By Heather Hobbs BRINGING YOU THE LATEST RESEARCH & EVENTS NEWS FROM THE SCIENCE INDUSTRY


University Joins International Nutrition Study


Researchers at the University of Southampton have joined an international consortium, led by the Ludwig-Maximilians at the University of Munich, which has initiated a transnational research programme for prevention and intervention in pregnancy and early post natal life to tackle later obesity and associated disorders. The University of Southampton's Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and Institute of Developmental Sciences will host an almost £1 million programme of work to be carried out in Southampton. The project team will investigate the impact of early nutrition on later health using local studies such as, the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) and Southampton Initiative for Health. Professor Keith Godfrey, who leads the Southampton EarlyNutrition team, and is Deputy Director of the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle at the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be a major part of this substantial EU project. The resulting resource for Southampton will allow a large number of important scientific projects aimed at understanding how nutrition early in life, for example in the womb and in infancy, might affect the risk of later obesity and ill- health.” The research team will explore the role of early diet, lifestyle and physical activity in determining body composition in later childhood. Detailed assessment of these factors in mothers and children from the Southampton Women's Survey will be related to the child’s fat, muscle and bone mass measured by DXA scanning in a new follow up assessment at 10 to 11 years after birth. Professor Mark Hanson, Director of the University's Institute for Developmental Sciences, added: “This project will allow us to explore in detail how environmental factors, such as what a pregnant woman eats, might influence how genes are expressed in her developing baby. These findings may help us to find new ways of identifying, at birth, children who might be at increased risk of obesity and other disorders, such that preventive measures can be put in place early.”


Find out more circle no. 505 Fundraising Effort Boosts Aberdeen Cancer Research


The fight against two of Scotland’s fastest rising cancers received a major boost last month when a fundraising duo handed over a further £11,500. Joyce Byrne and John Barclay have been fundraising for the Grampian Gastroeosphageal Cancer Research Fund (GASTROCAN) for the last three years and have now raised a total of £34,500. GASTROCAN set up by Dr Russell Petty, a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at the University of Aberdeen, and Consultant Medical Oncologist with NHS Grampian, furthers research into gastric (stomach) and oesophageal cancers. They are among the most rapidly rising types of cancer in Scotland and rates in Scotland are among the highest in the world. While advances have been made in treatment to control gastroeosphageal cancer, cure rates remain low especially in comparison to other cancer types. A patient with breast cancer has an eight out of 10 chance of completely beating the disease, compared with just one in 10 gastroesophgeal cancer patients. During his illness Joyce Byrne’s husband Paddy received treatment from Dr Petty as did John, who is in remission from stomach cancer. Following a memorial concert for Paddy, John from Danestone, Aberdeen, said: “It was a fantastic night and we were absolutely delighted that so many people came along and helped us celebrate Paddy and raise funds at the same time. “We wanted to raise money for Dr Petty because stomach and gullet cancers don’t seem to receive the same research funds as other cancers.” Dr Petty added: “Our research projects include clinical trials of the latest drugs for gastroesophageal cancer patients


and investigations into the causes of gastroesophageal cancer. We are also looking at the symptoms of the disease and how patients and GPs react to them and we are also exploring how new imaging and scanning techniques can be used to improve how the best treatment for patients is selected. A key aim of all our research is to move towards more personalised optimised treatment that has the best chance of success rather than the current ‘one size fits all’ approach.” “It is thanks to donations like this we can continue our fight against this rapidly increasing disease and I’m very grateful to John and Joyce for their continued support.”


Find out more circle no. 506 Plant and Insects Collection Opened up


Several of Scotland’s most significant collections of insects and plants can now be viewed online after painstaking work by museum staff at the University of Aberdeen to catalogue more than 60,000 bugs and dried plants over the last year. The University’s Zoology Museum is home to insect collections of national importance such as the James Duncan collection of c. 10,000 British moths and butterflies, representing around 750 different species and an almost complete array of macro-moths in Britain. The Herbarium is one of just two major herbaria in Scotland; the other


being the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. University staff have now completed cataloguing type specimens in the Thailand plant collection, polar plants and several thousand British mosses and lichens. The Thai collection is regarded as the second most important collection of its kind in the world. The project to make the records available online was funded by the Museums Galleries Scotland Recognition Fund to increase public access to these important collections. Thousands of records can now be found and searched online at www.abdn.ac.uk/museums.


Find out more circle no. 507


Biologist Receives Top Prize at SET for Britain


Nicholas Love from the Healing Foundation Centre at the University of Manchester was the overall winner at SET for Britain, a prestigious competition which recognises Britain’s most promising scientists. The competition took place in the House of Commons and was attended by MPs. Dr Love, 29, is a post-doctoral researcher studying the molecular mechanisms underlying appendage regeneration in tadpoles in order to advance research into scar-free healing. He says: “I think this win shows that what we are doing is important to people outside the field. I am really pleased to win.” Dr Mark Downs, Chief Executive of the Society of Biology, says: “It is fantastic to see a biologist as the overall winner against some fierce competition. Dr Love is one of 56 biologists who presented their research and this award is recognition of the importance of his work.” The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee ran the event in collaboration with the Society of Biology, The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Institute of Physics, The Royal Society of Chemistry, the Physiological Society, the Wellcome Trust and the Society of Chemical Industry. Dr Downs was extremely impressed by the quality of the science being presented. He said: “Biosciences address some of the biggest challenges we face, from new medicines


Wheat Disease Poster Wins SET Bronze


to food security. The breadth of work on display highlighted the enormous talent of young UK researchers, and it helped parliamentarians understand how science works and what the future might hold. The event also challenged biologists to make their work accessible and engage in policy issues.” The event received financial support from BP, Airbus/EADS, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, AgChem Access, Oxford Instruments, IBMS and GE Hitachi.


Find out more circle no. 508


John Innes Centre researcher Dr Christopher Burt won a Bronze category medal at the SET for Britain Awards, receiving a £1,000 prize. Christopher presented a poster on research into eyespot, a fungal disease of wheat, which costs the UK £15 million in crop losses annually, driving a need for new resistant varieties. However, the best source of genetic resistance may cause a yield penalty when the disease is absent. Christopher’s work has potentially broken the link between the yield penalty and the disease resistance, and also pinned down other good sources of resistance. His BBSRC-CASE award that funded this work is with the Home Grown Cereal Authority, making his findings readily available to the plant breeding community. Christopher said, “I’m just surprised, really. Crops can be a bit unfashionable but it’s great to see the work we do recognised in this way. This was a great opportunity to discuss my work with policy makers and to demonstrate how research at the John Innes Centre can directly benefit the development of new wheat varieties.”


Find out more circle no. 509


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36