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Getting tested for COVID-19 and reporting your results helps to reduce the spread of the virus. It also helps to protect those who could get seriously ill if they catch the virus. To keep our community as safe as possible, you should test yourself twice a week for COVID-19 even if you don't have symptoms.

A new drug has shown promise in slowing the regrowth of tumours among some bowel cancer patients, according to new findings of a major trial run by researchers at UCL in collaboration with Oxford, Leeds and Cardiff universities. The results of the FOCUS4-C trial, which was funded by Cancer Research UK, the EME Programme - an MRC/NIHR partnership - and AstraZeneca, will be presented on Saturday (18 September) at the European Society of Medical Oncology and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology .

Time spent together in families significantly contributes to mothers and fathers' happiness when compared to being alone, shows new research from a UCL academic. The research also finds that couple time spent alone without children contributes to the largest increase in wellbeing Published today in Sociology , the study analyses data from 236 couples who participated in the 2014-2015 United Kingdom Time Use Survey and finds that fathers often reported enjoying family time more than mothers do.

A new Covid-19 treatment for people with diabetes has shown promising results in a trial led by UCL researchers. The trial was conducted by St George Street Capital (SGSc) - a medical research charity - with the the goal to find new purposes, where there is a real clinical need, for drugs that have already passed safety checks Professors John Martin (UCL Division of Medicine) and Pete Coffey (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) founded the charity along with an American philanthropist to trial new medicines four years ago.

Some primate species may express grief over the death of their infant by carrying the corpse with them, sometimes for months, according to a new UCL-led study - with implications for our understanding of how non-human animals experience emotion. Published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B , the researchers compiled data from anecdotes reported in 126 publications on primate behaviour.

Reducing naturally occurring errors in protein synthesis (production) improves both health and lifespan, finds a new study in simple model organisms led by researchers at UCL and MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences. The novel findings, published in Cell Metabolism , are the first to demonstrate a direct link between fewer protein mistakes and longevity.

Nearly half of adults (44%) reported having experienced some kind of discrimination since the start of the pandemic*, find UCL researchers as part of the Covid-19 Social Study. Having been treated with less courtesy or respect than others was the most common type of discrimination (28%), followed by having been threatened or harassed (14%), having had people act as if they were afraid of them (13%), and having received poorer service for deliveries/in stores (12%) or in a medical setting (11%).

Scientists at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute, London, have developed a new tool, which can rapidly estimate the number of T cells (immune cells) in a cancerous tumour*; to help predict a patient's response to immunotherapy. Researchers are hopeful that the new findings could enable more targeted and effective cancer therapies.

A new technology that can study which therapies will work on patients with solid cancerous tumours has been developed by scientists at UCL. Researchers say the tool, which can rapidly test tumorous tissue against different treatments, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiotherapy, could be used by clinicians to pinpoint the best therapy for a particular patient.

Nearly 60% of both oil and fossil methane gas and almost 90% of coal must remain in the ground by 2050 in order to keep global warming below 1.5°C, finds a study by UCL researchers. Global oil and gas production must decline by 3% annually until 2050 in order to reach this target. Many fossil fuel extraction projects, both planned and operational, are not conducive to meeting internationally agreed target limits on global warming, as set out by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

Infections of the central nervous system and respiratory system in youth have been found to increase the risk of MS significantly, says Professor Scott Montgomery (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is most often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. Certain genes put a person at greater risk of getting this disease of the central nervous system, but scientists are still trying to understand the triggers.

Economic models of climate change may have substantially underestimated the costs of continued warming, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. Published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters , the international team of scientists found that the economic damage could be six times higher by the end of this century than previously estimated.

UCL researchers have shown that damage to the lining of the gut plays an important role in the development of rheumatoid arthritis, paving the way for a new approach to treating the disease. In the pre-clinical study, which used mouse models and patient samples, the research team propose that restoration of the gut-barrier could offer a new therapeutic approach to reducing the severity of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms.

Young adults aged 18 to 24 are at the highest risk of becoming overweight or developing obesity in the next decade of their life compared to adults in any other age group, and obesity prevention policies should target this group, finds a new study co-led by researchers at UCL. The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology , found that being a young adult is a more important risk factor for weight gain than sex, ethnicity, geographic region, or socioeconomic area characteristics.

Up to one in seven (14%) children and young people who caught SARS-CoV-2 may have symptoms linked to the virus 15 weeks later, suggest preliminary findings from the world's largest study on long Covid in children, led by UCL and Public Health England researchers.

Achieving remission for people with type 2 diabetes through dietary approaches and weight loss should be the primary treatment goal of GPs and healthcare practitioners, concludes a large-scale review of clinical evidence led by researchers at UCL and Aston University. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a serious condition caused when the body resists the insulin produced in the pancreas, and not enough insulin is made.

Saplings should be planted without protective plastic guards, according to an environmental impact study led by UCL researchers. Young trees are usually planted in plastic tubes to protect them from being eaten by animals, but these plastic guards often break down into harmful microplastics. Manufacturing the guards also contribute to a range of environmental impacts, including fossil depletion, climate change and land use.

A new clinical approach that reduces the use of mechanical ventilation can greatly improve outcomes for critically ill infants and children, finds a major new UK trial involving UCL researchers. T he Sedation AND Weaning In CHildren (SANDWICH) trial, led by Queen's University Belfast, involved more than 10,000 child and infant admissions to 18 UK pediatric Intensive Care Units.

Despite near identical restrictions, 'high-risk behaviours' were significantly higher in the second Covid-19 lockdown than the first, finds a new UCL led study. The research, published in PNAS , found that during the second (November) lockdown people in the UK spent 35 minutes longer, on average, engaged in 'high risk' behaviours (where 'high risk' is identified as mixing with people outside the household, or doing work or leisure activities away from home), compared with the first (March to July).

A child's educational success depends on the genes that they haven't inherited from their parents, as well as the genes they have, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the study confirms that genes a person inherits directly are most likely to contribute to their achievements in education.