First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years

King's College London

An injection given during some asthma and COPD attacks is more effective than the current treatment of steroid tablets, reducing the need for further treatment by 30%.

The findings, published today in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, could be “game-changing” for millions of people with asthma and COPD around the world, scientists say.

Asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups (also called exacerbations) can be deadly. Every day in the UK four people with asthma and 85 people with COPD will tragically die. Both conditions are also very common, in the UK someone has an asthma attack every 10 seconds. Asthma and COPD costs the NHS £5.9B a year. 

The type of symptom flare-up the injection treats are called ‘eosinophilic exacerbations’ and involve symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and chest tightness due to inflammation resulting from high amounts of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell). Eosinophilic exacerbations make up to 30% of COPD flare-ups and almost 50% of asthma attacks. They can become more frequent as the disease progresses, leading to irreversible lung damage in some cases.

Treatment at the point of an exacerbation for this type of asthma has barely changed for over fifty years, with steroid drugs being the mainstay of medication. Steroids such as prednisolone can reduce inflammation in the lungs but have severe side-effects such as diabetes and osteoporosis. Furthermore, many patients ‘fail’ treatment and need repeated courses of steroids, re-hospitalisation or die within 90 days.

Results from the phase two clinical trial ABRA study, led by scientists from King’s College London and sponsored by the University of Oxford, show a drug already available can be re-purposed in emergency settings to reduce the need for further treatment and hospitalisations. The multi-centre trial was conducted at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Benralizamab is a monoclonal antibody which targets specific white blood cells, called eosinophils, to reduce lung inflammation. It is currently used for the treatment of severe asthma. The ABRA trial has found a single dose can be more effective when injected at the point of exacerbation compared to steroid tablets.

The study investigators randomised people at high risk of an asthma or COPD attack into three groups, one receiving benralizumab injection and dummy tablets, one receiving standard of care (prednisolone 30mg daily for five days) and dummy injection and the third group receiving both benralizumab injection and standard of care. As a double-blind, double-dummy, active-comparator placebo-controlled trial, neither the people in the study, or the study investigators knew which study arm or treatment they were given.

After 28 days, respiratory symptoms of cough, wheeze, breathlessness and sputum were found to be better with benralizumab. After ninety days, there were four times fewer people in the benralizumab group that failed treatment compared to standard of care with prednisolone.

Treatment with the benralizumab injection took longer to fail, meaning fewer episodes to see a doctor or go to hospital. There was also an improvement in the quality of life for people with asthma and COPD.

Lead investigator of the trial Professor Mona Bafadhel from King’s College London said: “This could be a game-changer for people with asthma and COPD. Treatment for asthma and COPD exacerbations have not changed in fifty years despite causing 3.8 million deaths worldwide a year combined.

“Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug already used to manage severe asthma. We’ve used the drug in a different way – at the point of an exacerbation - to show that it’s more effective than steroid tablets which is the only treatment currently available. The big advance in the ABRA study is the finding that targeted therapy works in asthma and COPD attacks. Instead of giving everyone the same treatment, we found targeting the highest risk patients with very targeted treatment, with the right level of inflammation was much better than guessing what treatment they needed.”

The benralizumab injection was administered by healthcare professionals in the study but can be potentially administered safely at home, in the GP practice, or in the Emergency Department. Benralizumab was safe in the study and similar in safety to many past studies.

Professor Mona Bafadhel said, “We hope these pivotal studies will change how asthma and COPD exacerbations are treated for the future, ultimately improving the health for over a billion people living with asthma and COPD across the world.”

Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, who is the first author of the ABRA trial and started the work while at the University of Oxford, said: “Our study shows massive promise for asthma and COPD treatment. COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide but treatment for the condition is stuck in the 20th century. We need to provide these patients with life-saving options before their time runs out.

“The ABRA trial was only possible with collaboration between the NHS and universities and shows how this close relationship can innovate healthcare and improve people’s lives.”

Geoffrey Pointing, 77 from Banbury, who took part in the study, said: “Honestly, when you're having a flare up, it's very difficult to tell anybody how you feel - you can hardly breathe. Anything that takes that away and gives you back a normal life is what you want. But on the injections, it's fantastic. I didn't get any side effects like I used to with the steroid tablets. I used to never sleep well the first night of taking steroids, but the first day on the study, I could sleep that first night, and I was able to carry on with my life without problems. I want to add that I'm just grateful I took part and that the everyone involved in the ABRA study are trying to give me a better life.”

Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation, at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “It’s great news for people with lung conditions that a potential alternative to giving steroid tablets has been found to treat asthma attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. But it’s appalling that this is the first new treatment for those suffering from asthma and COPD attacks in 50 years, indicating how desperately underfunded lung health research is. 

“Every four minutes in the UK, someone dies from a lung condition. Thousands more live with the terror of struggling to breathe every day. With your help, we're fighting for more life-changing, life-saving research to transform the future for everyone living with breathing problems. Together, we’ll make sure that families everywhere never face a lung condition without the best treatment and care.  

“Our vision is a world where everyone has healthy lungs. We can only get there with your help.” 

This research was conducted with support from AstraZeneca UK Limited.

The paper, titled Monoclonal antibody better than standard treatment for some types of asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups, phase II clinical trial results suggest, is published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

ENDS

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Journal

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Article Title

Monoclonal antibody better than standard treatment for some types of asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups, phase II clinical trial results suggest

Article Publication Date

27-Nov-2024

For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age

American Academy of Neurology

MINNEAPOLIS – People who have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) who have a family history of mental illness may have a higher risk of aggression in middle age, according to a study published in the November 27, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

CTE is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated head injuries, often seen in athletes and military personnel, that can lead to mood changes and dementia.

“This appears to be a case where together these risk factors add up to a greater risk for aggression than they each do on their own, where people with CTE and a family history of mental illness are much more likely to have aggressive behavior than those with just CTE or just the family history,” said study author Jesse Mez, MD, MS, of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 845 men who were exposed to repetitive head impacts through contact sports or military service. A total of 329 of them played professional football. All donated their brains to research after their death, which was at an average age of 60. Of the total group, 589, or 70%, had CTE and 383, or 45%, had a family history of mental illness.

Researchers interviewed family members or spouses of the participants about their aggressive behavior. They were also asked whether the participants’ parents, siblings or children were ever diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder or other mood or psychiatric disorders. If any family member had a diagnosis, the participant was considered to have a family history of mental illness.

Researchers then divided participants into four groups: 256 people, or 30%, with CTE and a family history of mental illness; 333 people, or 40%, with CTE and without a family history of mental illness; 127 people, or 15%, without CTE and with a family history of mental illness; and 129 people, or 15%, without CTE and without a family history of mental illness.

Researchers asked family members about the participants’ aggressive behavior, such as whether they had severe arguments with others or got in physical fights, where scores ranged from zero to 44. They found that during adulthood people with CTE and a family history of mental illness had an average score of 19 compared to people with CTE without a family history of mental illness who had an average score of 17.

“This relationship was most striking for participants who died between 40 and 59 years old,” Mez added.

After adjusting for other factors, such as total years playing contact sports and military history, researchers found that those who died between 40 and 59 years old who had CTE and a family history of mental illness scored an average of 0.64 standard deviations higher on a scale measuring aggression when compared to those with CTE, but without a family history of mental illness. For people who did not have CTE, having a family history of mental illness did not increase their risk for aggressive behavior.

“The link between a family history of mental illness and aggression may be through a shared genetic background and also through shared environment and common behaviors, such as childhood experiences with family members,” said Mez. “Identifying people who are more likely to show symptoms of aggression based on family history of mental illness would give us a way to predict the consequences of CTE and identify who may benefit most from treatment options.”

A limitation of the study was that the study relied on past information from family members and spouses who may not have remembered information accurately.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Nick and Lynn Buoniconti Foundation.

Learn more about brain health at BrainandLife.org home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, X and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 40,000 members. The AAN’s mission is to enhance member career fulfillment and promote brain health for all. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, concussion, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, headache and migraine.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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Journal

Neurology

 

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study

PLOS

 

image: 

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study.

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Credit: sabina fratila, Unsplash, CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

Article URL:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0313078

Article Title: Gut microbiota markers in early childhood are linked to farm living, pets in household and allergy

Author Countries: Sweden

Funding: This work was supported by the Region Västra Götaland (agreement concerning medical research and education – ALF), https://www.alfvastragotaland.se [ALFGBG966243] [ALFGBG720181] (IA); the Swedish Medical Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), https://www.vr.se/ [K98-06X-12612-01A] (AW); and the Health & Medical Care Committee of the Region Västra Götaland (Regional Research & Development funds Västra Götaland region) https://www.researchweb.org/is/vgregion/ [grant no. VGFOUREG-12007] (IA). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Journal

PLOS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0313078 

Article Title

Gut microbiota markers in early childhood are linked to farm living, pets in household and allergy

Article Publication Date

27-Nov-2024

 

New study reveals dogs prefer texture over shape when identifying objects

tactile cues were key in their final choice.

Eötvös Loránd University

 

image: 

For the study the researchers recruited 35 dogs who were trained to fetch a target object from a set of distractors. During testing, the dogs were presented with two choices: one matching the target in shape and the other in texture.

view more 

Credit: ELTE Eötvös Loránd University

In a new study exploring how dogs recognize and generalize objects, researchers from Eötvös Lorand University (Budapest) discovered that dogs prioritize texture over shape when identifying objects.

For the study the researchers recruited 35 dogs who were trained to fetch a target object from a set of distractors. During testing, the dogs were presented with two choices: one matching the target in shape and the other in texture.

The test consited of eight trials—four target trials, where they had to choose between the trained target object and an object with similar shape or texture, and four generalization trials, where the dogs chose between two objects: one similar to the target in shape, but with a different texture, and the other with the same texture but different shape.

The dogs often approached the shape-matching object first but

ultimately selected the texture-matching object,

suggesting that first they first tended to use sight to approach the object that was visibly similar to the target in shape, but then

tactile cues were key in their final choice.

These results highlight dogs’ reliance on different sensory modalities, similar to humans only to some extent, when identifying and generalizing objects.

The video abstract is available at this link: https://youtu.be/io6K9vgNAOc?si=fd1lk1tDxHxtjrH9

The study has just been pubished in Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-72244-y?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=oa_20241114&utm_content=10.1038/s41598-024-72244-y

This research is part of the Gifted Dogs research project: https://ethology.elte.hu/gifteddogs

The researchers are looking for dogs that know the name of their toys to participate with their owners in the studies.

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Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-72244-y 

Article Title

Shape and texture biases in dogs’ generalization of trained objects

Article Publication Date

24-Nov-2024

 

The food additive carrageenan (E 407) could disrupt the intestinal barrier and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes

Deutsches Zentrum fuer Diabetesforschung DZD

The food additive carrageenan (E 407) can be responsible for the development of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, and increased blood sugar levels in animals. DZD researchers have now investigated the effects of carrageenan on the human intestine and sugar metabolism. They found increased permeability of the small intestine, most likely due to intestinal inflammation.

The food additive carrageenan - also known as E 407 - is used by the food industry as an emulsifier and thickening agent in numerous finished products. Studies have shown that the additive can lead to the development of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers and increased blood sugar levels in animals. However, it is not yet known what effect carrageenan has on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in humans. This question has now been investigated in a clinical study led by DZD researchers Prof. Dr. med. Robert Wagner* and Prof. Dr. med. Norbert Stefan*.

Increasing the permeability of the small intestine

In the study, young, healthy men with a BMI of less than 30 kg/m² (average BMI 24.5 kg/m²) were given either carrageenan in addition to their normal diet, in an amount roughly equivalent to two to three times the daily dose consumed in the USA, or a placebo. Both groups were observed over a period of two weeks. The results showed an increase in the permeability of the small intestine, most likely due to inflammation of the gut.

“Our investigation suggests that the consumption of carrageenan, similar to what has been observed in animal studies, can impair the barrier function of the intestine,” explains Prof. Robert Wagner. “This could have long-term health consequences and increase the risk of inflammatory diseases.”

The data indicated that participants with higher body weight experienced a reduction in insulin sensitity

The primary endpoint of the study was insulin sensitivity—the effectiveness of the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin—which decreases early on before the onset of type 2 diabetes. Although the insulin action was not significantly altered by carrageenan in the 20 study participants, the data indicated that participants with higher body weight experienced a reduction in insulin effectiveness, especially in the liver, with increased consumption of carrageenan. Furthermore, more overweight men tended to increase the inflammatory markers in the blood and show signs of inflammation in the hypothalamus—the brain region responsible for sugar metabolism and appetite—under higher carrageenan intake.

Further research on the health impacts of carrageenan is necessary.

“Our subjects were, on average, probably still too healthy to show significant metabolic effects from carrageenan,” says Prof. Norbert Stefan. “However, in older or overweight individuals, the effects could be stronger. To confirm this, further studies in these population groups are necessary.”

The researchers emphasize the importance of further investigations into the effects of carrageenan on the human body. “Given the widespread use of carrageenan in foods, potential health risks should be taken seriously,” concludes Prof. Wagner. “It’s important that we understand how food additives can affect our health in order to make informed recommendations to the public.”

Original publication:
Wagner, R., Buettner, J., Heni, M. et al. Carrageenan and insulin resistance in humans: a randomised double-blind cross-over trial. BMC Med 22, 558 (2024). DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03771-8

 

Scientific contact:
Prof. Dr. med. Robert Wagner
German Diabetes Center (DDZ)
Professor of Clinical Research of Diabetes and Metabolism at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Head of the Clinical Study Center at the Institute for Clinical Diabetology of the DDZ
Phone: +49 211 3382-277
E-Mail: robert.wagner(at)ddz.de

Prof. Dr. med. Norbert Stefan
German Center for Diabetes Research e.V.
Helmholtz Munich
Universitäty Hospital Tübingen, Department Internal Medicine IV,
Professor of Clinical-Experimental Diabetology
Phone: +49 7071-2980390
E-Mail: norbert.stefan(at)med.uni-tuebingen.de

The German Diabetes Center (DDZ) serves as the German reference center for diabetes. Its objective is to contribute to the improvement of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. At the same time, the research center aims at improving the epidemiological data situation in Germany. The DDZ coordinates the multicenter German Diabetes Study and is a point of contact for all players in the health sector. In addition, it prepares scientific information on diabetes mellitus and makes it available to the public. The DDZ is part of the Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, WGL) and is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.). www.ddz.de/en 

Helmholtz Munich is a leading biomedical research center. Its mission is to develop breakthrough solutions for better health in a rapidly changing world. Interdisciplinary research teams focus on environmentally triggered diseases, especially the therapy and prevention of diabetes, obesity, allergies and chronic lung diseases. www.helmholtz-munich.de/en

The German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is a national association that brings together experts in the field of diabetes research and combines basic research, translational research, epidemiology and clinical applications. The aim is to develop novel strategies for personalized prevention and treatment of diabetes. Members are Helmholtz Munich – German Research Center for Environmental Health, the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf, the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of Helmholtz Munich at the University Medical Center Carl Gustav Carus of the TU Dresden and the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Munich at the Eberhard-Karls-University of Tuebingen together with associated partners at the Universities in Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck and Munich. www.dzd-ev.de/en  

 

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Journal

BMC Medicine

DOI

10.1186/s12916-024-03771-8 

Method of Research

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Carrageenan and insulin resistance in humans: a randomised double-blind cross-over trial.

Article Publication Date

26-Nov-2024

 

Making quantum physics easier to digest in schools

Researchers focus on two-state systems: Promising approach for classroom teaching

Universität Leipzig

The researchers, including physics education specialist Professor Philipp Bitzenbauer from Leipzig University, concentrate on what are known as qubits. These are two-state systems, the simplest and at the same time most important quantum systems that can be used to describe many situations. Controlling and manipulating these qubits plays a central role in modern quantum technologies.

According to Bitzenbauer, until now there have been no empirical studies of the effectiveness of these approaches using two-state systems in developing conceptual understanding in learners. There is also a lack of scientific research on the specific advantages and disadvantages for learning of different teaching approaches based on two-state systems. “Using the example of the quantum measurement process, one of the central problems of quantum physics, we show how to develop a survey method that can then be used in the field as part of intervention studies. Overall, teaching concepts that focus on two-state systems do indeed appear to be more conducive to learning than the traditional approach,” says the Leipzig-based physics education specialist, who is the first author of the paper.

Making two-state systems the starting point for understanding quantum physics has been the subject of much discussion in recent years. According to Bitzenbauer, this approach opens the door to modern quantum technologies, be it quantum cryptography or quantum computing. One of the aims of quantum cryptography is to make communication secure against eavesdropping. Quantum computers can be used to solve problems that even supercomputers can only solve after a very long time or not at all, such as breaking down large integers into prime factors. 

“My team and I are working to make the ground-breaking potential of quantum technologies accessible to schoolchildren,” says Bitzenbauer. The American Physical Society (APS) has invited him to present the results of the project at the APS Global Physics Summit in Los Angeles in March 2025. 

Bitzenbauer points out that 2025 will be the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology: the scientific community can look back on 100 years of quantum mechanics making world history. And it continues to do so today, albeit at a more advanced level. Scientists are talking about a second quantum revolution that will shape the new century in the same way that the first quantum revolution shaped the 20th century. “Today, the focus is on the transition from many-body systems to the control and manipulation of single electrons, single photons or, more generally, single degrees of freedom in a quantum system. The simplest and most important quantum system has only two degrees of freedom – the two-state system. And this is the starting point for teaching quantum physics in schools,” says the researcher.

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Journal

Physical Review Physics Education Research

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.20.020136 

Method of Research

Content analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Design and evaluation of a questionnaire to assess learners’ understanding of quantum measurement in different two-state contexts: The context matters

 

Home is where the heart is – or is it?

Research explores psychological implications for globally mobile consumers of having multiple homes across the world

City St George’s, University of London

A new study co-authored by Bayes Business School characterises four types of ‘home’ and the various psychological benefits they bring – concluding that people in an increasingly mobile world may identify with more than one single setting.

The traditional home has been considered a ‘place’ – a physical building that drives a sense of ownership and pride. With mobile consumers and an increasingly globally nomadic workforce setting up multiple dwellings to serve different purposes, the question of what people consider a ‘home’ is being redefined. Many of today’s outwardly mobile individuals, which include transnational consumers, company expats, long-distance transnational families and digital nomads, consider themselves to have more than one place they would identify as home for a range of purposes – including domestic activities, dwelling practices, possessions, and relationships.

The study by Fleura Bardhi, Professor of Marketing at Bayes, Dr Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Queen Mary University London and Dr Laetitia Mimoun, ESCP Business School, examines what ‘home’ means to people in an age of nomadism and remote working that has been accelerated by the recent pandemic. The research builds upon more traditional thinking of what a home represents to explore it as a ‘space’ where social interactions occur, and a ‘set of practices’ or rituals that make somewhere feel like a home.

A sample of 40 globally mobile consumers were surveyed to discover what home and homemaking practices meant to them, and how this has influenced their current and previous international mobility. Pillars on which questions were based included the level of access to different consumer markets, the formation of commercial friendships, and participants’ commitment to places – whether they owned or rented.

From data collected, the study thematically uncovered four main types of home, each signifying different psychological meaning and values:

• The emotional home – where the majority of extensive domestic activities, ownership and strong social ties emerge. Emotional homes bring a sense of belonging and grounding, and are therefore the most ‘traditional’ kind of home.
• The home away from home – where strategic possessions are situated, with selective social relations. These homes provide routine and psychological ownership, but lack the personal involvement and memories of an emotional home.
• The base-of-operation home – where outsourced domestic and professional activities take place, and where productivity is at its highest. This home is often found within office complexes and serves the purpose of advancing one’s career. It is therefore commonly vacated at weekends and outside of working days.
• The home on the road – occasional social relations and access-based residence brings flexibility to a consumer. Homes on the road are often signified by commercial spaces such as hotels, and play an important role in short, temporary stays such as repeatedly moving in and out of countries.

Alongside the four characterisations, the study suggests how strategic selection of these dwellings could help consumers overcome challenges of settlement. These may include loneliness, guilt, fear of missing out and relocation planning through use of marketplace resources and commercial contacts. The study finds that domestic activities, dwelling practices, possessions, and relationships are all combined to create different types of homes in mobility.

Professor Bardhi said the findings contained many layers of interest for brands and industries.

“In an age of global mobility, the traditional home is no longer a single entity,” she said.

“The emotional home may be where we grew up or feel the most closely tied to with regards to belonging, but increasingly nomadic work settings have led to more time being spent on making other places ‘home’.

“There are many reasons why this might be the case. Workers could have offices in areas that are difficult to commute to each day, or prove logistically prohibitive – like needing to flying between different countries. They may work long hours which require a dwelling nearby. They may even enjoy a lifestyle where they move around and travel regularly for work and leisure in different locations.

“Our study should be of interest to the travel and hospitality sector towards reimagining more temporary workplace dwellings – such as ‘homes away from home’ and ‘homes on the road’ – as homes all the same with commercial and psychological benefits to consumers.

“Marketing practitioners and consumer brands should also take the lessons from our findings to tailor approaches to consumers in the four types of home uncovered.

“Finally, human resources professionals and leaders must recognise different types of home and the needs of modern mobile workers. This includes providing support and local services to help wellbeing, allowing flexible work possibilities, and being culturally sensitive to internationally based employees.”

‘Home and psychological well-being in global consumer mobility’ by Professor Fleura Bardhi, Dr Zahra Sharifonnasabi and Dr Laetitia Mimoun is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

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Journal

Journal of Consumer Psychology

Article Title

‘Home and psychological well-being in global consumer mobility’

Article Publication Date

27-Sep-2024

 

The Birmingham Blade: the world's first geographically tailored urban wind turbine designed by AI

University of Birmingham

 

video: 

AI design specialists EvoPhase and precision metal fabricators KwikFab have unveiled the world’s first urban wind turbine designed by AI, and tailored to the unique wind conditions of a specific geographic area.  The team has called it the Birmingham Blade.  

Developed by a research group led by Dr Kit Windows-Yule at the University of Birmingham, EvoPhase’s AI-led evolutionary design process mimics natural selection, this approach allows for simultaneous optimisation of many different parameters, avoiding traditional trade-offs between performance factors. 

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Credit: University of Birmingham Enterprise

Birmingham Blade prototype [VIDEO] | 

AI design specialists EvoPhase and precision metal fabricators Kwik Fab Ltd have unveiled the world’s first urban wind turbine designed by AI, and tailored to the unique wind conditions of a specific geographic area.  The team has called it the Birmingham Blade.  

The collaboration between EvoPhase and Kwik Fab provides a solution to one of the most pressing issues in the green energy landscape – how to produce small-scale, affordable, generators of clean wind energy.  

EvoPhase used its AI-driven design process to generate and test designs for their efficiency at wind speeds found in Birmingham, which, at 3.6 metres / second are substantially lower than the 10 metres per second rating for most turbines.  

“We needed a turbine that could capture Birmingham’s relatively low wind speeds while managing turbulence caused by surrounding buildings,” explained Leonard Nicusan, Chief Technology Officer of EvoPhase. “The design also had to be compact and lightweight to suit rooftop installations."

EvoPhase found the optimal design for curved blades which spin around a central point, and confirmed that that it will be up to seven times more efficient than existing designs used in the Birmingham area.  

Leonard explained why it was necessary to use AI to generate the design: “Using AI was essential for breaking free from the long-standing biases that have influenced turbine designs for the past century. AI allowed us to explore design possibilities beyond the scope of traditional human experimentation. We were able to generate, test, and refine over 2,000 wind turbine designs in just a few weeks, significantly accelerating our development process and achieving what would have taken years and millions of pounds through conventional methods.”

“Our evolutionary simulations have confirmed the Birmingham Blade is up to seven times more efficient than existing designs in Birmingham’s wind speeds and urban environment.  The final design is not just a prototype — it is a predictive solution that is ready for real-world use.”

Developed by a research group led by Dr Kit Windows-Yule at the University of Birmingham, EvoPhase’s AI-led evolutionary design process mimics natural selection, this approach allows for simultaneous optimisation of many different parameters, avoiding traditional trade-offs between performance factors. 

Kwik Fab produced the first iteration of the Birmingham Blade to demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing the design.  An aluminium version will be sited on a roof space in Birmingham for evaluation and testing, and the final product is expected to be available by late 2025.  

The EvoPhase – Kwik Fab collaboration provides a rapid design and prototyping service, and the team is now working on another design for the very different conditions in Edinburgh.  

Paul Jarvis from Kwik Fab is confident that there is sufficient talent and space in Birmingham to deliver quick turnaround from design to prototyping for wind turbines that are geographically tailored to specific local conditions around the rest of the world.  

He said: “We can take a complex design, and manufacture and ship a prototype for testing within weeks.  We’d like to work with organisations that want to make the most of wind power, a source of sustainable energy that is free, and present in every country.”

Since its launch in 2023, EvoPhase has expanded its AI-powered evolutionary design approach to industries beyond wind energy, including the optimisation of equipment for mixing, blending, and storing granular materials in the food, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturing sectors.

EvoPhase’s collaboration with Kwik Fab demonstrates the broad applicability of their predictive designs.  It was made possible in part by the Manchester Prize which named the team as a finalist in the inaugural year of the prize in May 2024. The Manchester Prize is a multi-million-pound challenge prize from the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to reward UK-led breakthroughs in artificial intelligence for public good.