Blooms of filamentous cyanobacteria produce hepatotoxins (nodularin, NOD, and microcystin, MC) that are bioaccumulative and potentially harmful for animals and humans. At the same time, these cyanobacteria are often a valuable food source for grazers, because they circumvent summer nitrogen limitation by fixing dissolved nitrogen and generate a supply of nitrogen-rich food. The evidence is accumulating that both NOD and MC can be efficiently degraded by heterotrophic bacteria, thus regulating toxin levels in the water and the food webs. We propose that such bacteria can become an integral part of the gut microbiome in the grazers exposed to cyanobacteria, which may convey a selective advantage for the hosts.

Our researchers at the National Centre for Mesothelioma Research (NCMR) use cutting edge technologies and informatics tools to study mesothelioma and lung cancer. Mesothelioma is mostly caused by asbestos exposure, whereas smoking is the major risk factor for developing lung cancer.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool led by Professor Peter Weightman have developed a new instrument for the early diagnosis of cancer with support from the EPSRC and Cancer Research UK. The instrument provides subcellular infrared (IR) images of cancerous cells and tissue and has the potential to yield a novel diagnostic technique to determine the various stages of cervical, oesophageal and oral cancers. The development of such an instrument for early diagnosis will allow surgeons to test tissue during a surgical operation to ensure the successful removal of all cancerous cells, preventing the reoccurrence and/or spread of cancer.

The Good for Kids, Good for Life program has been providing support to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres to promote physical activity and healthy eating in children aged 0-5 years since 2006. In 2019, the Good for Kids ECEC team are partnering with centres to conduct three research trials, SWAP It Childcare Lunchbox program, Everybody Energise and Childcare EATS (Electronic Assessment Tool and Support).

Assessing community response to altered habitats is of theoretical and practical importance if we are to understand impacts on ecosystems and propose adequate management strategies. In the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), the member states agreed to evaluate whether the targets of the BSAP have been met by using indicator-based assessments. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) reiterated the need for sustainable management of the European seas, requiring a systematic assessment of the environmental state of all European regional seas using qualitative descriptors for the good environmental status (GES) of the marine environment. Today, there is a great need for sound biological effect indicators for implementation in MSFD. Great efforts are being directed by HELCOM and OSPAR toward the development and validation of ecological metrics that can serve as indicators in the environmental assessment of ecosystem health status, including biological effects of environmental contaminants.

KCL researcher Professor Dasgupta, along with colleagues at University College London and Imperial College London, identified that certain receptors within nerve fibres in the bladder were present at abnormal levels in OAB syndrome. These could be suppressed using Botulinum Toxin-A, introduced into the bladder under local anaesthetic, removing the need for an overnight hospital stay.
This cost-effective OAB therapy is now licensed by the EU and FDA, is recommended in national and international guidelines, and has significantly improved the treatment of a common health problem.