Futurity.org » University of Nottingham

Little boys more likely to get water scalds

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:11:34 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Toddlers, particularly boys, with multiple siblings are more likely to be scalded by hot water at home, research shows.

The study also found children whose mothers are 40 or older are less at risk than those with teenage mothers.

Kids with autism mimic ‘more efficiently’

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:07:48 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Children typically copy adult behavior as a social phenomenon, not to learn new skills, though this differs among those with autism.

In their study, published today in Current Biology, scientists report that autistic children, who have profound difficulty in engaging in social situations, were less likely to copy unnecessary behavior when learning a new task.

The research could offer a new approach to examining social development in children and adults with disorders on the autistic spectrum.

Breast cancer biology differs in older women

Lindsay Brooke-Nottingham — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:13:02 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Breast cancer in women over 70 has a less aggressive and distinct biology—findings that could lead to improvements in treatment and outcomes.

That older women have a unique biological type of breast cancer—low estrogen receptor luminal—supports observations as to why breast cancers in this age group appear to have different behaviors. The findings have recently been published in British Journal of Cancer.

“As age advances breast cancer appears to change its biological characteristics, but we still don’t know enough about the precise differences between older and younger patients,” says study leader Kwok-Leung Cheung of the School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health at the University of Nottingham.

Charging for mistakes can sharpen brain

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:12:26 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — To improve performance, punishment can work just as well as a monetary reward, a new study reports.

“This work reveals important new information about how the brain functions that could lead to new methods of diagnosing neural development disorders such as autism, ADHD, and personality disorders, where decision-making processes have been shown to be compromised,” says Marios Philiastides, lecturer at the University of Nottingham.

Fertilizer adds selenium to Malawi food crops

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:27:26 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Soil in Malawi often lacks enough selenium for adequate nutrition, according to researchers who say enriched fertilizer could raise levels of the mineral in the country’s food.

This step could help to reduce disease and premature death in the country, say the researchers, whose findings are published in Scientific Reports.

Inflammation turns off gene that stops early labor

Amy Pullan-Sheffield — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:59:43 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Inflammation in the uterus can switch off a key gene that stops labor from occurring too early, research shows. The discovery may lead to new treatments to prevent premature births.

The process behind how women go into normal term labor is still poorly understood, but it is vital that it happens at the right time when the baby is ready to be born and can survive. Currently there are few reliable drugs that can be used to stop labor if it starts too early.

Disabled protein shortens malaria life cycle

Lindsay Brooke-Nottingham — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:21:17 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Disabling a unique signalling protein puts the brakes on the life cycle of the malaria parasite, a new study reports.

Researchers have produced a mutant that lacks the ancient bacterial Shewanella-like protein phosphatase known as SHLP1 (pronounced ‘shelph’) that is essential for the parasite’s development.

Scientists ask: Put a price tag on nature?

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:29:29 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Attaching a monetary value to the environment could have significant social implications, researchers argue in a new study.

Marion Potschin, of the University of Nottingham’s Centre for Environmental Management, is among an international team of researchers who have been investigating the ethical considerations of a new concept known as “ecosystem services,” which some say turns nature into a commodity.

Why exercise slows memory loss in Alzheimer’s

Emma Thorne-Nottingham — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:48:25 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — A stress hormone produced during moderate exercise may protect the brain from memory changes related to Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease by researchers from the University of Nottingham, may also explain why people who are susceptible to stress are at more risk of developing the disease.

Bed of oatmeal proves sexy for penicillin fungus

Lindsay Brooke-Nottingham — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:57:38 +0000

U. NOTTINGHAM (UK) — Knowing what gets a seemingly asexual fungus turned on could lead to cheaper penicillin.

The researchers found that sexual reproduction could be induced in Penicillium chrysogenum when strains were mated in the dark on oatmeal with a vitamin supplement.