News 2011

Scots of Indian and Pakistani origin also have much greater levels of hospital admissions for both conditions than people of white Scottish ethnicity.

Patients with life-threatening heart valve disease could be helped with alternative scanning techniques that provide greater insight into the condition.

Why some people need more sleep is in our genes, a new study suggests.

A protein linked to the immune system could play a key role in helping scientists understand how vCJD spreads throughout the body.

Fresh discoveries about a disease commonly found in chickens could improve our understanding of some types of cancers in people.

Genetic mutations that cause schizophrenia could be linked to systems in the brain responsible for learning and memory.

About one in four of all infants who die from flu-related pneumonia live in India, according to a new University study.

The author J K Rowling will bury a time capsule to mark the start of building work on a new research clinic.

Brain cells alter their genetic make-up during a person’s lifetime, scientists have found.

Professor David Argyle has been appointed as the new Head of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

Targeting a toxin released by virtually all strains of MRSA could help scientists develop new drugs that can fight the superbug.

Scientists from leading medical institutes in Edinburgh are joining forces to further research into a range of genetic diseases.

Future vets will benefit from a £42 million teaching facility that forms one of the world’s largest vet school campuses.

Some people carry more weight than others, even with similar diets, because of genes that encourage fat storage.

Genetic evidence reveals that most British men are not descended from immigrant farmers contrary to previous research.

Scientists have for the first time generated stem cells from one of the most rapidly progressing forms of Parkinson’s disease.

Patients with irregular heart beats could benefit from a drug that is easier to administer than the current standard treatment.

Scientists have provided the first direct biological evidence for a genetic contribution to people’s intelligence.

Tiny chemical particles emitted by diesel exhaust fumes could raise the risk of heart attacks, research has shown.

Easter Bush Veterinary Centre Library and the Veterinary Library at Summerhall closed at 5pm on Friday 15th July in preparation for the move to the New Veterinary School at Easter Bush.

Scientists have shed light on why it is easier to learn about things related to what we know than to learn about unfamiliar things.

Intricate scans of tarantulas reveal for the first time in detail how their hearts beat.

Pharmatics Limited, creators of novel software intended to reduce the time required for drug development, has won the Edinburgh BioQuarter Innovation Competition 2011.

Professor David Porteous, the University’s Chair of Human Molecular Genetics & Medicine, has been recognised in the Medical Futures Innovation Awards.

Scientists at a new £60 million institute are to tackle challenges such as how to feed the world’s growing population.

Tiny fibres used to strengthen items such as bike frames and hockey sticks could pose risks to workers who make them.

Cancers of the gut, stomach and pancreas could be detected much sooner with a simple urine test, research suggests.

The swine flu outbreak of winter 2009-2010 was much more widespread than was realised, University research shows.

Having diabetes has the same effect on someone's risk of death as living in a very deprived community, research shows.

Edinburgh BioQuarter today announced the shortlisted entries for the BioQuarter Innovation Awards 2011.

International animal welfare is the focus of a centre that aims to equip the next generation of vets to improve the plight of animals across the world.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Polish School of Medicine at the University.

New insight into foot-and-mouth disease could help develop alternatives to mass culling, following University research.

A Polish refugee who became one of the first civilian students to benefit from a unique wartime teaching initiative in Edinburgh has made an emotional return to Scotland.

This year marks the bicentenary of James Young Simpson, one of the University's most distinguished alumni.

Pregnant women could benefit from a pioneering trial that will test whether heart disease drugs can be used to treat pre-eclampsia.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has toured University laboratories where scientists are committed to defeating motor neurone disease.

A University researcher has helped a man abandoned at birth in Gatwick airport to trace his genetic roots.

A simple diesel exhaust trap could reduce the risk of heart attacks in traffic-heavy areas.

Scientists have pinpointed a gene that controls how quickly a person’s nerves can regenerate after injury or disease.

Scientists have shed new light on how older people may lose their memory.

A highly sensitive blood test could help identify heart attacks in thousands of patients who would otherwise have gone undiagnosed,.

A new scholarships programme has been launched for overseas medical students.

Gareth Leng, Professor of Experimental Physiology and Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, has received a six-figure award for his role in the new EC-funded Full4Health project.

Its head looks like a turkey’s, its body resembles a chicken’s.

Research into how the brain transmits messages to other parts of the body could improve understanding of neurological disorders.

Scientists have shed light on why some people are apple-shaped and others are pear-shaped.

Lowering cholesterol could help the body’s immune system fight viral infections, researchers have found.

Scientists have discovered a new way to generate human motor nerve cells in a development that will help research into motor neurone disease.

Television viewers will get another chance to go behind the scenes at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

The second series of 'Vet School' TV programme, which was filmed during Autumn 2010, starts on Tuesday 1st March 2011.

Warm congratulations to Professor Jonathan Rees on his election to International Honorary membership in the American Dermatological Association.

These awards are designed to attract high quality overseas research students to the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine within the University of Edinburgh.

Researchers at the University are to study whether drugs used to treat osteoporosis prevent bone fractures from healing.

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies is developing a new MSc in One Health, to be launched in 2011.

24 healthy cigarette smokers needed to volunteer: Would you like to participate in an outpatient research study to examine the blood flow in your blood vessels?

Bird flu epidemics could be prevented by a new strain of chickens that do not spread avian flu to other birds.

Women who have had chlamydia are at greater risk of an ectopic pregnancy because of a lasting effect of the infection.