Tag Archives: science

UCC Scientists Connecting Gut Bacteria With Healthy Ageing

Posted on by
Reply

A new study on gut bacteria may have implications for long-term care facilities’ nutrition and dietary departments.

While several recent studies have shown that people with healthier diets have healthier, more diverse microbiota living in their gut, investigators led by Paul O’Toole, Ph.D, of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre at University College Cork in Ireland, sought to find out how differences in microbiota affect aging.

To do this, the researchers studied the gut health of 178 elderly individuals. They found that those who still resided in their own communities had more diverse intestinal flora and were healthiest, while institutionalized elderly people had less variety and tended to be sicker. O’Toole said those in a long-term care facilities had less varied foods, such as puddings and mashed potatoes, while those who were living independently had a diverse diet with higher levels of fiber and protein.

This finding could help scientists develop dietary interventions to improve overall health, O’Toole and his team wrote, and could mean a demand for fiber-rich, fresh foods in institutional settings.

The study was published July 13th in Nature.

North And South Female Scientists Shine At Science Fellowships

Posted on by
Reply

A female scientist from the Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) Research Centre has won a prestigious fellowship for her work on ionic liquids enabling biomedical applications.

Dr Geetha Srinivasan is one of four outstanding female scientists to be awarded the 2012 L’Oréal-UNESCO UK and Ireland For Women In Science Fellowships (FWIS) The fellowships,worth £15,000 each, can be spent on whatever they may need to continue their research, from buying scientific equipment to paying for childcare or travel.

The winners were selected by a jury of eminent scientists, chaired by Professor Dame Athene Donald (DBE, FRS), Professor of Physics and Gender Equality Champion at the University of Cambridge and FWIS Laureate.

The other winners were Dr Silvia Giordani, from Trinity College Dublin, for her work on a new avenue towards “smart” medicines; Dr Katrina Lythgoe, from Imperial College London, for her work in multiscale evolutionary dynamics of important human diseases; and Dr Claire Spottiswoode, from the University of Cambridge, for her work on the genetics of cuckoo egg mimicry: solving a century-old evolutionary puzzle.

Chair of the jury Professor Donald said: “These awards are always a joy to judge. We had an outstanding shortlist of eight bright young women who care deeply about their areas of study. This made selecting the winners an incredibly tough task, but it also showed the extraordinary range of scientific research being carried out by female scientists in the UK and Ireland.

“I am delighted that the scientific community in UK and Ireland is waking up to the fact that we have to provide men and women with a level playing field in scientific study, allowing us judges the privilege of making our selection from such a fantastic shortlist.”

NUI Galway Collaborates For Octopus Gene Discovery

Posted on by
Reply

Scientists from NUI Galway have collaberated with colleagues from Liverpool University in the UK to find that the genes of Antarctic octopus’ could help bolster a theory that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could have collapsed during its history, possibly as recently as 200,000 years ago.

Adult Turquet’s octopuses tend to live in one place and only move to escape predators, leading scientists to believe that creatures from areas either side of Antarctica would be genetically different.

However the collaberative study found that the octopuses from Ross and Weddell Seas, which are now separated by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, are genetically almost identical, suggesting that these two regions may have once been connected.

Dr Louise Allcock, from the National University of Ireland Galway, added: “A previous study has shown evidence that the Ross and Weddell Seas could have been connected. We wanted to investigate whether there was any genetic information that could tell us what the past environment could have been like, and this octopus species, with its large populations around the region and limited movements, was an ideal species to use.

 

Read the full story at Science Codex – CLICK HERE

Stem Cell Research In Ireland Needs To Be ‘Vigorously Pursued…’

Posted on by
Reply

A new foundation being launched today, the Adult Stem Cell Foundation of Ireland, has said that more needs to be done to ‘vigorously pursue stem cell research’ in Ireland.

The foundation aims to help people in need of – or undergoing – stem cell research.

Professor Colin McGuckin is president and director of the Cell Therapy Research Institute in France, and is also the stem cell advisor to the Pope. He says Ireland may look back in years to come with regret if we don’t act now.

“My group were the first in the world to make an artificial liver tissue using umbilical cord blood stem cells and we’re developing that for children who need the dialysis and liver treatments,” he said.

“We want to make sure that these treatments that we’re developing in the UK and France and other countries are also available right here in Ireland and I want to make sure that people understand what can be done and what can’t be done, so that people have informed choice.”

In Focus: ALR Design Safe Recycle System For LCD Monitors And Panels

Posted on by
Reply
In Focus: ALR Design Safe Recycle System For LCD Monitors And Panels [ 6:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

ALR Innovations, a University of Limerick spin out company which is based between the University of Limerick and the Hartnett Acceleration Centre in Limerick, supplies a specialised recycling technology for LCD displays which removes the hazardous materials from waste displays in a fast, efficient and automated process. Continue reading →

Chief Science Advisor – Leaving Cert Maths And Science ‘Cause For Concern’

Posted on by
Reply

Professor Patrick Cunningham, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government said that today’s Leaving Certificate results in maths and science subjects were a ‘cause for concern’. Professor Cunningham noted that the most recent PISA results showed that ‘Ireland has been slipping down the ranks internationally, particularly in maths. That wakeup call is reinforced by this year’s leaving Cert results. Continue reading →