Research increasingly shows that tackling modifiable exposures and environmental risks could be one of our most powerful levers for longevity and health span. Scientists say this knowledge could help us design better solutions to create environments that promote human health to address the global health and economic crises caused by the chronic disease epidemic and ageing demographic.

Researchers found that adding a deadline to bowel screening invitation letters boosted test returns, with the largest effect for a 2-week return deadline. The study, which was led by Professor Katie Robb from the University of Glasgow's School of Health and Wellbeing, involved 40,000 adults in the nationwide Scottish Bowel Screening Programme.

Tiny, individual, flexible ribbons of crystalline phosphorus discovered by UCL researchers in 2019 exhibit magnetic and semiconducting properties at room temperature, opening new possibilities for next-generation electronics, finds a new study involving members of the same team. The findings, published in the journal Nature , confirm the one-atom-thick ribbons, known as phosphorene nanoribbons, as a unique class of material that could enable more energy-efficient computing and unlock new quantum technologies.

Our brains use basic 'building blocks' of information to keep track of how people interact, enabling us to navigate complex social interactions, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. For the study, published in Nature , the researchers scanned the brains of participants who were playing a simple game involving a teammate and two opponents, to see how their brains were able to keep track of information about the group of players.

A lung function test used to help diagnose asthma works better in the morning, becoming less reliable throughout the day, Cambridge researchers have found. Throughout the day, the levels of different hormones in our bodies go up and down and our immune systems perform differently. Any of these factors might affect how people respond to the lung function test Akhilesh Jha Using real world data from 1,600 patients, available through a database created for speeding up research and innovation, the team also found that its reliability differs significantly in winter compared to autumn.

A new study has found that targeted psychological interventions can significantly enhance long-term resistance to misinformation. Dubbed "psychological booster shots," these interventions improve memory retention and help individuals recognize and resist misleading information more effectively over time.

New antibody therapies could offer alternative to current treatments. Researchers led by Imperial have unveiled primary trial results that show encouraging advances in HIV treatment driven by immune-based therapies. The RIO trial assessed the impact of two long-acting immune therapies known as broadly neutralising antibodies, or bNAbs, compared with placebo, among 68 people living with HIV who stopped taking their antiretroviral medicines.

Research offering unprecedented insights into global vaccine distribution patterns has found significant disparities in COVID-19 vaccination accessibility - identifying 'vaccine deserts' in both high and low income countries. Findings have been shared from a survey of 54 countries/regions, undertaken by experts at the University of Glasgow, University of Hong Kong, University College London and Kyung Hee University.

Online tests of women's reaction times offer insights into cognitive function and could help fill data gaps on early cognitive problems, potentially shedding light on dementia development later in life, finds a new study led by researchers at UCL and other universities. The new paper, published in BMJ Open , finds that online tests can be an easy and effective way for women in their 40s and older to volunteer for dementia prevention research from their homes instead of visiting clinics.

For the first time, scientists have 'photographed' a rare plasma instability, where high-energy electron beams form into spaghetti-like filaments. A new study, published in Physical Review Letters , outlines how a high-intensity infrared laser was used to generate a filamentation instability - a phenomenon that affects applications in plasma-based particle accelerators and fusion energy methods.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered genes linked to obesity in both Labradors and humans. They say the effects can be over-ridden with a strict diet and exercise regime. Dogs at high genetic risk of obesity showed signs of having higher appetite, as has also been shown for people at high genetic risk of obesity.

A sneaky form of advertising favoured by oil giants influences public opinion with climate action misperceptions, but researchers are studying potential solutions. In the battle against climate disinformation, native advertising is a fierce foe. A study published in the journal npj Climate Action by researchers from Boston University (BU) and the University of Cambridge, evaluates two promising tools to fight misleading native advertising campaigns put forth by big oil companies.

Circuits in the brain that are crucially involved in implementing decisions by directing between perseverance, exploration and disengagement have been identified by a UCL-led research team, in a new study in mice. The neural circuits found in the brainstem may help to further understand a number of neuropsychiatric conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism and major depressive disorder.

Scientists have uncovered the mechanism behind how aspirin could reduce the metastasis of some cancers by stimulating the immune system. Aspirin has the potential to be less expensive than antibody-based therapies, and therefore more accessible globally. Jie Yang They say that discovering the mechanism will support ongoing clinical trials, and could lead to the targeted use of aspirin to prevent the spread of susceptible types of cancer, and to the development of more effective drugs to prevent cancer metastasis.

Analysis of Earth's past ice ages, tracked across one million years, has shed new light on the mystery of the planet's natural climate cycles, enabling improved projections of future climate, finds a new study co-authored by UCL researchers. Published in Science, the international team of scientists led by Cardiff University identified the specific contributions of various subtle changes in Earth's orbit that cause the climate to shift between warm periods and glacial periods every 100,000 years.

A new rapid systematic review published today by researchers from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has found little evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthetists associates (AAs) in the UK, raising critical questions about the rapid expansion of these roles in the NHS.

Our perceptions of body image are shaped by what we see from as early as seven years old, according to n'ew research by Durham University, The University of Manchester and Northumbria University. These body ideals continue to be influenced by visual exposure to different body weights into adulthood, the research also found.

The oldest collection of mass-produced prehistoric bone tools reveal that human ancestors were likely capable of more advanced abstract reasoning one million years earlier than thought, finds a new study involving researchers at UCL and CSIC- Spanish National Research Council. The paper, published in Nature, describes a collection of 27 now-fossilised bones that had been shaped into hand tools 1.5 million years ago by human ancestors.

Experiments coupling light and sound reveal the surprising effect when 'nothing' is measured the vibrations of objects are cooled. Researchers at Imperial's Department of Physics shone light into a glass bead - only four times wider than a human hair - that traps both light and high-frequency sound waves by continually reflecting them around its circumference.

A team including UCL researchers has identified two new dinosaur species found in present-day Romania that lived shortly before dinosaurs went extinct. The end of the Cretaceous Period, 66 million years ago, marked the dramatic extinction of the dinosaurs following an asteroid impact. Until now, our understanding of this mass extinction has been largely shaped by fossils from North America.