Medicine, Health

Scientists studying glucose fermentation in yeast have found that proteins linked to cancer can be activated by sugar.

For the first time a treatment has been developed for Huntington’s, an incurable, degenerative disease which has been described by sufferers as Alzheimer’s, motor neuron disease and Parkinson’s all rolled into one. The new treatment raises hopes it can be controlled or even stopped.

Probably since the dawn of time women have thrown their hands up in despair as their men folk insist that they’ve succumbed to the dreaded ‘man flu’ and take to their beds for days at a time moaning and groaning about their plight. But now a Canadian scientist has argued that man flu is real and offers possible explanations as to why.

Do the flight or fight mechanisms triggered by responses to stress, diminish with age? And if so, is there a difference between biological and chronological ageing? Questions new research is answering.

Latest research seems to show human intelligence is linked to the way our brains are wired.

By verifying a cell-based computer model that replicates the mechanics of muscle and tissue against in vitro tests, researchers have brought us a step closer to the era of personalised medicine.

As most cities-dwellers know, urban environments offer both challenges and opportunities. But when it comes to birdlife, can telomeres provide an insight into which tips the balance?

Pervasive healthcare is an approach which addresses the challenge of straining health services with evidence-based, preventative strategies. The increased accessibility of personal monitoring devices is helping breathe life into efforts.

The 2017 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has gone to three scientists for their lasting work in the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) field. The imaging techniques mark a significant breakthrough in atomic structures and biochemistry.

Advances in the manner in which we can visualise the atomic structures of cells have been recognised in 2017 Nobel prize for chemistry. These increasingly powerful methods shine a light on how we are constructed and now the use of advanced super-resolution microscopy reveals aspects of the interrelation of the genes to the mechanisms which control them.

Researchers have identified serious data privacy vulnerabilities in the increasingly popular wearable devices, that threaten their trustworthiness.

As Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a wide variety of symptoms, usually observed through patients’ behaviour and actions, effective and timely treatment has proven elusive. An EU-funded project has contributed towards the capture of images which show the changes a brain with Alzheimer’s undergoes, at different ages, with promise for future diagnostics and treatment.

New research shows a positive state of mind can boost the effectiveness of vaccines such as the flu jab.

If that melody has just come to you, and if you know your way around a score, you might be able to think it into being now a group of researchers have developed a new brain-computer interface (BCI) application.

With around 100 million domestic cats estimated to be living in Europe, they are quite possibly the most popular pet. Yet, despite the clear incentive to maximise well-being both for our feline friends and so ourselves, remarkedly little research has gone into their early socialisation – until now.

Slow oscillations, associated with a lack of consciousness and the consolidation of memory, form waves of activity through the cerebral cortex during deep sleep. EU-funded research is investigating the transformation of slow wave sleep with age and has now revealed anomalies in this activity in mice displaying a decline similar to Alzheimer''s.

The 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has gone to three scientists for their discoveries of the molecular mechanisms that control circadian rhythms.

Digital technologies have never evolved at such an incredible pace. Yet, they are still leaving people behind: visually-impaired people, for example, are completely locked out from the use of touchscreen devices. An EU-funded consortium has therefore created the BlindPAD to exploit and enhance their remaining senses.

Not long ago it was orthodoxy that microscopes could not see images smaller than 200 nanometres. The relatively nascent field of nanoscopy has challenged this, with the EU-funded NANOSCOPY project leading the way.

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a relatively unknown disease affecting less than 0.1 in 10 000 EU citizens. Yet evidence suggests that its incidence is increasing. Whilst the market is too small for pharmaceutical companies, an EU-funded consortium has successfully conducted a Phase I clinical trial on PHMB as a treatment for AK, potentially preventing permanent visual impairment or blindness in patients.

It is known that the range of microbes found on farms protect children from asthma and allergies. Immunologists have now discovered that farm animals themselves also provide protection against inflammation of lung tissue, opening possibilities for new treatments.

Haptic sensors, connectivity and efficient telecommunications are some of the factors that enable the uptake of medical telerobotic systems. Technical capacity is timely as demographics put pressure on health services, while in remote areas, patients of all ages can find it hard to get appointments with specialists.

B- and T-cells have a central role in our immune systems. Produced in the spleen and the thymus respectively, receptor proteins on the cells’ surfaces recognise pathogens and respond. The nature of our defences is not completely understood but EU-supported research is helping to unveil some surprises.

A new study shows that using musical cues to learn physical tasks significantly develops an important part of the brain.

If you cut yourself or tear a muscle over time you will, hopefully, get better. Now researchers at a Belgium university have extended this self-healing property specifically to soft robots.