science wire

A major research project getting underway at the Royal Free could bring a breakthrough in the hunt for a new treatment which could better slow or stop the progression of Parkinson's disease. The research is a 'proof of principle' study which will test a drug and investigate the hypothesis that Parkinson's symptoms could be treated by reversing the impact of a mutation of the GBA gene.

A new project, led by scientists at UCL, is helping to build better simulations of weather and climate by mapping how much sunlight is being absorbed and reflected by the Earth. The amount of sunlight being absorbed or reflected by Earth is one of the driving forces for weather and climate. Satellites are providing this information with unprecedented accuracy.

Research into the rise in obesity associated with the burgeoning industrial and service sectors in lowand middle-income countries found that education is a key factor in reducing the negative impact on women's health.

Commenting on the proposed sale of rare Shakespeare Folios by the University of London, Dr Paul Ayris, Director of UCL Library Services, said: "UCL (University College London) has expressed its oppos

A five year quest is underway to solve the cosmic detective puzzle of why the expansion of the universe is speeding up. For hundreds of nights over the next five years, the researchers taking part in this Dark Energy Survey (DES) aim to find out not only why the growth of the universe is accelerating, instead of slowing down due to gravity, but also to probe the mystery of dark energy, the force believed to be causing that acceleration.

Deenan Pillay, Professor of Virology at UCL, is today named as the new Director of the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, one of the Wellcome Trust's major overseas programmes. The Africa Centre is part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and is based within a rural population with one of the highest burdens of HIV in the world.

In the wake of the UK government's decision to scrap plans for plain packaging of cigarettes, and the ensuing furore following allegations about the possible influence on that decision of political s

Traumatic childhood experiences are linked to an increased risk of early death, according to new research using data from the 1958 National Child Development Study. The research, led by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), in collaboration with the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at UCL, found that men and women who had suffered adversity in childhood were more likely to die before age of 50 than those who had not.

Young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are twice as likely to have smoked than their heterosexual peers, according to new research published in BMJ Open . Lesbian and gay young people were also more likely to drink alcohol frequently and more hazardously. The interdisciplinary research team comprised researchers from five UK Universities (UCL, University of Cambridge, London Metropolitan University, De Montfort University Leicester and Brunel University), a doctor working in General Practice and a consultant from Public Health England.

An 18th Century recipe recommended by Jeremy Bentham for inmates of his proposed Panopticon prison has been added to the menu at St. John restaurant in London.

A genetic phenomenon that allows for the selection of multiple genetic mutations that all lead to a similar outcome - for instance the ability to digest milk - has been characterised for the first time in humans. The phenomenon, known as a 'soft selective sweep', was described in the population of Ethiopia and reveals that individuals from the Eastern African population have adapted to be able to digest milk, but via different mutations in their genetic material.

Half of all UK seven year-olds are sedentary for between six and seven waking hours per day and half are not doing the recommended daily minimum of one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity, according to the latest findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

People can reliably select the winners of classical music competitions based on silent video recordings of performances, according to new research from UCL. However, the study also finds that neither classical music novices nor professional musicians are able to identify the winners of competitions based on sound recordings alone.

From 8-13 September hundreds of astronomers from all over the world will arrive in the capital, bringing with them a huge variety of different public events to get Londoners involved in astronomy.

David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, visited UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory on Tuesday 13 August.

UCL Art museum is proud to announce that Portrait of a Young Woman, a painting from our collection by artist Winifred Knights, will be included in Art Everywhere, a vast exhibition of the nation's fa

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry has announced a commitment of £250 million of funding for state-of-the-art Proton Beam Therapy cancer treatment centres in London and Manchester.

The Edinburgh Fringe festival opens its doors on 2 August until 26 August, offering a huge programme of comedy, music, theatre and street entertainment dotted around venues in Scotland's capital.

Three Medical Research Council (MRC) Units will transfer to UCL School of Life and Medical Sciences today and become University Units.

Stunning Japanese-lacquered chests, Gujarati fabrics and fine Chinese porcelain are some of the distinctive objects displayed in a new exhibition co-curated by UCL researchers, National Trust staff and volunteers at Osterley Park and House in west London.

Bronze Age settlements and Neolithic pottery are some of the finds made by UCL archaeologists during the construction of major new sea defences inland at Medmerry between Selsey and Bracklesham in West Sussex. Once the fieldwork is complete, the archive of artefacts will be submitted to Chichester Museum.

Thousands of letters revealing a far more personal side of the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham and his family are set to be digitised as part of the UCL Transcribe Bentham project, uniting the entire collection of Bentham's manuscripts for the first time since his death in 1832.

Marie Curie Cancer Care and UCL School of Life & Medical Sciences are pleased to announce the establishment of the first Chair of Palliative and End of Life Care at UCL, following a £3.2 million grant from the UK's leading end of life care charity.

People who experience parental divorce during childhood have higher levels of an inflammatory marker in the blood which is known to predict future health, according to new research from UCL.

From September, the London Borough of Camden will be the first local authority in England to introduce computer programming clubs in all of its 41 maintained primary schools, with help from volunteers from UCL and Google.

Going to bed at different times every night throughout early childhood seems to curb children's brain power, according to a large, long term study by academics in the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at UCL.

UCL Hebrew & Jewish Studies and UCL Greek & Latin have announced a new BA in Ancient Languages which will enable students to study an unparalleled range of ancient languages and textual traditions for the first time in the UK.

Last month the UCL Anthropology opened its doors and store cupboards to 16 students from the UCL Academy for a two-day summer school.

Medical research charity Arthritis Research UK has awarded researchers at UCL and the University of Nottingham a grant of £800,000 to develop new treatments for severe arthritis pain. The research could be of benefit to the millions of people with arthritis around the world who experience disability and distress as a result of their pain.

The mysterious Ice Worlds of the outer solar system are being brought to life this week at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

UCL is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor John O'Keefe as Inaugural Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre.

Researchers at UCL will play a major role in an international science project to examine the role of zinc in public health and well-being.

Breastfeeding not only boosts children's chances of climbing the social ladder, but it also reduces the chances of downwards mobility, suggests a large study published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood . The findings, produced by ESRC-funded researchers in the International Centre for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at UCL, are based on changes in the social class of two groups of individuals born in 1958 (17,419 people) and in 1970 (16,771 people).

Lord Sebastian Coe officially opened a new sport institute which will be a lasting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, treating elite athletes, 'weekend warriors' and NHS patients under the same roof.

The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL will present innovative designs in its annual student showcase The Bartlett Summer Show from 21 - 29 June.

Researchers from UCL have used specially designed software to digitise the Great Parchment book, a crucial historical text documenting the City of London's role in 17th century Ulster that was previously unreadable for over 200 years due to fire damage. The UCL-designed software could help other researchers salvage other damaged materials, and help further develop approaches to digitising historical documents that are either highly distorted or fire-damaged.