Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Babies' genes influence birth weight and later life disease

Research

New research finds genetic differences that help to explain why some babies are born bigger or smaller than others.

Baby being weighed © Beneda Miroslav - Shutterstock

The research, led by the University of Oxford, also reveals how genetic differences provide an important link between an individual’s early growth and their chances of developing conditions such as type 2 diabetes or heart disease in later life.

The large-scale study, published in Nature, could help to target new ways of preventing and treating these diseases.

Read more

Similar stories

QCovid highly commended for ‘best use of technology in Patient Safety’ at the 2021 HSJ Patient Safety Awards

Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox and her team in Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences have been Highly Commended in the ‘Best use of technology in Patient Safety’ category for the QCovid risk calculator at this year’s Health Service Journal Patient Safety Awards.

New guidelines to improve reporting standards of studies that investigate causal mechanisms

Researchers in the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) have developed a new set of guidelines for reporting mediation analyses in health research.

FOCUS4: a flagship trial in colorectal cancer

Professor Tim Maughan (Department of Oncology) outlines the flagship work of the FOCUS4 trials, whose results were presented last weekend at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual meeting

Oxford and Oracle partner to speed identification of COVID-19 variants

The fast spread of the highly infectious Delta variant underscores the need for faster identification of COVID-19 mutations. Uniting governments and medical communities in this challenge, the University of Oxford and Oracle’s Global Pathogen Analysis System (GPAS) is now being used by organizations on nearly every continent. Institutions using the platform include: the University of Montreal Hospital Centre Research Centre, the Institute of Public Health Research of Chile, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam, the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research – New South Wales Pathology, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies. GPAS is also now part of the Public Health England New Variant Assessment Platform.

Vaccinated groups at highest risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation and death identified using new QCovid tool

Researchers from the University of Oxford have today reported on findings on the vaccinated people who are at greatest risk from severe Covid-19 leading to hospitalisation or death from 14 days post the second dose vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected.

Com-COV vaccine mix-and-match study expands to 12-to-16-year-olds

Researchers running the University of Oxford-led Com-COV programme have launched a new study of COVID-19 vaccination schedules in young people aged 12 to 16.