news 2023

A new qualitative study from Bath psychologists suggests a lack of information and perceived necessity, as well as awkwardness, are impacting uptake of PrEP. Published on Thursday 30 November 2023 Last updated on Thursday 30 November 2023 Results of a qualitative research study into the uptake of PrEP - a drug which stops HIV infecting the body - suggests that more needs to be done to breakdown barriers to access for the potentially lifesaving medication.

One in 200 newborns is admitted to a neonatal unit with sepsis caused by a bacteria commonly carried by their mothers - much greater than the previous estimate, say Cambridge researchers. The team has developed an ultra-sensitive test capable of better detecting the bacteria, as it is missed in the vast majority of cases.

Insights that pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches to tackle cancer, fibrosis, and many age-related conditions have been uncovered by a team of scientists, including researchers from UCL. The research, published in Nature Cell Biology and led by the Laboratory of Medical Sciences (MRC-LMS), identifies a new target for a class of drugs that selectively eliminate cells that are known to provoke inflammation.

An entirely new way to probe how active black holes behave when they eat has been discovered by an international team of astronomers. A sample of active black holes at the centre of 136 galaxies were found to shine in microwave and X-ray light in the same way, no matter their appetite for the surrounding galactic matter like clouds of gas and dust.

Social media use is associated with risky health behaviours in young people including increased alcohol, drug and tobacco use, anti-social behaviour, risky sexual behaviours and gambling, finds a review of the latest evidence Social media use is associated with risky health behaviours in young people including increased alcohol, drug and tobacco use, anti-social behaviour, risky sexual behaviours and gambling, finds a review of the latest evidence.

An international collaboration involving UCL researchers has discovered six planets orbiting their central star in a rhythmic beat, a rare case of an "in sync" gravitational lockstep that could offer deep insight into planet formation and evolution. The findings, published in Nature , are particularly valuable as the planets are likely to have been performing this same rhythmic dance ever since the system formed more than a billion years ago.

The return of bluefin tuna to Northern European waters is a conservation success story, but rising sea temperatures in their Mediterranean nursery grounds mean this recovery may be short-lived, according to new research led by the University of Southampton. Temperatures expected in the Mediterranean within the next 50 years are expected to drive juvenile tuna out of the Mediterranean, where they may be accidentally caught in existing sardine and anchovy fisheries - requiring fishery managers to adapt their methods to allow tuna nurseries to establish.

Study of two million individuals' psychological well-being from 2005 to 2022 in 168 countries, in relation to country-level internet-use and mobile broadband statistics Negative and positive experiences had increased on average, but little to no evidence suggesting (mobile) internet use was associated with these changes Links between internet adoption and psychological well-being are small at most, despite popular assumptions about the negative

The world's first transatlantic flight run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel is taking off today from London Heathrow, bound for New York. The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 flight, which is taking off on 28 November 2023 from London Heathrow (LHR) to New York John F Kennedy Airport (JFK), is the first to showcase the feasibility of flying on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over such a distance.

Researchers from the Department of Life Sciences have developed a way of joining up the ends of proteins, making them more stable and easier to get into cells. Published on Tuesday 28 November 2023 Last updated on Wednesday 6 December 2023 Scientists at the University of Bath have used nature as inspiration in developing a new tool that will help researchers develop new pharmaceutical treatments in a cleaner, greener, and less expensive way.

An international team has shown that the injection of a type of stem cell into the brains of patients living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is safe, well tolerated and has a long-lasting effect that appears to protect the brain from further damage.

Minimally invasive focal therapies for prostate cancer are associated with a lower overall cost and improved quality of life for patients. These are the findings of a new study , published recently in the Journal of Medical Economics, and led by researchers from Imperial College London. It shows that when compared to surgery or radiotherapy, focal therapies for prostate cancer such as cryotherapy and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) are associated with a lower overall cost and improved quality of life.

A new study led by UCL researchers confirms that autistic people experience a reduced life expectancy, however the number of years of life lost may not be as high as previously claimed. The research, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe , is the first to estimate the life expectancy and years of life lost by autistic people living in the UK.

The most socioeconomically deprived groups in society are nearly twice as likely to die from sepsis within 30 days, researchers from The University of Manchester have found. The study of NHS data analysed 248,767 cases of non-COVID-19 sepsis from January 2019, to June, 2022 matched with 1,346,166 controls.

A possibly pre-Christian temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings, some 1,400 years ago, has been found at Rendlesham, near Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, by a team of archaeologists led by UCL researchers. The discovery was made over the summer by Suffolk County Council's Rendlesham Revealed community archaeology project.

Susceptibility to misinformation and disinformation likely to have played a part in the Leave vote. Published on Wednesday 22 November 2023 Last updated on Thursday 23 November 2023 New research from the University of Bath's School of Management finds that higher cognitive ability was strongly linked to voting to Remain in the 2016 UK referendum on European Union Membership.

Highway tunnel in mountain. Traffic on the road. Transportation from above. Cars as a source of air pollution. Existing consumption and production systems, which use natural resources to meet societal needs for food, shelter, energy and health, are unsustainable. Although researchers from different disciplines have long investigated how these systems can become more sustainable, scientists from socio-technical and socio-environmental research communities are now seeking to join forces.

A collaboration of researchers, led by UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital, have published successful results from a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of BRAF mutated low-grade paediatric gliomas. Gliomas are cancerous brain tumours that start in glial cells - the supporting cells of the brain.

Contrary to the commonly-held view, the brain does not have the ability to rewire itself to compensate for the loss of sight, an amputation or stroke, for example, say scientists from the University of Cambridge and Johns Hopkins University.

Cambridge scientists have shown that placing physical constraints on an artificially-intelligent system - in much the same way that the human brain has to develop and operate within physical and biological constraints - allows it to develop features of the brains of complex organisms in order to solve tasks.