Health

Human Brain Project researchers have developed a computational tool to more accurately locate affected brain regions of patients with epilepsy. The team is now using a new digital research infrastructure called EBRAINS to boost the tool’s accuracy.

It’s great to wear a smartwatch or smart wristband telling us about our heart rate or level of stress. But for people with serious affective disorders, this isn’t of much help. The AffecTech project has devised a set of wearable technology that not only warns them, but also allows them to take effective countermeasures in case of episodes.

In the April 2020 issue of Research*eu we featured the AutoPilot-Dx project that had developed a novel assay to accurately diagnose between bacterial and viral infection, thus helping efforts to avoid the unnecessary prescription of antibiotics. In the rollercoaster year since, the project team have, with the continued support of the EU, shifted their attention to COVID-19. Tanya Gottlieb, vice-president of Scientific Affairs at coordinating company MeMed Diagnostics, tells us more.

As COVID-19 finally seems to be receding on the back of a pumped-up vaccination drive being dished out across Europe at increasing speed, the latest episode of CORDIScovery is looking ahead to the post-pandemic future, specifically at new and exciting technological innovations that have the potential to transform European healthcare over the coming years.

A significant body of evidence has highlighted that inequalities between European regions are growing rather than converging and this has increased since the end of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The EU-funded IMAJINE project has set out to address these challenges through an interdisciplinary approach integrating numerous perspectives, from economics to human geography, political science and sociology.

Tissue-engineered donor-specific intestines could open the way to effective treatment of patients suffering from intestinal failure.

An EU-funded study provides new insight into how the brain ages and shows that there might in fact be a link even between healthy ageing and Alzheimer’s.

EU-backed researchers have isolated human antibodies that neutralise, at low concentrations, the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its known mutations. The most potent antibody is thought to be a good candidate for the development of preventive and therapeutic tools against the virus.

An EU-backed study has shown that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates, it can prevent killer T cells from recognising infected cells and eliminating them.

Transport and storage of some vaccines at below-freezing temperatures may soon become a thing of the past. New lipid research points the way to stabilising vaccines at room temperature.

EU-backed researchers have added to scientific knowledge on bacteria and fungi living on and inside plants. They found that the apple’s microbial communities vary from region to region and that oak seedlings inherit microbe genes from acorns.

A new study has measured the electrical conductivity of a carbon nanotube with magnetic molecules inside it and provided greater insight into their behaviour.

EU-backed researchers have identified a protein encoded by the MSI2 gene that could lead to new therapies for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

An international research team has discovered that Enterococcus faecalis, a bacterium largely responsible for infections acquired in hospitals, had adapted to hospital conditions long before the emergence of modern healthcare institutions.

A company participating in two EU-funded projects has received new funding, helping it to ramp up production of bio-based insect pheromones and market them worldwide.

An EU-funded project has reported 49 % growth in Europeans’ consumption of plant-based foods in 2 years.

A study showing a negligible risk of parasitic worms in four European farmed marine fish species suggests that these fish should be exempted from current EU regulations requiring freezing treatment.

EU-backed researchers have developed a second-generation double antibody that targets two different sites of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In trials using mice, the antibody provided protection against the virus and its variants and stopped it from mutating.

Valuable insight into the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has allowed EU-funded researchers to analyse the inhibitory mechanisms of antiviral drugs such as remdesivir.

The first part of a pivotal clinical study trialling a new steroid-like drug called vamorolone for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is now over. Data points to improved motor function and fewer side effects than other steroids.