Articles about 'Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)'

Uninfected or asymptomatic? Diagnostic tests key to forecasting major epidemics

05 April 2016

Major epidemics such as the recent Ebola outbreak or the emerging Zika epidemic may be difficult to forecast because of our inability to determine whether individuals are uninfected or infected but not showing symptoms, according to a new study from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge. ̽��ֱ��finding emphasises the need to develop and deploy reliable diagnostic tests to detect infected individuals whether or not they are showing symptoms, say the researchers.

Colonies of human naïve embryonic stem cells grown on mouse feeder cells

Scientists develop very early stage human stem cell lines for first time

04 March 2016

Scientists at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have for the first time shown that it is possible to derive from a human embryo so-called ‘naïve’ pluripotent stem cells – one of the most flexible types of stem cell, which can develop into all human tissue other than the placenta.

Cambridge leads UK institutions in agreement on crop science with Indian government

24 February 2016

A collaboration between leading scientists in the UK and India will focus on tackling global food shortages with research into increasing crop yields and improving disease and drought resistance.

Epigenetic discovery suggests DNA modifications more diverse than previously thought

21 December 2015

̽��ֱ��world of epigenetics – where molecular ‘switches’ attached to DNA turn genes on and off – has just got bigger with the discovery by a team of scientists from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge of a new type of epigenetic modification.

Stored fat fights against the body’s attempts to lose weight

24 November 2015

̽��ֱ��fatter we are, the more our body appears to produce a protein that inhibits our ability to burn fat, suggests new research published in the journal Nature Communications. ̽��ֱ��findings may have implications for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases.

How the stick insect sticks (and unsticks) itself

07 October 2015

New research shows the fluid found on insects’ feet does not help them adhere to vertical and inverted surfaces, as previously thought, but may in fact help them to unstick their feet more easily to allow greater control over their sticking power.

Love’s Labours: study shows male lizards risk becoming lunch for a bird in order to attract a mate

22 September 2015

New research shows male lizards are more likely than females to be attacked by predators because the bright colours they need to attract a mate also make them more conspicuous to birds.

Left: cricket on a trackball during experiment. Right: Auditory neuron in cricket brain.

Neural circuit in the cricket brain detects the rhythm of the right mating call

11 September 2015

Delay mechanism within elegant brain circuit consisting of just five neurons means female crickets can automatically detect chirps of males from same species. Scientists say this example of simple neural circuitry could be “fundamental” for other types of information processing in much larger brains.

Young minds think alike – and older people are more distractible

14 August 2015

‘Bang! You’re Dead’, a 1961 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, continues to surprise – but not just with the twist in its tale. Scientists at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge have used the programme to show that young people respond in a similar way to events, but as we age our thought patterns diverge.

Scanning electron micrograph of the tarsal notch

Close-up film shows for the first time how ants use ‘combs’ and ‘brushes’ to keep their antennae clean

27 July 2015

Using unique mechanical experiments and close-up video, Cambridge researchers have shown how ants use microscopic ‘combs’ and ‘brushes’ to keep their antennae clean, which could have applications for developing cleaners for nanotechnology.

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