.

Supported through the EU-funded PALEOPLANT project, a series of genetic analyses of prehistoric seeds have unearthed millennium-old barley on the Canary Islands, shedding light into native Canarian origins.

If you’ve overindulged during the festive period and you’re digestive system feels a bit worse for wear, then be encouraged by the fact that Irish researchers have discovered an entirely new digestive organ called the mesentery, opening up an entirely new field of medical science.

A dinosaur fragment trapped in amber for over 99 million years and complete with fossilised feathers has been found and, for the first time, linked to a non-avian dinosaur.

An EU-funded Scottish-led team is using virtual coral larvae to test how well marine reserves can withstand climate change.

Researchers from the EU-funded EVOMECH project have warned that repeated dieting may lead to weight gain as the brain interprets the diets as short famines and urges the person to store more fat for future shortages.

By taking a quantitative approach to studying the immune system, EU-funded researchers have opened the door to a deeper understanding of T cell behaviour.

A new study supported by the EU-funded TRIFORC project has shown that by changing the genetic code for one amino acid in a plant begins a process that produces a new natural product that could be used in a variety of ways, including disease resistance.

Following the granting of a young British girl’s instructions to be cryogenically preserved so she can be revived in the future when a cure for cancer exists, there has been intense debate inside and outside the scientific community on both the viability of cryogenic freezing but also on the ethical issues thrown up by the procedure. Once again, it raises the centuries-old question that defines the conflict between modern science and ethics: Even if we could do something, should we?

EU-funded researchers have found that the body clock breaks down when light and temperature are out of sync, affecting activity levels.

US-based researchers have published a paper detailing their findings that a person’s chances of falling ill from a new strain of flu are at least partly determined by the first strain they ever encountered as a child.

Researchers from the US and Argentina have analysed fossilised leaves and presented a new theory as to why the southern hemisphere recovered faster following the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

With less than a week to go before American voters are asked to choose between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in arguably the most important US presidential election in a generation, scientists and psychologists are shedding light on the underlying factors of what drives an individual’s decision to vote for one candidate or party over another.

A new theory regarding how the brain first learns basic maths could alter approaches to identifying and teaching students with maths learning disabilities.

Anyone who has seen a lake or a small pond will have witnessed the evolutionary marvel of those curious insects that run over water with no trouble whatsoever, as if it were solid ground. An EU project is allowing ENS de Lyon to investigate the genetics behind this capacity.

Japanese scientists have grown artificial eggs created from stem cells for the first time and used them to create living mice in a process that could potentially one day be extended to humans.

Studying the response of living organisms to climate change is essential in the face of what increasingly looks like an irreversible trend. However, unlike other species which have gathered much scientific attention, insects seem to have been left behind. An EU project is seeking to bridge this knowledge gap while taking insects’ specific features into account.

As the Halloween season gets into full flow, the English-speaking world is currently experiencing a wave of ‘creepy clown’ sightings that first began in the United States but has now spread to the UK, Canada and Australia. Most have been confirmed as copycat hoaxes but the distress and anxiety caused to victims is very real indeed – and consequently, there has been increased interest in the scientific and psychological reasons as to why clowns are able to instil such a feeling of terror into so many people.

New research supported by the EU-funded STILTS and NEUROFAST projects has discovered that individuals who carry variants in a particular gene have an increased preference for high fat food, but a decreased preference for sugary foods.

In a new paper, researchers from the University of Southampton, UK, and members of the EU-funded RAMP project, have demonstrated how memristors could help aid the development of more precise and affordable neuroprosthetics and bioelectric medicines.

Understanding how our brains sustain ‘internal evolution’ – and help us to adapt and learn complex skills such as language – could one day lead to smarter robots.