news 2016

The majority of updates to mobile apps don't have a significant impact on user ratings, suggesting developers might release updates too frequently, according to a new study by UCL researchers. They found free apps were less likely to make an impact when their developers release an update compared to paid apps, although among the impactful releases, the impact was more likely to be positive for free apps.

The number of people in the world with high blood pressure has reached 1.13 billion, according to new research. The study, led by scientists at Imperial College London , reveals the number of people with high blood pressure has nearly doubled in 40 years. The team studied changes in blood pressure in every country in the world between 1975 and 2015.

A change in self-defence laws in Florida which gave citizens the right to use lethal force to protect themselves in public has been linked with the state's homicide rates going up by nearly a quarter. The study published in  JAMA Internal Medicine,  led by the University of Oxford with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania, looked at homicide rates before and after the enactment of State Bill 436, known as the Stand Your Ground law, which was signed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005.

An inter-disciplinary team of scientists and archaeologists have discovered widespread evidence of prehistoric milk production in southern Europe. The study uncovered evidence that humans have been utilising milk and dairy products across the northern Mediterranean region from the onset of agriculture - some 9,000 years ago.

Microbiologists have identified how MRSA may be more effectively treated by modern-day antibiotics, if old-fashioned penicillin is also used. The team from the University of Liverpool and the National University of Ireland Galway have shown that, although penicillin does not kill the bacteria, it does weaken their virulence, making it easier for our immune system and other antibiotics to eradicate the infection.

The erosion rates of cliffs along the Sussex coast have rapidly sped up in the last 200 years, a new study has found. The research shows that the erosion rates along Beachy Head and Seaford Head in Sussex had remained relatively stable, at around two to six centimetres each year, for thousands of years.

New research by scientists from the University of Bristol has revealed that domestic LED lights are much less attractive to nuisance insects such as biting midges than traditional filament lamps. The team now highlights the urgent need for further research on other heat-seeking flies that transmit disease, including mosquitoes that are carriers of pathogens that cause damaging diseases such as malaria and Zika fever.

New University of Liverpool research has found that co-witnesses to a crime can contaminate each other's memory of who committed it, but that the likelihood of this contamination occurring depends upon their confidence. The research, conducted by Dr Craig Thorley from the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society , was inspired by real-life incidents where co-witnesses have discussed a crime, one has made a mistake during these discussions, and the others have then included this mistake in their subsequent police statements.

A large-scale genetic study has provided strong evidence that the development of insulin resistance - a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart attacks and one of the key adverse consequences of obesity - results from the failure to safely store excess fat in the body.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the diets of organisms can affect the DNA sequences of their genes. In a study on two groups of parasites, the team detected differences in DNA sequences that could be attributed to the composition of their food. The results are published in the journal Genome Biology .

A new investigation into how meat can be damaged by farm injections has found that 4 per cent of cattle slaughtered in abattoirs in England had injection site lesions in the carcasses. The study by researchers at the Universities of Nottingham and Bristol shows that compliance with recommended injection protocols could be improved to reduce this damage.

Many pain-sensing nerves in the body are thought to respond to all types of 'painful events', but new UCL research in mice reveals that in fact most are specialised to respond to specific types such as heat, cold or mechanical pain. The study found that over 85% of pain-sensing neurons in whole organisms are sensitive to one specific type of painful stimulus.

Showy ornaments used by the male of the species in competition for mates, such as the long tail of a peacock or shaggy mane of a lion, could indicate a species' risk of decline in a changing climate, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Males of many animal species compete for mates, either by producing showy ornaments to attract females, such as the plumes and bright colours of male Birds of Paradise, or, like stags and elephant seals, by fighting with other males for access to mates.

A new collaborative study between the University of Liverpool and the World Health Organisation has found that behavioural intervention can reduce anxiety and depression in adults impaired by psychological distress in a conflict-affected region. More than 125 million people today are directly affected by armed conflict, the highest number since World War II.

Scientists at King's College London, funded by the charity Arthritis Research UK, have found a link between changes in marks on the outside of DNA (epigenetics) and chronic widespread joint pain, one of the main symptoms of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a common long-term chronic condition that causes fatigue and widespread pain in muscles and bones.

Mothers smoking in pregnancy, children skipping breakfast and not having a regular bedtime or sufficient sleep all appear to be important factors in predicting whether a child will become overweight or obese, according to new research led by UCL. All three are early life factors which can be modified and the research highlights the possibility that prompt intervention could have an impact in curbing the growth in childhood overweight and obesity.

Children who are bullied in primary and secondary school are nearly twice as likely to be overweight at the age of 18 than non-bullied children, according to a new study by researchers from King's College London. Previous research by the team at King's has shown that children who experienced bullying while growing up in the 1960s were more likely to be obese at the age of 45, yet it was unclear whether these long-term effects were present earlier in life.

Identifying critical areas for global biodiversity is an important step when prioritising areas for conservation, and generating biodiversity hotspot maps based on global species ranges - at a scale usable by local management - has been a long-term ambition in the field. New research led by the University of Oxford has realised this ambition for tropical Africa, making use of 3.1 million global distribution records of more than 40,000 African plant species to map the areas that are home to the world's rarest plants.

Scientists are trained to carefully assess theories by designing good experiments and building on existing knowledge. But there is growing concern that too many research findings may be wrong. New research conducted by psychologists at the universities of Bristol and Exeter suggests that this may happen because of the criteria that seem to be used in funding science and promoting scientists, which place too much weight on eye-catching findings.

Taking part in the scouts or guides appears to help lower the risk of mental illness in later life, a study suggests. Children who participate in the organisations - which aim to develop qualities such as self-reliance, resolve and a desire for self-learning - are likely to have better mental health in middle age, the findings show.