news 2017

New research has shown schooling fish constantly change who they decide to pay attention to and respond to one or two neighbours at a time. The study, published in PLOS Computational Biology, developed a new method combining behavioural analyses with a computer model to map the chain of direct interactions in a school of fish.

No-growth economy could mean fewer crashes and higher wages, study shows An economy based on zero growth could be more stable - experiencing fewer crashes - and bring higher wages, suggests a new University of Sussex study. Running counter to dominant economic thinking, the new research shows that economies can be stable with or without growth and are in fact likely to be less volatile if we stop chasing ever-increasing GDP.

UCL researchers have devised a mathematical model to understand what causes obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a set of repeated behaviours deriving from an underlying brain dysfunction that is not yet well understood. In the study, published in Neuron , they found that people with OCD develop an internal, accurate sense of how things work but do not use it to guide behaviour.

Many people over 60 in the UK are victims of sexual violence, according to Durham University research. Despite the pervasive stereotypes of what constitutes a "real rape" - a young woman being attacked by a stranger - the research has uncovered that older people are victims too. The study shows that people over 60 are more likely to be raped by an acquaintance either in their own home or a care home.

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have created an artificial intelligence (AI) that uses internet searches to help co-design a word association magic trick. The computer automatically sources and processes associated words and images required for the novel mind reading card trick which is performed by a magician.

Applying a brain stimulation method, which was previously suggested to enhance mathematical learning in healthy adults, may improve the performance of children with mathematical learning difficulties, according to an exploratory study by researchers from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The early stage involved twelve children between the ages of eight and eleven with learning difficulties in mathematics.

For the first time, researchers have been able to test a theory explaining the physics of how substances like sand and gravel pack together, helping them to understand more about some of the most industrially-processed materials on the planet. Granular materials are so widely-used that understanding their physics is very important.

A team of international scientists - including an archaeologist from the University of Bristol - have cracked the mystery of why bird eggs are shaped the way they are. According to the new research published today , egg shape in birds is related to adaptations for efficient flight and a mechanistic model reveals how different egg shapes may be formed.

Sleek bird species adapted to flight lay more elliptical and asymmetric eggs, according to new research that overturns classic theories. Bird eggs can be squat spheres or elongated ovals, and can also have one pointy end or be perfectly symmetrical. Bird eggs have fascinated people for millennia, yet only now are biologists beginning to crack the mystery of what makes some eggs more 'egg-shaped' than others.

New project, partly designed by a University of Cambridge researcher, aims to improve transparency in science by sharing 'how the sausage is made'. Having the code means that others have a better chance of replicating your work. Stephen Eglen A new pilot project, designed by a Cambridge researcher and supported by the Nature family of journals, will evaluate the value of sharing the code behind published research.

The rhythm with which individual sperm move could explain why some successfully fertilise the female egg and others fail, a new Oxford University collaboration has found. From studying the rhythmic movements, researchers at the Universities of York, Birmingham, Oxford and Kyoto University, Japan, have developed a mathematical formula which makes it easier to understand how sperm make the journey to fertilise an egg.

Do spiders use their web as a computer? New research, led by the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, will look at spiders' webs to investigate their computational capabilities and based on this research they will develop new sensor technology to measure vibrations and flow. Spiders' webs have evolved over hundreds of millions of years and can be surprisingly complex.

Infertility is taking its toll on relationships in Ghana. New research shows Ghanaian women who have problems conceiving are more likely to experience relationship breakdown. The first long-term study of its kind, carried out by Dr Jasmine Fledderjohann, of Lancaster University, focused on information from 1,364 women.

Our genes play a significant role in how anxious we feel when faced with spatial and mathematical tasks, such as reading a map or solving a geometry problem, according to a new study by researchers from King's College London. Spatial skills are important in everyday life, from navigation to assembling flat-pack furniture, and have also been linked to success in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professions.

England has one of the lowest levels of post-16 mathematics engagement among developed countries, according to international comparisons. This is despite the fact that mathematics qualifications such as A-level maths are linked to higher salaries, as reported in new research. In 2011 the Secretary of State for Education called for the 'vast majority' of young people to be studying mathematics up to 18 by the end of the decade.

What could be learnt about the world if you could read the news from over 100 local newspapers for a period of 150 years' This is what a team of Artificial Intelligence (AI) researchers from the University of Bristol have done, together with a social scientist and a historian, who had access to 150 years of British regional newspapers.