ResearchPod

Cod liver has long reputation of health benefits, but manufacturers of fermented cod liver oils claim that their product contains more antioxidants, meaning the fatty acids like omega-3 keep better over time.

A team at De Montfort University in Leicester led by Professor Martin Grootveld has tested these claims using a variety of techniques to determine the molecular differences between fermented and unfermented cod liver oils.

Read more about this research in Research Outreach, or find the original paper at:  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu1203075

William Louis Abbott, a medical doctor sent to East Africa to gather artefacts for the Smithsonian in 1887, collected hundreds of pieces of art, craft and culture from across the region. Professor Amy Stambach of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has undertaken extensive research on this collections history, and just how these items came to Washington D.C..

Read more about Prof Stambachs work in the following articles:
Ethnology Unboxed: The Making of Culture Through Its Performative (Un)doing. Ethnologies, https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2019.1687687
Sourcing and shipping museum objects from East Africa to the Smithsonian, 1887–1891, Business History,
https://doi.org/10.7202/1056386ar

Researchers are investigating several novel approaches, including gene and stem cell therapy, to meet the challenges of diseases like muscular dystrophy. Recently, Dr Yoshitsugu Aoki of the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo and colleagues have summarised the current state of research into using urine-derived stem cells as models and prospective treatments, which may offer hope for patients with these potentially life-limiting conditions.

Read more about their work in Research Outreach.
Find the original paper this episode is based on at:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cells8091066

Chris Vincent and colleagues have developed a specialist interest in the impacts of serious illness on couples and family life. 

This gap between available services and their demand is especially important as the major emotional and financial burdens of long term illnesses fall on the family and, in particular, on adult partners.

For more on the counselling options available, find a list of services and practitioners at Tavistock Relationships , or through the Tavistock and Portman Trust.
For further resources, contact Liz Salter at The Harbour, Bristol, and the charity Relate.
Chris Vincent can be reached directly via email. 

Mutations that affect the mitochondrial DNA may play a key role in cancers. However, the exact mutations that are involved in cancer are still unknown. Dr Fatimata Mbaye and collaborators, from the University of Dakar in Senegal examined the sequences of two regions of the mitochondrial genome to identify mutations that might serve as biomarkers for early disease diagnosis.

Read more about this work in Research Outreach, or find the original paper at:  doi.org/10.31557/APJCP.2019.20.7.2203

Our DNA holds our deepest cellular secrets, from markers of our health the keys to our family tree. But if that information is stored in online databases, it can end up traveling further than we could ever imagine.

The global nature of online data is exactly why the “Your DNA, Your Say” study was developed. Conducted in over 15 languages across 5 continents, the survey is designed to gather public perceptions on DNA, Big Data, concerns around privacy and who people trust.  

Read more about Your DNA, Your Say at the Wellcome Genome Campus site.
Read the latest paper from the project at doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.08.023

Plastic pollution is an environmental catastrophe in progress. 32% of the plastic we use escapes into the environment, and only 9% currently gets recycled.

British company Polymateria have developed additives for conventional plastics which facilitate biodegradation if they escape the waste stream. Their proposal has now been taken up by the American Society for Testing and Materials, as well as the British Standards Institute, as the preferred way to assess plastic transformation.

Read more about their work in Research Outreach, or in the journal e-Polymers:  doi.org/10.1515/epoly-2020-0041 

Darwins theory of evolution underpins much of our current understanding of biology, and its concepts have even come to be applied in other disciplines. Ideas like ’Survival of the fittest’ and ‘mutations’ are part of common language today. Applying those concepts to the dog-eat-dog world of business, Professor Gino Cattani of the Stern School, NYU, works on uncovering what gives successful companies the edge over others; how innovation and creativity can be fostered to come up with new products and solutions, and how existing products can come to fit into market niche.

Read more about his research here: https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dty077

Do prisoners with religious beliefs and behaviours experience their incarceration differently? How does their emotional state affect the likelihood of rehabilitation, or repeat offences? Professors Sung Joon Jang and Byron R. Johnson at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, examine the effects of religion on offenders in the South African correctional system.

Read more about their work in Research Outreach, or read the original paper: https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1689286

How exactly do birds ‘talk’ to one another? And might research into how birds listen to birdsong help us understand communication both in humans and birds? Dr Robert Dooling and his team, based at the University of Maryland, USA, showed that – for zebra finches at least – the subtle nuances in sound texture or timbre are more important than the sequence of repeated sounds.

Find more on their work in Research Outreach, or read the original paper : https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0044