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Environment - Health - 20.09.2023

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on London’s waterways
The most detailed study of a city's waterways anywhere in the world has revealed how chemical pollutants in London's rivers changed over the pandemic. In a study led by researchers at Imperial College London, scientists have shown how pollutants entering the capital's river systems - including traces of prescription medications such as antibiotics and antidepressants - changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health - 20.09.2023

Longer staff shifts on mental health and community hospital wards linked to increased patient incidents
A study conducted at the University of Southampton has shown a significant increase in the risk of patient incidents in mental health and community wards when the majority of shifts in a ward-day are 12 hours or longer. The new research found that as the proportion of nursing staff on a ward working 12 hour plus shifts rose above 70 percent daily, the number of incidents of self-harm, threatening behaviour and violence against staff on that same day increased significantly.

Health - Life Sciences - 19.09.2023

Neurons die in Alzheimer’s disease
A team of researchers led by Professor Bart De Strooper (UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, and VIB-KU Leuven) and Dr Sriram Balusu (VIB-KU Leuven) have discovered how neurons die in Alzheimer's disease. The breakthrough study, published in Science , illustrates how neurons initiate a programmed form of cell death, known as necroptosis, when they are exposed to amyloid plaques and tau tangles - the hallmark misfolded proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease.

Health - 18.09.2023

New ways to predict outcomes of pregnancies with fetal growth problems
A team of scientists, led by researchers at UCL, have developed new methods to predict outcomes for pregnancies where there are issues with poor growth of the baby inside the womb. The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation , involved 142 women from the EVERREST Prospective Study* who had severe early-onset fetal growth restriction (FGR) - meaning their babies were very small on ultrasound scans early in the second half of pregnancy (between 20 and 27 weeks).

Health - 18.09.2023

Covid-19 grief disorder rates ’higher than expected’
Cases of Prolonged Grief Disorder among people bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic are likely to be significantly higher than pre-pandemic, indicates new research from Cardiff University and the University of Bristol. Prolonged Grief Disorder is a mental health condition which can develop caused by the death of someone close, such as a child or partner.

Health - 14.09.2023

When it comes to starting a family, timing is everything
A new Cochrane review of methods to increase chances of successful conception suggests that timed intercourse using urine ovulation tests probably improves live birth and pregnancy rates in women under 40 who had been trying to conceive for less than 12 months, compared to intercourse without ovulation prediction.

Environment - Health - 13.09.2023

Roadside hedges can reduce harmful ultrafine particle pollution around schools
A new study led by Cambridge University confirms that planting hedges between roadsides and school playgrounds can dramatically reduce children's exposure to traffic-related particle pollution. Our findings show that hedges can provide a simple, cheap and effective way to help reduce exposure to local sources of pollution Hassan Sheikh The , a collaboration with Lancaster University, found that hedges can act as protective barriers against air pollution from major city roads by soaking up significant quantities of harmful particles emitted by traffic.

Health - Computer Science - 13.09.2023

World-first AI foundation model for eye care to supercharge global efforts to prevent blindness
Researchers at UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that has the potential to not only identify sight-threatening eye diseases but also predict general health, including heart attacks, stroke, and Parkinson's disease. RETFound , one of the first AI foundation models in healthcare, and the first in ophthalmology, was developed using millions of eye scans from the NHS.

Health - 12.09.2023

Care home study highlights poor care for dementia residents with hearing problems
Hard of hearing people with dementia are not receiving the care they desperately need, according to a new study by University of Manchester researchers. The anonymised study of 10 staff from 8 different care homes, published in the journal Disability and Rehabilitation, revealed how residents were largely unable to access audiology services.

Health - Career - 12.09.2023

Over a third of UK medical students do not receive sexual misconduct training
More than a third of newly qualified doctors are leaving UK medical schools without any education on sexual misconduct specifically relating to the medical profession according to new research led by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

Health - Pharmacology - 12.09.2023

Health of young people with ulcerative colitis at risk due to ceasing medication
Nearly 70 per cent of adolescents and young adults with ulcerative colitis stop taking medication to treat the disease within a year of diagnosis. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in the intestine, and it affects around 200,000 people in the UK.

Life Sciences - Health - 11.09.2023

Healthy lifestyle can help prevent depression - and new research may explain why
A healthy lifestyle that involves moderate alcohol consumption, a healthy diet, regular physical activity, healthy sleep and frequent social connection, while avoiding smoking and too much sedentary behaviour, reduces the risk of depression, new research has found. Although our DNA - the genetic hand we've been dealt - can increase our risk of depression, we've shown that a healthy lifestyle is potentially more important.

Health - 11.09.2023

Cardiovascular disease and complex health issues almost double COVID-19 infection risk
The risk of COVID-19 infection is around two times higher in older adults with cardiovascular disease and complex comorbidities than in their healthier peers, according to a new study from UCL. The study, published in Gerontology, analysed data from 4,428 individuals over the age of 50 who took part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) COVID-19 Sub Study in 2020.

Health - Social Sciences - 11.09.2023

Hobbies linked to lower depression levels among older people
Having a hobby is linked to fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of happiness, self-reported health and life satisfaction among people aged 65 and over, and this holds true across 16 countries on three continents, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine , aimed to see if the benefits of hobbies were consistent in different national settings, and looked at data from 93,263 people aged 65 or over who had enrolled in five existing longitudinal studies in England, Japan, United States, China and 12 other European countries.

Health - Media - 11.09.2023

How our number of sexual partners changes as we age
A new study involving UCL that aims to inform mathematical models of sexually transmitted infections shows how the number of sexual partners we have changes as we age, with some surprising findings. A team from the UCL Institute of Health Informatics, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and King's College London surveyed more than 5,000 people aged 18 years and older during the 2022 mpox (previously known as "monkeypox") outbreak.

Health - Life Sciences - 08.09.2023

Using MRI scans to improve the lives of dementia patients
The Conservatives have seized on cars as a political wedge - it's a bet on the public turning against climate action 07 Researchers at the University of Manchester are using MRI scans to better predict the progression of dementia In the UK, 5-20% of over 60s population experience mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a decline in one cognitive area, such as memory, language, spatial orientation, or forward planning, over time.

Health - Life Sciences - 06.09.2023

Research sheds light on how breast cancer might develop after pregnancy
Study observing changes in healthy breast cells may explain why breast cancer might develop after pregnancy. A cell-based study has helped begin to disentangle the complex relationship between genetic mutations, pregnancy and breast cancer risk. Researchers from Imperial College London examined healthy breast cells from 29 women who had given birth at different ages and women who did not have any children, to look at genetic mutations and how cells divide.

Health - 06.09.2023

Vaping renders immune cells unable to move to meet threats
Even moderate exposure to nicotine-free vapour causes suppression of neutrophil’s typical activity. Inhaling vapour from an e-cigarette may be stopping frontline immune cells from working typically, as a new study shows that even moderate smoke exposure suppresses cell activity. The findings are published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and suggest that inhaling e-cigarette smoke could be damaging neutrophils, the first line of defence the human immune system has.

Health - 05.09.2023

New gene therapy could reduce hearing loss in Norrie disease
A gene therapy developed in mice by an international team of researchers led by UCL and the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, could significantly reduce hearing loss associated with Norrie disease. Norrie disease is a rare but devastating genetic disorder that causes blindness and hearing loss.

Health - Social Sciences - 04.09.2023

Shocking impact of family courts on women’s health exposed
A devastating study involving 45 women who accused their partners of domestic abuse has highlighted serious health problems they have suffered as a result, they say, of biased family court proceedings. While the study is qualitative and self-reported and so not generalisable to the wider population, the women's experiences now indicate a need for further research.