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The number of people diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a lung condition thought to be a 'disease of the past', has risen considerably in the past decade and now affects more than 1% of UK pensioners, finds a new study by UCL, University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Withdrawing a commonly-prescribed Alzheimer's disease drug from people in the advanced stages of the disease doubles their risk of being placed in a nursing home within a year, according to UCL research published today in The Lancet Neurology . Researchers funded by the Medical Research Council and Alzheimer's Society followed 295 people with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease to monitor the effects of continuing or discontinuing the drug donepezil - which is typically withdrawn in the later stages of the disease because of a lack of perceived benefit by clinicians.

A new trial launches today, which aims to answer once and for all whether or not a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent some cancers from coming back. Some previous studies have suggested it might, but the evidence has not been conclusive. Doctors need clear proof that it is a safe and effective treatment before prescribing it for their patients.

UCL and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today announced a new research collaboration to identify and validate novel target genes for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. This collaboration will focus on mechanistic approaches for the identification of genes or signalling pathways that modify neurodegenerative disease processes affecting neuronal health (for example motor neurone disease (MND or ALS), Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease).

Archaeologists from a consortium of universities including UCL have found out what people ate while building Stonehenge, by analysing the food residues preserved in their pots as well as the animal bones and other food waste from the large settlement of Durrington Walls near Stonehenge. Pork and beef were the prime foods, barbecued and boiled.

The way our brain responds to others' good fortune is linked to how empathetic people report themselves to be, according to new UCL-led research. The study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience and funded by the Medical Research Council, shows that a part of the brain called the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) seems particularly attuned to other people's good news, but how it responds varies substantially depending on our levels of empathy.

Islamist insurgency has had a strong effect on where polio cases occur since 2011, potentially as a reaction to the use of counterinsurgency strategies, according to new research led by UCL. In research published today in the open access journal Globalization and Health, lead author Dr Jonathan Kennedy (UCL Political Science) and colleagues from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Cambridge University (Professor Lawrence King) analysed cross-national data for the period 2003-14.

US fans of the National Football League (NFL) and sports reporters assigned to specific teams have unrealistic expectations about how well their team will perform, finds new research from UCL and Oxford University. The study, published in PLOS ONE, also reveals which teams are most liked and disliked, as well as which teams have the most optimistic fans.

Amyloid beta pathology in the grey matter and blood vessel walls characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the related cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is observed in the brains of deceased patients who acquired Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) following treatment with prion-contaminated human growth hormone.

A UCL-led lifelong study of people in England, Scotland and Wales has found that those who perceived their parents as more caring and less psychologically controlling during their childhood were likely to be happier and more satisfied throughout their lives. Care from both mother and father were found to be equally important predictors of participants' mental wellbeing through to middle age, although paternal care had a greater association with wellbeing in later life (age 60-64).

Large numbers of people with intellectual disabilities are being inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic drugs, finds a new UCL study. Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition that begins before the age of 18 and is characterised by limitations in intellectual functioning (generally indicated by an IQ under 70) and difficulties with one or more life skills.

The price fluctuation of fine wines can now be predicted more accurately using a novel artificial intelligence approach developed by researchers at UCL. The method could be used to help fine wine investors make more informed decisions about their portfolios and encourage non-wine investors to start looking at wine in this manner and hence increase the net trade of wine.

Reduced street lighting in England and Wales is not associated with road traffic collisions or crime, according to research by UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health , suggests that local authorities can safely reduce street lighting at night, saving energy costs and reducing carbon emissions.

A landmark study that has been following a group of people since their birth in the same week in March 1946 is now turning its focus to the risk factors and early signs of dementia.

The brain of a 15 million year old monkey has been visualized for the first time by a team led by Professor Fred Spoor (UCL Cell & Developmental Biology). The 3D computer model shows that the brain is much smaller and has more folds than expected, supporting the idea that brain complexity can evolve before brain size in the primate family tree.

Adult fruit flies given a cancer drug live 12% longer than average, according to a UCL-led study researching healthy ageing. The drug targets a specific cellular process that occurs in animals, including humans, delaying the onset of age-related deaths by slowing the ageing process. The study, published today in Cell and funded by the Max Planck Society and Wellcome Trust, shows for the first time that a small molecule drug, which limits the effects of a protein called Ras, can delay the ageing process in animals.

A four-year study of 1,414 unvaccinated people across England found that 43% of them had immune cells that protected them from symptoms of both seasonal and pandemic influenza, and reduced their chances of shedding the virus by two thirds.

How light of different colours is absorbed by carbon dioxide (CO2) can now be accurately predicted using new calculations developed by a UCL-led team of scientists. This will help climate scientists studying Earth's greenhouse gas emissions to better interpret data collected from satellites and ground stations measuring CO2.

A new technique for treating polycystic kidney disease has been identified by researchers based at the UCL Institute of Child Health. Published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the treatment, which involves targeting tiny blood and lymphatic vessels inside the kidneys, is shown to improve renal function and slow progression of disease in mice.

A major international randomised clinical trial has found that HIV-infected individuals have a considerably lower risk of developing AIDS or other serious illnesses if they start taking antiretroviral drugs sooner, when their CD4+ T-cell count-a key measure of immune system health-is higher, instead of waiting until the CD4+ cell count drops to lower levels.