Latest University of Nottingham Stories
Scientists at The University of Nottingham are leading a major European study to unravel the genetic code of one of the most lethal strains of hospital acquired infections.The 3 million euro, three-year study will use gene knock-out technology developed in Nottingham to study the function of genes in a "˜super' strain of the bacteria Clostridium difficile to discover why it causes more severe disease, kills more people, is harder to eradicate and more resistant to antibiotics.It is hoped...
When there is a threat of disease during pregnancy, mothers produce less aggressive sons with more efficient immune systems, researchers at The University of Nottingham have discovered.The study provides the first evidence for a transgenerational effect on immune response based on environmental cues "” with maternal perception of disease risk in the immediate environment potentially determining offspring disease resistance and social dominance. The results are published in Proceedings of...
Treatment times for amblyopia "” more commonly known as "˜lazy eye' "” could be drastically reduced thanks to research carried out at The University of Nottingham.Amblyopia is thought to affect up to 2.5 per cent of people and accounts for around 90 per cent of all children's eye appointments in the UK. Occlusion therapy "” patching the normal eye for lengthy periods to "˜train' the affected eye "” is the main treatment for amblyopia. However, this method can be distressing to...
The widespread problem of children failing to take their medication for a range of life-threatening illnesses is to be tackled as part of a new university research project.The 21-month study involving health specialists at The University of Nottingham and The University of Leicester will draw on the experiences of school children with asthma, diabetes, congenital heart disease and epilepsy to learn about the barriers that prevent them from taking medicines prescribed for them.Funded with...
A study led by researchers at The University of Nottingham has identified a gene that protects the body from lung cancer.The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA and funded by a £72,000 ($106,000 USD) grant from the British Lung Foundation, has found that the tumor suppressor gene, LIMD1, is responsible for protecting the body from developing lung cancer "” paving the way for possible new treatments and early screening techniques. Lead...
A more human approach to processing raw data could change the way that computers deal with information, according to academics at The University of Nottingham.Researchers in the School of Computer Science at the University's Malaysia Campus are exploring "˜granular computing' "” a computer paradigm that looks at groups or sets of information, called information granules, rather than the high level of detail at which data is currently processed.By looking at data in this way, new patterns...
Biologists at The University of Nottingham and University College Dublin have announced a major breakthrough in our understanding of the sex life of a microscopic fungus which is a major cause of death in immune deficient patients and also a cause of severe asthma.The discovery of a sexual cycle in the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is highly significant in understanding the biology and evolution of the species and will shed new light on its ability to adapt to new environments and its...
Astronomers at The University of Nottingham have identified a type of galaxy that could be the missing link in our understanding of galaxy evolution.The STAGES study led by the University's Centre for Astronomy and Particle Theory examines galaxy evolution using images from the Hubble Space Telescope. A separate project "” Galaxy Zoo "” uses volunteers from the general public to classify galaxies. Both teams have identified a population of unusual red spiral galaxies that are setting out...
A new technique to study genetic changes that can lead to breast cancer could be one step closer.The University of Nottingham has received £15,000 ($22,500) from the charity Breast Cancer Campaign to fill in one of the research gaps identified by the country's top breast cancer experts in a recent study carried out by the charity. The aim is to identify the many undiscovered genes thought to be involved in the early stages of breast cancer.The grant awarded to Ian Ellis, Professor of...
Computers are getting smaller and smaller. And as hand-held devices "” from mobile phones and cameras to music players and laptops "” get more powerful, the race is on to develop memory formats that can satisfy the ever-growing demand for information storage on tiny formats.Researchers at The University of Nottingham are now exploring ways of exploiting the unique properties of carbon nanotubes to create a cheap and compact memory cell that uses little power and writes information at high...
