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A cheap charcoal air filter can reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) inside vehicles by as much as 90%, compared to levels outside the vehicle. Research presented in a report by WM Air, the West Midlands Air Quality Improvement Programme at the University of Birmingham, shows that charcoal filters, which costs around £10-£20, can effectively remove NO2 from the air within vehicle cabins.

International analysis has found that discordant results between two types of HPV test linked with worse outcomes for patients Patients who have head and neck cancer caused by the human papilloma virus should be double tested, after new research solves puzzle over worsening outcomes among some people.

Women are able to recall details of sexual assault and rape with accuracy, even if they have drunk - or expected to drink - moderate amounts of alcohol. A study conducted at the University of Birmingham demonstrated that women who had drunk alcohol up to the legal limit for driving were able to recall details of an assault in a hypothetical scenario, including details of activities to which they had, and had not, consented.

Patients with early stage colon cancer benefit from 6 weeks of chemotherapy before surgery Giving colon cancer patients chemotherapy before surgery cuts their risk of the disease coming back, according to the results of a Cancer Research UK-funded clinical trial. The FOxTROT trial showed that giving colon cancer patients chemotherapy before rather than after surgery reduced the chance of cancer returning within 2 years by 28%.

Combining poetry and meditation may help researchers to discover new angles on the world through an unorthodox approach to data collection and analysis. ' Poetic meditation ' can enhance qualitative data analysis by offering researchers improved sensory experience and an ability to approach data analysis from unexpected directions, a new study reveals.

Scientists discover differences in the way early herbivore dinosaurs ate their food Although most early dinosaurs were vegetarian, there were a surprising number of differences in the way that these animals tackled eating a plant-based diet, a new study reveals. Scientists used CT scans of dinosaur skulls to track the evolution of early dinosaur herbivores - reconstructing jaw muscles and measuring the animals' bite force to understand how dinosaur feeding evolved.

Climate change, rather than competition, played a key role in the ascendancy of dinosaurs through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. According to new research, changes in global climate associated with the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction - which wiped out many large terrestrial vertebrates such as the giant armadillo-like aetosaurs - actually benefitted the earliest dinosaurs.

Largest analysis of perinatal outcomes finds disparities in outcomes based on race and ethnicity in high and upper-middle income countries Babies born to Black mothers in richer countries are more likely to be stillborn or die in the first four weeks of life than those born to white women, new research has found.

Autistic people have strong preferences for terms to describe autism, with unpopular terms including 'having autism' or having an 'impairment' or 'disorder'. Researchers from across the U21 Autism Research Network , led by a team at the University of Birmingham, carried out a survey of over 650 English-speaking autistic adults across the globe to explore their linguistic preferences.

Astronomers have determined the source of an incredibly bright X-ray, optical and radio signal appearing from halfway across the Universe. The signal, named AT 2022cmc, was discovered earlier this year by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California. Findings published today in Nature Astronomy, suggest that it is likely from a jet of matter, streaking out from a supermassive black hole at close to the speed of light.

Footballers must stay on top of their game mentally or risk a drop in physical performance. Combining physical and mental training could help them play better. Combining physical training with mentally fatiguing tasks could help professional footballers play better and concede fewer goals during major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup, a new study reveals.

UK analysis raises need for awareness of health implications for patients following abuse and neglect Children who experience a form of abuse or neglect may be more likely to suffer with diseases such as asthma, eczema or conjunctivitis compared to those who have not experienced abuse or neglect according to a new analysis.

The largest analysis of data on antibody therapies for protecting clinically extremely vulnerable people from Covid-19 shows that they are effective. The largest analysis of data on antibody therapies for protecting clinically extremely vulnerable people from Covid-19 shows that they are effective, a new study has found.

Water security in mountain regions relies on an understanding of the interlinks of water supply and demand that goes far beyond the study of glacier melt. Current information on how the communities which depend on water from mountain snow and ice will be affected by climate change is limited, according to new research published in Nature Sustainability.

New research will help to provide safer surgery for thousands of patients around the world - particularly in Lowand Middle-income Countries (LMIC). Surgical care experts have unveiled two studies in The Lancet that will help to provide safer surgery for thousands of patients around the world - particularly in Lowand Middle-income Countries (LMIC).

Older people may be able to boost working memory with a new approach that couples online therapeutic games with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. Working memory is critical for people to function well in everyday life. This volatile form of memory holds and manipulates a finite amount of information over a short time interval, enabling people to interact with their environment in an effective and efficient manner.

The first appearance of shark-like 'jawed fish' may have happened some 15 million years earlier than previously thought, according to new evidence. A handful of fossil teeth from a completely new species, uncovered from rock samples found in China, suggest jawed fish emerged some time at the end of the Ordovician, or beginning of the Silurian period, around 440 million years ago.

A carbohydrate commonly found attached to plant proteins is a food source for the bacteria in our gut, new research suggests. A carbohydrate commonly found attached to plant proteins is a food source for the bacteria in our gut, new research suggests. A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how species of gut microbes use plant N-glycans, a type of complex carbohydrate, as nutrients.

People who experience frequent bad dreams in middle age are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia later in life, according to new research. A new study , published in The Lancet journal, eClinicalMedicine by researchers at the University of Birmingham, suggests nightmares may become prevalent several years or even decades before the characteristic memory and thinking problems of dementia set in.

New understanding about how the gut balances between 'good' and 'bad' bacteria could provide new clues for managing chronic gut diseases Immune cells called group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) play an essential role in establishing tolerance to symbiotic microbes that dwell in the human gastrointestinal tract, according to a new study.