People of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan historical origin – British South Asians – appeared to suffer more pain leading researchers to conclude that this could be a way of drawing attention to their psychological distress. In total, 53.8% of the British South Asian samples were born in the Indian subcontinent, 33% in Africa and 12.9% in the UK.
Professor Paul Symonds (pictured), of the Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, was the lead author of the study and worked with colleagues from University Hospital of Leicester NHS Trust.
]]>Dr Iain Barber (pictured), Head of the University of Leicester’s Department of Biology, is leading a study of three-spined sticklebacks’ nesting habits.
The fish, which live in the sea as well as in lakes and rivers, build their nests during the spring – and unlike many other nesting animals, it is the fathers, rather than mothers, who are responsible for nest building and parental care until the fish are strong enough to swim away.
Unable to put their feet up like most Dads this Sunday, the severe rainfall experienced across Europe during the spring months, which is when the fish build their nests, is likely to have made this task much more difficult.
The males build nests from algae, sand and debris, which they glue together using a protein called “spiggin”, formed in their kidneys. To ensure that the nests are strong enough to withstand the heavier currents, they must produce more of this glue, which uses up more energy.
Dr Barber and his team are observing the fish in their laboratory to see how their behaviour changes for different water flow rates, and are being careful to ensure the conditions are within the spectrum of what the fish would experience in their natural environments.
The good news is - the fish appear to be adapting very well.
Three-spined sticklebacks are regarded as something of an evolutionary “supermodel” due to their remarkable ability to adapt to environmental change.
You can catch Dr Iain Barber and the stickleback Dad's on BBC's The One Show here
]]>Game theory is the mathematical study of strategic interaction. It is used by social scientists (as well as researchers in a variety of other disciplines) to work out how people act and react to each other in complex situations where there are at least two people involved – each with their own different motivations and interests.
In his lecture, Professor Wallace from the Department of Economics will explore the methods used to understand how different agents (or ‘players’) co-ordinate their decisions in a game situation to achieve the best outcome.
‘Coordination in Games’ will take place on Tuesday 18 June in Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 1 from 5.30pm and is free and open to the public.
]]>Professor Nilesh Samani (pictured), Head of Cardiovascular Sciences at Leicester, has led one of the first projects to utilise a new national research facility.
The MRC-NIHR Phenome Centre will examine around one hundred thousand blood and urine samples every year. It will analyse phenomes – the biological results of people’s genes and environment – to help determine the causes of disease and indicate how treatments can be tailored for individual patients.
The centre will enable scientists to better understand and tackle diseases that are triggered by environment as well as genetic causes, and increase the potential to develop strategies for their prevention and treatment.
Ongoing genomics research is helping scientists to understand why some people develop diseases, but most common diseases are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, such as diet and lifestyle. Studying the phenome will help determine how the environment and genes combine to affect biochemical processes that lead to disease.
One of the first projects to benefit from the technology is a study of blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease. The GRAPHIC study, led by Professor Samani, was set up to investigate the genetics of high blood pressure. Blood and urine samples which have already been taken from 2,000 volunteers will now be tested at the MRC-NIHR Phenome Centre.
]]>The Doctoral Inaugural Lectures will explore exciting advances in archaeology and pharmacology. These lectures show the cutting edge of research at the University of Leicester and demonstrate the vital role that research students play in the University’s research environment.
Dr Sam Cheyney, presenting ‘The Hidden Depths: 3D interpretation of archaeological magnetic data’, will discuss his advances in archaeological surveying. Tackling the issue of current inaccurate and failing methods in archaeological geophysics, Dr Cheyney will introduce his research on using 3D models, which allows a greater interpretation of magnetic data.
Joining Dr Cheyney will be Dr Chenglong Shang, presenting ‘Do you want to know how tablets break? Modelling powder compaction and breakage of compacts’.
Dr Shang will be discussing his research on the relationship between the compaction of powder materials and the breakage behavior of tablets after their compaction. This research has gained great interest in the pharmaceutical industry due to the importance of understanding how pharmaceutical tablets break when ingested.
Entry to the lectures on Tuesday 11 June at 5.30pm is free and the general public is welcome to attend. The lectures will be held in Attenborough Lecture Theatre 1 at the University of Leicester.
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The statement, entitled: 'Maintaining Humanity’s Life Support Systems in the 21st Century' was launched on 23 May, 2013, with a joint presentation by participating scientists and California Governor Jerry Brown, leader of the world's ninth largest economy.
As of 21 May, the statement had been signed by more than 520 prominent scientists from 44 countries, including Dr Jan Zalasiewicz, from the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester, who was one of the original cast of hundreds asked to sign the document.
The statement warns that: "Unless decisive counter measures are put in place immediately, climate change, loss of ecological diversity, extinctions, environmental contamination, human population growth and overconsumption of resources will degrade our quality of life within decades."
The scientists' next goal is to deliver the statement to President Obama, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, and state governors, and ultimately to leaders throughout the world in both government and business.
The statement is available for all to download and sign here.
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