Latest research news

Curry spice may protect against cancer
Scientists hope they are unravelling the secrets of how a prime curry ingredient helps protect against cancer. They have found the active agent in turmeric, the spice that colours and flavours many Asian meals, can block a cancer-promoting protein. They want to follow up tests using cell cultures in the laboratory with trials of tablets on patients.
The Guardian

Radiation blamed for higher incidence of cataracts among airline pilots
Airline pilots are three times more likely than other people to contract the most common form of cataract, a study said yesterday. Researchers who compared rates of nuclear cataracts - those in the centre of the lens - in pilots and non-pilots believe that the increased risk is caused by cosmic radiation.
Daily Telegraph , Daily Mail

GM maize cleared as animal feed
The European commission yesterday cleared imports of genetically modified maize produced by the US biotechnology firm Monsanto for use as animal feed. The commission granted Monsanto a 10-year licence to export the maize. This is the third GM product to be approved by the EU since the end of its six-year moratorium in April last year, and it comes after a tortuous authorisation process. EU governments and environmental activists have consistently questioned the safety of the maize, known as MON 863.
The Guardian

Why death is more likely to strike while you sleep
Elderly people tend to die in their sleep because their brains forget to tell their bodies to breathe, research suggests. Scientists in the United States have discovered that the loss of brain cells that occurs with advancing age makes people much more likely to stop breathing suddenly while asleep.
The Times

Mosquitoes are drawn to people with malaria
Mosquitoes are more attracted to people already infected with malaria. And this appears to be because the malarial parasite orchestrates its own onward transmission from within the human body, a new study suggests. “Mosquitoes aren’t just a syringe, sucking up the parasite and injecting it into people at random, as scientists previously thought,” says Jacob Koella from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, who carried out the study in Kenya.
New Scientist

Turtles on jellyfish trail set a course for Scotland
Large numbers of leatherback turtles are expected to reach Scottish waters in the coming months following a surge in the marine reptiles' food supply of jellyfish. Huge blooms of moon jellyfish have been seen around the Scottish coastline with tens of thousands more already washed up on the country's beaches. Scientists are uncertain as to why this is occuring but some fear it is a sign of global warming as increasing temperatures produce more plankton for jellyfish to feed on.
The Scotsman