science wire

A grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation will create an online digital library containing rare books and art works related to Greek history and culture which will be available to everyone, across the world.

A major report, Future Proofing Cities , published today by Atkins in a unique partnership with the Department for International Development (DFID) and UCL, warns that cities in the developing world must act now against a perfect storm of environmental risks. The report assesses the risks to cities from climate hazards, resource scarcities and damage to ecosystems - and advises how they can act now to future proof themselves.

Almost 400 staff and students from local secondary schools will travel to the Bloomsbury Theatre to watch a special matinee performance by UCLU Musical Theatre Society on Thursday 29 November.

Thousands of stroke survivors with visual problems could improve their sight from the comfort of their own home using two new web-based therapies. The online therapies, developed by UCL and funded by the Stroke Association, are designed to help stroke survivors with visual problems perform everyday tasks like reading the newspaper and identifying individual objects.

A team of scientists led by Francesco Muntoni of the UCL Institute of Child Health has won an EU grant to develop and test a novel drug treatment for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

A new hand-held device that can diagnose patients at the early stages of HIV and give results within minutes is in development following a £1 million investment in the technology. The device, which resembles a smart phone, will help widen access to HIV testing in non-hospital settings, including GP surgeries, pharmacies, and community settings as the test and delivery of results will occur immediately.

Never before displayed items from the University's collections are to go on display in the Octagon and Flaxman galleries, the historic heart of UCL, as the galleries reopen this week following a bold transformation.

The quality of internet information available for women opting for "designer vagina" procedures is "poor," and in some cases, inaccurate, reveals a small study led by academics at the UCL Institute of Women's Health.

An experiment to look for one of nature's most elusive subatomic particles is finally under water, in a stainless steel tank nearly a mile underground beneath the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable has today announced the launch of Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAAs), of which UCL is the second largest recipient, at a value of nearly £4.5 million.

The UCL Energy Institute hosted an announcement by the Energy and Climate Change Minister of a £39 million investment in research to support energy efficiency policy and contribute to cutting carbon use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Intensive rainfall in East Africa can result in widespread flooding but may have a silver lining in the form of replenishing vital groundwater supplies.

Researchers at the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) are asking members of the public to help unlock the secrets of magnetism at the molecular scale by taking part in a citizen science project entitled 'Feynman's Flowers', which officially launches today.

UK funding for infectious diseases research is neglecting some of the diseases that result in the highest rates of death and disability, according to a paper published today by The Lancet Infectious Diseases .

On November 9, 2012, ceremonies on the summit of Cerro Tololo, Chile will mark the dedication of the Dark Energy Camera and the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebration of Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO).

The results of the UCL Research Frontiers contest have been announced, celebrating the fact that curiosity-driven discovery and analysis has been a feature of UCL from its foundation.

Work is underway to create the first phase of a multi-million pound research centre which aims to give patients quicker access to the latest innovative therapies for a range of diseases.

Sudhin Thayyil (UCL Institute for Women's Health) is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He will pursue an innovative global health and development research project called HELIX (Hypothermia for Encephalopathy in Low Income countries).

The most comprehensive analysis of the Terracotta Army's weapons has revealed that the craftsmen responsible for arming the 7000 warriors, chariots and horses followed a sophisticated labour model now associated with Toyota, the world's biggest car maker. Toyota is widely credited with introducing an alternative method of mass production to standard assembly lines.

Using cutting-edge virtual reality technology, researchers have 'beamed' a person into a rat facility allowing the rat and human to interact with each other on the same scale. Published today in PLOS ONE, the research enables the rat to interact with a rat-sized robot controlled by a human participant in a different location.

An independent panel of experts, led by Sir Michael Marmot (UCL Epidemiology and Public Health), has concluded that routine breast cancer screening reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer, but also results in overdiagnosis.

UCL Stratford - UCL's proposition to develop a new university quarter adjacent to the Olympic Park, bringing science, technology, education and research to the heart of Stratford - was formally accepted by the London Borough of Newham (LBN) at a Cabinet meeting tonight.

Do you want to know more about UCL's pioneering research into new diagnostic methods and treatment options for breast cancer?

Professor David Lomas PhD ScD FRCP FMedSci is set to join UCL as Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Chair of Medicine.

UCL has made a commitment to work together with 40 other organisations to establish a Concordat and develop principles of openness and measurable objectives underpinning a more transparent approach to animal research.

A new free-standing 'centipede' cinema designed by an academic at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UK - will open this week in Guimarães, Portugal as part of celebrations for the 2012 European Capital of Culture.

UCL staff are invited to join the UCL LGBT Equalities Advisory Group (LEAG). LEAG is open to all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff and those interested in promoting LGBT equality at UCL.

A calendar featuring stunning images of UCL scientists and UCL locations has been launched to raise money for projects that encourage young women and girls to see science as an enriching, exciting and productive career choice. ScienceGrrl Calendar 2013 showcases the real face of female scientists, with photographs that demonstrate the impact of their work.

André Strydom (UCL Mental Health Sciences Unit) and Professors Elizabeth Fisher and John Hardy (both UCL Institute of Neurology) have been successful in their application to the Wellcome Trust for a

Former chief civil servant Lord (Gus) O'Donnell and Sir John Gieve are to become visiting professors in the Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy.

The most common measure of intelligence in animals, brain size relative to body size, may not be as dependent on evolutionary selection on the brain as previously thought, according to a new analysis by scientists. Brain size relative to body size has been used by generations of scientists to predict an animal's intelligence.

One in six people in England aged over 50 are socially isolated. They have few socially orientated hobbies, little civic or cultural engagement with society, and may have very limited social networks. This was a key finding from the most recent report of the UCL-led English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a comprehensive study that aims to understand the economic, social, psychological and health concerns of an ageing society.