UCL in the media
Marathon novices are the big winners
Slower runners gain the biggest health benefit from training for a marathon, cutting their lifetime risk of a stroke by a tenth, according to a study presented by Dr Anish Bhuva (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science) at the European Society of Cardiology.
Science of laughter
Professor Sophie Scott (UCL Cognitive Neuroscience) talks about her research into laughter. The programme broadcasts clips from her UCL Culture Performance Lab show at the Bloomsbury Theatre.
SpaceX launches satellites for planet-wide internet access
Professor Mark Handley (UCL Computer Science) comments on SpaceX’s Starlink project, which aims to provide internet access everywhere on the planet, and suggests that a lucrative market for the project would be financial traders.
The role of the state in creating value
In a profile interview, Professor Mariana Mazzucato (UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose) describes how the best public policies co-create and co-shape markets, rather than simply try to fix market failures.
‘Tardis’ phone boxes connect children to games of the past
Specially adapted phone boxes developed by Professor Andrew Burns (UCL Institute of Education) and the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) allow children to listen to games and songs from the past using the archive of folklorists Peter and Iona Opie.
Climate change is helping to spread deadly frog disease
Climate change has already increased the spread and severity of a fatal viral disease that infects common frogs in UK ponds, according to a study led by Dr Stephen Price (UCL Genetics Institute).
The influence of anti-vaccination messages
Professor Helen Bedford (UCL Institute of Child Health) describes her study that found as many as 59 per cent of mothers and fathers under 25 may be swayed by anti-vaccination propaganda - as media cover the story of a mother whose baby almost died from measles.
Inside the world of DIY cryonics
Professor Barry Fuller (UCL Surgical Biotechnology) expresses scepticism about cryonics, the body-freezing technology that some people – not just billionaires – hope will keep them alive for ever.
Long-haul flights ‘powered by household waste’
Household waste could be turned into jet fuel to power long-haul flights, according to a study led by Dr Massimiliano Materazzi (UCL Chemical Engineering) which won the top prize in British Airways’ Sustainable Aviation Fuels Academic Challenge.
Statins’ potential to treat MS unrelated to lowering cholesterol
A widely prescribed drug, simvastatin, can help patients with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis - for reasons that might be unrelated to the drug’s intended cholesterol lowering affects, finds a study led by Dr Arman Eshaghi (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology).