UCL in the media
Amazon faces EU competition probe
As the EU investigates whether Amazon uses data from independent retailers unfairly, Professor Ioannis Lianos (UCL Laws) suggests the body may take a tough approach to set a precedent for other companies offering a marketplace while competing with their own products.
Electrode chip restores sight to six blind people
Six people have regained their sight after surgeons planted an electrode chip sending images directly to their brain. Dr Alex Shortt (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) calls it a “paradigm shift” while Professor Glen Jeffery (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology) points out limitations.
A layer of ‘aerogel’ could make Mars habitable – but let’s wait
Professor Andrew Coates (UCL Space & Climate Physics) describes how a 2-3cm layer of aerogel could make Mars warmer and less vulnerable to harmful radiation – but to do so would disturb a pristine environment billions of years in the making.
Healthy lifestyle reduces dementia risk regardless of genes
Professor Gill Livingston (UCL Psychiatry) stresses the importance of a new study whose message is that a healthy lifestyle reduces dementia risk "no matter what your genes are". Professor David Curtis (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment) points to one of its limitations.
Why increasing the minimum wage benefits society
Research co-authored by Dr Attila Lindner (UCL Economics) analysing 130 minimum wage increases suggests that low-paid jobs lost after the introduction of a minimum wage are fully offset by new jobs paying just over the threshold.
Government should support schools’ inclusive LGBT+ teaching
The government should do more to support schools in promoting equality and acceptance for protected groups, including the LGBT+ community, says an open letter signed by Professor Becky Francis (UCL Institute of Education).
Interpreting Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Dr Peter Zusi (UCL Slavonic & East European Studies) discusses Franz Kafka’s famous short story about a man who transforms into a bug and thinks the author is "deliberately ambiguous" about the creature's appearance to make it almost impossible for the reader to visualise it.
Does Britain need a ‘Twitter attache’?
Britain should step up its social media presence if it wants to preserve the so-called ‘special relationship’ with the United States. Professor Kathleen Burk (UCL History) suggests creating a new diplomatic role of Twitter attache might help enhance diplomatic relations.
Are we related to newly-discovered earliest humans?
Professor Mark Thomas (UCL Genetics, Evolution & Environment) discusses why it is hard to prove whether or not the small population of early humans who left Africa before the great migration, 100,000 years ago, then went on to “contribute to people alive today”.
Pairing drugs for breast and lung cancer could overcome treatment resistance
Combining two drugs for breast and lung cancer could overcome treatment resistance in several different types of tumour, according to a study co-led by Professor Sibylle Mittnacht (UCL Cancer Institute).