The teams have identified a group of enzymes called protein kinases that the malaria parasite Plasmodium requires to stay alive. Shutting down these enzymes would kill the parasite, and the researchers are now looking for drugs that will target the protein kinases and stop them working.
Malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium, which infects humans via mosquito bites. The disease infects 225 million people worldwide and causes almost 800,000 deaths a year, most of them children living in sub-Saharan Africa. With such a widespread and potentially deadly disease, finding effective treatments is vital to saving lives. But the parasite can quickly develop immunities to existing drugs, rendering them useless - new treatments are always needed. These new findings could lead to effective new drugs to fight malarial infections.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications, and the study was funded by The Wellcome Trust, the European Commission, Inserm and EDFL.
Global kinomic and phospho-proteomic analyses of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum; in Nature Communications
The debate has raged in the letters pages of The Times, and today Professor Ruggles was invited to contribute to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme to debate the issue with Lady Mimi Pakenham. Lady Pakenham has written in favour of subtly lighting the monument at night.
In 1999 Professor Ruggles was appointed as the world’s first Professor of Archaeoastronomy: studying the relationships between the sky and ancient monuments, and the importance of the sky, stars and other phenomena to the cultures of historic communities. He is President of the Inter-Union Commission on the History of Astronomy, former President of the Prehistoric Society, Chair of the International Astronomical Union Working Group on Astronomy and World Heritage and sits on the Council of the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture (ISAAC)
He argues that part of the experience of a monument like Stonehenge is seeing it in the dark, as it would have been viewed thousands of years ago by the people who built it. Efforts have been made in recent years to restore Stonehenge to its former glory, and part of that process is restoring the monument to its original, unlit sky.
In a time when the lights are always on, that little patch of darkness could provide a window into the starlit past.
]]>Aggregate providers Holcim and Lafarge are individually working with our Department of Geology on the first UK postgraduate courses developed specifically for the quarrying industry. The distance learning courses utilise work-based learning supplemented by residentials with high-level industry specialists provided by the companies themselves.
The important thing about these courses is that they are developed with, and focused towards, the needs of two of the world’s largest quarrying companies. By the end the students will have a full breadth of appreciation for how the industry works, as opposed to when they came in when they probably had good practical experience but not necessarily exposure to the full context of their work.
Students will benefit from ongoing research by academics in the Department embedded in the course materials as well as Leicester’s prime location. What a lot of people don’t appreciate is that Leicester really is the home of the UK quarrying industry. If you were to look around Leicester you would see some of the country’s largest quarries. It is an export county - at the frontline of aggregate provision.
]]>One person is diagnosed with diabetes every three minutes in the UK and it is a serious condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation if not managed in the correct way.
People with diabetes either produce little or no insulin, or the insulin that is produced does not work properly. Insulin is a hormone that allows us to use the energy from the food we eat. When insulin is released into the blood, C-peptide is also released. This molecule is absent in people with Type 1 diabetes, while people with Type 2 diabetes may be resistant to its actions.
Previously, researchers thought that C-peptide had no other functions and was useful only as an indicator of how much insulin someone was producing. More recent evidence suggests that C-peptide binds to the surface of particular cells and activates their internal signalling mechanisms in different ways.
Professor Brunskill hopes the study will shed some light on the secrets of C-peptide in diabetes and open up entirely new approaches to replace the lost effects of C-peptide and protect against complications. This is an exciting area of research, as it could be possible, for instance, to add C-peptide to insulin treatments if it was shown to benefit people with diabetes.
]]>The group were given a tour of our current Department of Geography in the Bennett Building and also visited the location of the 1960s Geography Department in the Fielding Johnson Building South Wing – which is now, appropriately enough, our Alumni Office.
You can read a report on the day and see more photographs on the Alumni and Development website.
Diane Maclean’s sculpture ‘Stranded Heart’ was installed in Highcross in August, providing a focal point for our appeal to raise the final million pounds required to complete and equip the £12.6 million Cardiovascular Research Centre at Glenfield Hospital which is scheduled to open next summer. The magnificent display of bucket-shaking by students on Saturday made a serious dent in the appeal.
The University of Leicester is globally renowned for the strength and quality of research carried out by our Department of Cardiovascular Sciences in collaboration with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. Just this week, Professor Bryan Williams collected the Times Higher Education Award for Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology for his revolutionary new blood pressure device.
The new Cardiovascular Research Centre will more than double the amount of space available at Glenfield for heart research and will be adjacent to our existing Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit on the site.
If you missed out on the chance to donate at Highcross (or you dropped some change in a bucket but would like to make a more substantial contribution), you can donate online or simply text ‘LCRC11 £10’ to 70070 to automatically donate a tenner to the CRC Appeal. (You will receive a text message receipt which will enable you to add Gift Aid, bumping your donation up by 25%.)
Please contact crc.appeal@le.ac.uk or +44 (0)116 223 1071 to discuss other ways to donate.
]]>We also came fifth in ‘Courses and Lecturers’, ninth in ‘Accommodation’ and ninth in the overall list, giving us a grand haul of four Student Choice 2011 Awards.
]]>Professor Dame Hazel Genn sat on that initial Commission and on Thursday she will review how the process has worked so far in a lecture entitled ‘A New System of Appointing Judges: The First Five Years’.
Professor Genn is Dean of Laws and Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at University College London. She was a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life 2003-7, is currently Chair of the British Academy’s Communications and Publications Committee and has published innumerable books and reports. She was awarded a CBE in 2000 and made a Dame in 2006. In 2007 she received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Leicester.
The Jan Grodecki School of Law Lecture 2011 is free and open to the public. It takes place on Thursday 1 December 2011 at 5.30pm in the Ken Edwards Building Lecture Theatre 1. For further details or to reserve your place please contact: Mr Paul K Wysocki in the School of Law,
paul.wysocki@le.ac.uk, 0116 252 3454.
Logan Gregory and Lucie Brown.
Public inaugural lecture by Professor Nicola Cooper (Department of Health Sciences)
Course for teachers and technicians working in post-16 biology, organised by GENIE and East Midlands Science Learning Centre.
Dr Michael Borg (Biology) on 'The making of male gametes in flowering plants: a molecular perspective'; Dr Carla Lopes (Biochemistry) on 'Connecting the cell's antenna to human disease'
LUTheatre student production.
Public lecture by Professor Dame Hazel Genn (UCL). Jan Grodecki School of Law Lecture 2011.
LUTheatre student production.
LUTheatre student production.
Seven students conduct the University Orchestral Society in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, competing for the audience's vote. Plus music by Brahms, Bach, Mozart and Gershwin.
Music by Tchaikovsky, Gershwin and Brahms. Soloists: Jonathan Bloxham (cello), Mathieu van Bellen (violin). In association with Embrace Arts.
Puppetry and performance by Cusan Theatre Productions. Suitable for ages 7 and under. Followed by post-show workshop (£1 per child, adults free).
Music by Pergolesi, Monteverdi and Albinoni. Soloist: Rosie Curtis. In aid of LOROS. In association with Embrace Arts.
Textured and 3D works using printmaking techniques. 10 October - 9 December 2011.
Developments in Services of General Interest was published back in April by TMC Asser Press, co-edited with Dr Jim Davies from the University of Northampton and Professor Mads Andenas and Dr Tarjei Bekkedal, both from the University of Oslo. This book examines a number of issues which face the EU as well as the global economy and least developed countries in defining, regulating and providing (that is, paying for) what are traditionally known as public services.
Health Care and EU Law, co-edited with Professor Johan van de Gronden from Radboud University of Nijmegen, Professor Ulla Neergaard from Copenhagen Business School and Professor Markus Krajewski from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, was also published by TMC Asser Press that same month. This volume contains the proceedings of a conference held in Nijmegen in 2009 and related essays.
Professor Szyszczak completed her hat-trick with Research Handbook on European State Aid Law which was published in September by Edward Elgar Publishing. The book is an in-depth exploration of some of the most difficult and controversial issues in current State aid law and policy, providing not only a legal but also an economic and political science perspective on this rapidly developing area of EU law.
]]>On Tuesday 13 December 2011 Professor Hoffman will deliver a public lecture about 'The end of the shuttle program and the future of human space flight', and will look at some of the commercial developments now taking place in the field. This free public lecture promises to be hugely popular, but there are still seats available. So if you want to learn about space from someone who's actually been there, now's your chance!
The Christmas Science Lecture 'The end of the Shuttle program and the future of human space flight' takes place on Tuesday 13 December at 6.30pm in the Rattray Lecture Theatre. To book a seat, please contact Sue Howell at skh14@le.ac.uk or telephone 0116 252 3497.
]]>The Leicester-Gondar Link is a registered charity (under its former name of Health Action Leicester for Ethiopia) and there is a fundraising gig at the O2 Academy Leicester, in our Percy Gee Building, on Sunday 11 December 2011.
Topping the bill is local star David Wyatt whose style of folk-influenced acoustic pop has been compatred to Nick Drake, Tim Buckley and Damien Rice. Wyatt has played the Summer Sundae and supported the likes of James Morrison and the Strawbs.
A full supporting line-up includes solid three-piece Guano (two thirds of whom were in the Lost Preachers); the rockin’ Lonesome Party Heroes; and introspective singer-songwriter Martha Bean.
All tickets for the show cost ten pounds and are available in three ways...
Doors open 6.30pm. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult. Under 21s require ID to purchase alcohol. For more information please email Nichole Bruce on nb50@le.ac.uk
]]>The THE Awards are the Oscars of the higher education sector, prestigious awards honouring the very best of the best. Professor Williams, from our Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, led the team which developed a non-invasive device for measuring aortic blood pressure.
You can read the details in this previous Newsblog story but, in short: brachial blood pressure is easy to measure but can be misleading; aortic blood pressure is much more accurate and useful but can’t be measured without surgery. The Leicester device, which looks like a wristwatch and was developed with Singapore-based HealthSTATS International, allows doctors to accurately calculate aortic BP by measuring brachial BP.
This is a magnificent achievement: out of all the many technical breakthroughs developed in British universities in the past year, the Leicester blood pressure device has been judged the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Technology’.
The Judges said that the new device has "transformed the measurement and monitoring of blood pressure" and "will have significant and immediate health benefits and the potential for considerable commercial success."
The University of Leicester was runner-up in two other categories at last night’s awards. Professor Nisha Dogra from our Greenwood Institute of Child Health was nominated for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year and the Department of Geology’s research into how primitive fish decompose was up for Research Project of the Year. In addition, we are a partner in the multi-institution Realising Opportunities Partnership which won Widening Participation Initiative of the Year (submitted by the University of Newcastle, who host the Realising Opportunities administration).
Awards photo credit: Charles Fox
]]>The £12.6 million centre will mean huge improvements in the scale and quality of research into various forms of heart disease, allowing many more patients across Leicestershire and the UK to benefit from better understanding, prediction and treatment of cardiovascular illnesses. The University has committed £6 million to the project, which is also being funded by the British Heart Foundation. A public appeal for funds to help finish building and equipping the centre has already raised £300,000 towards its £1 million target.
You can find out more about the project on the Cardiovascular Research Centre Appeal website.
]]>The University has 50 years of experience and expertise in space science and has been involved in space missions for the past 45 years, making it an ideal partner in the project. The TIC aims to attract more investment in space research and the businesses that provide services to the space industry, many of which already operate in Leicestershire.
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