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Scientists at UCL have used computer-based imaging analysis to identify new patterns of lung damage in patients with Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), providing the first evidence of a previously unknown and life-limiting lung disease subtype. IPF is a condition where scar tissue or fibrosis builds up in the lungs, making them thick and hard.

Patients who experience long COVID have reported more than 200 symptoms across 10 organ systems*, in the largest international study of 'long-haulers' to date, led by UCL scientists together with a patient-led research collaborative. For the study, published in the Lancet's EClinicalMedicine , patient researchers who connected through the Body Politic online COVID-19 support group created a web-based survey designed to characterise the symptom profile and time course in patients with confirmed or suspected long COVID, along with the impact on daily life, work, and return to health.

UCL is releasing its animal research statistics today in collaboration with Understanding Animal Research - a non-profit that promotes open communications about animal research. UCL and nine other institutions together conducted nearly half of all UK animal research in 2020. The statistics pertain to animal procedures used in medical, veterinary and scientific research, and are freely available on UCL's animal research website as part of our joint commitments to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.

The risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is extremely low in children and teenagers, according to the most comprehensive analyses of public health data, co-led by researchers at UCL. However, Covid-19 increases the likelihood of serious illness in the most vulnerable young people, those with pre-existing medical conditions and severe disabilities, although these risks remain low overall.

A research team co-led by UCL has solved a decades-old mystery as to how Jupiter produces a spectacular burst of X-rays every few minutes. The X-rays are part of Jupiter's aurora - bursts of visible and invisible light that occur when charged particles interact with the planet's atmosphere. A similar phenomenon occurs on Earth, creating the northern lights, but Jupiter's is much more powerful, releasing hundreds of gigawatts of energy, enough to briefly power all of human civilisation*.

Drugs used to treat arthritis, known as interleukin-6 antagonists, reduce deaths and the need for mechanical ventilation among people hospitalised with Covid-19, according to a new study involving UCL which has prompted new World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , researchers analysed 27 randomised trials involving nearly 11,000 patients.

Experts at UCL and spinout company Odin Vision working with clinicians at UCLH have used artificial intelligence (AI) to help detect early signs of oesophageal cancer. The first procedure in the world using the AI technology was performed at University College Hospital by UCLH consultant gastroenterologist Dr Rehan Haidry.

Neuroscientists at UCL have, for the first time, identified abnormalities in the way memories are 'replayed' in the brains of people with schizophrenia; researchers say the pathbreaking study provides an entirely new basis for explaining many of the condition's core symptoms. Schizophrenia is a serious and debilitating mental disorder characterised by episodes of psychosis.

People of South Asian and African/ African Caribbean ethnicity who have type 2 diabetes are less likely to be prescribed statins than those of European ethnicity, potentially contributing to thousands of preventable heart attacks and strokes each year, finds a new UCL-led study. The study, published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine and funded by Diabetes UK, used a database of 12 million anonymised national health records to look at rates of statin prescribing for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were also eligible for statins.

Levelling up access to finance so that poorer countries can afford the funds needed to switch to renewable energy could see regions like Africa reaching net zero emissions a decade earlier, according to a study led by UCL researchers. Access to finance (credit) is vital for the green energy transition needed to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, as laid out in the Paris Agreement.

A study potentially linking Covid-19 to a loss of brain tissue add to concerns about the long term damage the disease can do, but more research is needed to avoid unnecessary scaremongering, says Professor Francois Balloux (UCL Genetics Institute). Early in the pandemic, it became clear that Covid-19 wasn't just a disease of the lungs.

Physical punishment of children is not effective in improving children's behaviour and instead increases behavioural difficulties, according to a landmark review led by UCL and an international team of experts who have analysed 20 years' research on the topic. The narrative review, published today in The Lancet , looked at 69 studies worldwide that followed children over time and analysed data on physical punishment and a range of different outcomes.

Couples who conceived through IVF and other fertility treatments have opposite mental health trajectories around the time of pregnancy to couples who conceived naturally, according to a new study by UCL and University of Padua researchers.

One in six (17%) middle-aged people who report being infected by SARS-CoV-2 also report long Covid symptoms, while this falls to one in 13 (7.8%) among younger adults who reported having Covid-19, according to a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.

Manufacturing of plastics and fabrics could become greener and have a lower carbon footprint, thanks to a new catalyst architecture developed by a team of experts including UCL academics. Propylene, produced from propane, is critical to the manufacture of plastics, fabrics and other chemicals, and is in short supply.

An accurate, non-invasive, and low-cost method of testing for COVID-19 using samples taken from the screens of mobile phones has been developed by a team led by UCL researchers at Diagnosis Biotech. The study, published in eLife and led by Dr Rodrigo Young (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology), analysed swabs from smartphone screens rather than directly from people, and found that people who tested positive by the regular nasal swabbing PCRs were also positive when samples were taken from phone screens.

Nine UCL scientists have been shortlisted to work on some of the world's toughest cancer problems, as part of the £80 million Cancer Grand Challenges. In October 2020, Cancer Grand Challenges, founded by Cancer Research UK and the US National Cancer Institute, dared the global research community to take on nine of cancer's most pressing issues.

Pioneering technology developed by UCL and Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) researchers could transform the ability to accurately interpret HIV test results, particularly in lowand middle-income countries. Academics from the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL and AHRI used deep learning (artificial intelligence/AI) algorithms to improve health workers' ability to diagnose HIV using lateral flow tests in rural South Africa.

An international research team involving UCL scientists has described a new species of Oculudentavis, providing further evidence that the animal first identified as a hummingbird-sized dinosaur was actually a lizard. The new species, named Oculudentavis naga in honor of the Naga people of Myanmar and India, and was studied using a partial skeleton that includes a complete skull, exquisitely preserved in amber with visible scales and soft tissue.

The spin of the Milky Way's galactic bar, which is made up of billions of clustered stars, has slowed by about a quarter since its formation, according to a new study by UCL and University of Oxford researchers. For 30 years, astrophysicists have predicted such a slowdown, but this is the first time it has been measured.