News 2019

As the decade comes to an end, we reflect on the stories that spiked your interest and topped the 'most read articles' chart this year. Ranked by page views, here are your favourite stories of 2019: 10. Mystery arthritis-linked knee bone three times more common than 100 years ago Imperial News Is it time to adjust the official number of bones in the human body? In April, researchers found that the small fabella bone, once thought to be a relic of the past, has made a comeback over the last century.

Some surprise headlines need a second look, but quirky studies can often have a significant impact. From singing fish to anti-malarial soup, we take a look back at the stories which made readers do a double-take in 2019. Grandma's miracle soup In November, schoolchildren from London found their traditional family soups had antimalarial properties.

New research from the University of Sussex shows that people who take part in Dry January - living alcohol-free for a month - are still drinking less six months later. In the most robust research on the subject to date, the study, led by University of Sussex psychologist Dr Richard de Visser , compared the experiences of participants in the Dry January 2019 challenge with adult drinkers who did not take part.

What better accompaniment to festive feasting and your impending food coma than a roundup of tasty stories from 2019? Sit back as Imperial serves up some festive food for thought, featuring unusual stuffing, strange pudding, dried cricket snacks, and food sensors. After all, 'tis the season to be jolly and enjoy all the treats Christmas has to offer! Grub's up In the 1800s, lobsters were considered the food of slaves and prisoners; a poor person's food.

People transported animals over huge distances for mass gatherings at one of Ireland's most iconic archaeological sites, research concludes. Dr Richard Madgwick of Cardiff University led the study, which analysed the bones of 35 animals excavated from Navan Fort, the legendary capital of Ulster. Researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Memorial University Newfoundland and the British Geological Survey were also involved in the research.

The development of technologies which can process information based on the laws of quantum physics are predicted to have profound impacts on modern society. For example, quantum computers may hold the key to solving problems that are too complex for today's most powerful supercomputers, and a quantum internet could ultimately protect the worlds information from malicious attacks.

Taking vitamin D and calcium supplements reduces the risk of hip fractures by about one sixth, but taking vitamin D alone does not, according to a new study from the Nuffield Department of Population Health (NDPH) at the University of Oxford. The research was led by Research Fellow Dr Pang Yao and Robert Clarke, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, at NDPH.

The risk of dying as a result of emergency surgery is significantly higher for patients living in the most deprived areas, a new UCL-led study finds. The research, published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia , examined the outcomes of nearly 59,000 patients who underwent an emergency laparotomy - one of the most commonly performed major emergency surgical procedures.

Nearly one in six deaths from prostate cancer could be prevented if targeted screening was introduced for men at a higher genetic risk of the disease, according to a new UCL-led computer modelling study. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease.

The Bedfordshire town of Luton has come bottom of a league table of predicted city-wide air pollution concentrations among UK cities, according to new analysis by the Universities of Birmingham and Lancaster. Although Luton's air pollution emissions are about as expected for its population, the town's compactness limits dispersal of pollution, meaning it drops to last place among the 146 most populous UK places in terms of predicted air pollution concentrations.

The Bedfordshire town of Luton has come bottom of a league table of predicted city-wide air pollution concentrations among UK cities, according to new analysis by the Universities of Birmingham and Lancaster. Although Luton's air pollution emissions are about as expected for its population, the town's compactness limits dispersal of pollution, meaning it drops to last place among the 146 most populous UK places in terms of predicted air pollution concentrations.

Scientists have discovered remnants of the world's oldest fossil forest in a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York. It is believed the extensive network of trees, which would have spread from New York all the way into Pennsylvania and beyond, is around 386 million years old. This makes the Cairo forest around 2 or 3 million years older than what was thought to be the world's oldest forest at Gilboa, also in New York State and around 40 km away from the Cairo site.

A Europe-wide study conducted over three flu seasons finds that the antiviral drug, oseltamivir (Tamiflu ), can help people recover from flu-like illness about one-day sooner on average, with older, sicker patients who have been unwell for longer recovering two-to-three days sooner. Published today in The Lancet , the European Commission-funded 'ALIC4E' study was led by the Universities of Oxford (UK) and Utrecht (The Netherlands).

Led by UK Universities, multi-disciplinary researchers from around the globe are joining forces in an innovative new research centre aimed at speeding up the use of radical new cooling solutions to help small-holder farmers, medicine suppliers and others make the most of clean and sustainable chilled distribution systems.

Combining powerful lasers and bright x-rays, Imperial and STFC researchers have demonstrated a technique that will allow new extreme experiments. The new technique would be able to use a single x-ray flash to capture information about extremely dense and hot matter, such as can be found inside gas giant planets or on the crusts of dead stars.

Older people who engage with the arts live longer than those who take part infrequently or not at all, according to UCL research. The study, published today in the BMJ , measured engagement in the 'receptive arts' such as going to the theatre, concerts, opera, museums, art galleries and exhibitions, and linked this to mortality.

Scientists from the University of Bristol and the British Museum, in collaboration with Oxford Archaeology East and Canterbury Archaeological Trust, have, for the first time, identified the use of birch bark tar in medieval England - the use of which was previously thought to be limited to prehistory.

People exposed to higher levels of air pollution are more likely to experience depression or die by suicide, finds a new analysis led by UCL. The first systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence connecting air pollution and a range of mental health problems, published in Environmental Health Perspectives , reviewed study data from 16 countries.

Professor Mark Emberton, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, writes about the new UCL-led trial, which is testing to see if MRI scans could be effective at screening men for prostate cancer, in a similar way to how mammograms are used to check women for breast cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men with around 130 new cases diagnosed in the UK every day and more than 10,000 men a year dying as a result of the disease.

In this edition: We discover treatments for baby brain injuries, see what's new on Mars for 2020 and find out how to prevent pandemics. Play the complete podcast (above) You can catch the podcast on all your favourite platforms. Just click on any of the icons below. OR listen to individual chapters: News: Doctor burnout and Sun discoveries - We discuss a study showing a surprising number of doctors suffer from emotional exhaustion , and discover new insights into the Sun from a spacecraft that has flown closer to our star than ever before.