Articles
Seasonal competition between mould spores and respiratory viruses
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is one of a number of respiratory viruses that demonstrate a clear seasonal incidence. Professor Gregory Retzinger and colleagues have explored the relationship between influenza-like illnesses (ILIs), COVID-19 and bioaerosol burden. They found an inverse relationship between mould spores and cases of ILIs and COVID-19 which is potentially due to competition for the same […]
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Comfort Talk®: Transforming the experience of pain and anxiety in clinical settings
Dr Elvira Lang – founder of Comfort Talk® – and colleagues, developed a mobile self-hypnotic relaxation app to improve pain and anxiety management in clinical settings. The app has been developed based on previous findings from Dr Lang’s team showing that specific word sequences can be used to improve patients’ experiences in clinical settings. The results of their placebo-controlled clinical […]
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The biodegrading functions of microbial communities in polluted freshwaters
Pollution is a selective pressure that enriches microorganisms at polluted freshwater sites. Some microbial species can adapt to the levels of pollution in water streams, displaying metabolic capacities that allow them to degrade the contaminants. Dr Ayixon Sánchez-Reyes and Dr Luz Bretón-Deval, from the Institute of Biotechnology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, study the microbial biodiversity landscapes of […]
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Metrology for the Factory of the Future
Metrology for the Factory of the Future (Met4FoF) is a joint research project that brings together researchers from leading national metrology institutes and universities in Europe. This project establishes a metrological framework and combines metrology and modern digital technologies to encompass the lifecycle of measured data in industrial applications. The researchers demonstrate the practical applicability of the framework with its […]
Eyewitness testimony: How much alcohol is too much?
It is widely believed that alcohol-intoxicated witnesses, victims, and suspects are not credible, and therefore should not be trusted in legal investigations. However, the research by Dr Angelica Hagsand and colleagues has shown that this may not be the whole story. Their research findings could have important implications for the police and other legal organisations to understand when witnesses can […]
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RADON: Expanding the use of serverless computing technologies
The RADON (Rational decomposition and orchestration for serverless computing) project is coordinated by Dr Giuliano Casale, with researchers from Imperial College London, Tilburg University, University of Stuttgart, and University of Tartu, as well as the Athens Technology Center, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, XLAB, and Eficode. The consortium has developed a software engineering framework that addresses the challenge of developing cloud applications […]
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Bioinspired light-responsive materials for on-demand drug delivery
Polymer-based nanomaterials represent one of the most innovative and promising approaches in modern biomedical applications, including cancer and antibacterial therapy. They offer the ability to control the delivery of specific drugs within the human body. Their practical application, however, faces many challenges, for instance low tumour penetration in cancer or low drug internalisation in the case of antimicrobials. Professor Filippo […]
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Mothers’ burdens after living donor liver transplantation
Many mothers who donate a portion of their liver to their child go on to have more children. Research has been conducted to investigate whether there are any medical complications associated with pregnancy or childbirth after liver donation, but no research has considered the mothers’ experiences. Dr Ayaka Fujita and colleagues from Kyushu University interviewed women about their experiences with […]
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Promising potential treatment for ovarian cancer reaches final stages of clinical trials
Ovarian cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. A treatment approach using platinum-based chemotherapy compounds is commonly used, however some tumour cells are resistant to the drugs used in this process. VBL Therapeutics is developing a promising new anti-cancer gene therapy: VB-111. With its unique dual mode of action, it targets the tumour environment by disrupting the […]
Cyclic self-reproducing systems: The key to health and happiness
Professor Leonid E Popov from the Tomsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, together with his collaborator and editor Professor Valentin L Popov from the Technische Universität Berlin, explores the cyclic nature of self-reproducing systems. Summarising the main physiological findings on adaptation reactions, Professor Leonid Popov describes how actions that are effective in the sense of people’s productive activity […]
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