CORDIS EXPRESS

This week’s CORDIS Express features Eu-funded innovation, cutting edge genetics, man's best friend and a group of signing mice. A new finding may help people suffering from skin disorders. Spanish reseachers are helping make sure that the internet doesn't run out of real estate. Cells can inherit information which is not contained in their genes. Plant food supplements may, in some cases, cause mroe harm than good. Yawning can reveal more than just boredom or being tired. Winter is causing some researchers to wonder if European children are getting enough vitamin D. Finally and Briefly, some country mice are showing themselves to be more talented than city mice.

Golden retrievers help scientists track human disease genes

A team of EU-funded researchers has successfully identified a gene that triggers a skin disorder in dogs - and the findings could have implications for humans who also suffer from the condition. Whether it manifests in golden retrievers or in humans, the disease ichthyosis has the same common genetic basis; therefore, any new bounds made in understanding the condition in dogs are applicable to humans too. No molecular cause for ichthyosis has previously been identified. Humans and dogs tend to suffer from the same conditions. We live together in the same environments and the dogs' genetic make-up could hold the key to better understanding the genetic origins of cancer, epilepsy, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

EU-funded prizewinning researchers decongest the internet!

The internet has become part of our everyday lives, in ways we would never have imagined 30 years ago, but how often do we pause and think about the how and why of getting online? A team of EU-funded Spanish researchers are doing exactly that. IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4), the protocol that every device uses to connect to the internet, has just encountered a major stumbling block: because of the internet's continuous spiralling growth, all of its addresses have recently run out. It is hoped that IPv6, a protocol currently in the early days of implementation, will eventually replace IPv4; unfortunately, however the two protocols are not compatible. Now researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a solution to the problem.

Piecing together a genetic puzzle

A European team of scientists has discovered how cells accurately inherit information that is not contained in their genes. The research, presented in the journal Developmental Cell, was funded in part by the EPICENTROMERE ('Determining the epigenetic mechanism of centromere propagation') project, which has clinched a Marie Curie Action 'International Reintegration Grant' worth EUR 100 000 under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The results help piece together a puzzle on the biological processes of genes and cells, and in particular on cell division. While the adult human body's 10 trillion cells are genetically identical, they develop into distinct types of cells including nerve cells, skin cells and muscle cells. This distinctive quality is triggered by the activation of some genes and the inhibition of others.

Plant food supplements in the spotlight

Natural food does not always mean safe food. EU-funded researchers have discovered that the compounds found in some botanicals and botanical preparations, such as plant food supplements, may be detrimental to one's health. Presented in the journal Food and Nutrition Sciences, the study was funded in part by the PLANTLIBRA ('Plant food supplements: levels of intake, benefit and risk assessment') project, which is backed with nearly EUR 6 million under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' (KBBE) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). A past study found that alkenylbenzenes contribute to higher incidences of liver cancer in animals. In their latest study, researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Università degli Studi di Milano in Italy found that many plant food supplements levels of these compounds are so low that they are of no concern.

Yawning sheds like on family ties

Diseases are not the only things that can be contagious; yawning is catching too. And while most of us have long recognized this phenomenon, thanks in part to falling 'victim' to it, no one succeeded in shedding scientific light on this mystery ... until now. Researchers in Italy have offered the first behavioural evidence that yawning is a fast and frequent effect between people who share an empathic bond, like friends and family members. The results were published in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers from the Natural History Museum at the University of Pisa and the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies of the Italian National Research Council (ISTC-CNR) say yawn infectiveness is a sign of emotional 'contagion'.

Are European kids getting enough vitamin D? Winter weather reopens the debate

The cold snap has well and truly set in across much of Europe, and as temperatures fall, watching our health becomes increasingly more crucial. Keeping our vitamin D levels up during the winter months has long been lauded as an important part of this fight against unforgiving winter climes, particularly for vulnerable groups such as young children. But parents and carers could be forgiven for feeling confused about the different and at times conflicting advice they hear from doctors and the media regarding what is best for their young ones, and several recently published research papers on vitamin D levels from British and French researchers have re-opened this medical can of worms.

'Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) open info day for the Fifth IMI Call for Proposals', Brussels, Belgium

The 'Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) open info day for the Fifth IMI Call for Proposals' will take place on 27 February 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. The event will include an overview of IMI's funding and intellectual property rules, tips and testimonies from people involved in ongoing IMI projects. There will also be a presentation of the Fifth IMI Call topic 'European lead factory: Joint European compound library and screening centre'. The event programme will also include networking opportunities and information sessions with IMI staff. Expected attendees will include small and medium-sized enterprises, patient organisations, regulatory authorities, academic teams, industry, hospitals and other stakeholders with an interest in IMI projects.

'Collaborative technology for coordinating crisis management', Toulouse, France

An event entitled 'Collaborative technology for coordinating crisis management' will take place from 25 to 27 June 2012 in Toulouse, France. In a crisis, different actors have to act simultaneously in order to reduce a situation's potential impact. To do this, a variety of entities, from police to military forces, medical organisations, civil society organizations and others, have to collaborate and act in a coordinated way. The conference will look at the benefits of adopting collaborative enabling information technologies such as agent based-systems, collaborative mechanisms, semantic web and group decision support systems. The event will establish how collaborative information technologies help coordination of crisis management for all stakeholders.