science wire

Two groups of lowly marine worms are related to complex species including vertebrates (such as humans) and starfish, according to new research. Previously thought to be an evolutionary link between simple animals such as jellyfish and the rest of animal life - the worms? surprising promotion implies that they have not always been as simple as they now appear.

Funding arrangements do not 'satisfactorily guarantee' the Supreme Court's institutional independence, said Lord Phillips (President of the Court) in his lecture at UCL last night, launching the Constitution Unit's project on the politics of judicial independence.

Professor Martin Birchall (UCL Ear Institute) was scientific advisor and UK member of the surgical team that performed a rare larynx (voicebox) transplant on a US patient, attracting worldwide attention.

Should damaging ecosystems and global health be made the fifth crime against peace? Sarah Ball, Research & Programme Development Manager at the UCL Institute for Global Health , summarises the discussion at the symposium on ecocide on 19 January.

A new species of parrot-sized dinosaur, the first discovered with only one finger, has been unearthed in Inner Mongolia, China.

Links: Professor Martin Birchall The Wellcome Trust UC Davis Health System UCL Partners UCL Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine In one of the most complex transplant surgeries ever perfor

Current guidance advising mothers in the UK to exclusively breast feed for the first six months of their baby's life is being questioned in a new study published today in the British Medical Journal. The authors, led by Dr Mary Fewtrell (UCL Institute of Child Health) have reviewed the evidence behind the current guidance and say the time is right to reappraise this recommendation.

Plans to build a world-leading medical research institute at St Pancras in London have been approved by councillors at Camden Town Hall.

Links: The Lancet Professor Alimuddin Zumla UCL Division of Infection & Immunity UCL Global Health Download 'The Challenge of TB: UCL's contribution' The UK is the only country in Western Europe with rising rates of tuberculosis (TB), and cases in London have increased more than 50% since 1999.

Press release Links: Summary and full copies of the HSE 2009 UCL Epidemiology & Public Health Natcen NHS Information Centre Significant health inequalities still exist between the country's richest and poorest according to the latest findings from the biggest annual survey of health in England, The Health Survey for England.

Three UCL researchers report on their week in Westminster, the first part of a Royal Society scheme to build bridges between parliamentarians, civil servants and some of the best science research workers in the UK.

The fifth issue of Sophia Magazine is available to download now. Sophia is a volunteer?run magazine that publishes academic content by UCL staff and postgraduate students aimed at a general readership.

Three UCL researchers report on their week in Westminster, the first part of a Royal Society scheme to build bridges between parliamentarians, civil servants and some of the best science research workers in the UK.

In her latest book Controlling Uncertainty: Decision Making and Learning in Complex Worlds Dr Magda Osman (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) discusses current research about how we can control

With the widespread adoption of competition laws around the globe, new challenges arise when competition law is transplanted in countries with varying degrees of economic development.

Dr Peter Swaab (UCL English) has written a book about the 1938 film Bringing Up Baby as part of the BFI Film Classics series .

Isaac Ghinai and Martin Everson, presidents of UCL global health society MedSIN , let us into their conversation with Helen Clark , United Nations Development Programme Administrator, based on her Lancet Lecture that took place at UCL on 22 November.

To mark World AIDS Day, UCL's Marie-Louise Newell describes the work of the Africa Centre for Health & Population Studies in KwaZulu-Natal, where she is director.

UCL Engineering is the second most impactful engineering faculty in Europe according to Times Higher Education . Data abstracted from the Essential Science Indicators database of Thomson Reuters, covering the period January 2000 to August 2010, surveyed journal articles. These were then assigned to a category based on the journals in which they were published and according to the Thomson Reuters journal-to-field classification scheme.

Marsupial carnivores, including bizarre pouched lions, wolves, and sabretooths, were once as diverse in their appearance as their placental counterparts are today, according to new research. Millions of years ago large marsupial carnivores dominated both Australasia and South America. Today, the Tasmanian Devil is the largest marsupial carnivore left, and is on the brink of extinction.

'Life-changing' prosthetic technology developed at UCL is increasing mobility in humans and animals and changing the shape of artificial limb engineering.