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Our brains are better at hearing new and approaching sounds than detecting when a sound disappears, according to a study by researchers at the UCL Institute. The findings could explain why parents often fail to notice the sudden quiet from the playroom that usually accompanies the onset of mischief.

Targeted health support is necessary for people with lower IQs according to new research which shows that they are unhappier and more likely to have poorer health than people with higher IQs. The study, published in the journal Psychological Medicine, is the first to demonstrate the role of socio-economic and clinical factors, providing new insight into the relationship between IQ and happiness.

A new light-based technique for measuring levels of the toxic protein that causes Huntington's disease (HD) has been used to demonstrate that the protein builds up gradually in blood cells. Published today (17th) in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the findings shed light on how the protein causes damage in the brain, and could be useful for monitoring the progression of HD, or testing new drugs aimed at suppressing production of the harmful protein.

Eight billion years ago, rays of light from distant galaxies began their long journey to Earth. On 12 September, that ancient starlight found its way to a mountaintop in Chile, where the newly-constructed Dark Energy Camera, the most powerful sky-mapping machine ever created, captured and recorded it for the first time.

People who have highly demanding jobs and little freedom to make decisions are 23 per cent more likely to experience a heart attack compared with their counterparts without such work stress, according to a study of nearly 200 000 people from seven European countries. Professor Mika Kivimäki from UCL Epidemiology & Public Health led the research which is published today in The Lancet.

UCL has today published a paper - MMR and the development of a research governance framework in UCL - that sets out how the university's research governance framework has been updated to take account of institutional issues highlighted by the case of Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield was struck off the medical register by the GMC in 2010 following an investigation into allegations of serious professional misconduct relating to his research into a possible link between autism and MMR.

Professional ball game players report the sensation of the ball 'slowing-down' just before they hit it. Confirming these anecdotal comments, a new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that time is perceived to slow down during the period of action preparation, as the result of an increased intake of visual information.

People will reject an offer of water, even when they are severely thirsty, if they think the offer is unfair, according to a new study by researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL. The findings have important implications for understanding how we make decisions that need to balance fairness and self-interest.

Neighbourhood income deprivation has a strong negative effect on altruistic behaviour when measured by a 'lost letter' experiment, according to new UCL research published today in PLoS One. Researchers from UCL Anthropology used the lost letter technique to measure altruism across 20 London neighbourhoods by dropping 300 letters on the pavement and recording whether they arrived at their destination.

Brain scans have revealed distinctive features in the brain structure of karate experts, which could be linked to their ability to punch powerfully from close range. Researchers from UCL and Imperial College London found that differences in the microstructure of connections in the brain were correlated with how black belts and novices performed in a test of punching ability.

Exciting new fossils discovered east of Lake Turkana confirm that there were two additional species of our genus - Homo - living alongside our direct human ancestral species, Homo erectus , almost two million years ago. The finds, announced in Nature today, include a face, a remarkably complete lower jaw, and part of a second lower jaw.

A new advance in X-ray imaging has revealed the dramatic three-dimensional shape of gold nanocrystals, and is likely to shine a light on the structure of other nano-scale materials. Described today in Nature , the new technique improves the quality of nanomaterial images, made using X-ray diffraction, by accurately correcting distortions in the X-ray light.

New research published online first in The Lancet Neurology highlights the long-term, often hidden, after-effects of meningitis in children. The study, led by Professor Russell Viner at the UCL Institute of Child Health, shows that 1 in 3 children who have experienced meningococcal group B disease (MenB), the most common type of bacterial meningitis in the UK, will be left with after-effects.

Researchers from UCL and Imperial College London are carrying out a neuroscience study to examine for the first time how the resting brain responds to MDMA, the pure form of the Class A drug ecstasy. The study is funded by Channel 4, and recorded footage of it will be shown on two new science programmes this autumn, ' Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial ', alongside a live studio debate to explore issues linked with MDMA.

Researchers at UCL and Harvard have found that we punish cheats only when they end up better off than us, in a study that challenges the notion that punishment is motivated by revenge. Published today in the journal Biology Letters , the research shows that victims of cheating compare their own payoffs with those of partners when making punishment decisions.

Psychological distress was associated with a higher risk of death from stroke, according to a new study by researchers in UCL Epidemiology & Public Health, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal . Psychological distress includes factors such as anxiety, depression, sleeping problems, and loss of confidence, and is common in approximately 15-20% of the general population.

An international team of scientists have discovered a rare hybrid star using ESA's XMM-Newton and Nasa's SWIFT X-ray-telescopes. While the first example of its kind was discovered two years ago, the team has now identified its long-sought twin. Featuring both the properties of magnetars and radio pulsars, the new hybrid star will help the team to understand more on the interior of neutron stars.

Scientists at the CERN - including members from UCL's High Energy Physics Group working at the ATLAS experiment - have discovered a new subatomic particle that could be the elusive Higgs boson, which is believed to be crucial in the formation of the universe. Videos: what the discovery of the Higgs means to UCL physicists "We've all talked before about rumours, about hints, about projections and the hows and whys.

Researchers at the UCL Institute of Neurology have found that giving the drug rotigotine as a skin patch can improve inattention in some stroke patients. Hemi-spatial neglect, a severe and common form of inattention that can be caused by brain damage following a stroke, is one of the most debilitating symptoms, frequently preventing patients from living independently.

Stem cells from patients with a rare form of muscular dystrophy have been successfully transplanted into mice affected by the same form of dystrophy, according to a new study published today in Science Translational Medicine . For the first time, scientists have turned muscular dystrophy patients' fibroblast cells (common cells found in connective tissue) into stem cells and then differentiated them into muscle precursor cells.