Collaboration between research groups is key in tackling rare diseases such as auto-immune disease Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Indeed, the rarity of the disease means that it can be difficult to collect enough samples of blood and tissues to perform quality research.

Personalised medicine is one of the new developments that is deemed to revolutionise health care. A key component is the detection of biomarkers, proteins in blood or saliva, for example, whose presence or abnormal concentration is caused by a disease.

Until now, few biosensors have had the required sensitivity to detect single molecules. A novel approach for improved biosensor sensitivity has opened new avenues for developing new kinds of biosensors.

Between 30 and 40 million people in Europe suffer from rare diseases —many of them children. As most of these diseases have genetic origins, gene therapy is a major hope for their future cure .

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.

Within the framework of the European ATLAS project, a team of researchers in Naples has created a LASER-based prototype that could revolutionize medicine and our knowledge of the human genome .

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 .

Cancer research could soon benefit from a new technology allowing investigation of how the DNA interacts with the proteins. Recent advances in tackling the disease stem from a change in our view of the genome —all the genes contained in our DNA.

Diseases of the central nervous system are a big burden to society . According to estimates, they cost €800 billion per year in Europe. And for most of them, there is no definitive cure.

According to estimates, more than 1.2 million people in Europe are affected by Parkinson’s disease. Health costs for the disease amount to €11 billion euros per year.

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).

Lysosomes are membrane-bound organelles found in most animal cells. They are responsible for treating cellular waste. Genetic mutations in lysosomal enzymes lead to lysosome malfunction and waste accumulation.

Lysosomes are intracellular organelles that degrade and recycle ‘waste’ molecules. Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSDs) comprise a large group of congenital metabolic diseases affecting altogether one in 8,000 newborns.

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 .

A treatment to directly fight Huntington’s disease could finally be in sight . Until now, therapies for this severely debilitating genetic disorder have only focused on alleviating physical and psychiatric symptoms.

Fat, sugar and salt - these ingredients are often used by the food industry to enrich their products and provide us with the perfect sensual experience. Now, scientists in France are trying to reverse this trend.

“Antibiotic resistance threatens a return to the pre-antibiotic era”. The World Health Organisation uses this strong expression when referring to a phenomenon that is rapidly spreading: the increasing resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial medicines, such as antibiotics .

Peanut, egg and soy are more common food known to trigger an allergic reaction, a problem affecting around 8% of children in the EU. Intuitively, you might not list apples as causing allergic reactions.

We are what we eat. However, little is known on how a specific dietary regime can impact the life of the elderly . Now, researchers from an EU funded project called NU-AGE are investigating the effects of the Mediterranean diet on older people.

The “ nano wrap ” that is being developed to be fitted around an amputee’s upper arm nerve bundle is the ambitious other part of the Smarthand’s robotic hand project.