Research impact stories
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Health and welfare
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Properties of aerosols may hold clue to better drugs for lung disease
13 September 2013
Lung disease is one of the most common causes of death in the Western world, claiming around 25,000 lives in the UK and over 13 million in the US. The most effective treatments come in the form of inhalers but the nature of existing technology can mean higher doses of drugs have to be administered to compensate for the inevitable waste from whatever doesn’t reach the lung surface. Researchers at Bristol University are exploring how to improve the process at the scientific and technical level – their findings could eventually lead to better outcomes for patients as well as cost savings.
Altering cellular function of immune system could hold key to targeting allergies
10 September 2013
Peanut allergy forms an increasing health burden in Western societies, with long term consequences and potentially life threatening effects. Yet despite more than a century of experimental therapeutics, there remains no clinically available curative treatment. A cellular and molecular perspective provided by Bristol University experts could provide new clues.
Search for new cancer biomarker propelled by detailed exploration of cell structures
28 August 2013
Advances in science, diagnosis and treatment mean that more people than ever before are surviving cancer. But with an increase in survival rates comes an increase in the possibility that for some people, cancer will recur later in life. This presents a continuing challenge for cancer research – biomedical scientists at Bristol University are finding new ways to find a solution.
Understanding the brain’s role in obesity
16 August 2013
The world’s growing obesity crisis is rarely out of the headlines, given the increasing burden on the healthcare system and the livelihoods of those affected. The abundance of highly calorific foods and aggressive marketing is often blamed. A new study hopes to find out the truth, using neuroimaging techniques to measure the neural, hormonal and behavioural responses to food consumption.
Understanding chronic fatigue syndrome
24 July 2013
Using a state-of-the-art MRI scanner helps researchers understand the cognitive impairment which is often associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Physiologists look to neuronal networks for pain targets
24 June 2013
We are all familiar with the sensation of acute pain. Describing the symptoms – the discomfort, the distress – comes relatively easily, but sometimes, if pain becomes chronic, identifying the cause is much harder. For physiologists, this remains one of the most complex areas of study and for the medical community, one of the most urgent. Researchers at the University of Bristol believe the answer lies in untangling the neuronal networks that tie the physiological system together.
Neurotransmitters could be to blame for debilitating headaches
17 June 2013
Motivation, addiction, sleep, high blood pressure – one family of neurones is implicated in all such conditions and if researchers at the University of Bristol hypothesise correctly, migraines could also be added to that list. In approaching a conclusion, their efforts are focused towards refining the molecular techniques and analysing the complex neuronal processes involved in transmitting signals that mastermind the networks connecting brain to body.
Creative science opens up unlimited possibilities in biochemistry
28 May 2013
An artistic approach to unpacking the structural components of proteins is proving revelatory for biochemists at the University of Bristol. Their back-to-basics philosophy is a useful antidote to the complexity of one of the on-going challenges in the discipline, allowing them to create new proteins entirely by design.
Studies link schizophrenia to functional disconnections in the brain
13 May 2013
Attempts to understand schizophrenia and its diverse symptoms have taken researchers and psychiatrists on a journey throughout the brain. Schizophrenia is one of the most common of the mental illnesses and is thought to affect about 70 million adults worldwide – yet effective alleviation of its broad range of symptoms continues to elude medical practitioners.
Studies of mutant fish reveal genetic roots of osteoarthritis
8 May 2013
It is one of the UK’s major causes of disability, affecting eight million people. Over half the population of the Western world aged over 65 are affected by it. Yet osteoarthritis, and particularly the prevention of it, attracts a proportionately low level of research interest. For Dr Chrissy Hammond, this makes it an increasingly urgent issue, and her research is already making significant inroads into our understanding of joint deterioration.
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