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The healthcare needs of pregnant adolescents will continue to be ignored in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) unless there are major changes to healthcare delivery and frameworks, according to a new study by UCL and Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) researchers.

Tropical crops such as coffee, cocoa, watermelon and mango may be at risk due to the loss of insect pollinators, finds a new study led by UCL and Natural History Museum researchers. Published in Science Advances , the study explores the intricate interplay between climate change, land use change, and their impact on pollinator biodiversity, ultimately revealing significant implications for global crop pollination.

Factors that increase the risk of dementia have a greater impact on risk for people in minority ethnic groups, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The new PLOS One study found that modifiable risk factors-including hypertension, obesity, diabetes, low HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and sleep disorders-have different impacts on dementia risk for different ethnic groups.

A new international study from UCL and UCLH that aims to improve the quality of MRI scans for prostate cancer screening has identified simple ways to treble the number of scans that are of optimal diagnostic quality. Published in Radiology , the research is an important step towards making MRIs available to all men who need one.

People who carry three gene variants that have bene inherited from Neanderthals are more sensitive to some types of pain, according to a new study co-led by UCL researchers. The findings, published in , are the latest findings to show how past interbreeding with Neanderthals has influenced the genetics of modern humans.

People with early Alzheimer's disease have difficulty turning when walking, according to a new study using virtual reality led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Current Biology , used a computational model to further explore the intricacies of navigational errors previously observed in Alzheimer's disease.

A smartphone camera was able to detect changes in skin tone and eye colour that require patients to seek medical help, in new research from UCL and the Royal Free Hospital. The study, published in PLOS Digital Health , is the first to assess and compare how smartphone images of the forehead, white of the eye and lower eyelid could be used to accurately predict the bilirubin level of patients with advanced cirrhosis.

Scientists at the UCL Queen Square Institute for Neurology have developed new tools, based on AI language models, that can characterise subtle signatures in the speech of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. The research, published in PNAS , aims to understand how the automated analysis of language could help doctors and scientists diagnose and assess psychiatric conditions.

Machine learning models to identify the simplest way to screen for lung cancer have been developed by researchers from UCL and the University of Cambridge, bringing personalised screening one step closer. The model was found to be as good or better at predicting an individual's risk of getting lung cancer within five years compared to the best risk models available, and was able to do so using just a quarter of the information needed.

A new systematic review by researchers at UCL and Wingate University has highlighted the importance of identifying childhood verbal abuse by adults as a standalone subtype of child maltreatment, to ensure targeted prevention and address the lasting harm it can inflict. Child maltreatment is currently classified into four subtypes: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.

Young people who are in higher education in England face a small increased risk of depression and anxiety, compared to their peers who are not attending higher education, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The research paper, published in The Lancet Public Health , is the first to find evidence of higher levels of depression and anxiety among higher education students compared with their peers.

Policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been effective, however more stringent regulations are needed to limit global warming to the Paris temperature goals, finds a new analysis by UCL researchers of international efforts to fight climate change. The research, published in Annual Reviews of Environment and Resources , tracked the rate of greenhouse gas emissions over the last two decades against global efforts to reduce them.

A team from the UCL Global Business School for Health (GBSH) and the UCL School of Pharmacy are using data collected from an "electric tongue" to create an AI model for predicting the bitterness of drugs. Taste is key to making sure people regularly take their medications and is an important part of drug development.

A team of researchers led by Professor Bart De Strooper (UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, and VIB-KU Leuven) and Dr Sriram Balusu (VIB-KU Leuven) have discovered how neurons die in Alzheimer's disease. The breakthrough study, published in Science , illustrates how neurons initiate a programmed form of cell death, known as necroptosis, when they are exposed to amyloid plaques and tau tangles - the hallmark misfolded proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at UCL have created one-atom-thick ribbons made of phosphorus alloyed with arsenic that could dramatically improve the efficiency of devices such as batteries, supercapacitors and solar cells. The research team discovered phosphorus nanoribbons in 2019. The "wonder material", predicted to revolutionise devices ranging from batteries to biomedical sensors, has since been used to increase lithium-ion battery lifetimes and solar cell efficiencies.

A team of scientists, led by researchers at UCL, have developed new methods to predict outcomes for pregnancies where there are issues with poor growth of the baby inside the womb. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , involved 142 women from the EVERREST Prospective Study* who had severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) - meaning their babies were very small on ultrasound scans early in the second half of pregnancy (between 20 and 27 weeks).

Researchers at UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that has the potential to not only identify sight-threatening eye diseases but also predict general health, including heart attacks, stroke, and Parkinson's disease. RETFound , one of the first AI foundation models in healthcare, and the first in ophthalmology, was developed using millions of eye scans from the NHS.

The risk of COVID-19 infection is around two times higher in older adults with cardiovascular disease and complex comorbidities than in their healthier peers, according to a new study from UCL. The study, published in Gerontology, analysed data from 4,428 individuals over the age of 50 who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) COVID-19 Sub Study in 2020.

A new study involving UCL that aims to inform mathematical models of sexually transmitted infections shows how the number of sexual partners we have changes as we age, with some surprising findings. A team from the UCL Institute of Health Informatics, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and King's College London surveyed more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and older during the 2022 mpox (previously known as "monkeypox") outbreak.

Embracing the Rural Exception Site planning policy can significantly increase the delivery of affordable homes in the English countryside, while maintaining the community's local character, finds a new report by researchers from UCL and the English Rural Housing Association. The report, titled Land, Landowners, and the Delivery of Affordable Homes in Rural Areas , outlines the housing affordability issues facing rural towns and parishes, and highlights how greater use of the already-established Rural Exception Site policy could help deliver much needed affordable homes.