Female hormones can suppress pain by making immune cells near the spinal cord produce opioids, a new study from researchers at UC San Francisco has found. This stops pain signals before they get to the brain. 

The discovery could help with developing new treatments for chronic pain. It may also explain why some painkillers work better for women than men and why postmenopausal women experience more pain.  

New research shows that Sat Nav systems are helping keep older drivers on the roads for longer.

The study reveals that over 65s with a poorer sense of direction rely more on help from GPS navigation systems such as Sat Nav or smartphone maps.

Those using GPS tended to drive more frequently - suggesting that the technology helps older people maintain driving independence.

Goethe University Frankfurt has been awarded another humanities research unit funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG): The unit, titled “Power and Abuse in the Roman Catholic Church,” will investigate the conditions that facilitate abuse and how they can be prevented. Additionally, the Center for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences “Polycentricity and Plurality of Premodern Christianities” has secured follow-up funding for its study of Christianity from the first to the eighteenth century.