news 2020

Researchers have developed a way to use a simple home aroma diffuser to test whether N95 and other types of sealing masks, such as KN95 and FFP2 masks, are properly fitted, a result which could be used to help protect healthcare workers and the public from contracting or transmitting COVID-19.

The proportion of adults with diagnosed diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, report researchers from UCL and the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), who have analysed the latest results from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The report, which is commisisoned by NHS Digital, analyses data from over 8,200 adults and 2,000 children living in private households in England and shows the percentage of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes has risen since 1994, from 3% to 9% among men and from 2% to 6% among women.

Poverty linked to higher risk of Covid-19 death, study suggests People in Scotland's poorest areas are more likely to be affected by severe Covid-19 - and to die from the disease - than those in more affluent districts, according to a study of critical care units. The first nationwide study of its kind found patients from the most economically disadvantaged areas had a higher chance of critical care admission, and that intensive care units there were more likely to be over capacity.

The majority of University of Bristol students are complying with government COVID-19 guidelines and are self-isolating when receiving a positive test, indicates a study that has investigated student social contact patterns and behaviours. The research led by scientists at the University of Bristol is published on the pre-print server medRxiv.

Scientists have calculated the mass range for Dark Matter - and it's tighter than the science world thought. Their findings - due to be published in Physical Letters B in March - radically narrow the range of potential masses for Dark Matter particles, and help to focus the search for future Dark Matter-hunters.

Two Sussex students are among scientists from across the world to have catalogued almost 700 million new astronomical objects in the Dark Energy Survey, which is the most detailed survey ever taken of the dark sky. Astronomical objects include stars, planets, moons, asteroids and comets. Post-graduate researchers Reese Wilkinson and David Turner joined Professor Kathy Romer at the Cerro Tololo observatory on a mountain in Chile to take part in the survey.

Programmes such as the BBC's Blue Planet and Hugh's War on Plastic , have drawn attention to the threat plastics pose to sea-life. But little is known about the impacts on Britain's land-based species, such as hedgehogs, rabbits and voles. Now, a new research project from the University of Sussex and the Mammal Society, aims to assess the exposure of wild mammals to waste plastics across Britain.

The UK Government's hesitancy to bring in tougher Covid restrictions exacerbated investor herding, market volatility and greater harm to its economy compared to countries with swifter and more decisive pandemic responses, new research indicates. Countries with more stringent government responses to the coronavirus crisis benefitted from lower levels of investor herding, newly published research from the University of Sussex Business School , Southampton Business School and University of Brescia (Italy) reveals.

Visiting Professor Joanna Bryson has co-authored a study showing why rebuilding trust in societies can be so challenging. Last updated on Friday 8 January 2021 Polarisation, such as the emergence of extreme right or left movements, can create conflict and keep individuals and even governments from working toward a common good.

Apathy - a lack of interest or motivation - could predict the onset of some forms of dementia many years before symptoms start, offering a 'window of opportunity' to treat the disease at an early stage, according to new research from a team of scientists led by Professor James Rowe at the University of Cambridge.

The drug remdesivir is likely to be a highly effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2, according to a new study by a team of UK scientists. Writing , the researchers describe giving the drug to a patient with COVID-19 and a rare immune disorder, and observing a dramatic improvement in his symptoms and the disappearance of the virus.

Neuroscientists at UCL have found no significant association between COVID-19 and the potentially paralysing and sometimes fatal neurological condition Guillain-Barré syndrome. Researchers say the findings, published in the journal  Brain*,  along with a linked scientific commentary** by UCL and other international experts, should provide the public with reassurance, as the UK's national coronavirus vaccination programme is rolled out.

Radars are being installed at the top of an engineering building at the University of Birmingham as part of a demonstration intended to test and prove the precision of quantum-enabled radar detection capabilities. A key part of keeping everyday life secure is being able to detect dangerous or unsafe situations before they occur.

Compared with meat eaters, fish eaters have a lower risk of several adverse heart diseases, including stroke. These findings, which were part of new research looking at the diets and risk of developing or dying from heart diseases of more than 420,000 people in the UK, also concluded that vegetarianism was associated with a lower risk of developing heart disease.

A pioneering reconstruction of the brain belonging to one of the earliest dinosaurs to roam the Earth has shed new light on its possible diet and ability to move fast. Research, led by the University of Bristol, used advanced imaging and 3-D modelling techniques to digitally rebuild the brain of Thecodontosaurus , better known as the Bristol dinosaur due to its origins in the UK city.

An earwax self-sampling device could be used to measure chronic glucose levels, according to a study led by UCL and King's College London researchers. The pilot study, published in Diagnostics , reports that the new device was almost 60% more reliable at measuring chronic glucose levels averaged over a month than an existing gold standard technique.

A group of researchers is to evaluate whether a simple blood test for bacterial infection could help to reduce the use of antibiotics in patients with COVID-19. A procalcitonin blood test (PCT) is used in hospitals to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections and guide antibiotic treatment.

Data from the National COVID-19 Infection Survey, done in partnership between the University of Oxford, the Office of National Statistics, Public Health England, University of Manchester and the Wellcome Trust, has revealed detailed characteristics of England's coronavirus pandemic, including which factors have contributed most to case numbers over different phases and the prevalence of asymptomatic infections.

A new and less invasive treatment developed by Cancer Research UK researchers is safer than standard major surgery for early-stage rectal cancer, giving patients a better quality of life with fewer life-altering side effects, results from a pilot study show. Results from the TREC trial show that a combination of local keyhole surgery and radiotherapy, rather than major surgery that removes the whole rectum, prevents debilitating side effects, such as diarrhoea, or the need for a permanent colostomy bag.

People's levels of anxiety and depression were at their highest (worst) in the early stages of the March lockdown but improved fairly rapidly following the introduction of restrictions, according to new findings by UCL researchers. The study, published today in Lancet Psychiatry and funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, analysed data from over 36,000 adults who had provided responses on their mental health as part of the UCL COVID -19 Social Study on a weekly basis between 23 March and 9 August 2020.