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A single dose of radiotherapy is as "effective" as five doses for end-of-life cancer patients suffering with painful spinal canal compression, finds a large study conducted by UCL. Spinal canal compression is a common complication in cancer patients when the cancer has spread to their spine. Radiotherapy is used to control pain and alleviate symptoms.

Mars's huge landslides can move at speeds of up to 360 kilometres an hour for up to tens of kilometres. PhD candidate Giulia Magnarini and Dr Tom Mitchell (UCL Earth Sciences) write about how these landslides may have formed. Some landslides on Mars seem to defy an important law of physics. "Long, runout landslides" are formed by huge volumes of rock and soil moving downslope, largely due to the force of gravity.

DNA from 75-year old eradicated European malaria parasites uncovers the historical spread of one of the two most common forms of the disease, Plasmodium vivax, from Europe to the Americas during the colonial period, finds a new study co-led by UCL. The research published in Molecular Biology and Evolution reports the genome sequence of a malaria parasite sourced from blood-stained medical microscope slides used in 1944 in Spain, one of the last footholds of malaria in Europe.

Professor Geraint Rees, Pro-Vice-Provost of Artificial Intelligence at UCL, writes that AI can and must be used for good, to complement and augment human endeavour rather than replace it. Recent advances in deepfake video technology have led to a rapid increase of such videos in the public domain in the past year.

Approximately one in 20 mothers whose babies are born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) died within 10 years of delivery in both England and Canada, according to a new study from researchers at UCL and ICES and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Canada Neonatal abstinence syndrome (also called NAS) is a group of symptoms experienced by babies from withdrawal from certain drugs (predominantly opioids) that they are exposed to in the womb before birth.

White blood cells, which release a toxic potion of proteins to kill cancerous and virus-infected cells, are protected from any harm by the physical properties of their cell envelopes, find scientists from UCL and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Until now, it has been a mystery to scientists how these white blood cells - called cytotoxic lymphocytes - avoid being killed by their own actions and the discovery could help explain why some tumours are more resistant than others to recently developed cancer immunotherapies.

A one-off dose of ketamine could help heavy drinkers reduce their alcohol intake, finds a new UCL experimental study. Giving a shot of ketamine to heavy drinkers after reactivating their drinking-related memories led to a rapid decrease in urges to drink and a prolonged decrease in alcohol intake over nine months, according to the study published .

Co-authoring a research paper with an established scientist early in an academic's career leads to significant future benefits for the junior researcher, finds a paper by UCL. This effect is much stronger for early-career researchers affiliated with less prestigious institutions, who are statistically less likely later in their careers to reach the same levels those at the most prestigious institutions will.

Living in a more polluted area is associated with a greater likelihood of having glaucoma, a debilitating eye condition that can cause blindness, finds a new UCL-led study in the UK. People in neighbourhoods with higher amounts of fine particulate matter pollution were at least 6% more likely to report having glaucoma than those in the least-polluted areas, according to the findings published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science .

UCL scientists working to understand neutrinos and antimatter through DUNE (the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) will benefit from the UK's latest multi-million pound investment in the project. The DUNE project brings together more than 1,000 physicists from the UK and 31 countries from Asia, Europe and the Americas to build the world's most advanced neutrino observatory, which could lead to profound changes in our understanding of the universe.

The most energetic form of light has been detected from a distant but powerful cosmic explosion known as a 'gamma-ray burst' for the first time, by an international team including UCL physicists using a UCL-built space telescope onboard NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. The discovery and in particular, the unknown mechanisms that cause extremely high-energy light to be emitted in the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst (GRB).

Forty-four academics are included in Clarivate's 'Highly Cited Researchers 2019' list, which recognises authors of the most influential research papers around the world. The results are comparable with university peers such as Oxford (55 researchers recognised), Cambridge (53) and Imperial College London (34) and represent an increase since last year, when 41 UCL researchers were recognised.

A UCLH and UCL led trial of a technique to preserve men's sexual potency after prostate cancer surgery has begun to recruit participants across the UK. The trial of the NeuroSAFE procedure - designed to avoid the removal during surgery of nerves near the prostate which are important for sexual function - is being led by UCLH consultant urological surgeon Greg Shaw and sponsored by UCL.

In February of this year, UCL launched a new online reporting tool called Report + Support to make reporting issues of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct easier. Staff and students can report 'anonymously' or 'contact an advisor' to find out their options for support and resolution. Report + Support has been in place for over six months, and as part of the commitment to improve transparency and build trust and confidence in reporting, UCL has published a Six Months Insights Report.

People exposed to a lifetime of psychosocial adversity may have an impaired ability to produce the dopamine levels needed for coping with acutely stressful situations, according to a new UCL-led study. The findings, published in the journal eLife , may help explain why long-term exposure to psychological trauma and abuse increases the risk of mental illness and addiction.

University reading lists are not representative of the student body and tend towards overrepresentation of white, male and Eurocentric viewpoints, a new study from UCL has found. The study, published in Higher Education, analysed 144 authors of Social Science papers and 146 authors of Science papers included in two university reading lists, gathering data on gender, ethnicity and the country in which the researchers' affiliated institutions were based.

Each time a newborn baby hiccups, it triggers a large wave of brain signals which could help the baby learn how to regulate their breathing, finds a new UCL-led study. The study, published in Clinical Neurophysiology , was based on brain scans of newborn infants. "The reasons for why we hiccup are not entirely clear, but there may be a developmental reason, given that foetuses and newborn babies hiccup so frequently," said the study's lead author, research associate Kimberley Whitehead (UCL Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology).

Engaging in artistic activities such as singing and dancing from a young age can reduce social inequalities and encourage healthy behaviours, according to a new report from UCL and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The study, published today, is the world's largest review to date into the health benefits of the arts.

Universities Minister Chris Skidmore MP visited the UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering (IHE) Autumn Research Symposium today as part of Tomorrow's Engineers Week. Mr Skidmore met Professor Becky Shipley, Director of the IHE, who with her team demonstrated the REANIMATE project (REAlistic Numerical Image-based Modelling of biological Tissue substratEs), which is a virtual modelling technique that creates highly detailed 3D models of individual cancerous tumours and simulates the delivery of drugs into them.

White British young people living in more ethnically diverse deprived neighbourhoods have better mental health than those living in "white working-class" neighbourhoods, according to a new UCL study. The study found there was no difference in the mental health of ethnic minority youths by whether they lived in neighbourhoods of differing levels of ethnic density and ethnic diversity.