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Universities must seek a deeper understanding of the drivers of inequality in job roles and academic ranks if they are to achieve change. Professor Axel Gandy (Chair in Statistics, Imperial College London), Dr Georg Hahn (Senior Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Lancaster University) and Professor Nick Jennings (Vice Provost for Research at Imperial College London) have looked at possible inequalities relating to grant application success rates within Imperial over a five-year period.

The location of road accidents is not random and they tend to be highly concentrated in urban areas, according to a new UCL study. The study, published in the open-access journal Plos One , found that nearly 50% of the serious and fatal accidents in London take place in 5% of road junctions. PhD candidate Rafael Prieto Curiel, lead researcher (UCL Mathematics), said: "Despite being a rare event, road accidents are among the top ten causes of death worldwide.

The question of why we sleep has been a longstanding subject of debate, with some theories suggesting that slumber provides respite for the brain, which allows it to filter out insignificant neural connections, build new ones, strengthen memories and even repair itself. However, new Oxford University research has used mathematical approaches to tackle the adaptive significance of sleep, and suggests that it has another equally significant purpose - boosting our 'fitness' and future family line reproductive success.

By preserving songs for centuries, American swamp sparrows show a cultural stability previously only seen in humans. Local populations of birds may have sung the same songs for hundreds of years and passed them on through the generations, according to researchers at Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and Duke University.

Field trials for a vaccine to protect cattle against bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) would need to involve 500 herds - potentially as many as 75,000-100,000 cattle - to demonstrate cost effectiveness for farmers, concludes a study published today in the journal eLife . Our results highlight the enormous scale of trials that would be necessary to evaluate BCG alongside continuing testing in the field.

Using detailed computer simulations, Oxford University research has revealed why falcons dive at their prey using the same steering laws as man-made missiles. Published today in PLOS Computational Biology, researchers from Oxford's Department of Zoology use computer simulations of peregrine falcon attacks to show that the extreme speeds reached during dives from high altitudes enhance the raptors' ability to execute manoeuvres needed to successfully attack agile prey that would otherwise escape.

Using detailed computer simulations, Oxford University research has revealed why falcons dive at their prey using the same steering laws as man-made missiles. Published today in PLOS Computational Biology, researchers from Oxford's Department of Zoology use computer simulations of peregrine falcon attacks to show that the extreme speeds reached during dives from high altitudes enhance the raptors' ability to execute manoeuvres needed to successfully attack agile prey that would otherwise escape.

Scientists at Cern say their NA62 experiment has observed what may be an ultra-rare charged kaon decay. The NA62 experiment is a particle physics experiment at CERN using a 400 GeV proton beam from the SPS (Super Proton Synchrotron) accelerator. The UK has played a leading role in both the detector construction for NA62 and the data analysis and production of results, with Dr Giuseppe Ruggiero from Lancaster University as the Physics Coordinator.

How fast could a new flu epidemic spread? The results of the UK's largest citizen science project of its kind ever attempted, carried out by thousands of volunteers, predict that 43 million people in the UK could be infected in an influenza pandemic, and with up to 886,000 of those infected expected to be fatalities.

New research has shown schooling fish constantly change who they decide to pay attention to and respond to one or two neighbours at a time. The study, published in PLOS Computational Biology, developed a new method combining behavioural analyses with a computer model to map the chain of direct interactions in a school of fish.

No-growth economy could mean fewer crashes and higher wages, study shows An economy based on zero growth could be more stable - experiencing fewer crashes - and bring higher wages, suggests a new University of Sussex study. Running counter to dominant economic thinking, the new research shows that economies can be stable with or without growth and are in fact likely to be less volatile if we stop chasing ever-increasing GDP.

UCL researchers have devised a mathematical model to understand what causes obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a set of repeated behaviours deriving from an underlying brain dysfunction that is not yet well understood. In the study, published in Neuron , they found that people with OCD develop an internal, accurate sense of how things work but do not use it to guide behaviour.

Many people over 60 in the UK are victims of sexual violence, according to Durham University research. Despite the pervasive stereotypes of what constitutes a "real rape" - a young woman being attacked by a stranger - the research has uncovered that older people are victims too. The study shows that people over 60 are more likely to be raped by an acquaintance either in their own home or a care home.

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have created an artificial intelligence (AI) that uses internet searches to help co-design a word association magic trick. The computer automatically sources and processes associated words and images required for the novel mind reading card trick which is performed by a magician.

Applying a brain stimulation method, which was previously suggested to enhance mathematical learning in healthy adults, may improve the performance of children with mathematical learning difficulties, according to an exploratory study by researchers from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The early stage involved twelve children between the ages of eight and eleven with learning difficulties in mathematics.

For the first time, researchers have been able to test a theory explaining the physics of how substances like sand and gravel pack together, helping them to understand more about some of the most industrially-processed materials on the planet. Granular materials are so widely-used that understanding their physics is very important.

A team of international scientists - including an archaeologist from the University of Bristol - have cracked the mystery of why bird eggs are shaped the way they are. According to the new research published today , egg shape in birds is related to adaptations for efficient flight and a mechanistic model reveals how different egg shapes may be formed.

Sleek bird species adapted to flight lay more elliptical and asymmetric eggs, according to new research that overturns classic theories. Bird eggs can be squat spheres or elongated ovals, and can also have one pointy end or be perfectly symmetrical. Bird eggs have fascinated people for millennia, yet only now are biologists beginning to crack the mystery of what makes some eggs more 'egg-shaped' than others.

New project, partly designed by a University of Cambridge researcher, aims to improve transparency in science by sharing 'how the sausage is made'. Having the code means that others have a better chance of replicating your work. Stephen Eglen A new pilot project, designed by a Cambridge researcher and supported by the Nature family of journals, will evaluate the value of sharing the code behind published research.

The rhythm with which individual sperm move could explain why some successfully fertilise the female egg and others fail, a new Oxford University collaboration has found. From studying the rhythmic movements, researchers at the Universities of York, Birmingham, Oxford and Kyoto University, Japan, have developed a mathematical formula which makes it easier to understand how sperm make the journey to fertilise an egg.