Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) used atomic-level imaging techniques so that they could analyse the biological composition of the virus particles and learn more about the fusion glycoprotein.

This region adapts once the virus finds a host – a human cell – to latch onto. The area is particularly vulnerable to neutralisation from infection-fighting immune cells, and so understanding its structure is crucial.

Increasing understanding of the shape of this area before fusion facilitates the development of vaccines which promote the production of complementary antibodies. These are proteins that lock onto sites on a pathogen in order to break it down, destroy it and prevent infection.

Rapid immune response to a virus invasion is vital for the prevention of serious infection, and preparing the body to attack via means of a vaccine is extremely important. Exposing the body to a weakened form of the virus promotes production of relevant antibodies and increases preparedness and the chance of favourable outcomes in the event of future infection.

Targeting medical problems prevalent in childhood can be particularly effective, since the immaturity of youngsters' immune systems means they are more prone to serious side-effects when a virus enters the body.

According to the researchers, the vast majority of children under the age of three are infected by RSV at some stage. It is most harmful in those under one, often causing hospitalisation and serious health problems.

When older children and adults are infected, they usually suffer with symptoms associated with the common cold. However, the virus is responsible for 40 to 50 per cent of bronchitis cases in infants, according to the NHS.

Approximately 20,000 of these youngsters are admitted within a year of developing the condition due to complications. Implementing a vaccination scheme could, therefore, have a hugely beneficial impact on youngsters' health.

The NHS estimates that three in every 1,000 people are affected by the condition each year, with prevalence highest in the over-50s. The infection is caused when the herpes varicella-zoster virus, which causes chicken pox, is reactivated later in life.

A vaccination called Zostavax can reduce a person's chance of contracting the condition by 50 to 70 per cent, according to the healthcare provider, although patients today will usually have to fund the jab privately.

However, the new programme will see over-70s, who are most prone to complications, routinely administered the vaccination. BBC News reports that 800,000 elderly people in England will be protected in the first year alone.

The vaccine works by introducing a weakened form of the virus into the recipient's body. This allows the immune system to generate antibodies which destroy the disease without threat of serious infection.

Memory cells retain the coding information required to produce these pathogen-fighting proteins, and are activated in the event of reinfection. This means that the immune system is more quickly equipped to fight off the virus.

It should prevent many people from suffering the symptoms, which include exhaustion, a painful rash and fever, as well as complications such as transverse myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord) and scarring of the cornea.

Since the vaccination should help to prevent many hospitalisations, the Department of Health estimated that the programme will save the organisation £20 million per year. It is thought that the scheme will cost £25 million annually to implement.

University of Bristol's Professor Adam Finn told the BBC: "There's a cost involved in both buying and giving the vaccines but there's also enormous savings from all the disease that you prevent. Not only suffering and some deaths but also all the costs of hospitalisation, not to mention all the inconvenience, people taking time off work to look after their children and so on and so forth."

Although many experimenters have attempted to combat the dengue virus, developing antibodies which can destroy the particles is extremely difficult. An infection involves four serotypes, meaning that there are quadruple the typical number of sites to neutralise.

Previous research has focussed on targeting the 'loop' region of the virus, since this should result in destruction of all four serotypes. However, engineering antibodies that successfully combat this area has proved to be difficult.

Investigators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) therefore decided to tackle the 'A' strand – another region implicated in the destruction of the dengue virus particle. Both this area and the loop are parts of the envelope protein, which attaches to the host in order to infect.

They focused on improving the 4E11 antibody, which has previously been shown to neutralise three of the four serotypes. Their aim was to tweak the protein in such a way that it would disable the final region, and improve its overall potency, or efficacy.

The Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT Ram Sasisekharan said: "Rather than random screening, we used a statistically driven approach so we knew the regions to focus on, and what things we had to change."

After analysing the outcomes that mutated antibodies had on combating the four regions, they identified one composition which magnified the neutralising effects by 450 times. Verification of more favourable outcomes will be tested on patients in clinical trials.

If the findings are found to be sound, the consequent development of a vaccination could have a considerable impact on lowering mortality rates associated with the dengue virus. Most infections result in fever-like symptoms, although complications can be fatal.

People affected by severe dengue often experience abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, and extreme fatigue. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that 2.5 per cent of these patients lose their life as a result of the infection.

This digestive condition is characterised by an adverse reaction to gluten – a protein present in the majority of grains and cereals.

Sufferers must therefore have a restricted diet, since consuming these foods can motivate symptoms like diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

However, the ability to incorporate sorghum could enable those with coeliac disease to enjoy a more varied and nutritious diet.

Researchers have analysed the biological composition of the grain and confirmed that it does not contain toxic gluten proteins.

Farmers across the world are cross-breeding the cereal in order to grow a product that is more suitable for human consumption.

This could significantly improve availability of gluten-free products on the market, meaning that around one-in-100 people in the UK could enjoy a superior quality of life.

This condition is often characterised by abnormally high levels of male hormones, and this can result in excess body hair growth. Sufferers can also be affected by cysts on the ovaries or an inability to ovulate, which can cause acne, weight gain or even infertility.

Investigators recruited 21 females who were affected by the condition as well as 20 healthy controls, and gathered a sample of fat cells from the lower abdomen of each participant.

Scientists analysed the biological composition of these functional units and compared results in order to identify PCOS-specific traits.

Experimenters found that there was a distinct over-expression of the microRNA miR-93, which led to an under-representation of the protein GLUT4. Previous research has established both compounds as playing a role in lipid metabolism.

Abnormalities were most pronounced among PCOS and control patients who had been diagnosed with an insulin resistance. This hormone plays a crucial role in the regulation of blood glucose levels – low production results in type 2 diabetes, while a lack of creation characterises type 1 diabetes.

Insulin is released by the pancreas when blood sugar levels are high, since it motivates fat cells in the body to absorb the product and convert it into glycogen for storage. If this process does not occur, the body will instead depend on fat as an energy source.

Dr Ricardo Azziz, of the Georgia Regents University Medical College of Georgia, said: "Low levels of GLUT4 in fat appear to be affecting insulin resistance in general and to have a more dramatic impact in PCOS."

These findings may encourage scientists to develop treatments that target miR-93 abnormalities and prevent the declination of GLUT4 levels, thus avoiding the development of insulin resistance.

Researchers analysed samples of genetic information taken from 246 participants in clinical examinations and tests. The data used was gathered from the College of American Pathologists 2002 Survey, Coriell Cell Repositories and ARUP Laboratories.

The DNA sequences had previously been analysed using a variety of standard techniques, and some related to healthy subjects while others were gathered from people with HD. The samples were unmarked so that the investigators could not skew their results with pre-existing knowledge.

Experimenters were then able to fairly test their method. By using information from unaffected participants as a control, the academics could determine the rate of accuracy offered by the new technique.

Their test, which involved chimeric or triplet repeat primed PCR (TP PCR) methodology, was then conducted. It was hoped that it could analyse both the existence and extent of HD by evaluating the number of CAG repetitions.

The HTT gene usually has ten to 35 segments of CAG present, but people affected by the inherited condition have additional copies. Up to five extra replicates may not result in symptoms, but people with over 40 CAG repetitions are almost always diagnosed with the disease.

This is because additional CAG produces an abnormally elongated version of a protein called huntington. This can then become fragmented and toxic, and if levels build up inside neurons – cells responsible for transmitting electronic signals in the body – they can cause severe disruption.

Interference with neuron function or death of these cells is what motivates the symptoms of HD, which include uncontrollable movement, behavioural changes, depression and communication issues.

After analysing results from the TP PCR experiment, the scientists found that their diagnostic had 100 per cent accuracy in recognising the condition. It also managed to successfully measure CAG repetitions in 98 per cent of cases.

This technique seemed to offer increased precision, and is reportedly less likely to administer a false negative or positive result to patients, thus alleviating unnecessary stress and avoiding misdiagnosis which can compromise a person’s quality of life in the long-term.

University of Minnesota researchers found that parvalbumin plays an important role in relaxing the fast-twitching muscle.

They optimised and developed this protein to create ParvE101Q, which would absorb excess calcium to allow the heart to relax following contraction.

The mineral is responsible for triggering contractions in protein filaments which cause the heart to beat and push blood around the body.

Ion levels build in order to generate force in the heart cells, and then fall once again so that they rest.

Elevated amounts motivated by diastolic failure means that the heart is kept in a state of contraction for too long, resulting in severe strain.

If scientists discover how to deliver ParvE101Q to cardiac cells effectively, healthcare providers may be able to treat the potentially fatal condition and lower mortality rates.

Credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories

Academics from the University of Edinburgh analysed the microorganisms, and found that they produced a protein called SopB while in the gut.

This substance is then able to affect cells in the tissue, motivating them to divide and multiply to a greater extent.

An increased build-up of these microfold cells allows Salmonella microbes to cross the gut wall and infiltrate the bloodstream.

This means that the harmful bacteria are then transported around the body, and so are able to infect large quantities of cells.

People contract Salmonella after consuming contaminated foods, and they are likely to suffer from extreme diarrhoea and fever – hospitalisation may be required in extreme cases.

In order to prevent symptoms, people should ensure that foods are prepared in a hygienic environment and cooked properly.

Cancerous cells in the body produce proteins which are not made by healthy cells, and so the presence of these molecules allows doctors to detect the disease. However, the levels created are extremely low, and so it is difficult to identify them – this means many patients who go for tests may be misdiagnosed.

Researchers from MIT wanted to see whether they could amplify these cancer signals and so started to engineer a nanoparticle. They knew that cancerous cells developed proteases called MMPs, so coated nanoparticles with peptides which the enzymes are attracted to. They were also specially engineered to target tumour sites, where they could attract large quantities of the biomarkers.

Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine Sanjiv Gambhir said: “Instead of being dependent on the body to naturally shed biomarkers, you’re sampling the site of interest and causing biomarkers that you engineered to be released.”

These nanoparticles covered in MMPs then accumulate in the kidneys, where the substances are released through urine. Healthcare workers are then able to test this for the presence of the proteases using mass spectrometry. The nature of the enzymes found could also allow scientists to determine the type of tumour.

Early detection of cancer significantly increases the chance of survival in patients, and so this new method has the potential to help a significant number of people. According to Cancer Research UK, 320,467 new cases were diagnosed in 2009 and 157,275 people were killed by the disease in the following year.

The condition, which is caused by the over-multiplication of cells, is the second-biggest killer in the UK after heart and circulatory disorders like coronary artery disease. Lung and trachea cancers are associated with the most deaths, and these are largely motivated by the biggest risk factor – smoking.

Resveratrol is present in certain grape skins, and its consumption has previously been linked to health benefits. Researchers from the University of Missouri wanted to see whether effects it has previously been shown to provoke in tumour cells would benefit prostate cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Scientists exposed prostate tumour cells to the compound and measured the consequent success of radiation-induced cell death. Analysis of the results shows that up to 97 per cent of the cells were destroyed – a much higher proportion than radiation would usually cause alone. This means that cancerous cells exposed to resveratrol are more likely to die during this type of therapy, meaning smaller tumours and thus a higher chance of patient recovery.

Authors of the study believe that this is due to increased protein activity in the prostate tumour cells. In high concentrations, two proteins – perforin and granzyme B – work together to promote celldeath. However, their levels are low in prostate cancer cells and so their effect is usually limited.

Under resveratrol conditions, activity of both proteins was enhanced, meaning tumour cells were more likely to be destroyed. It was even effective in improving cell death in aggressive cancerous tumours, meaning patients suffering from any level of the condition could benefit.

The experimenters now have to find out whether there is an effective method for the distribution and administration of resveratrol, since consuming large-enough quantities of the compound through grapes or wine is unfeasible and could leave the person suffering with side-effects.

Some pharmaceutical companies have created supplements for the substance already, attempting to capitalise on people seeking to take advantage of other health benefits, such as alleged protection against heart disease. The dosage prostate cancer patients would require of these replacement drugs however could leave the person with joint aches, stomach pains, flu or insomnia.