Research

EU project IMMIDIET warns: control hypertension in Europe

An EU-funded population study has shown that hypertension, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is a serious problem in Europe. The results of the IMMIDIET project indicate that high blood pressure has become more common in Italy than in England or Belgium, a reversal of the commonly accepted trend.

New drug protects against diet-induced obesity and diabetes

A recent EU-funded study by a Swiss-led international team of researchers has found that a new synthetic drug, developed by researchers in the US, protects against diet-induced obesity. At the same time, it improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and increases exercise endurance by enhancing fat utilisation in certain tissues.

New finding could lead to development of hundreds of new antibiotics

EU-funded scientists have discovered a new molecule in Streptomyces bacteria that could be exploited to make the bacteria produce hundreds of novel antibiotics. The work, which is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was partly supported by the EU-funded ACTINOGEN (Integrating genomics-based applications to exploit actinomycetes as a resource for new antibiotics) project.

A new journal where molecular biology meets clinical research

The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) has announced the introduction of EMBO Molecular Medicine, a new journal dedicated to a research discipline focused on the interface between molecular biology and clinical research. The new journal, launching in 2009, will publish original research offering molecular insights into cellular and systemic processes underlying defined human diseases as well as potential clinical applications for diagnosis, prevention and therapy.

Research & Development