Elite runners need a specific combination of physiological abilities to have any chance of running a sub-two-hour marathon, new research shows .
The study is based on detailed testing of athletes who took part in Nike's Breaking2 project – an ambitious bid to break the two-hour barrier.
Professor Andrew Jones , of the University of Exeter, said the findings reveal that elite marathon runners must have a "perfect balance" of VO2 max (rate of oxygen uptake), efficiency of movement and a high "lactate turn point" (above which the body experiences more fatigue).
Hundreds of volunteers from the South West will from today be invited to join a leading phase three COVID-19 vaccine study, as the number of people who have signed up to take part in vaccine research hits 9,220 across Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset.
The study will test the safety and effectiveness of a promising new vaccine, developed by US biotechnology company Novavax, across a broad spectrum of people, including those from a variety of age groups and backgrounds. Phase 3 studies involve many thousands of people, giving researchers insights into the effects of a vaccine...
People can share their experiences of the isolating impact of the coronavirus pandemic as part of a major new project designed to collect stories of loneliness and community.
The Lockdown Blues is an online scrapbook where anyone can contribute their thoughts, feelings, or reflections on loneliness in any format – including poems, songs, paintings, stories, sketches, videos, letters or even a few brief notes.
It is hoped the website will encourage both empathy about the impact of loneliness and creativity, and reading, writing, and creating will help visitors to the...
A revolutionary point-of-care test developed by experts from a University of Exeter spin-out company has been used to safely diagnose a lethal fungal lung disease during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The ground-breaking company, ISCA Diagnostics, has created a simple, affordable and rapid test to detect pulmonary aspergillosis.
A frequently fatal lung disease, which usually attacks immune deficient individuals such as cancer patients and bone marrow transplant recipients, it has also recently emerged as a super-infection of Coronavirus patients in Intensive Care Units known...
The quest to discover why friendship plays such a pivotal role in social and mental well-being has been given a significant boost, it has been announced.
Professor Lauren Brent, an expert in animal behaviour from the University of Exeter has been awarded substantial funding to help uncover the evolutionary origins of friendship and social bonds.
Prof Brent has received a €2 million grant to conduct ground-breaking new research to investigate not only social bonds are so important to the health and longevity of so many species, but also why evolution allows social...
An award of almost £1 million will help scientists at the University of Exeter unravel the genetics mysteries of a rare form of diabetes, and could help identify a new form of the condition.
Dr Kash Patel, of the University of Exeter Medical School, has secured the funding under the Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship.
Over five years, Dr Patel will study Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY), a rare genetic form of diabetes which can be passed down through families. It is caused by a defect in one of 14 genes, many of them discovered at the...
While children and young people appear less likely to get COVID-19 than older adults, new research suggests there may be substantial indirect adverse effects of the disease on their physical and mental health.
An analysis published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) , co-led by the University of Exeter Medical School with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids, Canada) has found factors caused by the pandemic, such as delayed medical appointments, forced isolation and reduction in support, have negatively impacted children’s health.
A cheap and readily available steroid which was part of a nationwide COVID-19 trial that included patients in Exeter has been found to reduce the risk of dying in patients admitted to hospital with the virus.
The University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E) were collectively among 175 NHS hospitals signed up to the RECOVERY trial, coordinated nationally by Oxford University and delivered by the National Institute for Health Research, Clinical Research Network.
Established in March this year, the randomised clinical trial is...
A new £1.4 million award from the Wellcome Trust will help researchers at the University of Exeter understand the processes that link a pregnant mother’s obesity with health problems for her and her baby.
Obesity is known to be one of the most common risk factors for complications of pregnancy and birth. Now, Dr Rachel Freathy, at the University of Exeter Medical School, has been awarded a Wellcome Senior Research Fellowship to study human genetics data in babies, mothers and fathers to understand the mechanisms involved in causing these health problems, with a view to improving...
