News in 2020
- World's first research programme to identify scarring gene launched 26 November 2020 A world-leading £1.5 million research programme that aims to achieve scar free healing within a generation has been launched today [26 November] by The Scar Free Foundation, the only medical research charity which focuses solely on scarring. The five-year research study led by the University of Bristol will identify the gene(s) that causes scarring and inform future treatments
- Neuropilin-1 drives SARS-CoV-2 infectivity, finds breakthrough study 20 October 2020 In a major breakthrough an international team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has potentially identified what makes SARS-CoV-2 highly infectious and able to spread rapidly in human cells. The findings, published in Science today [20 October] describe how the virus’s ability to infect human cells can be reduced by inhibitors that block a newly discovered interaction between virus and host, demonstrating a potential anti-viral treatment.
- Discovery of a druggable pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein could stop virus in its tracks 21 September 2020 A druggable pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that could be used to stop the virus from infecting human cells has been discovered by an international team of scientists led by the University of Bristol. The researchers say their findings, published today [21 September] in the journal Science, are a potential 'game changer' in defeating the current pandemic and add that small molecule anti-viral drugs developed to target the pocket they discovered could help eliminate COVID-19.
- Success for WBF user in BSCB image competition 14 July 2020
- New drug formulation could treat Candida infections 28 April 2020 With antimicrobial resistance (AMR) increasing around the world, new research led by the University of Bristol has shown a new drug formulation could possibly be used in antifungal treatments against Candida infections.
- Insect wings hold antimicrobial clues for improved medical implants 6 April 2020 Some insect wings such as cicada and dragonfly possess nanopillar structures that kill bacteria upon contact. However, to date, the precise mechanisms that cause bacterial death have been unknown.
- Catalytic protocells get zingy 8 January 2020 Artificial cells capable of oxygen gas production and chemical signalling have been prepared using a combination of synthetic and biological catalysts through an international collaboration between the University of Bristol and the University of Padua in Italy.
