Policies like the London Plan, which are designed to shape the cities of the future, are based on outdated assumptions about the way people live and work, according to research funded by the Economic & Social Research Council.

“There is a great deal of talk about ‘joined-up thinking’’ about transport, housing and other policies,” says project leader Dr Helen Jarvis, “but in practice householders are having to fire-fight in a climate where planners and policymakers are not up to date.”

People who brush their teeth for longer and harder than is necessary may not be making them any cleaner, and could be causing permanent damage, according to new research.

A study using electric toothbrushes by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, found that when researchers increased the length of people’s brushing regime and the pressure they applied to their teeth, the removal of harmful bacteria was only improved up to a point.

Beyond that point, say experts from Newcastl

Minimally invasive treatment of disease, a revolutionary alternative to larger surgical incisions and longer recovery times, is undergoing its own transformation. Interventional radiologists are fusing imaging technologies with the accuracy of robots and automated instruments to help physicians target cancerous tumors and diseases with exquisite precision.

Three major categories of technology are at the forefront: robotics, global positioning systems (GPS) and next-generation image di

New study presented today at Image-guided Therapies media briefing

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined with chemotherapy is currently being used to treat malignant liver tumors at a Boston hospital on the basis of results from a new study appearing in the July issue of the journal Radiology. The minimally invasive, outpatient procedure is performed on primary liver cancer or colon cancer tumors that have spread to the liver of patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

MGH imaging study finds differences in brain area responsible for vigilance

A key area in the brains of people who displayed an inhibited temperament as toddlers shows a greater response to new faces than does the same brain area in adults who were uninhibited early in life, according to a study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The imaging studies of the amygdala – a part of the brain that responds to events requiring extra vigilance – appear in the June 20 i

Protein could provide clues for understanding type two diabetes

Along the multifaceted insulin pathway, Dartmouth Medical School biochemists have found a missing link that may spark the connection for glucose to move into cells. The discovery is another strand in the remarkable web of molecular signals that regulate traffic through cells and helps elucidate crucial aspects of how the hormone insulin regulates a membrane movement process.

The work is being discussed June 21 at