EU-funded scientists have developed a strategy to rapidly identify the genetic properties of virulent strains of bacteria. Such techniques will be essential in responding effectively to an epidemic of a new strain of a disease or a bioterrorist attack.

Developed in close cooperation between Transinsight, Dresden, and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, the knowledge-based semantic search engine www.Go3R.org is now available online. It enables information transparency for the prevention of animal testing.

An international team of scientists has shed new light on how a mutation in a protein causes acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a type of blood cancer. The findings have implications for our understanding of AML, and the way leukaemias are treated. The work, which is partly funded by the EU, is published in the latest edition of the journal Cancer Cell.

Health campaigners are urging politicians to act on the growing body of scientific evidence that links exposure to certain chemicals to spiralling rates of breast cancer. Scientists have known for decades that a woman's risk of developing breast cancer is influenced both by the levels of oestrogen produced by her own body and her use of drugs containing man-made oestrogens, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

The immune system is made up of a collection of mechanisms that protect our bodies from disease and infection. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your own immune system attacks itself by mistake. Many parts of the body can be affected by these diseases, including nerves, muscles, and the endocrine and digestive systems.

Ascribe plc (AIM:ASP), the innovative health IT Group, today announced that it has successfully installed its Web Pharmacy solution at the Royal Bolton Hospital, part of the Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust and that the site is completely operational. One unique aspect of this 'Go Live' was that, on the same day that the hospital changed its pharmacy IT system, they also brought online a robotic dispensing system; thereby taking a massive leap forward in improving patient care and safety.

Our hearing is one of the wonders of the human body which is all too often taken for granted. Like many things in life, we don't really appreciate our ability to hear clearly until we begin to lose it. As we age, our ability to discern sounds begins to deteriorate. Therefore, new innovative therapies to guard the hearing of patients are eagerly sought after.