News

Altigene, a research group of young scientists of the University of Tartu is developing a gene test, which can warn mountaineers of predisposition to altitude sickness. The test can also help livestock farmers save millions of dollars. 

Altigene is a group of young researchers of the University of Tartu who believe that their gene test enables to diagnose altitude sickness and thereby prevent its serious consequences. Altitude sickness causes flu-like symptoms and at worst may develop into life-threatening cerebral or pulmonary oedema.

Pregnant women and young children do not have many options to relieve pain or lower fever. The best known and most commonly used remedy is paracetamol. Medical researchers of the University of Tartu started a research project that is innovative in many ways and is expected to bring clarity to whether foetal/infant exposure to paracetamol affects brain development and behaviour in later life.

Recreational use of cannabis is increasing worldwide, including in Estonia. A study by medical researchers of the University of Tartu shows that the first use of cannabis in Estonia is taking place in increasingly younger age groups – more and more people try cannabis before the age of 16. From the point of view of brain development, this is too early.

In 2021, the anniversary events of the Faculty of Medicine will take place on October 7^th- 8^th. We invite everybody to submit abstracts to the scientific conference no later than June 30^th.

The examination of an Estonian girl with progressive muscle weakness brought about collaboration of researchers from ten countries, which led to the discovery of a new form of muscular dystrophy caused by changes in the Jagged2 (JAG2) gene. In the research, a special muscle magnetic resonance imaging study was used in Estonia for the first time, revealing a pattern of muscle involvement characteristic of pathogenic variants in JAG2.

While the use of probiotics is already an everyday practice in the food industry, their use in skincare products is still a novel direction, which is also studied by medical researchers of the University of Tartu. They are developing a probiotic skin product to help relieve the symptoms of atopic dermatitis and acne by supporting the microbiota of the affected skin.

Pharmaceutical researchers of the University of Tartu are developing four new research-based food supplements: one to relieve stress, another to improve sleep, the third to combat viral colds and the fourth to help prevent them.

The study on the prevalence of coronavirus reveals that the number of infectious adults is several times smaller and the number of adults with antibodies against coronavirus has increased by a half compared to a month ago. Slightly more than half of the people with anti-virus antibodies have achieved protection through vaccination.

The shortage of nurses in the Estonian health care system has deepened over the years, and now that the health care sector is working at full capacity, the situation is particularly critical. All this puts pressure on nurse managers, who must, on one hand, maintain the motivation of the nurses and, on the other, ensure that patients receive high-quality services.

Around 10% of newborns in Europe need intensive care. Critically ill babies, however, are highly vulnerable to resistant bacteria. Researchers from ten countries, including Estonia, have started a project aiming to develop and implement innovative methods for infection prevention and control.

A master’s thesis defended at the University of Tartu revealed that in 2018 in Estonia, the burden of disease associated with smoking totalled to 23,634 years of life, that is 38.9 years per 1,000 inhabitants. Men lost more than four times more years of life than women due to smoking, and most years of life were lost outside Tallinn and Tartu.

Researchers from the University of Tartu and the Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK) carried out the largest and most exhaustive genetic study to date looking at Y-chromosome-linked infertility in men. Analysing the DNA of patients with spermatogenic impairment at the Andrology Centre of Tartu University Hospital, researchers found a previously undescribed subtype of the Y chromosome, which, in a substantial number of men of European ancestry, increases the risk of fertility issues nearly nine times.

This year, one researcher from the University of Tartu Faculty of Medicine – Research Fellow of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Annika Reintam Blaser – was added to the database of excellent female researchers AcademiaNet.

Tartu University scientists are looking for the perfect tablet that could be 3D printed at a pharmacy.

We all have different bodies, but the pills we’re swallowing are often identical. An elderly lady, an obese middle-aged man and a teenager could all be prescribed the same medicine. Does it make sense? Estonian scientists don’t think so. They are working towards the future where a patient could ask their local pharmacist to print out, let’s say, a specific painkiller, their doctor has prescribed specifically for them.

Researchers of the University of Tartu studied the strong medical mineral water of Värska resort for one year and confirmed that it can effectively support the treatment of upper respiratory diseases.

Associate Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry Uno Mäeorg, Associate Professor in Geology Enn Karro and Head of the Institute of Pharmacy, Professor in Pharmacognosy Ain Raal studied the mineral water of the bore well no. 6 in Värska, coming from 595 metres deep, to find out whether it could be used in the fight against upper respiratory diseases.

University of Tartu researchers participate in a European-wide cooperation project aiming to reduce inequalities related to cervical cancer screening. The goal is to increase the screening ratios among vulnerable women from 26% to 45% which could save the lives of 6,000 to 7,000 women each year.

In Europe, over 61,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and almost 26,000 of them will die of it. Each such death is a tragedy, considering that cervical cancer is today a preventable and treatable disease.

The study on the prevalence of coronavirus led by the University of Tartu reveals that every 40th adult in Estonia is infectious. About one fifth of the adult population has developed coronavirus antibodies. The large proportion of asymptomatic virus carriers and the underestimation of exposure to the infected makes the situation even more complicated.

Studies will continue largely online and classroom studies should be kept to a minimum in April

As the epidemiological situation in Estonia is very serious and the Estonian government has imposed additional restrictions on educational institutions, the University of Tartu will continue with similar organisation of studies as in March.

In cooperation between Estonian companies and the University of Tartu and the Estonian University of Life Sciences, technology has been developed for producing nasal and throat spray based on antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Initial studies have shown that it may help prevent infection with the coronavirus.

This year, 38 new schools from all across Estonia joined the education programme Schools in Motion. By now, despite the corona pandemic, more than 40% of pupils of Estonian general education schools go to a School in Motion.