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A blood test taken at the time of Covid-19 infection could predict who is most likely to develop long Covid, suggests a new small-scale study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in eBioMedicine , analysed proteins in the blood of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2, comparing them to samples from healthcare workers who had not been infected.

An extinct species of lizard-like reptile that belongs to the same ancient lineage as New Zealand's living tuatara has been discovered by a team involving a UCL researcher. The researchers describe the new species Opisthiamimus gregori , which once inhabited Jurassic North America about 150 million years ago alongside dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Allosaurus , in a paper published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology .

A new mechanism that slows down and may even prevent the natural ageing of immune cells - one of the nine 'hallmarks of ageing'* - has been identified by an international team led by UCL scientists. Published in Nature Cell Biology , researchers say the discovery in-vitro (cells) and validated in mice was 'unexpected' and believe harnessing the mechanism could extend the life of the immune system, allowing people to live healthier and longer, and would also have clinical utility for diseases such as cancer and dementia.

A genetic and archaeological study involving a UCL researcher has revealed the great extent of migration from continental Europe into the East of England during the early Middle Ages. In the largest early medieval ancient DNA study to date, an interdisciplinary team consisting of geneticists and archaeologists, led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, analysed over 400 individuals from ancient Britain, Ireland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Dementia rates are 22% higher among black people in the UK compared to white people, while black and South Asian dementia patients die younger, and sooner after diagnosis, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The authors of the study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia , say their findings demonstrate a need for more targeted interventions to reduce dementia risks and improve treatment outcomes in ethnic minority communities.

Monkeypox can sometimes lead to neurological complications such as encephalitis (brain inflammation), confusion or seizures, finds a new review of evidence led by a UCL researcher. Several studies incorporated in the systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence, published in eClinicalMedicine , also found that muscle aches, fatigue, headache, anxiety and depression were all relatively common among monkeypox patients.

Air pollution can cause lung cancer in people who have never smoked, a new study led by researchers at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute has shown. T he research  found that exposure to tiny pollutant particles that are 3% of the width of a human hair, called PM 2.5, promotes the growth of cells carrying cancer-causing mutations in the lungs.

Illegal and dangerous items, such as explosives, could be detected with 100% efficiency, using artificial intelligence (AI) and a new X-ray approach developed by a team led by UCL academics. Some explosives can be difficult to spot using conventional X-ray alone, and the new method could revolutionise how illicit materials such as narcotics, illegal wildlife and explosives are detected.

Satellites can now measure the thickness of Arctic sea ice in the summer months for the first time, thanks to a new study involving UCL researchers. Until now, satellites could only measure sea ice thickness between October and March, when the ice and snow are cold and dry. In the warmer months, melt ponds on top of the ice floes confused the instruments, which could not be used to distinguish between melted ice on an ice floe and the ocean.

An artificial intelligence tool developed by researchers at UCL alongside staff at UCLH is being used to predict how many patients coming through the emergency department will need to be admitted into the hospital, helping planners manage demand on beds. The tool, described in a new paper in Nature Digital Medicine , estimates how many hospital beds will be needed in four and eight hours' time by looking at live data of patients who have arrived at the hospital's emergency department.

Using X-rays, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, two UCL researchers reproduced a "lost" work of art by renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, 135 years after he painted over it. PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics), working with artist Jesper Eriksson, used cutting edge technology to recreate a long-concealed Van Gogh painting.

Using X-rays, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, two UCL researchers reproduced a "lost" work of art by renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, 135 years after he painted over it. PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics), working with artist Jesper Eriksson, used cutting edge technology to recreate a long-concealed Van Gogh painting.

A ground-breaking new PCR test that identifies women with womb cancer from a sample taken from the cervix or vagina has been developed by researchers from UCL and the University of Innsbruck. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology , reports that the test is more accurate than current methods and may work equally well on all women.

People in Britain strongly support restricting the sale of tobacco near schools and raising the legal age of sale to 21, finds a new UCL-led study. In collaboration with The University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University, the research, published in Tobacco Control , examined data from the Cancer Research UK and SPECTRUM*-funded Smoking Toolkit Study, which has surveyed approximately 1,700 adults each month from England since 2006, and 2,200 adults each month from England, Scotland and Wales, since 2020.

UCL researchers are helping NASA prepare for its Artemis programme moon missions by creating high-resolution 3D models of potential landing sites. The first phase of NASA's Artemis mission, an uncrewed test flight around the moon, was scheduled to launch this Monday (29 August 2022). The third phase, scheduled for 2025, will see humans land on the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Gene therapy has partly restored the function of the retina's cone receptors in two children who were born completely colourblind, reports a new study led by UCL researchers. The findings, published in Brain , provide hope that the treatment is effectively activating previously dormant communication pathways between the retina and the brain, drawing on the plastic nature of the developing adolescent brain.

By estimating people's brain age from MRI scans using machine learning, a team led by UCL researchers has identified multiple risk factors for a prematurely ageing brain. They found that worse cardiovascular health at age 36 predicted a higher brain age later in life, while men also tended to have older brains than women of the same age, as they report in The Lancet Healthy Longevity .

A projected shortage of sulfuric acid, a crucial chemical in our modern industrial society, could stifle green technology advancement and threaten global food security, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) journal The Geographical Journal , highlights that global demand for sulfuric acid is set to rise significantly from '246 to 400 million tonnes' by 2040 - a result of more intensive agriculture and the world moving away from fossil fuels.

A national study led by UCL researchers is investigating whether a readily available anti-sickness drug could treat dementia-related hallucinations. The Trial of Ondansetron as a Parkinson's HAllucinations Treatment, or TOP HAT study, is now recruiting volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales to evaluate whether ondansetron, an anti-sickness drug used in the NHS for cancer patients, could also be used for treating hallucinations in people with Lewy body dementia or Parkinson's disease.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Sophie Adler (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) and Dr Konrad Wagstyl (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) discuss a new algorithm, which can help find subtle brain abnormalities, known as focal cortical dysplasia. Around 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy.