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Wider restrictions must remain in place if schools reopen in March in order to keep the epidemic's R number below 1 in the UK, a new UCL-led modelling study suggests. The pre-print study, published on the site medRxiv, suggested that reopening schools to all pupils in some form on March 8 may lead to an increase in cases but that, if a broader lockdown remained, it was unlikely to cause the R rate to go above 1 and lead to the epidemic growing again.

Almost a third of 17-year-olds have tried cannabis and one in 10 have tried harder drugs, such as cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine, with similar rates of experimentation regardless of parents' education level, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published today in a briefing paper by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at the UCL Social Research Institute, examines engagement in substance use and antisocial behaviours among Generation Z as they reached late adolescence.

An estimated 1 in 5 deaths (18 to 21.5%) every year can be attributed to fossil fuel pollution, a figure much higher than previously thought, according to research co-authored by UCL. The study shows that more than 8 million people around the globe die each year as a result of breathing in air containing particles from burning fuels like coal, petrol and diesel, which aggravate respiratory conditions like asthma and can lead to lung cancer, coronary heart disease, strokes and early death.

Online search data can help inform the public health response to COVID-19, according to a report from UCL, allowing experts to predict a peak in cases on average 17 days in advance. Analysing internet search activity is an established method of tracking and understanding infectious diseases, and is currently used to monitor seasonal flu.

Genes that determine the shape of a person's facial profile have been discovered by a UCL-led research team. The researchers identified 32 gene regions that influenced facial features such as nose, lip, jaw, and brow shape, nine of which were entirely new discoveries while the others validated genes with prior limited evidence.

SARS-CoV-2 mutations similar to those in the B1. UK variant could arise in cases of chronic COVID-19 infection, where treatment over an extended period provides the virus multiple opportunities to evolve, finds research co-led by UCL. Writing in Nature , a team led comprised of researchers from UCL and Cambridge reported how they were able to observe SARS-CoV-2 mutating in the case of an immunocompromised patient treated with convalescent plasma.

Parasitic worms could hold the key to living longer and free of chronic disease, according to a review of prior evidence written by UCL researchers. The review, published in  eLife , looks at the growing evidence to suggest that losing our 'old friend' helminths (parasitic worms), which used to live relatively harmlessly in our bodies, can cause ageing-associated inflammation.

Dr Bastien Blain (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) co-authors an article on his new research, which finds how we learn about our world may be more important for how we feel than the rewards we actually receive. Our obsession with happiness isn't as modern as it may seem. Philosophers from Aristotle to Jeremy Bentham have all argued that subjective wellbeing is crucial.

England has seen a modest rise in psychotic symptoms in recent years, while antipsychotic medication use doubled over the same period, according to a study by UCL and City, University of London researchers. The findings, published in Schizophrenia Research , clarify that a previously-reported rise in psychosis rates is partly, but not entirely, due to changes in prescription rates, as symptoms themselves are increasing as well.

Improvements in access to education for girls over the last century in the UK are likely to have reduced differences in cognitive ageing between men and women, potentially reducing sex disparities in dementia risk, finds a new large cohort study led by UCL.

New insight into how human brains detect and perceive different types of touch, such as fluttery vibrations and steady pressures, has been revealed by UCL scientists with the help of the ancient Chinese cooking ingredient, Szechuan pepper. Humans have many different types of receptor cells in the skin that allow us to perceive different types of touch.

The antiviral drug plitidepsin is between 10 and 100 times* more effective against SARS-CoV-2, including the new UK variant, than the NHS approved** drug remdesivir, finds new preclinical research involving UCL scientists.

Air pollution is linked to a heightened risk of progressive and irreversible sight loss, known as age related macular degeneration (AMD), reveals a large long term study led by UCL researchers. They found that people in the most polluted areas were at least 8% more likely to report having AMD, according to the findings published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology .

Once a bird has established itself as an alien species in a new region, living alongside native birds, it's most likely to continue spreading to other areas where those same native birds are also present, according to a new UCL-led study. The new study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution , improves on existing methods to predict the spread of alien species.

Nearly half of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff are likely to meet the threshold for PTSD, severe anxiety or problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers. The study, published in Occupational Medicine , shows the stark impact of working in critical care during the COVID-10 pandemic.

A theory as to why the Sun's outer atmosphere differs in its chemical make-up from its inner layers has been confirmed by direct observation for the first time by scientists at UCL and the Italian Space Agency. The Sun's extremely hot outer layer, the corona, has a very different chemical composition from the cooler inner layers, but the reason for this has puzzled scientists for decades.

A team involving UCL researchers have used electrical pulses to help suppress the tremors typically found in conditions such as Parkinson's disease. In a paper published , the scientists report their new way of suppressing the brain waves underpinning tremors, without the need for invasive techniques.

Professor Mahdad Noursadeghi (UCL Infection & Immunity) and Dr Rishi Gupta (UCL Institute for Global Health) discuss the importance of their new online 4C deterioration model, which is helping NHS doctors identify Covid-19 patients likely to deteriorate. The pandemic continues to pose huge challenges to health services worldwide.

Simple vision tests can predict which people with Parkinson's disease will develop cognitive impairment and possible dementia 18 months later, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The study, published in Movement Disorders , adds to evidence that vision changes precede the cognitive decline that occurs in many, but not all, people with Parkinson's.

A team of scientists at UCL have found that blood tests measuring the hallmark Alzheimer's protein, beta-amyloid (amyloid), could radically reduce the cost of clinical trials and potentially open the door to treating the disease earlier. The findings, published in the journal Brain , suggest that blood tests could be used to recruit people to Alzheimer's drug trials before they start showing any symptoms.