International

New international consortium to accelerate drug discovery in kidney diseases

A new consortium to accelerate the discovery of novel drugs to treat kidney diseases is announced today [Monday 6 November]. The NEPLEX (nephron on a chip with cellular and extracellular matrix complexity) consortium, comprising leading academic institutions including the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge, and Evotec AG, will combine key technologies to develop and build a novel drug discovery device ("Nephron-on-a-Chip").

Brain-related visual problems may affect one in 30 primary school children

A brain-related visual impairment, which until recently was thought to be rare, may affect one in every 30 children according to new research investigating the prevalence of Cerebral Visual Impairment [CVI]. The University of Bristol-led findings published today [3 February] in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, aim to raise awareness of CVI among parents and teachers to help them identify signs of the condition earlier.

UK health spending needs to grow faster than GDP

The NHS is frequently in the news about its ongoing funding crisis. New research suggests demand for health services is set to continue to grow faster than GDP per head in all developed countries around the world. Along with a paper about the J-value model for life-expectancy growth in industrialised countries, the research establishes a reason why people in the UK will want to spend an increasing fraction of their income on health services.