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A new network of advanced air quality monitoring instruments will detect harmful air pollutants and their sources in greater detail than ever before. Three urban air pollution research laboratories, or supersites, are expected to be operational in Birmingham, London, and Manchester by the end of 2018.

A new study has found no correlation between satisfaction with GP opening hours and the number of visits to A&E in England. The observational study was led by Imperial College London and is published today in BMJ Quality & Safety. Lead author Dr Thomas Cowling from Imperial and colleagues compared patients' experiences of GP surgeries with the number of A&E visits in their areas in England from 2011-2012 to 2013-2014.

Nearly 80% of all scenes throughout season 11 of MTV's popular hyper-reality show 'Geordie Shore' contained alcohol content or alcohol use according to the results of a new study published today by researchers in our Department for Health with collaborators at the University of Nottingham. The authors behind the paper - published Sunday 21 January in the journal Alcohol & Alcoholism - suggest that more needs to be done to protect young viewers from alcohol imagery and its harmful effects, including a potential review of age classification policy for the programme.

Whitehall is failing to fully exploit the expertise of non-executive directors (NEDs) to improve the way departments' policies and plans are devised and implemented despite their high calibre, commitment and experience, a study by UCL's Constitution Unit has found. The study, which was led by Professor Robert Hazell, found civil servants "greatly valued" the advice and expertise of NEDs but that the non-executive directors themselves found the role frustrating and felt they could be much more effective if the system only allowed.

Conflict in Ukraine has increased the risk of HIV outbreaks throughout the country as displaced HIV-infected people move from war-affected regions to areas with higher risk of transmission, according to analysis by scientists. Ukraine, which has the highest HIV prevalence in Europe, has been at war since 2014 following political unrest in the country.

Research news The volume of digital data produced and stored by companies is growing. Cloud technology offers a convenient solution: IT service providers offer storage space or software which enables data to be saved remotely. But how can companies be sure that their data is protected against unauthorized access or deletion? Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have studied this issue and developed a model which allows service providers to be checked and certified reliably.

FINDINGS UCLA researchers have developed the first map of gene regulation in human neurogenesis, the process by which neural stem cells turn into brain cells and the cerebral cortex expands in size. The scientists identified factors that govern the growth of our brains and, in some cases, set the stage for several brain disorders that appear later in life.

New research, from an international group of health policy experts led by the University, reports a mixed picture of transparency in public decisions-making around new medicine approvals in Poland, one of Europe's largest pharmaceutical markets. Despite a troubled relationship with the European Commission, Poland has been hailed as a leader in modernising its assessment systems in establishing whether new drugs represent good value for money and merit significant public investment.

New research, from an international group of health policy experts led by the University, reports a mixed picture of transparency in public decisions-making around new medicine approvals in Poland, one of Europe's largest pharmaceutical markets. Despite a troubled relationship with the European Commission, Poland has been hailed as a leader in modernising its assessment systems in establishing whether new drugs represent good value for money and merit significant public investment.

Political pledges to reduce immigration are splitting up families, according to new research which urges the Government to revise its policies in order to reduce 'collateral damage' inflicted on partners and children. In the first study of its kind, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), researchers at the University of Bristol explored how a precarious immigration status impacts on family life.

Protecting an area for wildlife can work-but only if there is robust political governance. That's the research conclusion of twenty-three years of bird counting by an international team of researchers, including a scientist from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath and published in the journal Nature .

Community screening for osteoporosis could prevent more than a quarter of hip fractures in older women - according to new research involving researchers from the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol and local hospitals, and led by the University of East Anglia (UEA). The study, published today in The Lancet, reveals that a simple questionnaire, combined with bone mineral density measurements for some, would help identify those at risk of hip fracture.

Two-thirds of young women aged 18-26 who were eligible to receive Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine have missed at least one opportunity to receive the vaccine during a visit to an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, Yale researchers report. This study also confirms previous research showing racial disparities in vaccination for HPV: Women who identify as black are 61% more likely have had a missed opportunity than women who identify as white.

Researchers from Lancaster University are exploring whether technology could be the key to tackling the UK's loneliness epidemic by better connecting older adults with their communities. Ironically, isolation and loneliness have spread rapidly as communication has become easier - particularly among older adults.

As the government extends its income management program, new research indicates the original rollout in the Northern Territory did not improve school attendance and birth outcomes, and had negative short-term effects. Analysis reveals the federal government's initial income management scheme - first introduced in 2007 during the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) or 'intervention', and now commonly known as Cashless Debit Card - coincided with significant negative outcomes for children in the short term, and no noticeable improvements in the long run.

Rowhammer attacks make use of hardware vulnerabilities in order to access computer systems. TU Graz researchers have discovered a new type of attack - and raise questions about protective mechanisms. "When a system is regarded as absolutely safe, our curiosity is awakened," explains Daniel Gruss from the Institute of Applied Information Processing and Communication Technology working group, the researcher is occupied with the security of IT systems and in particular rowhammer attacks.

Living close to a busy road can be bad for your respiratory health if you are middle aged, new Australian research has found. A study published in the European Respiratory Journal found Australians aged 45-50 who lived less than 200 metres from a major road had a 50 per cent higher risk of asthma, wheeze and lower lung function over a five-year period than those who lived more than 200 metres from a major road.

Online GP consultation systems may not be the silver bullet for reducing GP workload and patient waiting times that government policymakers are hoping for, NIHR-funded research from the University of Bristol has found. These systems offer the potential to revolutionise use of primary care, but only with careful implementation and effective marketing, the researchers concluded.

By reducing out-of-pocket costs for preventive treatment, the Affordable Care Act appears to have encouraged more people to have health screenings related to their cardiovascular health, a UCLA study found. Comparing figures from 2006 through 2013, researchers found that more people were screened for diabetes, high cholesterol, cigarette use and high blood pressure — all risk factors for heart disease — after the ACA was implemented than before.

The study's authors analyzed data for nearly 18,000 companies and found that female-founded start-ups have a harder time gaining investor interest and raising money. A new study is highlighting one possible reason women aren't making more headway in Silicon Valley: men prefer to invest in companies run by other men.