news 2021

Help us measure the impact our staff have through volunteering in London The  Pro-Provost (London) Office  has released a survey, open to all staff at UCL, aimed at measuring the volunteering impact UCL staff have in London. We know that many of you already contribute a significant amount of your time to London and its communities, whether that is through sitting on a variety of boards and committees or volunteering for charities and in the local community.

Babies who were given nutritionally modified formula milk had the same maths and English exam results as children who were given standard formula milk by age 16, finds a major new study led by UCL researchers that links seven randomised controlled trials to school performance re Scientists from the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOS ICH) and the UCL Institute of Education, who published their findings in the BMJ today, used a

Young people who consider themselves 'multilingual' tend to perform better across a wide range of subjects at school, regardless of whether they are actually fluent in another language, new research shows. If pupils were encouraged to see themselves as active and capable language learners, it could have a really positive impact on their wider progress at school.

There are more than 7bn people on the planet, and each of them has their own unique face. The sum of a person's eyes, nose, cheeks and mouth all individual to them. And now, new research shows that the emotion information transmitted by facial expressions appears to be just as diverse, rich, and complex as the faces themselves.

The largest catalogue of gravitational wave events ever assembled has been released today, with dozens of ripples in space time captured by a global network of detectors. The aftershocks of huge astronomical events, including rare mergers of neutron stars and black holes, were picked up by an international team of scientists, include experts from Cardiff University's Gravity Exploration Institute.

Whole genome sequencing led to new rare disease diagnoses for NHS patients in some cases ending decades-long diagnostic odysseys Study represents significant step towards the goal of precision medicine - a transition that will have huge impact across the NHS and globally A world-first scientific study, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, has shown that whole genome sequencing (WGS) can uncover new diagnoses for people across the broadest range of rare diseases investigated to date and could deliver enormous benefits across the NHS.

Next generation vaccines for Covid-19 should aim to induce an immune response against 'replication proteins', essential for the very earliest stages of the viral cycle, concludes new research carried out by UCL scientists. By designing vaccines that activate immune memory cells, known as T cells, to attack infected cells expressing this part of the virus's internal machinery, it may be possible to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 at the very outset, thereby helping stop its spread.

The capabilities of a UCL-led panoramic camera system that will guide the search for life on Mars atop the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover are being tested ahead of the rover's launch next year. A replica of the rover and the Panoramic Camera suite known as PanCam are being used to test the wide range of photo settings - from panoramas to close-ups, from 3D maps to wheel selfies - that will deliver the greatest science possible during the ExoMars mission on the Red Planet.

A team including researchers from The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute (NGI) has revealed that sonic boom and Doppler-shifted sound waves can be created in a graphene transistor, giving new insights into this advanced material and its potential for use in nanoscale electronic technologies.

Significant increases seen in teenagers' mental ill-health during secondary school is mostly likely linked to growing older, rather than academic and peer pressures associated with being in a more senior year group, finds a new study of over 40,000 young people led by UCL. Published in the British Educational Research Journal, the study provides one of the most detailed investigations into the link between mental health and school year, and finds mental ill-health is particularly prevalent among girls during secondary education.

Large-scale genetic study reveals new clues for the shared origins of irritable bowel syndrome and mental health disorders An international study of more than 50,000 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has revealed that IBS symptoms may be caused by the same biological processes as conditions such as anxiety.

Scientists at Oxford University have identified the gene responsible for doubling the risk of respiratory failure from COVID-19. Sixty percent of people with South Asian ancestry carry the high-risk genetic signal, partly explaining the excess deaths seen in some UK communities, and the impact of COVID-19 in the Indian subcontinent.

New research carried out in collaboration with the University of Birmingham has found that the use of non-invasive breathing support to treat patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 in hospitals isn't linked to a heightened risk of transmitting infection to others as currently thought.

Whole Genome Sequencing from a single blood test picks up 31% more cases of rare genetic disorders than standard tests, shortening the 'diagnostic odyssey' affected families experience and providing huge opportunities for future research. A definitive genetic diagnosis can really help patients and their families Patrick Chinnery Mitochondrial disorders affect around 1 in 4300 people and cause progressive, incurable diseases.

A newly published extensive body of research into Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, has revealed new insights into the deadly parasitic disease that threatens the lives of millions of people in 36 sub-Saharan African countries.

Hiding the bottom half of the face with a mask could have a detrimental effect on our ability to socially interact and share other people's emotions, new research suggests. A Cardiff University-led study found people with facial paralysis, people seeing others who wear face masks, or even children sucking on dummies, could struggle to show empathy or detect positive social cues.

The damage caused by Covid-19 to the lungs' smallest blood vessels has been intricately captured using high-energy X-rays emitted by a special type of particle accelerator. Scientists from UCL and the European Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF) used a new revolutionary imaging technology called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), to scan donated human organs, including lungs from a Covid-19 donor.

A GW4-funded report that focused on what regional Green Recovery might look like argues that climate justice needs to be at the forefront of our thinking. Last updated on Friday 5 November 2021 A new report from researchers from the GW4 universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, and Exeter suggests that local green recovery debates need to find a way to better connect people's concerns about the climate, inequality, and prosperity in local areas.

Cambridge scientists have discovered how a receptor in the brain, called MC3R, detects the nutritional state of the body and regulates the timing of puberty and rate of growth in children and increases in lean muscle mass. This discovery shows how the brain can sense nutrients and interpret this to make subconscious decisions that influence our growth and sexual development Sir Stephen O'Rahilly These findings may explain how humans have been growing taller and reaching sexual maturity earlier over the past century.

New software can help determine the movements of large wild animals, thereby minimising conflicts with people. Large land animals have a significant impact on the ecology and biodiversity of the areas they inhabit and traverse. If, for example, the routes and stopping places of cattle, horses, sheep, and also those of wolves or bears overlap with those of people, this often leads to conflicts.