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Survival rates for people suffering from heart failure have not improved since 1998, according to a study led by University of Oxford researchers. Published in Family Practice, The research team looked at routinely collected medical records from 54,313 patients with heart failure and found 81.3% survived for one year, 51.5% survived for five years, and 29.5% survived for 10 years, following diagnosis with the condition.

In February 2016 the dwarf nova SS Cyg anomalous outburst lasted for more than 3 weeks. Rapid radio flaring was seen throughout the outburst and the most intriguing behaviour was towards the end of the outburst, where a fast, luminous, giant flare, peaking at ~20 mJy and lasting for 15 minutes was observed.

A new working paper from the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford reveals the effect of the app, Uber, on conventional taxi-driving services in US cities. Since its inception in 2010, few inventions have caused more controversy. In Europe, taxi drivers have rebelled following its introduction, and courts have banned or restricted its services.

In February 2016 the dwarf nova SS Cyg anomalous outburst lasted for more than 3 weeks. Rapid radio flaring was seen throughout the outburst and the most intriguing behaviour was towards the end of the outburst, where a fast, luminous, giant flare, peaking at ~20 mJy and lasting for 15 minutes was observed.

While a lot has been said by scientists and paediatricians about the possible dangers of teenagers spending time on digital devices or computers, a new paper argues there is little robust evidence to back up their claims. The co-authors from Oxford and Cardiff universities say they are the first to systematically test for links between well-being and screen time measured continuously, separately for different digital activities and days of the week.

While a lot has been said by scientists and paediatricians about the possible dangers of teenagers spending time on digital devices or computers, a new paper argues there is little robust evidence to back up their claims. The co-authors from Oxford and Cardiff universities say they are the first to systematically test for links between well-being and screen time measured continuously, separately for different digital activities and days of the week.

Researchers have found that retroviruses could be half a billion years old - several hundred million years older than previously thought. Retroviruses - the family of viruses that includes HIV - are almost half a billion years old, according to new research by scientists at Oxford University. That's several hundred million years older than previously thought and suggests retroviruses have ancient marine origins, having been with their animal hosts through the evolutionary transition from sea to land.

New research shows that moderate alcohol consumption may be linked to improved wellbeing, thanks to the improved social interaction associated with having a drink with friends at a local pub. While most studies warn of the health risks of alcohol consumption, researchers at the University of Oxford have looked at whether having a drink may play a role in improving social cohesion, given its long association with human social activities.

New research shows that NHS hospitals that employ private cleaners are associated with a higher incidence of MRSA, a 'superbug' that causes life-threatening infection and has previously been linked with a lack of cleanliness. The superbug is becoming increasingly difficult to treat. As from 2005, trusts have been required to regularly report incidents of MRSA, which has enabled researchers to produce empirical evidence for the first time that compares the rates of infection in hospitals that outsource cleaning with those using in-house cleaners.

New research finds local temperatures may play an important role in whether people believe in climate change. The study, published in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) , found that of the Americans surveyed, belief that the earth is warming related to the frequency of record-high and record-low temperatures they had experienced themselves.

UK scientists have created a synthetic molecule that, when applied to crops, has been shown to increase the size and starch content of wheat grains in the lab by up to 20%. The new plant application, developed by Rothamsted Research and Oxford University, could help solve the issue of increasing food insecurity across the globe.

Scientists based at Oxford University have created a new method for counting lions that they say is the most robust yet devised. Using the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies in Kenya as a case study, they estimate there to be 420 lions over the age of one in this key territory.

EnzBond, a new biotechnology company from Oxford University, has been formed to commercialise in-silico technology, which makes utilising enzymes in drug manufacturing both cost-effective and time-efficient. At present, discovering the right enzymes for production in drug development can prove both prohibitively expensive and time consuming, as identifying the right enzyme is a trial and error process that can see companies go through potentially thousands of enzymes during the search.

Two new studies led by scientists at Oxford University have highlighted the threat posed to lions by human activity - including trophy hunting. The first paper, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology , analysed the deaths of 206 lions in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe - home of Cecil the lion - between 1999 and 2012.

In terms of exercise, swimming, racquet sports, and aerobics seem to be associated with the best odds of staving off death from any cause and from heart disease and stroke, in particular, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine . The health benefits of physical activity are legion, but to try and quantify the impact of different types of sports and exercise on the odds of beating death, the researchers analysed data from 11 nationally representative annual health surveys for England and Scotland, carried out between 1994 and 2008.

Researchers have found a link between the activity in nerve clusters in the brain and the amount of force generated in a physical action, opening the way for the development of better devices to assist paralysed patients. A clear link between the activity in nerve clusters in the brain and the amount of force generated in a physical action has been demonstrated by Oxford University researchers, opening the way for the development of better devices to assist paralysed patients.

A change in self-defence laws in Florida which gave citizens the right to use lethal force to protect themselves in public has been linked with the state's homicide rates going up by nearly a quarter. The study published in  JAMA Internal Medicine,  led by the University of Oxford with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania, looked at homicide rates before and after the enactment of State Bill 436, known as the Stand Your Ground law, which was signed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the diets of organisms can affect the DNA sequences of their genes. In a study on two groups of parasites, the team detected differences in DNA sequences that could be attributed to the composition of their food. The results are published in the journal Genome Biology .

Identifying critical areas for global biodiversity is an important step when prioritising areas for conservation, and generating biodiversity hotspot maps based on global species ranges - at a scale usable by local management - has been a long-term ambition in the field. New research led by the University of Oxford has realised this ambition for tropical Africa, making use of 3.1 million global distribution records of more than 40,000 African plant species to map the areas that are home to the world's rarest plants.

Data from the mid-1990s AIDS epidemic in Russia and Ukraine shows that the first month after infection is the key period to control the spread of the virus in drug-using populations, according to a new study by researchers at Oxford University. Crucially, needle exchange programmes and other 'harm reduction' approaches are the only measures that can target transmissions that happen within the first month.