Smoking and e-cigarettes change cells

E-cigarettes not as harmless as assumed?

25-Mar-2024 - Smokers and consumers of e-cigarettes not only share a habit, but also similar changes in cells associated with cancer, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Innsbruck and University College London (UCL), published in the journal Cancer Research. It is no longer a secret ...

Groundbreaking study: 'Mini-organs' created from amniotic fluid for the first time

Stem cells collected in late pregnancy herald advances in prenatal medicine

07-Mar-2024 - A pioneering approach, developed by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), means human development can be observed in late pregnancy for the first time, raising the possibility of monitoring and treating congenital conditions before birth. The study, published in Nature ...

Poor heart health predicts premature brain ageing

Multiple risk factors for a prematurely ageing brain identified

24-Aug-2022 - By estimating people’s brain age from MRI scans using machine learning, a team led by UCL researchers has identified multiple risk factors for a prematurely ageing brain. They found that worse cardiovascular health at age 36 predicted a higher brain age later in life, while men also tended to ...

Poxvirus hijacks cell movement to spread infection

13-Nov-2018 - Vaccinia virus, a poxvirus closely related to smallpox and monkeypox, tricks cells it has infected into activating their own cell movement mechanism to rapidly spread the virus in cells and mice, according to a new UCL-led study. The findings explain how the virus mimics infected cells' own ...

New biomarker to assess stem cells developed

02-Feb-2016 - A research team led by scientists from UCL have found a way to assess the viability of 'manufactured' stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The team's discovery offers a new way to fast-track screening methods used in stem cell research. iPSCs are derived from cells, usually ...

Irreversible tissue loss seen within 40 days of spinal cord injury

04-Jul-2013 - The rate and extent of damage to the spinal cord and brain following spinal cord injury have long been a mystery. Now, a joint research effort between the University of Zurich, University Hospital Balgrist and colleagues from University College London have found evidence that patients already ...

Pigeons' homing skill not down to iron-rich beak cells

13-Apr-2012 - The theory that pigeons' famous skill at navigation is down to iron-rich nerve cells in their beaks has been disproved by a new study published in Nature.The study shows that iron-rich cells in the pigeon beak are in fact specialised white blood cells, called macrophages. This finding, which ...

Seeing a diagnosis: How an eye test could aid Alzheimer's detection

18-Jan-2010 - A simple and inexpensive eye test could aid detection and diagnosis of major neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's at an earlier stage than is currently possible, according to new research by UCL scientists. The research, led by Professors Francesca Cordeiro & Stephen Moss and published in ...

Nanomagnets guide stem cells to damaged tissue

19-Aug-2009 - Microscopic magnetic particles have been used to bring stem cells to sites of cardiovascular injury in a new method designed to increase the capacity of cells to repair damaged tissue, UCL scientists announced today. The cross disciplinary research, published in The Journal of the American ...