When the body machinery that kills off hundreds of millions of cells a day fails, inflammation and sickness are often not far behind. By VITTORIA D’ALESSIO Cell death, which might sound unwelcome, is actually essential for keeping every person alive. The process, tightly regulated by the body, destroys old or damaged cells to make way for … Read more
With tens of millions of poultry culled every year to contain avian influenza, scientists are rushing to find new ways to protect flocks from infection and avert a human pandemic. By VITTORIA D’ALESSIO Researchers are learning important lessons about how bird flu spreads and the characteristics of the virus in Europe. Bird flu is on the … Read more
Fish farming can make food supplies more stable while itself becoming more sustainable, according to researchers in Hungary and Norway. By Pieter Devuyst Attention seafood lovers! Gabor Hetyey strongly recommends a new dish: fried catfish. Hetyey is no restaurant chef in his native Hungary. Rather, he belongs to a Budapest-based organisation that helped breed a … Read more
While teen years are never easy, research is examining whether they are harder than ever for the current generation of teenagers. By ALI JONES Media headlines lamenting spiralling levels of anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide among Europe’s teenagers make regular and uncomfortable reading. In recent years, news on this front seems to have gotten only worse. … Read more
Expectant mothers and app-equipped city residents have roles to play in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people annually. By TOM CASSAUWERS Arnau Pujol Vallribera is a Spanish data whiz who used to study galaxies. Now he tracks diseases spread by mosquitoes. ‘In cosmology, we use algorithms to better understand the … Read more
People who suffer from back pain may get relief from research showing that electrical fields and fish genes provide novel building blocks for a healthy skeleton. By ANTHONY KING Back pain can be excruciating and is increasingly common with ageing populations. Spinal surgery is on the rise in many countries, including costly – and often risky – … Read more