Posts Tagged ‘scientists’

Scientists develop robotic fish to combat pollution

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

As reported by the BBC, European scientists have developed robotic fish which detects contamination and pollution in water.

The pollution-hunting fish is 1.5 metres long and cost £20,000 for the scientists to develop. It is fitted with sensors which pick up pollutants leaking from ships or undersea pipelines. In fact, the fish reduced the time it takes to detect pollutants from weeks to seconds. Scientists develop robotic fish to combat pollutionThe fish can communicate with each other, avoid obstacles, map their journey and transmit their data back to shore. Currently undertaking first trials in northern Spain, modifications will then be made to improve the large yellow fish.

Speaking of the pollution detecting project, Luke Speller, Senior Scientist as the research division of technology consultancy, the BMT Group stated, “The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it.”

The project has part-funded by the EU and used expertise from scientists from the University of Essex and the University of Strathclyde. Further input came from the technology consultancy, the BMT Group and from the Tyndall National Institute and Thales Safare, which is a unit of Europe’s largest defence electronics group.

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Scientists develop a blood test to diagnose depression in teenagers

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

As reported by the Press Association, scientists have successfully developed a blood test that will help diagnose depression and anxiety disorders in teenagers.

Previously, when diagnosing depression, doctors have had to rely on the patients accurate reporting of their symptoms, and their own ability to interpret those symptoms. This is particularly challenging in teenagers, whose emotions are typically very up and down at this time in their lives.

Now, scientists at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have developed the first blood test to diagnose depression and anxiety disorders. It measures a set of genetic markers which have been previously developed to diagnose depression in teenagers. The blood test can also distinguish between the different types of depression. For example it can tell the difference between a patient with major depression and a patient with depression combined with an anxiety disorder.

The study involved 28 adolescent participants between the ages of 15 and 19 – 14 of who those had major depression (they had not been clinically treated) and 14 were healthy individuals. Each of the participants were tested for 26 genetic blood markers which had been identified in previous research.  The scientists found that 18 of the 26 markers could identify those participants who had major depression and those who had both depression and an anxiety disorder.

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Scientists have found the key to staying slim could be in your genes

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

The Daily Mail reported that scientists have found that the key to staying slim could be in your genes.  Scientists believe they have found the ‘gluttony gene’ which fails to tell your brain when you are full.

Researchers at Georgetown School Healthcare Hub in the U.S conducted a research project using mice. In the study they found that a single gene broke down communication in the body and led to non-stop eating and rapid weight gain.

Generally after a meal, the activity of this gene transmits chemical signals down a chain of brain cells until they reach the hypothalamus, which receives the message that you are full and suppresses the appetite. However the mice which had a mutation of this gene ate twice as much as those without the mutation.

Scientists hope that identifying the gene could help with treatments for obesity which affects nearly one in four adults in the UK.

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UCB and Oxford University Announce New R&D Partnership

Monday, March 19th, 2012

UCB Media released a press statement stating that UCB Pharma and Oxford University agreed today to collaborate on cutting-edge pharmaceutical research projects, enabling scientists from industry and academia to work together to develop innovative medicines to treat serious diseases in immunology and neurology.

The Oxford-UCB partnership will be funded by an amount of £3.6 million from UCB and will run over 3 years. A committee of UCB and Oxford University representatives will oversee the collaboration via regular meetings to look out for and monitor new projects. Between five and 10 projects will be selected for investigation over the course of the three-year agreement.

Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said: This is an exciting new partnership and I am eager to see the research that results. Partnerships between industry and academia will have an increasingly prominent role to play in the development of new drugs, therapies and medical technologies. Pooling expertise and resources is exactly what we should be doing to carry out the best research, identify the most promising new drug candidates and take them forward.

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GSK laboratory to help seek out Olympic drug cheats

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

As reported by London 2012, the pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline have unveiled their Anti Doping Laboratory for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The laboratory which is in Harlow, Essex will be operated by both scientists and leading experts from Kings College London. It will test 6, 250 samples throughout the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is many more than have been tested in previous Games.

The new drug testing laboratory will employ over 1,000 staff to work within the anti-doping process, as well as 150 scientists who will carry out the testing. The team will be lead by Professor David Cowan from the Drug Control Centre at King’s College London. The laboratory will be in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Sir Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, said: ‘As a science-based organisation, GSK is well placed to help deliver the scale and cutting edge technology required to run an operation like the anti-doping facility for London 2012.

‘We have worked with King’s to put systems in place to enable this laboratory to test more samples than any previous Games and at the same time developing a blueprint for doping operations at future Games.’

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North East scientists develop five a day fruit and veg test

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

As reported by The Journal Live, Scientists at the universities of Aberystwyth and Newcastle have developed a simple urine test to check whether or not patients are eating the recommended five portions of fruit and veg per day.

The prototype urine test can reveal what patients have been eating over the past week by identifying chemical fingerprints of substances that have been created by different foods. So far, chemical fingerprints have been found food fruit and veg such as raspberries, orange juice and broccoli.  The team of scientists believe that soon each food group will be identifiable and that a dip stick test will be available within the next five years.

Speaking of the test, Professor John Draper who lead the team of scientists at Aberystwyth university stated, “It should mean that for the first time researchers will be able to say for certain which items of food help protect against specific diseases, and those that can seriously increase the chance of getting a particular disease.”

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Scientists grow sperm in the laboratory

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

As reported by The Telegraph, scientists in Germany and Israel have been able to grow mouse sperm in the laboratory.

The team of scientists were lead by Professor Stefan Schlatt at Muenster University were able to grow sperm cells in a laboratory dish using germ cells – the cells in the testicles that are responsible for sperm production.

This incredible breakthrough could enable infertile men to father their own children. Speaking of the discovery, Stephen Gordon, a leading NHS male infertility consultant stated, “Infertile men naturally want to be the father of their child but at present have to accept that can’t happen. With the mouse discovery, that could now be a possibility.”

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UK scientists investigate the science of sprouts

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

As reported by The Telegraph, young scientists in the UK are investigating why it is that some people hate the taste of the Christmas dinner staple, the Brussels sprout.

Budding scientists at Cornwell’s Eden Project will be testing their DNA to find out whether or not they have a genetic variation of a certain gene which makes a chemical within Brussels sprouts taste particularly bitter.  Luckily for them, those who don’t have this mutation (it is thought that this is about half the world’s population) don’t taste the bitterness at all, meaning they can take full advantage of the nutritional goodness of the good old sprout.

This national programme is being run for the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ADC) and is supported by the Wellcome Trust. The project aims to give young scientists some hands-on experience of working with DNA.

Talking of the programme, John Ellison, head of education strategy at Eden Project, said: “These workshops use Brussels sprouts and our own DNA to show how humans and plants have evolved together.

“The Eden Project provides the context to connect molecular biology with rainforest research into the plant diversity which is vital for future survival.”

Enjoy your sprouts and Merry Christmas!

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Oxford Scientists transform skin cells into immune cells

Friday, November 11th, 2011

As reported by the BBC, Scientists at Oxford University have transformed skin cells into immune cells.

This discovery, which was made in the laboratory has sparked hopes that one day cancer patients’ own skin could be used to help fight their tumours.

The research focused on dendritic cells which are key in organising the immune response as they tell the immune system where to attack by showing identifying markets or antigens.

This study has strengthened previous research by Cancer Research UK as Dr Caeutano Reis e Sousa, and immunology expert, explains, “By showing that normal body cells can be reprogrammed to become a sub-type of dendritic cells with superior activity, this research builds on previous work by Cancer Research UK scientists using blood stem cells as starting material.”

Now this exciting discovery has been made, the real challenge now is to establish whether or not these cells which were made in the lab, can be used for cancer treatments in the clinic.

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Artificial blood developed by UK scientists could be produced on an industrial scale

Friday, October 28th, 2011

As reported by the Daily Mail, artificial blood developed by UK scientists could soon be produced on an industrial scale.

The scientists, working from Edinburgh and Bristol University have successfully created millions of red blood cells from stem cells (these are taken from the bone marrow). Scientists know that cells taken from human embryos are most easy to multiply in large numbers. However, researchers have not yet managed to create realistic blood.

Once an effective technique has been developed, this artificial blood will be free from disease and could be given to anyone, regardless of their blood group. Scientists believe that this will improve blood transfusions by preventing hospital shortages. The artificial blood is also hoped to save many lives at road traffic accidents, during surgery and at war.

However, many do not agree with technique of extracting stem cells from human embryos in order to advance medical science. Therefore, as Mr Turner from the Wellcome Trust highlights,  ‘There is a lot of regulatory framework to ensure that the cells are being treated with the appropriate respect and being used for genuine scientific and medical reasons and not in a trivial fashion.’

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