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Magnetic reconnection - the explosive reconfiguration of two magnetic fields - occurs differently around Saturn than around Earth, according to new findings from the international Cassini mission involving UCL researchers. On Earth, the collisions which create aurora are only seen on the boundary between Earth's magnetic field and the magnetic field in interplanetary space.

If current trends continue, almost a quarter (22%) of the people in the world will be obese by 2045 (up from 14% in 2017), and one in eight (12%) will have type 2 diabetes (up from 9% in 2017), according to a study presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria (23-26 May).

A quick and robust blood test that can detect liver damage before symptoms appear has been designed and verified using clinical samples by a team from UCL and University of Massachusetts. The researchers say the test could address a huge need for early detection of liver disease as it distinguishes between samples taken from healthy individuals and those with varying degrees of liver damage.

Grammar school pupils do not gain any advantage over children who do not attend a grammar school by age 14, according to a new study from UCL. In the first study of its kind, researchers from the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) looked at a range of social and emotional outcomes, including young people's engagement and well-being at school, their aspirations for the future, in addition to educational attainment levels, to determine the benefits of attending a grammar school.

The cell types underlying schizophrenia have been identified in a genetic study that looked for commonalities among the different genes already linked to the condition, find researchers at UCL, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and University of North Carolina (USA). The study, published today , offers a roadmap for the development of new therapies to target the condition.

An international study co-led by UCL has identified 133 genetic variants that could help predict the risk of developing glaucoma, the world's leading cause of incurable blindness. Other lead research institutions included King's College London, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School.

Women with HIV are failing to get the support they need during menopause, according to a new study led by UCL. The PRIME (Positive Transitions through the Menopause) report, which is one of the largest of its kind, involving almost 900 women living with HIV aged 45-60 across England, found that 47% of women with HIV do not have the information they need to manage menopause.

Stars in a galaxy 13.28 billion light years away formed only 250 million years after the Big Bang, finds a team of international astronomers led by groups at UCL and Osaka Sangyo University in Japan. The discovery shows that stars in the galaxy - called MACS1149-JD1 - formed at an unexpectedly early stage in the age of the Universe and the new observations break the team's own record for detecting the most distant known source of oxygen.

Older adults in England with fewer financial resources are more likely to develop dementia, according to new UCL research. Researchers analysed data from over 6000 adults born between 1902 and 1943 and found that the 20% most deprived adults were 50% more likely to develop dementia than the 20% least deprived adults.

A deadly fungus responsible for the devastation of amphibian populations around the world has spread from East Asia, according to new research led by scientists at UCL, Imperial College London and Zoological Society of London. The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has long been recognised as one the main causes of the decline and extinction of species of frogs, toads, newts and other amphibians across several continents.

The largest study to-date on the DNA of ancient leprosy has revealed more strains of the debilitating disease were present in Medieval Europe, than previously thought. Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded and most stigmatized diseases in human history, and these latest findings suggest an older estimated date for the disease - making it a few thousand years old.

Microbes vary their contribution to a community to maximise the return on their investment according to a new study led by UCL and the University of Bath. Scientists made the discovery while investigating one of the fundamental questions in biology - why individuals have evolved to cooperate rather than simply exploiting the contributions of their rivals.

Artificial muscles grown from human stem cells could pave the way forward for treating muscle diseases, according to new research led by UCL. The study, published in Cell Reports , found that 3D artificial muscles can be generated from both healthy and diseased stem cells of patients with different types of severe muscle disorders called muscular dystrophies.

Premature births, low birth weight and birth anomalies explain why England has a higher death rate than Sweden among children under 5 years old, according to a new study led by UCL. The study, published today in The Lancet , compared more than 3.9 million English births and 1 million Swedish births to understand factors driving higher rates of child mortality in England.

People with moderate to severe mid-life anxiety may face a greater risk of dementia in later life, suggests an analysis of the available published evidence led by UCL and University of Southampton researchers and published in BMJ Open . But as yet, it's not clear whether treatment for anxiety could curb dementia risk, say the researchers.

The positions and distances of over one billion stars in our Milky Way Galaxy have been released by the European Space Agency Gaia mission involving UCL researchers, creating the first 3D census of our home galaxy and opening a new window on the Universe. The data release allows astronomers to map the true 3D structure of our galaxy with unprecedented precision by providing information about 600 times more stars than previously available.

Hospitals in the UK are increasingly likely to recognise that a patient has dementia after they've been admitted for a different reason, finds a new UCL-led study, but it is still only recognised in under two-thirds of people. This is the first study to identify an improvement in dementia diagnosis in hospitals over time, and also found inequity between ethnic groups for the first time.

Over the last 50 years climate change has not been the key driver of the human displacement or conflict in East Africa, rather it is politics and poverty, according to new research by UCL. Human displacement refers to the total number of forcibly displaced people, and includes internally displaced people - the largest group represented - and refugees, those forced to across international borders.  "Terms such as climate migrants and climate wars have increasingly been used to describe displacement and conflict, however these terms imply that climate change is the main cause.

Traditional methods of testing for high-blood pressure are no longer adequate and risk missing vital health signs, which can lead to premature death, a study co-led by UCL has found. The research, the largest ever cohort study of its kind, published in the New England Journal for Medicine, assessed 63,000 doctors' patients, who had their blood pressure tested using traditional 'in clinic' methods, such as an automated or hand operated devices.

Lifespan in flies is extended by limiting the activity of a group of proteins called GATA transcription factors (TFs), giving clues to how a moderate reduction in food intake protects against multiple ageing-related diseases, according to a new UCL-led study. The beneficial effect of reducing the action of a GATA TF is comparable to the prolonged lifespan achieved through dietary restriction; which is defined as a reduction of particular or total nutrient intake without causing malnutrition.