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As we age, our muscles become smaller and weaker, are more susceptible to damage following exercise and recovery from damage is severely impaired. Loss of muscle leads to a severe reduction in quality of life for the elderly due to increased need for assistance and residential care and increased risk of hypothermia and incontinence. We plan to investigate in mice how this age-related loss of muscle occurs as a means of eventually developing ways of preventing these changes in later life in people. A number of studies have indicated that highly reactive substances called free radicals are involved in causing ageing-related changes in many tissues, but the way that they lead to loss of muscle is unclear. We will investigate the possibility that these free radicals react with some key proteins in the muscle that regulate the way that muscle adapts to everyday tasks to prevent damage to the muscle. Our investigations will characterise the processes that occur during ageing and identify potential ways in which we might modify the muscles of old mice (and potentially those of old people) to help restore the ability to respond to everyday use and hence maintain their muscle mass.

My research is aimed at understanding the development of the nervous system at the molecular level. I am particularly interested in a group of complex glycoproteins, heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs). My research uses the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a simplistic genetic model. Understanding neuronal development is one of the fundamental questions in biology as neurons control actions from movement to autonomous functions such as heart beat and breathing, and our ability to sense, think and remember. The adult human brain has over hundred billion neurons which each make connections with an average of 1000 target cells, yet mistakes happen very rarely. Neuron migration and formation of neuronal connections during development are genetically determined and dictate the wiring of the entire nervous system, yet the molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. HSPGs are present in cell membranes and in the extracellular space between cells. HSPGs mediate interactions of cells with their environment and play critical roles in regulating development and homeostasis. In the nervous system HSPGs guide migrating neurons and their processes, and control functions involved in learning and memory. C. elegans contains homologues of key genes involved in human neuronal development. A simplified model is expected to improve understanding of HSPGs in normal cellular communication. Understanding normal development will provide novel insights into mechanisms that underlie cancer, degenerative neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and regeneration after injury.

In the UK, declining levels of physical activity are contributing to an epidemic of obesity and alarming increases in preventable conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Previous efforts to promote physical activity have largely failed. However, a powerful motivator for an active lifestyle, already present in many households, has been overlooked. 1 in 4 households in the UK own dogs, yet despite having a furry pal ready to ‘go walkies‘, some owners still do not walk their dogs or walk them only rarely. This study by researchers at the University of Liverpool will examine the aspects of the human-dog relationship that cause some people to walk their dogs, and others not. It will use a combination of face-to-face interviews with dog owners, observational studies and questionnaire surveys. A key focus will be the involvement of children in activities with dogs that may prevent childhood obesity. If all dog owners walked for at least 30 minutes every day, they would meet recommended physical activity guidelines. Many dogs would also live much healthier and happier lives. This study will inform the best methods to motivate walking that is beneficial to the health of both people and dogs.