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Scientists at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute have uncovered early genetic clues that could indicate where and when cancer cells might spread next. The research, which is funded by Cancer Research UK and published across seven papers in Nature and Nature Medicine , could pave the way for doctors to use blood tests to predict cancer's future, monitor it in real-time and adapt treatments accordingly.

The biomechanics of how cancer cells escape from the bloodstream to invade other organs has been described for the first time by researchers from UCL, MIT and their collaborators The study, published in Advanced Science , found that the more porous and the softer the tissue, the more likely cancer cells were to force their way in and were able to do so more quickly, providing valuable data for research seeking to prevent or halt cancer metastasis, which is the leading cause of cancer mortality.

There is little evidence to show that teenagers in the UK who spend more time on social media have worse mental health, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research , examined the link between social media use and mental health in more than 3,000 participants, aged between 10 and 15 years old, from the Understanding Society household survey.

A Jupiter-exploring mission, which includes hardware provided by UCL scientists, is due to take off tomorrow (Thursday 13 April)m and will investigate whether some of the planet's icy moons are home to conditions that could support life. The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will spend eight years travelling to the Jupiter system.

Having a partner or child leads older people to take greater precautions against Covid-19, including being vaccinated, finds a study involving a UCL researcher. The research, published in PNAS and involving researchers at the University of Florence and the University of Vienna, analysed data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe - which interviewed 36,000 people aged 50 and over in 27 European countries between June and September 2020 and between June and August 2021.

There is no stable microbial community residing in the bloodstream of healthy humans, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher. The new Nature Microbiology paper makes an important confirmation as blood donations are a crucial part of medical practice. Understanding what types of microbes may be found in blood may allow the development of better microbial tests in blood donations, which would minimise the risk of transfusion-related infections.

Evidence of the widespread, and likely illegal, trading of critically endangered European eels has been uncovered using DNA testing carried out by researchers at UCL and the University of Exeter. The research team carried out "DNA barcoding" on products including jellied eels and unagi, which is used in sushi and donburi.

Wearable devices such as smart watches could be used to detect a higher risk of developing heart failure and irregular heart rhythms in later life, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers. The peer-reviewed study, published in The European Heart Journal - Digital Health , looked at data from 83,000 people who had undergone a 15-second electrocardiogram (ECG) comparable to the kind carried out using smart watches and phone devices.

Wearable devices such as smart watches could be used to detect a higher risk of developing heart failure and irregular heart rhythms in later life, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers. The peer-reviewed study, published in The European Heart Journal - Digital Health , looked at data from 83,000 people who had undergone a 15-second electrocardiogram (ECG) comparable to the kind carried out using smart watches and phone devices.

International university students' scores on the Duolingo English Test (DET) used as proof of English language proficiency can predict students' first year academic performance, finds a study led by UCL researchers. Students arriving with higher DET scores are more likely to achieve better grades in their first year at university than students with lower DET scores.

Between 25% and 38% of air pollution that could harm human health in UK cities is the result of agriculture, more than produced by the city itself, while pollution drifting in from continental Europe is a sizable source as well, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The researchers studied three cities, Leicester, Birmingham and London, for the paper published in City and Environment Interactions .

A study, co-led by researchers at UCL, has revealed how some skin cancers stop responding to treatment at the end of life. The discovery, scientists say, provides vital clues for developing new treatments for those with a terminal diagnosis. An in-depth analysis of 14 patients who died from incurable melanoma has revealed that changes to the order, structure and number of copies of tumour DNA could cause some skin cancers to resist treatment.

Traces of ancient empires that stretched across Africa remain in the DNA of people living on the continent, reveals a new genetics study led by UCL researchers. Published in Science Advances , the collaboration between UCL geneticists working alongside anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and linguists in Africa and beyond found evidence for when different peoples intermixed across the continent.

The rise in unexplained hepatitis cases among children since 2022 has been linked to a common childhood virus, known as adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2), by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). The study is one of three independent research papers, published in Nature and led by UCL, GOSH, the University of Glasgow and the University of California, San Francisco, respectively, that show how AAV2 can be directly implicated in disease.

People aged between 10-24 who use social media sites may potentially be at risk of developing image concerns, eating disorders and poor mental health, suggests a new scoping review by UCL researchers. The study, published in PLOS Global Public Health , examined evidence from 50 studies in 17 countries and found that social media creates risks of social comparison and promotes the idea that it is vital to be thin or fit.

Dr Vanessa Moulton (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) and Professor George Ploubidis (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) highlight in The Conversation their findings that adults with long-term psychological difficulties were disproportionally affected by the pandemic. More than a million people in England are waiting for mental health support due to soaring demand exacerbated by the pandemic.

Stars with less than half the mass of our Sun are able to host giant Jupiter-style planets, in conflict with the most widely accepted theory of how such planets form, according to a new study led by UCL and University of Warwick researchers. Gas giants, like other planets, form from disks of material surrounding young stars.

A new technique that combines highly detailed, real-time images of inside the body with a type of infrared light has, for the first time, been used during surgery to differentiate between cancerous tumours and healthy tissue. The pioneering technique, demonstrated in mice, has been developed by engineers at the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS) at UCL and surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Preterm infants do not get used to repeated pain in the way that full-term infants, children and adults do habituate to pain, finds a study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the new Current Biology paper say that if preterm infants have not yet developed the mechanism that enables people to get used to moderate pain, medical procedures in their first few weeks of life could potentially impact their development.

Replaying prior experiences when learning something new can improve the brain's ability to make future plans and preserve memories of the past, finds new research by UCL neuroscientists. The study, published in PNAS , used brain imaging techniques to detect activity in the brains of 24 participants, while taking part in a maze task.