Electronic device implanted in the brain could stop seizures

University reporter,Cambridge(wp):
Researchers have successfully demonstrated how an electronic device implanted directly into the brain can detect, stop and even prevent epileptic seizures. 

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines and INSERM in France, implanted the device into the brains of mice, and when the first signals of a seizure were detected, delivered a native brain chemical which stopped the seizure from progressing. The results, reported in the journal Science Advances, could also be applied to other conditions including brain tumours and Parkinson’s disease.

The work represents another advance in the development of soft, flexible electronics that interface well with human tissue. “These thin, organic films do minimal damage in the brain, and their electrical properties are well-suited for these types of applications,” said Professor George Malliaras, the Prince Philip Professor of Technology in Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, who led the research.

While there are many different types of seizures, in most patients with epilepsy, neurons in the brain start firing and signal to neighbouring neurons to fire as well, in a snowball effect that can affect consciousness or motor control. Epilepsy is most commonly treated with anti-epileptic drugs, but these drugs often have serious side effects and they do not prevent seizures in three out of 10 patients.

In the current work, the researchers used a neurotransmitter which acts as the ‘brake’ at the source of the seizure, essentially signalling to the neurons to stop firing and end the seizure. The drug is delivered to the affected region of the brain by a neural probe incorporating a tiny ion pump and electrodes to monitor neural activity.

When the neural signal of a seizure is detected by the electrodes, the ion pump is activated, creating an electric field that moves the drug across an ion exchange membrane and out of the device, a process known as electrophoresis. The amount of drug can be controlled by tuning the strength of the electric field.

“In addition to being able to control exactly when and how much drug is delivered, what is special about this approach is that the drugs come out of the device without any solvent,” said lead author Dr Christopher Proctor, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Engineering. “This prevents damage to the surrounding tissue and allows the drugs to interact with the cells immediately outside the device.”

The researchers found that seizures could be prevented with relatively small doses of drug representing less than 1% of the total amount of drug loaded into the device. This means the device should be able to operate for extended periods without needing to be refilled. They also found evidence that the delivered drug, which was in fact a neurotransmitter that is native to the body, was taken up by natural processes in the brain within minutes which, the researchers say, should help reduce side effects from the treatment.

Although early results are promising, the potential treatment would not be available for humans for several years. The researchers next plan to study the longer-term effects of the device in mice.

Malliaras is establishing a new facility at Cambridge which will be able to prototype these specialised devices, which could be used for a range of conditions. Although the device was tested in an animal model of epilepsy, the same technology could potentially be used for other neurological conditions, including the treatment of brain tumours and Parkinson’s disease.

The research was funded by the European Union.

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Cambridge mathematician awarded 2018 Fields Medal

Pic:Professor Birkar

University reporter,Cambridge(wp):

Professor Birkar, who originally came to the UK as a Kurdish refugee, was given the award today at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Fields medals, often called the Nobel Prize of mathematics, are awarded every four years. Medallists must be under the age of 40 by the start of the year they receive the award, with up to four mathematicians honoured at a time. Awarded for the first time in 1936, the medal is recognition for works of excellence and an incentive for new outstanding achievements.

Birkar, a member of Cambridge’s Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, won the award for his work on categorising different kinds of polynomial equations. He proved that the infinite variety of such equations can be split into a finite number of classifications, a major breakthrough in the field of birational geometry. Born in a Kurdish village in pre-revolutionary Iran, Birkar sought and obtained political asylum in the UK while finishing his undergraduate degree in Iran.

“War-ridden Kurdistan was an unlikely place for a kid to develop an interest in mathematics,” Birkar told the ICM today. “I'm hoping that this news will put a smile on the faces of those 40 million people.”

Birkar, who just this year received recognition for his work as one of the London Mathematical Society Prize winners, was born in 1978 in Marivan, a Kurdish province in Iran bordering Iraq with about 200,000 inhabitants. His curiosity was awakened by algebraic geometry, the same interest that, in that same region, centuries earlier, had attracted the attention of Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) and Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi (1135-1213).

After graduating in Mathematics from Tehran University, Birkar went to live in the UK, where he became a British citizen. In 2004, he completed his PhD at the University of Nottingham with the thesis “Topics in modern algebraic geometry”. Throughout his career, birational geometry has stood out as his main area of interest. He has devoted himself to the fundamental aspects of key problems in modern mathematics – such as minimal models, Fano varieties, and singularities. His theories have solved long-standing conjectures.

In 2010, the year in which he was awarded by the Foundation Sciences Mathématiques de Paris, Birkar wrote, alongside Paolo Cascini (Imperial College London), Christopher Hacon (University of Utah) and James McKernan (University of California, San Diego), an article called “Existence of minimal models for varieties of general log type” that revolutionised the field. The article earned the quartet the AMS Moore Prize in 2016.

Founded by the Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields to celebrate outstanding achievements, the Fields Medal has already been awarded to 56 scholars of the most diverse nationalities, among them, Brazilian Fields laureate Artur Avila, an extraordinary researcher from IMPA, awarded in 2014 in South Korea. Due to its importance and prestige, the medal is often likened to a Nobel Prize of Mathematics.

“This is absolutely phenomenal, both for Caucher and for mathematics at Cambridge,” said Professor Gabriel Paternain, Head of the Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics. “Caucher was already an exceptional young researcher when he came to Cambridge, and he's now one of the most remarkable people in this field. At Cambridge, we want to give all of our young researchers the opportunity to really explore their field early in their career: it can lead to some truly amazing things.”

The winners of the Fields medal are selected by a group of specialists nominated by the Executive Committee of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), which organize the ICMs. Every four years, between two and four researchers under the age of 40 are chosen. Since 2006, a cash prize of 15 thousand Canadian dollars accompanies the medal.

In an interview with Quanta Magazine, Birkar spoke of the math club at Tehran University, where pictures of Fields medallists lined the walls. “I looked at them and said to myself, ‘Will I ever meet one of these people?’ At that time in Iran, I couldn’t even know that I’d be able to go to the West.

“To go from the point that I didn’t imagine meeting these people to the point where someday I hold a medal myself — I just couldn’t imagine that this would come true.”

Professor Birkar is Cambridge’s 11th Fields medallist.

The other three winners of the 2018 Fields medals are Peter Scholze from the University of Bonn, Akshay Venkatesh from the Institute of Advanced Studies and Alessio Figalli from ETH Zurich.
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Jeremy Corbyn facing calls to back referendum on Brexit deal at Labour conference

Record 40% of London school leavers head off to university

Pic:More than 60,000 students were accepted on to courses from their A-level results ( PA )
Educational reporter(wp/es):

More teenagers in London are going to university this year than ever before, new figures reveal.

More than 40 per cent of 18-year-old Londoners have been accepted on to university and college courses, which is the highest proportion in the country and up by almost 10 per cent on the national average.

Overall in England 33.5 per cent of the 18-year-old population have been accepted on to courses. But in London the figure is 42.4 per cent.

Nationally fewer people are starting university this year compared to last due to a lower birthrate in 2000 than previous years. However, the proportion choosing to go on to higher education has increased.

London’s 18-year-olds beat this average as both the number and percentage of course applicants has risen. There are 770 more people about to start university and college than in 2017, bringing the total number of new Londoner students to 39,130.

This is despite universities in England charging tuition fees of up to £9,250 this year and possible future rises. If they are given a good rating by the Teaching Excellence Framework universities could raise fees in line with inflation from 2020.

Clare Marchant, Ucas chief executive, said: “As many students are enjoying freshers’ weeks across the country, meeting new faces, and settling into university life, this year’s admissions cycle is nearly complete.”

More than 60,000 students were accepted on to courses through clearing­ — the process through which universities fill their places after A-level results have been released. This is the highest figure on record.

There was fierce competition among universities to attract students because a  drop in applications created a “buyers’ market”.

There is no cap on the number of students a university or college can admit.

Students starting university this year took tough new A-level exams with no coursework or modules. They were the first cohort to sit final exams at the end of two years in most subjects.

As a result the number of A* grades dropped to the lowest level since 2013 and the overall pass rate was the lowest since 2010.

The number of EU students accepted on to courses has increased by two per cent compared to last year. There is also a record number of international students from outside the EU starting at British universities this term.

Ms Marchant said: “The enduring global appeal of studying an undergraduate degree in the UK is clear from the growth in international students with a confirmed place.”
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Teenager, 19, shot dead in Walthamstow in weekend of violence in East London

Crime reporter,London(wp/es):

Police have launched a murder probe after a teenager was shot and killed in east London.

A 19-year-old man died in hospital after being rushed their by friends after he was shot in the incident in Walthamstow at around 11pm last night, police said.

Officers were called to reports of a shooting on Vallentin Road.

The victim's friends reportedly tried to save the man's life but he was later pronounced dead at 11.38pm. 

The fatal shooting comes less than 24 hours after a 20-year-old man was killed in a "senseless" stabbing at a house party in north-east London.

Two other people, a 17-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man, were also seriously injured in the earlier incident, although their injuries were not life-threatening.

There have been more than 100 homicides in the capital so far this year.

Detectives are appealing for information over the shooting on Saturday night.

A spokesman said: "The victim - a 19-year-old man - was driven by friends to a north-east London hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11.38pm.

"Officers believe they know his identity, but await formal identification and confirmation that next of kin have been informed.

"A post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course."

No arrests have been made and witnesses are being urged to contact police.
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'Yellow alert' as storms are set to hit southeast England with up to a foot of rain and dangerous winds

Pic:Cars attempting to pass through a flooded road in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire in the aftermath of heavy rain on September 19. More stormy weather is due to hit the southeast of England tomorrow. ( REUTERS)

Staff reporter(wp/es):

London and the south east are on 'yellow alert' for a third storm in a week as the Met Office warns of the threat of floods and heavy winds.

Severe weather, due to hit tomorrow, will mainly affect the south east and possibly parts of East Anglia.

The coming storm has not been named by the Met Office. It follows Ali and Bronagh that hit on September 19 and 21 respectively. The next named storm of the year will be called Callum.

The area affected by the yellow warning includes the south and east of London, Kent, Sussex Surrey, Hampshire and parts of Essex.

A forecaster for the Met Office said: "During Sunday a weather system is expected to track quickly eastwards across southern England, bringing a spell of persistent and at times heavy rain, as well as the potential for some strong winds.

"It now looks as if the heaviest and most persistent rainfall will be across parts of southern and southeast England where 10-20 mm is expected and up to 30 mm in a few spots.

"Following the rain on Saturday, and with strong winds forecast, drains and culverts blocked by debris could mean impacts in places which would not normally be affected by these rainfall amounts.

"The west to northwesterly wind will also increase with gusts 35-45 mph inland and locally 50-60 mph near some exposed coasts.

"This combined warning replaces the previously issued separate Wind and Rain warnings."

The Met Office's yellow warning is in place from 7am tomorrow, until 3pm, with spray and flooding set to cause roads to become dangerous.

There is also a risk of high-sided vehicles being exposed on some routes and bridges, and the possibility of short-term power cuts.
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