news 2018

Cambridge experiment with City of London police found that, while rarely deployed, just the presence of electroshock devices led to greater overall hostility in police-public interactions - an example of what researchers call the 'weapons effect'. The presence of Tasers appears to provoke a pattern where suspects become more aggressive toward officers, who in turn respond more forcefully Barak Ariel A new study has found that London police officers visibly armed with electroshock 'Taser' weapons used force 48% more often, and were more likely to be assaulted, than those on unarmed shifts.

Researchers from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) have received funding from EU Horizon 2020 to support research into how institutions, including the police and social work, respond to domestic abuse. SCCJR will work in partnership with Police Scotland to carry out the Scottish strand of the €2.9 million IMPRODOVA project, a three-year study which will see Professor Michele Burman and Dr Oona Brooks-Hay conduct extensive fieldwork across the country.

Increasing age, perceptions and multiple health conditions are among the reasons why over-50s find it difficult to return to work, according to new research which compared this age-group with the experiences of the under-50s.‌ The study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in the BMJ Open , identified the significant challenges facing people over the age of 50 who have health problems and who have lost their job.

A cutting-edge material, inspired by nature, that can regulate its own temperature and could equally be used to treat burns and help space capsules withstand atmospheric forces is under development at the University of Nottingham. The research paper, Temperature - dependent polymer absorber as a switchable state NIR reactor , is published in the journal Scientific Reports today (Friday 26 October).

Experts from Cardiff University are leading on a major new research project which will assess how new technologies are influencing transnational organised crime (Cyber-TNOC). Professor Mike Levi, Dr Luca Giommoni and Professor Matthew Williams, criminologists at the School of Social Sciences, along with Professor Pete Burnap from the School of Computer Science and Informatics, have secured funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to investigate the ways in which criminals are making use of cyber and allied technologies.

Research finds significant inequalities in cuts to council services across the country, with deprived areas in the north of England and London seeing the biggest drops in local authority spending since 2010. Public finance is politics hidden in accounting columns Mia Gray A "fine-grained" analysis of local authority budgets across Britain since 2010 has found that the average reduction in service spending by councils was almost 24% in England compared to just 12% in Wales and 11.5% in Scotland.

Latest research finds significant inequalities in cuts to council services across the country, with deprived areas in the north of England and London seeing the biggest drops in local authority spending since 2010. The government needs to decide whether it is content for more local authorities to essentially go bust Mia Gray The first "fine-grained" analysis of local authority budgets across Britain since 2010 has found that the average reduction in service spending by councils was almost 24% in England compared to just 12% in Wales and 11.5% in Scotland.

Spending more time in quality early years' education between ages two to four can have a positive impact on the cognitive development and social and emotional wellbeing of children - regardless of their social background, new research suggests. Children in this age bracket who spent more time with childminders, were also found to have fewer emotional difficulties, such as fears and worries.

Rotavirus vaccination reduced infant diarrhoea deaths by 34% in rural Malawi, a region with high levels of child deaths, according to a major new study led by UCL, the University of Liverpool, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and partners in Malawi. The study, published in The Lancet Global Health, provides the first population-level evidence from a low-income country that rotavirus vaccination saves lives and adds considerable weight to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommendation for rotavirus vaccine to be included in all national immunisation programmes.

Authenticating historic manuscripts can be a complicated and at times destructive process, with parts of the paper or ink damaged. However, a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Glasgow have found a novel way to accurately authenticate ancient documents in a minimally destructive way.

A derivative of turmeric could be used in eye drops to treat the early stages of glaucoma, a new study by Imperial and UCL researchers has found. In the new paper published in Scientific Reports, the researchers report a new method to deliver curcumin, extracted from the yellow spice turmeric, directly to the back of the eye using eye drops, overcoming the challenge of curcumin's poor solubility.

A derivative of turmeric could be used in eye drops to treat the early stages of glaucoma, finds a new study led by UCL and Imperial College London researchers. In the new Scientific Reports paper, the researchers report a new method to deliver curcumin, extracted from the yellow spice turmeric, directly to the back of the eye using eye drops, overcoming the challenge of curcumin's poor solubility.

Workers' rights should be at the heart of global sustainable development, says new report (17 July 2018) Workers' rights should be placed at the heart of global efforts to improve sustainable development, according to a new international study. The Unacceptable Forms of Work: Global Dialogue/Location Innovation report , led by Durham University, UK, came as the world's politicians met to review progress towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .

Anxiety and depressive symptoms during pregnancy have risen by 51 per cent within a generation according to findings from a major study by the University of Bristol published last week [Friday 13 July]. Using unique data from two generations who took part in Bristol's Children of the 90s longitudinal study, researchers examined responses to questions completed by the women during pregnancy to compare levels of depressive symptoms more than 20 years apart.

Derived from nature, a potential new drug to treat two life-threatening tropical diseases has been discovered as a result of collaboration between two Welsh universities. The team of researchers, led by Professor Andrew Westwell from Cardiff University, has successfully created a drug compound, from the goji berry plant, that is active against the parasites that cause schistosomiasis and fascioliasis.

Durham University's research is tackling global issues thanks to its success in securing over £13m funding across 11 projects since 2016. The University has an excellent track record of being awarded funding from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The GCRF supports cutting edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries.

Two-thirds of head teachers believe that inequalities between schools are becoming wider as a result of current government policy, according to a new 'state of the nation' report by the UCL Institute of Education (IOE). The four-year study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, evaluated the government's 'self-improving school-led system' (SISS), which has become an overarching narrative for education policy since 2010, making schools more autonomous and accountable for their own improvement.

When it comes to the output, education and wellbeing of the Great British workforce, our towns, cities and regions exist on a dramatically unequal footing. A new, wide-ranging research network hopes to find answers to a decades-old problem - the UK's productivity gap. There's a narrative that the UK is a very rich country, but many regions of the UK outside the capital are poor.

A cancer treatment already approved for use in certain types of cancer has been found to block cell growth in a common form of lung cancer for which there is currently no specific treatment available. The new findings suggest that a large number of patients could benefit from this treatment - a second generation EGFR inhibitor (a drug that slows down or stops cell growth) - if used in combination with additional therapies.

Dr Ke Han has reflected on his work to predict post-Brexit traffic conditions on the M20/A20 motorway in Kent. Imperial College London's Dr Han has warned of 'paralysis' on the M20/A20 motorways if we don't avoid customs delays after the UK leaves the European Union (EU). Commissioned by the BBC , his team created simulations of how motorway queues could stack up after longer border checks per vehicle at the ferry port in Dover , and at the Eurotunnel port in Folkestone, both in Kent.