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A £5m investment in mental health research will help to improve services for patients

The money will help to create the country's first ever Mental Health Research Network, which will act as a central resource and help to co-ordinate research.

7 Jun 2004

Neuroscientists have overcome a major obstacle in gene therapy research

Northwestern University neuroscientists have overcome a major obstacle in gene therapy research. They've devised a method that will safely deliver and regulate expression of therapeutic genes introduced into the central nervous system to treat Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.

5 Jun 2004

Diabetics could be up to three times more likely to get bowel cancer

People with diabetes could be up to three times more likely to get bowel cancer – according to a report from Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council published*(1) today.

5 Jun 2004

People with diabetes could be up to three times more likely to get bowel cancer

Scientists tested a marker of the sugar levels in blood samples*(2) taken from almost 10,000 men and women aged between 45-79 and then checked their medical condition six years later.

5 Jun 2004

One small glass of wine may be enough to harm fetal brain

Just one small glass of wine. It may not seem like much alcohol, but expectant moms should beware. Research done in Alberta points to new dangers from drinking while pregnant.

3 Jun 2004

Reliability of medical research in Britain today questioned by the general public

Doctors, patients and the general public depend on results of scientific research to provide information about the safety and effectiveness of medical treatments. Following the controversy surrounding the Andrew Wakefield study on the link between MMR vaccines and autism, the public is now considering the reliability of medical research in Britain today.

2 Jun 2004

Research laboratory at the forefront of the science of metabolomics

A new $1.8 million research laboratory will catapult Iowa State University to the forefront of the science of metabolomics.

2 Jun 2004

Acne drug may help treat multiple sclerosis

Dr. Luanne Metz, an associate professor of neurosciences and physician-scientist in the Neuroscience Research Group at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine, has found that minocycline, a drug currently used to treat such conditions as acne, decreases the activity of lesions in the brains of people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS).

2 Jun 2004

Mice may hold the key to longer life

Scientists from the University of Aberdeen, the Aberdeen-based Rowett Research Institute and the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Cambridge have made a major breakthrough in understanding how metabolism affects lifespan.

2 Jun 2004

Smoking a lot more harmful than previously thought

The U.S. Surgeon General has released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. Published 40 years after the surgeon general's first report on smoking -- which concluded that smoking was a definite cause of three serious diseases -- this newest report finds that cigarette smoking is conclusively linked to diseases such as leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach.

30 May 2004

3-D micro-imaging technology licensed to Carl Zeiss Jena by Cornell

Biomedical microscopic imaging deep inside living tissue with unprecedented clarity could become routine and widely available with the signing of technology-transfer and collaborative-research agreements today (May 28, 2004) by Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH, a leading maker of microscopy instrumentation, and by CCTEC, the technology, enterprise and commercialization arm of Cornell University.

30 May 2004

Discovery that body temperature has a vital role in the onset of sleep

Insomnia affects up to a quarter of the population in Australia and can have a severe impact on the quality of life and health of long term chronic sufferers, who often cannot stay alert enough to remain in the workforce.

28 May 2004

Smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body.

27 May 2004

Research program may provide parents the tools they need to prevent shaken baby syndrome

Crying, especially inconsolable crying, is the most common trigger for shaking and physical abuse of infants. A new research program may provide parents and other caretakers the tools they need to prevent shaken baby syndrome (SBS), a form of child abuse that can cause immediate damage to the victim's brain or be fatal.

27 May 2004

₤16.5 million investment in stem cell research

A ₤16.5 million investment in stem cell research was announced today, 27th May, promising to speed the development of new treatments and cures from the laboratory to the clinic. In total, 57 multidisciplinary research grants have been awarded as part of the new monies allocated via the 2002 Government Spending Review to the UK Research Councils.

27 May 2004

International adult stem cell 'retraining' project starts in Birmingham

An exciting research project to utilise the body's own stem cells to regenerate areas of tissue damage is uniting scientists in Birmingham, London and Ontario, Canada. The University of Birmingham is leading a three year study with long term aims of helping stroke, Parkinsons and diabetes patients.

27 May 2004

Good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia

There is good evidence that genes play an important role in causing schizophrenia. The disease prevalence is higher among blood relatives than non-related people and males are affected more frequently than females.

26 May 2004

Study indicates the number of people in the UK who could be incubating vCJD

The Journal of Pathology recently published a paper entitled Prevalence of lymphoreticular prion protein accumulation in UK tissue samples. The study looked at 12,674 stored appendix and tonsil samples, and found that 3 of them showed evidence of the prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

25 May 2004

UK Research and teaching in medical schools under threat

The way medical research is funded has led to an exodus of academic staff from medical schools, the chairman of the BMA's Medical Academic Committee said today (Tuesday 25 May).

25 May 2004

19 cases, including 4 deaths, of Ebola haemorrhagic fever southern Sudan

As of 24 May 2004, the health authorities of Yambio County have reported a total of 19 cases, including 4 deaths, of Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Yambio, Western Equatoria, south Sudan.

24 May 2004