news 2021

Genes that determine the shape of a person's facial profile have been discovered by a UCL-led research team. The researchers identified 32 gene regions that influenced facial features such as nose, lip, jaw, and brow shape, nine of which were entirely new discoveries while the others validated genes with prior limited evidence.

Global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have made southern China a hotspot for bat-borne coronaviruses, by driving growth of forest habitat favoured by bats. Governments must seize the opportunity to reduce health risks from infectious diseases by taking decisive action to mitigate climate change.

Oceans were once filled with the sounds of nature, but overfishing, climate change and human noise have fundamentally changed the natural underwater "soundtrack", researchers say. A global team of scientists, including six experts from three UK institutions, has documented how ocean soundscapes have changed, explored all impacts of noise on marine animals and ecosystems, and identified ways to restore a more natural soundscape.

Savings of up to £1,000 a year on energy bills could be made by living in the UK's first affordable energy positive house, researchers have shown. The team from Cardiff University say that over the course of a year the house exports 1.3 times more electricity to the grid than it consumes, thus resulting in overall net negative carbon emissions, equating to around -179 kg per year.

Scientists are using an analysis of gases in the atmosphere of Venus to develop a new generation of lower-cost and more effective catalytic converters. Based on what they learned, a research team at the University has manufactured a synthetic compound which they believe will reduce toxic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel engine exhaust.

The health of the UK-s insect populations is to be assessed by a new project, which aims to advise on policies to help protect them more effectively post-Brexit. There are growing concerns that insects are in widespread decline across Europe and beyond, thought to be caused by intensive agriculture and other human-induced pressures such as climate change.

The origin of flowering plants famously puzzled Charles Darwin, who described their sudden appearance in the fossil record from relatively recent geological times as an "abominable mystery". This mystery has further deepened with an inexplicable discrepancy between the relatively recent fossil record and a much older time of origin of flowering plants estimated using genome data.

A study has revealed for the first time the ancient origins of one of the world's most important ecosystems by unlocking the mechanism which determined the evolution of its mountains and how they shaped the weather there as well as its flora and fauna. It was previously thought Southern Tibet and the Himalaya were instrumental in turning the once barren land of eastern Asia into lush forests and abundant coastal regions which became home to a rich array of plant, animal and marine life, including some of the world's rarest species.

Air pollution is linked to a heightened risk of progressive and irreversible sight loss, known as age related macular degeneration (AMD), reveals a large long term study led by UCL researchers. They found that people in the most polluted areas were at least 8% more likely to report having AMD, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology .

Scientists believe a key nutrient transported by the wind is contributing to the growth of algal blooms on melting ice sheets. The presence of the blooms increases the rate at which the ice melts, causing sea levels to rise. The Greenland ice sheet – the second largest ice body in the world after the Antarctic ice sheet – covers almost 80%of the surface of Greenland.

The rate at which ice is disappearing across the planet is speeding up, according to new research. And the findings also reveal that the Earth lost 28 trillion tonnes of ice between 1994 and 2017 – equivalent to a sheet of ice 100 metres thick covering the whole of the UK. The research is the first of its kind to carry out a survey of global ice loss using satellite data.

Once a bird has established itself as an alien species in a new region, living alongside native birds, it's most likely to continue spreading to other areas where those same native birds are also present, according to a new UCL-led study. The new study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution , improves on existing methods to predict the spread of alien species.

A new method, developed by scientists at the University of Bristol can determine the optimal colouration pattern to cover an object in order to make it as visible or concealed as possible, in any given environment. And in doing so can help to provide insights into how animal colouration has evolved.

Satellite images processed with the help of computer algorithms devised at the University of Bath are a promising new tool for surveying endangered wildlife. Last updated on Thursday 28 January 2021 For the first time, scientists have successfully used satellite cameras coupled with deep learning to count animals in complex geographical landscapes, taking conservationists an important step forward in monitoring populations of endangered species.

A review of ten types of policy used to reduce carbon suggests that some costs fall on those less able to bear them - but it also shows these policies can form the bedrock of a 'green recovery' if specifically designed and used in tandem. Unless low-carbon policies are fair, affordable and economically competitive, they will struggle to secure public support Cristina Peñasco Some of the low-carbon policy options currently used by governments may be detrimental to households and small businesses less able to manage added short-term costs from energy price hikes, according to a new study.

Foraging humans find food, reproduce, share parenting, and even organise their social groups in similar ways as surrounding mammal and bird species, depending on where they live in the world, new research has found. The study , shows environmental factors exert a key influence on how foraging human populations and non-human species behave, despite their very different backgrounds.

Scientists based at Rothamsted and the University of Bristol Veterinary School have found a clear link between the weight of lambs early in their life and meat quality - which is good news for consumers, farmers, and the environment. Currently, 35 per cent of lambs going to market have meat that is considered too fatty, but this new study, published in the journal Animal , shows that it's the lambs which are heaviest at the point of weaning - when they switch from their mother's milk to grazing - that go on to produce the leanest, most sought-after meat at market.

The first COVID-19 lockdowns led to significant changes in urban air pollution levels in major cities around the world, but the changes were smaller than expected - a new study reveals. After developing new corrections for the impact of weather and seasonal trends, such as reduced NO2 emissions from winter to summer, the researchers evaluated changes in ambient NO2, O3 and fine particle (PM2.5) concentrations arising from lockdown emission changes in 11 global cities: Beijing, Wuhan, Milan, Rome, Madrid, London, Paris, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Delhi.

Scientists claim to have found the 'missing link' in the process that leads to an ice age on Earth. Melting icebergs in the Antarctic are the key, say the team from Cardiff University, triggering a series of chain reactions that plunges Earth into a prolonged period of cold temperatures. It has long been known that ice age cycles are paced by periodic changes to Earth's orbit of the sun, which subsequently changes the amount of solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface.

The metabolism of clownfish - or anemonefish - decreases when their sea 'homes' are damaged by climate change, according to a new study. The research - led by an international team of scientists from the University of Glasgow and CRIOBE, and published today in Functional Ecology - found that exposure to bleached coral reefs can have a negative effect on the physiology and growth of anemonefish.