UCL in the media
Ageing and evolution
“There’s no point building a body that can live for 300 years if on average you’re going to get taken by a sabretooth tiger by 30,” said Professor Dame Linda Partridge (UCL Biosciences) describing natural selection’s influence on aging.
Georgia Senate election not about who’s running
"What the [Georgia Senate] election reflects, like so many races across the country, is that voting is only nominally about the actual candidates on the ballot. Instead, it's almost purely about Republican vs. Democrat," said Dr Thomas Gift (UCL Political Science).
Children’s nurseries are big business
“The complex financial structures of these [children’s nursery] companies involve foreign investors and shareholders, which are used, alongside public money, to expand their market share,” said Antonia Simon (IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society).
Serious cases of Strep A cases in children cause concern
“There are more cases nationally and that will be due to lack of exposure during the lockdown. That is not to say they have weaker immunity… but there is a lack of ‘experience’ of that particular bug,” said Professor Alastair Sutcliffe (UCL GOS Institute of Child Health).
What role for a Government Integrity Advisor?
“The government repeatedly committed itself to appointing a new independent adviser on ministerial interests, but… the government still has not confirmed whether the new appointee will have any new powers,” writes Professor Meg Russell (UCL Constitution Unit).
Broadening the appeal of geomorphology
“Geomorphology, which is the study of relief, requires, for example, going out into the field and doing physical sampling work, which may explain why the discipline is occupied by men… But women can see that this is not out of their reach,” said Awa Bousso Dramé (UCL Geography).
How to grow space food
UCL Professor Steve Miller (UCL Science & Technology Studies) describes the many challenges, ranging from resources to radiation, facing astronauts who might want to grow plants to eat on the moon or elsewhere in the cosmos.
How widely will the new Alzheimer’s drug be used?
“I suspect that the lack of demonstrable clinical effectiveness will mean that lecanemab will not be taken up widely within healthcare systems around the world,” said Professor Robert Howard (UCL Psychiatry) about a newly developed drug against Alzheimer’s disease.
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The genetic age of a frozen embryo
Dr Zeynep Gurtin (UCL EGA Institute for Women’s Health) describes the importance of families sharing the “genetic age” of a child if they’re conceived from an embryo frozen for a significant amount of time.
Smartphones can be used as helpful memory prompts
Dr Sam Gilbert (UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience) discusses his research which showed how using digital tech, like smartphones and reminder apps, could help improve memory skills and free up brain space to focus on other thoughts.