News and features: 2013

May | Apr | Mar | Feb | Jan

May

Failure to use linked health records may lead to biased disease estimates Failure to use linked electronic health records may lead to biased estimates of disease incidence and outcome, researchers warn in a paper published online today in the British Medical Journal. 22 May 2013 Wellcome Trust expands funding streams in the humanities and social sciences The Wellcome Trust today announces the expansion of three funding streams to enable a wider range of research applications from the humanities, the social sciences and the arts. 22 May 2013 Teaching quality most important factor for inspiring interest in science Wellcome Trust Monitor, an independent nationwide survey, highlights the important role of science teachers in encouraging young people to learn science and as a source of careers advice. 21 May 2013 Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population-level study to examinehuman immunity to the virus. 21 May 2013 Wellcome Trust launches Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowships for Clinicians The Wellcome Trust is inviting applications for Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowships for Clinicians. These support the most talented clinical academics wishing to pursue their research interests at a postdoctoral level. 20 May 2013 New model for genetic testing in cancer patients launched A research programme that will lay the foundations for anyone with cancer to have access to genetic testing has been launched with £2.7 million funding from the Wellcome Trust. 20 May 2013 Scientists unite in bid to solve mystery of mental illness and neurological conditions Some of the UK's leading neuroscientists, stem cell biologists, psychologists and psychiatrists are uniting to break down scientific barriers in a bid to solve the mystery of mental illness and neurological conditions. 17 May 2013 New School Performance Dashboard provides detailed information for governors Fischer Family Trust has released a new School Performance Governor Dashboard aimed at all schools in England, working in partnership with the National Governors' Association and the Wellcome Trust. 17 May 2013 Nationwide survey reveals picture of UK's attitudes to science and medicine Wellcome Trust Monitor, an independent survey of 1396 adults and 460 young people (aged 14-18) reveals the most accurate picture to date of what the UK thinks about science, biomedical research and science education. 17 May 2013 Study to investigate teenage brain development A new research project aims to shed light on what happens to the brain as young people mature, as part of a £5.4 million project funded by the Wellcome Trust. 15 May 2013 Study defines level of dengue virus needed for transmission Researchers have identified the dose of dengue virus in human blood that is required to infect mosquitoes when they bite. 14 May 2013 Wellcome Trust-MIT Postdoctoral Fellowships now open The Wellcome Trust, in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is offering opportunities for early-career researchers to carry out interdisciplinary research at MIT. 07 May 2013 Funding boosts GSK's open approach to drug discovery for low-income countries The Wellcome Trust has awarded a £5 million Seeding Drug Discovery award to GSK to support its open approach to discovering and developing urgently needed new treatments for diseases of low-income countries. 03 May 2013 Standard & Poor's reaffirms Wellcome Trust's AAA credit rating The Wellcome Trust announced today that its AAA (stable) credit rating has been reaffirmed by Standard & Poor's. The Trust continues to be rated Aaa (stable) by Moody's Investors Service (Moody's). 03 May 2013 Wellcome Trust supports open access award programme The Wellcome Trust has joined with the Public Library of Science and Google to launch ASAP and recognise the use of scientific research, published through open access, that has led to innovations that benefit society. 02 May 2013
April

Wellcome Collection explores 'The Nose' Wellcome Collection opens its doors late on Friday 17 May for 'The Nose', a captivating night dedicated to this most 'overlooked' of body parts. The Nose runs from 19.00 to 23.00 and is free to all. 30 Apr 2013 'Fingerprinting' malaria parasite drug resistance offers new tool for tracking public health threat Resistance to the frontline antimalarial drug - artemisinin - can be identified and tracked by analysing the genetic fingerprint of parasite populations, a study published today in 'Nature Genetics' demonstrates. 29 Apr 2013 New app to explore young people's views Is being in love just a chemical reaction? Is technology harming our brains? Is it OK to use cognitive enhancers? These are just some of the debates in a new free app that explores questions about the brain. 29 Apr 2013 Study describes pump mechanism that enables bacteria to evade antibiotic attack Researchers have uncovered details of a mechanism that bacteria use to avoid the effects of antibiotics, which could pave the way for developing new drugs to counteract antibiotic resistance. 26 Apr 2013 Safety study reveals new antibiotic for C. difficile infections is well tolerated in healthy volunteers An experimental antibiotic for Clostridium difficile infections developed with support from the Wellcome Trust has successfully completed a phase 1 clinical trial and is well tolerated by healthy volunteers. 25 Apr 2013 Professor Jeremy Farrar named new Director of the Wellcome Trust The Board of Governors of the Wellcome Trust is pleased to announce the appointment today of Professor Jeremy Farrar as the Trust's new Director. 24 Apr 2013 Zebrafish genome yields significant similarity to human genome Sequencing of the zebrafish genome reveals that 70 per cent of human genes are related to genes found in the zebrafish and that 84 per cent of genes known to be associated with human disease have a zebrafish counterpart. 19 Apr 2013 Winner announced for Epic Games' Make Something Unreal Live 2013 Epigenesis - a computer game developed by Dead Shark Triplepunch - has won Make Something Unreal Live 2013, the European student game development competition. 12 Apr 2013 New Wellcome Collection game asks: Who's the Pest? Wellcome Collection today lets loose armies of digital ants to terrorise gamers in 'Who's the Pest?' But when the gameplay switches allegiance, players are left asking themselves who is really the villain of the piece. 11 Apr 2013 Global burden of dengue is triple current estimates The global burden of dengue infection is more than triple current estimates from the World Health Organization, according to a multinational study published online in the journal 'Nature'. 08 Apr 2013 Wellcome Trust report reviews 20 years of population and public health The Wellcome Trust has launched its latest portfolio review, 'Population and Public Health, 1990-2011', which describes the key breakthroughs in the field over the past two decades. 07 Apr 2013 New CEO takes the reins at Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance Dr Shahid Jameel has been appointed CEO of the India Alliance, an £80m partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. 05 Apr 2013 Wonder takes over the Barbican The Barbican is set to come alive with an interactive 'street fair' of brain experiments, illusions and workshops, stimulating talks, and comedian Ruby Wax talking about her battle with depression and the research that it has inspired. 05 Apr 2013 Study reveals how diabetes drug delays ageing in worms A widely prescribed type 2 diabetes drug slows down the ageing process by mimicking the effects of dieting, according to a study published this week using worms to investigate how the drug works. 02 Apr 2013
March

Study gives new insight into genetic risk of cancers Over 80 regions of the genome that can increase an individual's risk of breast, prostate and ovarian cancers have been found in the largest ever study of its kind. 28 Mar 2013 New hope for safer, more stable foot and mouth disease vaccine A new method has been developed to produce a stable vaccine for foot and mouth disease that does not require the live virus, making it safer to produce and easier to transport and store than existing vaccines. 28 Mar 2013 Teach First and the Wellcome Trust partner to improve school governance Teach First and the Wellcome Trust, two charitable organisations with a shared interest in education, have announced plans to help improve the quality of school governance as part of their commitment to the field. 27 Mar 2013 Paranoia persists in mugging victims for months after attack Being randomly attacked in the street often leaves people paranoid and distrustful of others long after the attack, according to a study published today. 27 Mar 2013 Independent news and comment website The Conversation to launch in UK in May The Conversation, an independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists, will launch in the UK in May. 26 Mar 2013 Parkinson's drug helps older people to make decisions A drug widely used to treat Parkinson's disease can help to reverse age-related impairments in decision making, a study from researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging has shown. 25 Mar 2013 Follow-up study describes declining efficacy of malaria vaccine candidate over four years Long-term follow-up of a phase II study from researchers in Kenya shows that the efficacy of a malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S, wanes over time and varies with exposure to the malaria parasite. 21 Mar 2013 Who's the Pest? brings a season of insects to Wellcome Collection They are with us from the beginning and eat us when we die. Insects will always be a part of our lives, and a major new season at Wellcome Collection explores the complex story between us. 20 Mar 2013 New consortium to investigate mechanisms of developmental disorders A new consortium is to exploit ongoing research to identify genes that are essential for mouse development in order to investigate the origins of developmental diseases and birth defects in humans. 19 Mar 2013 Wellcome Trust charitable expenditure tops £10 billion since the 1980s The Wellcome Trust has revealed that the total amount of charitable expenditure made by the Trust since the 1980s - when it took on its modern form - reached £10.1 billion by the end of the latest financial year. 14 Mar 2013 Access to Nutrition Index calls on food manufacturers to address challenges The world's largest food and beverage manufacturers must do more to increase access to nutritious products and positively exercise their influence on consumers, says the first edition of the Access to Nutrition Index report. 13 Mar 2013 New Wellcome Trust Investigators in Medical Humanities announced The Wellcome Trust today announces the latest recipients of its Investigator Awards in Medical Humanities, awarded to world-class scholars at the interface of science, medicine, the humanities and the social sciences. 12 Mar 2013 The Great Brain Experiment: a new neuroscence app A new mobile app developed by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL aims to carry out science experiments that could previously only be conducted on small groups of volunteers in the lab. 11 Mar 2013 Applications open for the Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize 2013 The hunt is on to find the next generation of undiscovered science writing talent: applications open today for the annual Wellcome Trust Science Writing Prize, in association with the 'Guardian' and the 'Observer'. 06 Mar 2013 Company created to progress experimental Alzheimer's disease therapy King's College London, the Wellcome Trust and Advent Venture Partners have announced the formation of a new UK biotechnology company to progress research into new treatments for Alzheimer's disease. 05 Mar 2013 Million-page story of modern genetics launched by the Wellcome Library The papers of the pioneers of modern genetics have been collected together for the first time and made freely available in a £3.9m digitisation project from the Wellcome Library. 04 Mar 2013 'Affecting Perception' exhibition opens Can brain damage spark creativity? What is the role of memory in art? Is it right to categorise people by their conditions? These are just some of the questions that a new exhibition, opening tomorrow in Oxford, investigates. 01 Mar 2013
February

Feature The need to know: deciphering developmental disorders Life can be challenging for the families of children with undiagnosed developmental disorders. Deciphering Developmental Disorders, a Wellcome Trust-funded study, aims to give families the diagnosis they want and need. 28 Feb 2013 Oxfam donates archive to the Bodleian Libraries Oxfam has announced it has donated its archive, spanning the past 70 years, to the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries. Now a four-and-a-half-year project is underway to catalogue Oxfam's extensive records. 25 Feb 2013 Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships open for application Preliminary applications are now open for Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowships, which support the most promising newly qualified postdoctoral researchers. 22 Feb 2013 The value of HIV treatment scale-up Increased access to antiretroviral therapy has raised adult life expectancy by more than 11 years since 2004 in a community with high HIV prevalence, according to a study published today. 22 Feb 2013 New centre to accelerate drug development for diseases of low-income countries A major new centre to boost the development of drugs to tackle the foremost diseases of low-income countries is to be created at the University of Dundee. 13 Feb 2013 What can you do with your voice? Explore the unexpected qualities of your vocal cords at Wellcome Collection's next late event. Sounds of chattering, squawking and singing will fill Wellcome Collection on Friday 1 March. 12 Feb 2013 Dr Ted Bianco to be appointed Acting Director of the Wellcome Trust Dr Ted Bianco, currently Director of Technology Transfer at the Wellcome Trust, is to be appointed Acting Director of the Trust following the departure of Sir Mark Walport on 14 March. 06 Feb 2013 Channel 4 documentary and exhibition show how to build a bionic man A Channel 4 science documentary, airing on Thursday 7 February at 21.00, is bringing together a team of roboticists to create a complete 'bionic man' for the first time. 05 Feb 2013 Wellcome Trust Centres for Global Health Research We are pleased to announce the Wellcome Trust's five Centres for Global Health Research. The Wellcome Trust has committed more than £3m (total) to these Centres over the next five years. 05 Feb 2013 TB vaccine candidate does not protect infants The most advanced tuberculosis vaccine candidate, MVA85A, does not provide protection in preventing TB disease in infants previously vaccinated with BCG, according to the results of a clinical trial published today. 04 Feb 2013 Early-career clinical postdoctoral fellowship schemes open We are now inviting applications for two schemes to support talented clinicians who wish to undertake postdoctoral training. 01 Feb 2013 Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowships 2013 - apply now Our Engagement Fellowships champion and develop upcoming stars in public engagement with science. 01 Feb 2013
January

Main causes of epilepsy in sub-Saharan Africa revealed The largest study of epilepsy in Africa to date reveals that programmes to control parasitic diseases and access to better antenatal care could substantially reduce the prevalence of the disease in this region. 31 Jan 2013 Feature Beyond the asylum: looking back on mental health Professor Barbara Taylor is known for her work on the history of feminism. But in her new book, she looks back on her time as an inpatient at a mental health institution and at the demise of mental asylums in Britain. 29 Jan 2013 Studies identify two new genetic causes of rare childhood bone condition Researchers in Oxford have discovered two new genetic causes of craniosynostosis - a rare bone condition that can inhibit brain growth in children. 28 Jan 2013 How epigenetic information could be inherited A study published today in the journal 'Science' reveals a potential way for parents' life experiences to be passed to their offspring's genes. 25 Jan 2013 New method for DNA storage announced A new method of DNA storage has been created at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). The method makes it possible to store 100 million hours of high-definition video, or the equivalent, in a cup of DNA. 24 Jan 2013 Feature The biggest poisoning in history Wellcome Trust-funded researchers are developing a hand-held arsenic biosensor so people living in South Asia can test their drinking water themselves. 24 Jan 2013 Barbican and Wellcome Trust announce full programme for 'Wonder' The Barbican and the Wellcome Trust today announce the full programme for 'Wonder: Art and Science on the Brain', which will see the public, artists and neuroscientists explore the inner workings of the brain. 23 Jan 2013 Early HIV treatment slows damage to immune system A 48-week course of antiretroviral medication taken in the early stages of HIV infection slows the damage to the immune system and delays the need for long-term treatment, according to research published today. 17 Jan 2013 Wellcome Collection launches The Hub The Wellcome Trust today invites applications for residency of The Hub, a new space and resource for interdisciplinary projects exploring medicine, health and wellbeing to be based in Wellcome Collection. 17 Jan 2013 Synthetic Schmallenberg virus made in the lab Researchers have made a synthetic copy of the Schmallenberg virus in the laboratory so that they can study how it infects cells and understand how to reduce disease. It is hoped the work will help in the quest for a vaccine. 16 Jan 2013 Feature Professor Kneebone and the remarkable pop-up operating theatre You may find a surgeon in the theatre, but you do not usually expect to see one on the stage. Professor Roger Kneebone, however, seems equally at home with both. 15 Jan 2013 'Lexicon': Sound and vision give expression to dyslexia A poem written by a 12-year-old boy, which gives an insight into his feelings about struggling with dyslexia, has provided the inspiration for a new sonic artwork supported by a Wellcome Trust Small Arts Award. 14 Jan 2013 ThInk: A new blog about the brain The Wellcome Trust today launches ThInk, a new blog dedicated to exploring the human brain and the science, art and innovation that spring from it. 07 Jan 2013 Study turns parasite invasion theory on its head Current thinking on how the Toxoplasma gondii parasite invades its host is incorrect, according to a study published in 'Nature Methods' describing a new technique to knock out genes. 03 Jan 2013 Launch of Syncona Partners Syncona Partners LLP ("Syncona"), a new evergreen investment company, was launched today. The Wellcome Trust, which announced the initiative as Project Sigma in March 2012, has provided initial capital of £200m. 03 Jan 2013

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