UCL in the media
The London Olympics, 10 years on
“The legacy [of the London Olympics] has been disappointing. It’s been delivered in a very top-down way and there’s scope for working more closely with local communities in order to make the legacy work,” said Professor Penny Bernstock (UCL Institute for Global Prosperity).
Monkeypox different than most sexually transmitted diseases
Though monkeypox infections seem to be spread through sexual contact, it’s unusual as it only seems to be infectious for two to four weeks, rather than for decades as with most STDs said Professor Francis Balloux (UCL Biosciences).
Listing London’s ‘Ugliest Building’
Dr David Roberts (UCL Bartlett School of Architecture) co-led the campaign in 2012 to get East London’s Balfrom Tower named as a Grade II* listed building.
Electronic cars critical to fighting climate change
“It’s unlikely there will be enough behavioural change. We are unlikely to get many people out of their cars onto bikes. If we want to decarbonise, we are going to be reliant on technology,” said Professor David Metz (UCL Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering).
Limited alcohol consumption seemingly not harmful
“One cannot now say any amount of alcohol is harmful in the same way as one can say any amount of smoking is harmful. One need not feel that the only safe alcohol intake is zero,” said Professor Nicholas Wald (UCL Institute of Health Informatics).
Conservative leaders’ immigration plans unlikely to work
Professor Brad Blitz (IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society) said that plans to reduce immigration and refugee numbers to the UK are unlikely to work without identifying the underlying reasons why people are leaving their homes in the first place.
No big difference in Covid variant transmissibility
"At this stage now, I think all these variants actually are roughly equally transmissible… It’s just some are slightly better at infecting people who have been vaccinated or infected by previous variants," said Professor Francis Balloux (UCL Biosciences).
Covid-era teachers need continued support
“Those who have become teachers during the pandemic period have made an important contribution to the learning and lives of young people in their school communities,” said Dr Elizabeth Rushton (IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society).
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Russia ‘making it up as they go along’ in Ukraine
The difficulties Russia is facing in Ukraine shows that "they had a crazy plan, and then it didn't work out, and then they had to adjust," said Dr Aglaya Snetkov (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies).
NHS recommended ‘dipstick test’ for UTIs is inaccurate
“The dipstick test is abysmal. It picks up an infection around 50 per cent of the time. You might as well flip a coin to decide,” said Professor Jennifer Rohn (UCL Medicine).