science wire

Professor Carla Figueira De Morisson Faria (UCL Physics & Astronomy) writes in The Conversation about how research into incredibly short laser pulses can have wide ranging impacts across a range of technologies.

Living in a family where there is genetic risk for dementia significantly affects choices about having children and how to parent, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

A test to detect tumour DNA circulating in the blood can predict lung cancer outcomes, finds new research from scientists at UCL, the Francis Crick Institute, UCLH and Personalis.

Better support is needed for prisoners and prison staff to protect them from moral injuries - psychological wounds caused by witnessing or experiencing events that deeply conflict with a person's values - finds a new study co-led by UCL researchers. Experts from UCL, the University of Bath, King's College London, Combat Stress, and NHS partners have published a report in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology , urging the UK government to provide targeted mental health support for prison staff and prisoners.

False memories are much harder to implant than previously claimed by memory researchers and expert witnesses in criminal trials, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and Royal Holloway, University of London. The 1995 Lost in the Mall study has often been cited in criminal trials, particularly those involving historical sexual abuse - including by Harvey Weinstein's defence team - in order to cast doubt on the memory of accusers.

People who live close to airports and are exposed to high aircraft noise levels could be at greater risk of poor heart function, increasing the likelihood of heart attacks, life-threatening heart rhythms and strokes, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), looked at detailed heart imaging data from 3,635 people who lived close to four major airports in England.

The recent discovery that one of Stonehenge's stones originated in Scotland supports a theory that the stone circle was built as a monument to unite Britain's early farmers nearly 5,000 years ago, according to a new study by researchers at UCL and Aberystwyth University.

People motivated by power and the desire to influence others are more likely to share fake news posts on social media, according to a new study led by a UCL researcher. In a series of experiments, power-motivated social media users were found to share more misinformation on a simulated social media platform, and fake news constituted a larger proportion of what they shared.

Working women in their early 30s in England are paid less than men of the same age, in the same types of jobs, who have similar levels of education and work experience, finds a new study from UCL researchers. The report, published today by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, also finds that women are more likely than men to find work stressful, suggesting that lower pay is not compensated for by less pressured work.

Writing in The Conversation, Professor Julie Davies (UCL Global Business School for Health) outlines four key themes employers could address to better handle early pregnancy endings in the workplace.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) explains the findings of her study that found exercise gives a short-term boost to cognitive performance lasting from minutes to hours. What's good for your heart is good for your brain. Just as physical activity helps keep our bodies fit and strong as we age, it also helps maintain our cognitive function - and is even linked with  lower dementia risk.

Women are more likely than men to experience mobility limitations that could benefit from the use of mobility aids but are much less likely to use them when needed, according to a new study from researchers at UCL and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Though the prevalence of disability continues to rise among the over fifties, many people do not have access to the mobility aids - such as canes, walkers, or wheelchairs - that are essential for maintaining independence and social engagement 1 .

Dr Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) describes in The Conversation how new research demonstrates that exercise has mental and cognitive benefits in addition to physical ones.

Online training that helps people recognise and understand new voices could be key to helping older adults improve communication in everyday environments, finds research by UCL experts.

People who lost a parent to suicide face a higher risk of suicide or self-harm themselves when they reach the age their parent lived to, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

A total of 74 UCL academics are featured in Clarivate's annual 'Highly Cited Researchers List' 2024, recognising authors of the most influential research papers around the world.

Two massive asteroids hit Earth around 35.65 million years ago, but did not lead to any lasting changes in the Earth's climate, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The rocks, both several miles wide, hit Earth about 25,000 years apart, leaving the 60-mile (100km) Popigai crater in Siberia, Russia, and the 25-55 mile (40-85km) crater in the Chesapeake Bay, in the United States - the fourth and fifth largest known asteroid craters on Earth.

Pupils in years 5 and 9 in England have maintained or improved scores in maths and science compared to pre-pandemic results, report UCL researchers who analysed findings in the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).

Beans and peas rank as the best meat and milk replacement from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives, finds a new study by researchers at UCL and the University of Oxford.

Around ten per cent of all'heterosexual couples of all'ages in the UK live in different households while maintaining a steady intimate relationship with each other, finds a new study led by a researcher at UCL. Published in the Journal of Family Issues, this new research found that in the UK, around four per cent of over 60s are in a relationship where they're living apart but together (LAT), which is comparable to that in other countries such as the United States, Netherlands, and Canada.

There is little evidence to support the increasing use of surveillance technologies on inpatient mental health wards, finds a new study involving UCL researchers.

It is concerning that 8% of UK workers are 'increasingly precarious' - likely to be stuck in low-paid, insecure or otherwise uncertain work - say researchers from UCL in a new report on the UK labour market.

A new chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy has delivered promising results in treating patients with an aggressive blood cancer, in results from a clinical trial led by researchers at UCL and UCLH.

An international team including UCL researchers have received €3 million from the European Union to complete a conceptual study of a telescope that could become operational in Chile after 2040.

A loss of brain volume associated with new immunotherapies for Alzheimer's disease may be caused by the removal of amyloid plaques, rather than the loss of neurons or brain tissue, finds a study led by UCL researchers.