What makes us age biologically? We have always been intrigued by this question. Yet, it remains a fundamental research challenge.  Now, the EU-funded project, EurHEALTHAgeing , aims to draw together studies of early development with those on longevity and ageing.

Viruses often get bad press. Likened to Trojan horses they are often associated with disease. But, i t is precisely because of their infectious nature that they can potentially be used as gene vectors - which are vehicles loaded with good copies of malfunctioning genes - and delivered to cells.

Bone is one of the most frequently transplanted tissues. And the demand is rising. Transplants treat large defects like those caused by trauma, complicated fractures, tumour resection or osteoporosis. ...

When it comes to the emergence of antimalarial drug resistance, it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

European researchers and clinicians are working hand in hand to unveil the mechanisms leading to back pain, likely the most widespread chronic pathology among humans .

Even if you do not suffer from pain in the intervertebral discs in your lower back, it is a sure bet that you know someone who does. Yet, surprisingly little is known about what causes this disc degeneration .

Lower back pain is a broad yet subtle subject. It has widely been associated with early degeneration of the discs of the human spine.

The human genome and those of several other organisms have been mapped. But it is proteins that perform the majority of biological functions within every organism .

Almost every one of our cells has an entire copy of our genome. But only differing subsets of genes are active and expressed in any given cell. Epigenetics is the study of how the activity of our genes is controlled and regulated .

Leishmaniasis is a tropical disease known in Europe because it affects dogs. It is caused by the Leishmania parasite carried by sandflies . However, several types of the parasite also affect humans in several regions in the world.

About 20 million Europeans are subject to food allergies. Now scientists are looking at these allergies in new ways. It involves the food industry in its work and pays special attention to the link between early diets and allergy in later life .

European scientists set up new therapeutic approaches to tackle specific Lysosomal Storage Disorders: a new drug combination and enzyme replacement therapy against Pompe disease and gene therapy against MPS V I (Mucopolysaccharidosis VI).

Talking or reading. Texting a message or listening. The dilemma of choosing between various tasks is not an invention of the modern information age. Humans and all vertebrates have to prioritise their actions.

Global warming is leading to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria . It is considered the plague of developing countries. According to the World Health Organisation , it is responsible for one child death every minute.

Cost-effectiveness is paramount for any new medical technology. If pharmaceutical companies do not see a profit, new drugs will never see the light of day.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer ( IARC ) has produced a handbook detailing the scientific evidence on tobacco pricing and tobacco control entitled: Effectiveness of Tax and Price Policies for Tobacco Control .

Smoking is the largest single cause of preventable premature death and disease , accounting for some 650,000 premature deaths each year in the European Union, according to official EU statistics.

Juliet Ross is suffering from Huntington’s Disease, a rare neurological disorder that affects one in 10.000 people. Due to a genetic defect, her body produces a toxic protein that damages neurons in her brain .

This test evaluates the presence of certain proteins in blood samples of patients. Sabine Bahn from the University of Cambridge says that the new test is able to diagnose schizophrenia with a certainty of 83% and depression with a certainty of about 90% .

Sabine Bahn is a neurobiologist, psychiatrist and director of the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research at the University of Cambridge, UK.