News
1. Resistance to combination drugs threatens efforts to eradicate malaria
[Date: 2013-06-18]
With 300-500 million people falling ill to malaria each year, this debilitating tropical disease remains a global problem. Current combination drug therapy is still generally effective, but recent signs of resistance present scientists with a new challenge.
Malaria is major issue in Africa, in particular, where drug resistance in the 1990s contributed to a higher than usual death rate from the disease. ... read more
2. Learning the Alphabet of Gene Control
[Date: 2013-01-28]
Scientists from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have made progress in understanding how human genes are regulated. In their study they have identified the DNA sequences, which bound to over four hundred proteins controlling the expression of genes.
After the human genome was sequenced in the year 2000, it was hoped that the knowledge of the entire sequence of human DNA could rapidly be translated to ... read more
3. Innovative rehabilitation for stroke victims
[Date: 2013-01-10]
A pioneering rehabilitation system has been developed, with the aim of improving the quality of life of those suffering from brain damage.
The WALKX project, was co-funded for two years by the European Commission through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and developed by the Biomechanics Institute of Valencia (IBV) in Spain.
The home rehabilitation system supports the patient from sitting to ... read more
4. Scientists collaborate to strengthen mental health systems in low-income countries
[Date: 2012-12-07]
An international consortium of scientists has launched the EMERALD global mental health project to improve mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LAMICs). The project is funded with EUR 5.8 million by the European Union, under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007/2013).
EMERALD stands for 'emerging mental health systems in low- and middle-income countries'. The project is being ... read more
5. Social media harnessed in new age awareness campaign
[Date: 2012-11-30]
Awareness of age-related illnesses and research is set to get a boost thanks to a new EU project - A Sharing Approach to Promoting Science (ASAPS) - aimed at raising public awareness on health-related scientific research focusing on ageing. The ASAPS project has been awarded EUR 1 million in funding by the European Commission under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). As it currently stands, by 2050 the ... read more
6. Biotech developments signal new breakthrough
[Date: 2012-11-19]
The study of proteins (which are found throughout every cell and tissue in the body) is of specific interest to scientists, as they are an integral part of most biological processes. Proteins are composed of amino acids chemically linked together, while shorter stretches of amino acids are commonly referred to as peptides.
For some time, research has focused on looking for synthetic peptides in an attempt ... read more
7. Scientists tackle Huntington's disease by targeting mutant gene
[Date: 2012-11-05]
Huntington's disease is an inherited, neurodegenerative disorder that usually appears in mid-adult life and leads to uncoordinated body movements and cognitive decline. The disease is due to multiple repetitions of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence (i.e. the nucleotides CAG) in the gene encoding the 'Huntingtin' protein. This sequence is present more than 35 times in patients suffering from this disease, ... read more
8. EU scientists giving hope to stroke sufferers
[Date: 2012-11-05]
The EU reports around one million cases of stroke each year, and stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, just after cardiac disease. EU data show that about 25 % of men and 20 % of women will likely suffer a stroke if they reach 85 years of age. Despite the fatal characteristics of stroke, triggered by disturbances in the blood supply to the brain and then rapid loss of brain function, researchers ... read more
9. EU sees results of EUR 90 million school fruit scheme
[Date: 2012-10-29]
Encouraging healthy eating habits from an early age is the idea behind the EU-funded School Fruit Scheme, which, according to the latest report, benefited 8,146,290 children from 54,267 schools during 2010/11 (a rise of 70 % compared with 2009/10). In addition, there was increased demand from the previous year on fruit and vegetables to the order of 43,730 tonnes within the EU-24 Member States.
The annual ... read more
10. Scientists identify genes and facial shape connection
[Date: 2012-10-10]
Researchers funded in part by the EU have discovered that five genes play a key role in determining human facial shapes. Presented in the journal PLoS Genetics, the genome-wide association study on facial phenotype can help scientists identify more genes for other complex human phenotypes, including height.
The research can help advance understanding of the complex molecular interactions governing normal ... read more
