Futurity.org » University of Sheffield

Despite advances, humans still evolving

Paul Mannion-Sheffield — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:46:23 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Humans continue to evolve and significant natural and sexual selection is still taking place in our species in the modern world, new research shows.

Despite advancements in medicine and technology, as well as an increased prevalence of monogamy, research reveals humans are continuing to evolve just like other species.

Scientists in an international collaboration, which includes the University of Sheffield, analyzed church records of about 6,000 Finnish people born between 1760-1849 to determine whether the demographic, cultural, and technological changes of the agricultural revolution affected natural and sexual selection in our species.

Atomic structure paves way for obesity drugs

Amy Pullan-Sheffield — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:16:30 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Scientists have defined the structure of a key part of the human obesity receptor—an essential factor in the regulation of body fat.

The findings, reported in the journal Structure, could advance efforts to generate drugs that can both block and stimulate the receptor for the obesity hormone leptin—potentially offering new treatments for the complications of obesity and anorexia.

Control faulty gene to protect weak bones

Amy Pullan-Sheffield — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:06:55 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Women with a defective gene have lower bone mass and lose nearly 10 times more bone than women with a correct copy, a new study shows.

Scientists have discovered new ways to help detect and treat the debilitating brittle bone disease osteoporosis, a devastating condition that affects half of all women and a fifth of men over 50 in the UK.

Permafrost thaw warmed prehistoric Earth

Paul Mannion-Sheffield — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:36:41 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Carbon trapped in frozen Polar Region soil likely caused prehistoric global warming, not methane gas in ocean-floor sediments, as previously thought.

As reported in Nature, scientists analyzing prehistoric global warming say thawing permafrost released massive amounts of carbon stored in frozen soil of Polar Regions, exacerbating climate change through increasing global temperatures and ocean acidification.

Although the amounts of carbon involved in the ancient soil-thaw scenarios was likely much greater than today, the implications of this ground-breaking study are that the long-term future of carbon deposits locked into frozen permafrost of Polar Regions are vulnerable to climate warming caused as humans emit the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels for energy generation.

Ultra high-res images with no-lens microscope

Paul Mannion-Sheffield — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:49:17 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — A new electron microscope that works without a lens may create the highest resolution images ever seen.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which looks through an object to see atomic features within it, has been constrained for over 70 years by the relatively poor lenses that are used to form the image.

Harvest biofuel algae with microbubbles

Shemina Davis-Sheffield — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:27:14 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Thanks to microbubble technology, harvesting algae for use as a biofuel could become easier and more affordable.

The technique, developed at the University of Sheffield, builds on previous research in which microbubbles were used to improve the way algae is cultivated. Previously, there has been no cost-effective method of harvesting and removing the water from the algae for it to be processed effectively.

Monkey-brained robot ‘sees’ with whiskers

Paul Mannion-Sheffield — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:26:02 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Researchers have fitted a robotic rat with a monkey brain model in order to increase the machine’s perception.

By fitting the monkey brain model into an existing robotic rat, which the University of Sheffield researchers had already developed, it was able to feel different textured surfaces, such as rough and smooth carpets, as it scuttled across them with its rat-like whiskers.

As reported in the journal Interface, the machine also made better decisions with its whiskers than any previous method tested.

Given time, stem cells may mutate

Diane Squires-Melbourne — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:12:31 +0000

U. MELBOURNE (AUS) / U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — A new study reveals how the genome of 138 stem cell lines of diverse ethnic backgrounds changed when the cells were grown in the laboratory.

Martin Pera, co-author of the paper and chair of stem cell science at the University of Melbourne, says the work “shows clearly that during prolonged culture, stem cells can acquire genetic changes similar to those seen in human cancers.

Many in UK willing to pay for green space

Amy Stone-Sheffield — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:48:32 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — People in the UK are willing to pay more—in taxes or rent/mortgage payments—in order to get greener urban spaces with more tree coverage, according to a new survey.

Members of the public in Sheffield and Manchester were shown images of how local areas could be developed in the future and were asked how much more they would be willing to pay for each scenario.

Whiskers’ key role in reptile-mammal split

Shemina Davis-Sheffield — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:48:43 +0000

U. SHEFFIELD (US) — New research comparing rats and mice with marsupials suggests moveable whiskers were an important milestone in the evolution of mammals from reptiles.

Using high-speed digital video recording and automatic tracking, Tony Prescott, a psychology professor at the University of Sheffield, and colleagues have shed light on how rodents such as mice and rats move their whiskers back-and-forth at high speed—and in varying ways to actively sense the environment around them in a behavior known as whisking.