- Tantrums in children could be linked to ADHD: Preschool children who struggle to control their emotions and behaviour have more symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – known as ADHD - at age seven, a study suggests. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2024/tantrums-in-children-could-be-linked-to-adhd 3 comments science
- In low-sunlight locations, exposure to higher levels of UV radiation found in sunlight was linked to a drop in deaths due to cardiovascular disease and cancer. The health benefits of spending time in the sun could outweigh the risks for those living in areas with limited sunshine. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2024/uv-rays-may-boost-health-in-low-sunlight-countries 7 comments science
- Ice melt barriers disappearing by the double: Undersea anchors of ice that help prevent Antarctica’s land ice from slipping into the ocean are shrinking at more than twice the rate compared with 50 years ago, research shows. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2024/barriers-against-antarctic-ice-melt-disappearing-a 15 comments science
- AI algorithms find drugs that could combat ageing https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2023/ai-algorithms-find-drugs-that-could-combat-ageing 17 comments artificial
- Influencers on social media have contributed to an uptake of people using cosmetic procedures to enhance their appearance, research suggests https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/social-media-aids-quest-for-beauty-perfection 104 comments science
- Huge Amazon swamp carbon stores under threat. Scientists discovered small but growing areas of deforestation across the LPA, including an 11-fold increase in CO2 emissions linked to mining, between 2000 and 2016. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/huge-amazon-swamp-carbon-stores-under-threat-study 5 comments science
- Asymptomatic viral infections in the first days and weeks of a baby’s life are associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections later in life, research suggests. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2022/first-virus-infection-linked-with-infections-later 2 comments science
- People who eat a Mediterranean-style diet--particularly one rich in green leafy vegetables and low in meat--are more likely to stay mentally sharp in later life. The findings accounted for childhood IQ, smoking, physical activity and health factors. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2021/mediterranean-diet-linked-to-thinking-skills 560 comments science
- A greater exposure to air pollution at the very start of life was associated with a detrimental effect on people’s cognitive skills up to 60 years later, the research found. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2021/air-pollution-poses-risk-to-thinking-skills 3 comments science
- Nylon manufacture could be revolutionised by the discovery that bacteria can make a key chemical involved in the process, without emitting harmful greenhouse gases. Modified E. coli bacteria transformed the guaiacol into adipic acid, without producing nitrous oxide. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2020/sustainable-nylon-production-made-possible-by-bact 7 comments science
- Study using genetic data from more than a million people suggests that maintaining healthy levels of iron in the blood could be a key to ageing better and living longer: Genes that could help explain why some people age at different rates to others have been identified by scientists https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2020/blood-iron-levels-could-be-key-to-slowing-ageing 3 comments science
- People who play games – such as cards and board games – are more likely to stay mentally sharp in later life, suggests new study (n=1,091), which found that those who regularly played non-digital games scored better on memory and thinking tests in their 70s. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/games-can-protect-thinking-skills-in-older-age?t=au 411 comments science
- Playing board games may be associated with reduced declines in cognitive function according to a 68-year longitudinal study of 1091 individuals in Scotland. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/games-can-protect-thinking-skills-in-older-age 5 comments science
- A quarter of the world’s tropical land could disappear by the end of the century unless meat and dairy consumption falls. If the global demand for animal products continues to grow, large swathes of natural land will vanish potentially leading to widespread loss of species and their habitats. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/diet-change-needed-to-save-vast-areas-of-tropics 68 comments science
- Research has found reducing food waste, tweaking diets and improving the efficiency of food production – could together reduce the amount of land required to feed the planet by at least 21 per cent. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/cycling-success-may-hold-key-to-land-savings 26 comments worldnews
- Extreme erosion of Arctic coastlines in a changing climate - up to a metre a day - has been revealed with drone surveys. Storms in the Canadian Arctic are washing away increasing amounts of coastal permafrost - frozen ground - which is exposed when sea ice melts during the summer. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/arctic-coast-erosion-revealed-by-drone-images 3 comments science
- Scientists have uncovered a process in cells that prevents DNA from becoming tangled, which resembles a method used to control climbers' ropes. The findings help explain how about 2 meters of DNA can be neatly packaged in each of our cells. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/dna-managed-like-climbing-rope-to-avoid-knots 7 comments science
- DNA may predict potential lifespan, study finds - Scientists say they can predict whether a person can expect to live longer or die sooner than average, by looking at their DNA, based on genetic data from more than half a million people. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/dna-may-predict-potential-lifespan-study-finds 5 comments science
- As far back as 40,000 years ago, humans kept track of time using relatively sophisticated knowledge of the stars, new research shows. The animal symbols represent star constellations in the night sky, and are used to represent dates and mark events such as comet strikes, analysis suggests. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/cave-paintings-reveal-use-of-complex-astronomy 4 comments science
- Dandelion seeds use a novel form of flight so far not found anywhere else in nature. Researchers think lightweight drones could be modeled after dandelion seeds and used to monitor pollution. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/dandelions-reveal-newly-found-form-of-flight 3 comments science
- Baby talk words build language skills: Assessments of nine-month-old children suggest that those who hear words such as bunny or choo-choo more frequently are faster at picking up new words between nine and 21 months https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/baby-talk-words-build-language-skills 12 comments linguistics
- Inbreeding makes animals more vulnerable to environmental changes. Study finds inbred beetles made poorer decisions as environmental factors changed. Findings could inform conservation programs and aid the understanding of wild animals where shrinking populations raise the likelihood of inbreeding. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/inbred-animals-at-risk-from-environmental-change 4 comments science
- Paleontologists have recovered a Jurassic fossil tail they believe is the missing link between two halves of the ancient crocodile family. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2018/jurassic-fossil-missing-link-crocodile-family-tree 30 comments science
- A 530-million-year-old fossil contains what could be the oldest eye ever discovered, a study reveals: The remains of an extinct sea creature include an early form of the eye seen in many of today’s animals, including crabs, bees and dragonflies, researchers say https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/530m-year-old-fossil-eye-could-be-world-s-oldest 3 comments science
- Life on our planet might have originated from biological particles brought to Earth in streams of space dust. Fast-moving flows of interplanetary dust that continually bombard our planet’s atmosphere could deliver tiny organisms from far-off worlds, or send Earth-based organisms to other planets https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/space-dust-may-transport-life-between-worlds 36 comments science
- Learning and staying in shape key to longer lifespan. People who are overweight cut their life expectancy by two months for every extra kilogramme of weight they carry. Education leads to a longer life, with almost a year added for each year spent studying beyond school - Nature Communications. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/learning-and-staying-in-shape-key-to-longer-lifesp 7 comments science
- They say that oil and water do not mix … but now scientists have discovered that – under certain circumstances – it may be possible. Some oily molecules – which normally repel water – can be forced to dissolve in water when the two substances are squeezed together under extreme pressure. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/oil-and-water-may-mix-under-extreme-pressure 71 comments science
- Replacing half of the meat eaten worldwide with crickets and mealworms would cut farmland use by a third, substantially reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, researchers say. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/edible-insects-could-cut-harmful-emissions 58 comments science
- Ancient stone carvings confirm that a comet struck the Earth around 11,000BC, a devastating event which wiped out wooly mammoths and sparked the rise of civilisations. The markings suggest that a swarm of comet fragments hit Earth at the exact same time that a mini-ice age struck http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/ancient-stone-confirms-date-of-comet-strike 81 comments science
- First-born children’s thinking skills outperform their siblings because they receive more mental stimulation from their parents in their early years, research suggests. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/first-borns-have-mental-edge-study-shows 17 comments science
- Climate change threatens North Atlantic deep sea coral populations http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2016/deep-sea-coral-faces-climate-change-threat 4 comments science
- Cannabis excess linked to bone thinning: People who regularly smoke large amounts of cannabis have reduced bone density and are more prone to fractures, research has found. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2016/cannabis-excess-linked-to-bone-thinning 83 comments science
- Distant world’s weather is mixed bag of hot dust and molten rain: Weather patterns in a mysterious world beyond our solar system have been revealed for the first time, a study suggests http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/distantworld-031115 5 comments science
- Sun not a key driver of climate change: Climate change has not been strongly influenced by variations in heat from the sun, a new scientific study shows http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/sun-221213 113 comments science
- High unemployment benefits do not lead to people becoming lazy and satisfied with their jobless status, a Europe-wide study suggests. http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/unemployment-191113 10 comments europe
- Unemployed in Germany lead the European Union in unhappiness compared to their peers http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/unemployment-191113 26 comments germany
- Benefits do not make jobless lazy http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/unemployment-191113 390 comments science
- Reccomendation: Edinburgh Informatics MSc. Research vs MPhil http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/informatics/postgraduate/research-degrees! 3 comments compsci
- Peter Higgs, from The University of Edinburgh, to be webcast on the 6th July at 10:30 http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/higgs-060712 24 comments science
- Gene study sheds new light on origins of British men http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/all-news/ancestry-240811 3 comments science