Study shortlisted for Research Project of the Year award23 December 2019A research project focused uniquely on the missing voices and experiences of Syrian refugee fathers and the integration of their families has been recognised by the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2019.
Pilot study helps reduce use of opioid painkillers in patients with long-term pain19 December 2019A pioneering pilot service set up in South Gloucestershire to review patients’ use of prescription opioid painkillers for long-term pain has helped many users reduce their use and improve their quality of life, researchers at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Evaluation of Interventions and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) West have found.
UK universities will work together to improve research quality and reproducibility10 December 2019UK universities will collaborate to improve the quality of UK academic research output. Whilst the UK is at the leading edge of research globally, there is a need to constantly strive to improve in order to retain that positions. Crucially, institutions must produce research that is rigorous, robust and of high-quality, to ensure that the UK retains its reputation for producing world-leading research.
Sleep helps memory, right? Not for eyewitnesses4 December 2019New research investigating the effect of sleep on eyewitness memory has found that having a period of sleep, compared to a period of wake, does not improve eyewitness identification accuracy.
World first as artificial neurons developed to cure chronic diseases3 December 2019Artificial neurons on silicon chips that behave just like the real thing have been invented by scientists – a first-of-its-kind achievement with enormous scope for medical devices to cure chronic diseases, such as heart failure, Alzheimer's, and other diseases of neuronal degeneration.
Progressing young people’s mental health research28 November 2019Research is urgently needed to understand the reasons for recent trends in young people’s wellbeing and to put in place effective prevention and support. On 28 November members of the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute Mental Health in Young People research initiative met for a workshop to hear about innovative research at Bristol, to strengthen connections and collaboration, and to identify future research needs in this area.
Children of abused mothers 50 per cent more likely to have low IQ27 November 2019Children of women who reported domestic violence in pregnancy or during the first six years of the child's life are almost 50 per cent more likely to have a low IQ at age eight, research has found.
Study looked for links between teenage anxiety and later harmful drinking11 November 2019Researchers at the University of Bristol have found evidence of an association between generalised anxiety disorder at age 18 and harmful drinking three years later, thanks to the long-term health study Children of the 90s.
Banks and other financial services urged to help reduce gambling-related harm7 November 2019During Responsible Gambling Week [7 to 13 November], financial services organisations are being called upon to take part in a new programme which looks at how best to help people who are struggling with gambling problems.
Yoga for Mental Health- a Neuroscience Perspective6 November 2019The ancient practice of yoga has expanded to all corners of today’s world. Recently it has gained popularity in the West, with the number of Americans practising yoga rising by 50%, from 22 to 35 million adults, between 2012 to 2017.
Artificial skin creates first ticklish devices24 October 2019A new interface developed by researchers in Bristol and Paris takes touch technology to the next level by providing an artificial skin-like membrane for augmenting interactive devices such as phones, wearables or computers.
£18.5 million boost for South West biosciences24 October 2019PhD training across the biosciences has received a massive boost thanks to a £18.5 million funding award from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, part of UK Research and Innovation) to the University of Bristol-led South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP).
Working at Mental Health and Wellbeing22 October 2019On 21 October 2019 Dame Carol Black, Government Adviser on Health, Wellbeing and Work, presented the 6th annual Elizabeth Blackwell public lecture.
New haptic arm places robotics within easy reach20 October 2019Imagine being able to build and use a robotic device without the need for expensive, specialist kit or skills. That is the vision that researchers from the University of Bristol have turned into reality, creating a lightweight, affordable and simple solution for everyday users.
Report to understand our political nature17 October 2019Professor Stephan Lewandowsky and fifty-nine other experts from across the globe who work in the fields of behavioural and social sciences as well as the humanities, have contributed to the research that underpins the European Union's Joint Research Centre (JRC) report that calls upon evidence-informed policy making not to be taken for granted. The report itself brings new insights into our political behaviour and this understanding has the potential to address some of the current crises in our democracies.
Scientists join forces to shed new light on ageing and wound healing11 October 2019Researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Bristol have been granted £4 million to investigate how cells govern the processes of ageing and wound healing and how this is influenced by the circadian (day/night) cycle. Their findings could help to improve wound healing and identify strategies to treat diseases like osteoarthritis.
Study aims to address suicide prevention in low- and middle-income countries10 October 2019Future treatment and prevention of suicidal behaviour in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) should involve a wider range of approaches beyond just the treatment of psychiatric illness, according to a new University of Bristol study published on World Mental Health Day today [Thursday 10 October] in PLOS Medicine.
£420K funding boost for Bristol dementia research1 October 2019A University of Bristol researcher has been awarded nearly £420,000 by Alzheimer's Research UK to investigate specific changes to blood flow in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.
New research to improve mental health in young people26 September 2019We are delighted to announce four new research projects looking at different aspects of mental health in young people at the University of Bristol. The projects have been funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute as part of the Mental Health in Young People research initiative, which is looking at ways to improve mental health and wellbeing for young people, with a particular focus on University students.
Kicking the gambling habit: what can banks and other financial services do to help?24 September 2019With around one million people in the UK suffering the negative consequences of gambling, some banks have introduced spending controls or ‘gambling blocks’ to help their customers. But do these measures work and what more can be done?
Inspired from nature – robots can now learn to swarm on the go18 September 2019A new generation of swarming robots which can independently learn and evolve new behaviours in the wild is one step closer, thanks to research from the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE).
International recognition for mental health researcher18 September 2019A researcher from the University of Bristol Medical School has received a prestigious international award in recognition of her outstanding research into suicide prevention in low- and middle-income countries.
Bristol immersive VR documentary to be shown at Venice Film Festival13 September 2019From Bristol to the big screens of Venice Film Festival, Virtual Reality film The Waiting Room, [commissioned by the Virtual Realities – Immersive Documentary Encounters research project] will be premiered at the annual event which starts today [28 August to 7 September] to a star-studded audience of cinema enthusiasts.
£1.8 million for trial to evaluate treatment for chronic severe low back pain12 September 2019Researchers at the University of Bristol, in collaboration with North Bristol NHS Trust, the Universities of Keele and Southampton have been awarded £1.8 million from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) to evaluate a treatment for chronic severe low back pain. Led by Dr Vikki Wylde, the RADICAL study will be a randomised controlled trial to find out if radiofrequency denervation, a procedure commonly used in the NHS, can provide pain relief.
Calcium channel blockers may be effective in treating memory loss associated with Alzheimer's11 September 2019Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia but the changes in brain cell function underlying memory loss remains poorly understood. Researchers at the University of Bristol have identified that calcium channel blockers may be effective in treating memory loss.
AI art: has science unravelled how we see and appreciate art?11 September 2019Art, it's in the eye of the beholder but has science found a way to identify what we really appreciate in paintings? The artistic tastes of individuals may have been finally unravelled thanks to University of Bristol researchers, artificial intelligence (AI) and eye-tracking technology.
Loneliness competition winners announced6 September 2019The Jean Golding Institute are pleased to announce that the winners of the latest data challenge competition are Nina Di Cara from Population Health Sciences and Tiff Massey, Analyst from Ernst and Young with their project ‘Is loneliness associated with movement for education?’. The specific research question assumes that in most cases, movement for primary and secondary education is associated with upward social mobility. That is, moving to try to get into a better school than is available in their current local area.
Poor diet can lead to blindness2 September 2019An extreme case of "fussy" or "picky" eating caused a young patient’s blindness, according to a new case report published today [2 Sep 2019] in Annals of Internal Medicine. The University of Bristol researchers who examined the case recommend clinicians consider nutritional optic neuropathy in any patients with unexplained vision symptoms and poor diet, regardless of BMI, to avoid permanent vision loss.
Life-like robots soon to be reality22 August 2019Life-like robots that can make decisions, adapt to their environment and learn, are one step closer thanks to a University of Bristol team who has demonstrated a new way of embedding computation into soft robotic materials. This new advance, published in Science Robotics, could create new robotic possibilities to environmental monitoring, pollution clean-up, drug delivery, prosthetic devices, wearable biosensing and self-healing composites.
International collaborative projects win funding to tackle major health challenges21 August 2019Developing drugs to treat cancer and how sleep can support a healthy memory are two international collaborative projects led by academics at the University of Bristol that have been awarded major funding by the UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Fund for International Collaboration.
