Hacker News
- Drug for treating obesity cuts body weight by 20% https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/feb/game-changer-drug-treating-obesity-cuts-body-weight-20 63 comments
- New theory seeks to unite Einstein’s gravity with quantum mechanics https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/dec/new-theory-seeks-unite-einsteins-gravity-quantum-mechanics 314 comments science
- Despite pressures facing young families, parents take precious moments to play with their babies: 4 in 5 primary caregivers of 9-month-old babies reported cuddling, talking and playing with their little one several times a day, in the first national UK study of babies in over 2 decades, led by UCL. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2023/nov/despite-pressures-facing-young-families-parents-take-precious-moments-play-their-babies 44 comments science
- Using digital devices, such as smartphones, could help improve memory skills rather than causing people to become lazy or forgetful https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/aug/using-smartphones-could-help-improve-memory-skills 6 comments technology
- Climate damage caused by growing space tourism needs urgent mitigation. A formidable space tourism industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/jun/climate-damage-caused-growing-space-tourism-needs-urgent-mitigation 118 comments space
- While people tend to have an optimism bias at any age, a study reports that this is particularly true among children, and declines as they grow up into adolescence. As they grow older, children learn more from negative outcomes, lose their hyper-optimism, and become more realistic. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/feb/why-young-children-are-hyper-optimistic 18 comments science
- None of the mutations currently documented in SARS-CoV-2 virus appear to increase its transmissibility in humans. The researchers found that most of the common mutations appear to have been induced by the human immune system, rather than being result of the virus adapting to its novel human host. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/nov/sars-cov-2-mutations-do-not-appear-increase-transmissibility 5 comments science
- The world’s fastest data transmission rate has been achieved by a team of UCL engineers. The research team achieved a data transmission rate of 178 terabits a second (178,000,000 megabits a second) – a speed at which it would be possible to download the entire Netflix library in less than a second. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/aug/ucl-engineers-set-new-world-record-internet-speed 59 comments science
- Fake audio or video content has been ranked by experts as the most worrying use of artificial intelligence in terms of its potential applications for crime or terrorism, according to a new UCL report. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/aug/deepfakes-ranked-most-serious-ai-crime-threat 31 comments science
- Neurological complications of Covid-19 can include delirium, brain inflammation, stroke and nerve damage, finds a new study. The research team identified one rare and sometimes fatal inflammatory condition, known as ADEM, which appears to be increasing in prevalence due to the pandemic. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jul/delirium-rare-brain-inflammation-and-stroke-linked-covid-19 10 comments science
- A third of people in the UK have been enjoying the lockdown. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jun/third-people-report-enjoying-lockdown 5 comments worldnews
- The human brain can recognise a familiar song within 100 to 300 milliseconds, highlighting the deep hold favourite tunes have on our memory. Understanding how the brain recognizes familiar tunes is useful for various music-based therapeutic interventions. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/oct/name-tune-brain-takes-just-100-300-milliseconds-recognise-familiar-music 16 comments science
- China is on track to meet its emissions goals for 2020. Between 2014 and 2017, China’s annual power plant emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide dropped by 65%, 60% and 72% each year respectively from 2.21, 3.11 and 0.52 million tonnes in 2014 to 0.77, 1.26 and 0.14 million tonnes in 2017 https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/oct/china-track-meet-its-ultra-low-emissions-goals-2020 36 comments science
- People who eat dark chocolate less likely to be depressed: Eating dark chocolate may positively affect mood and relieve depressive symptoms, finds a new study looking at whether different types of chocolate are associated with mood disorders. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/aug/people-who-eat-dark-chocolate-less-likely-be-depressed 13 comments worldnews
- Alien species are the main driver of recent extinctions in both animals and plants, according to a new study. Findings show that since 1500, alien species have been solely responsible for 126 extinctions, 13% of the total number studied. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/mar/alien-species-are-primary-cause-recent-global-extinctions 20 comments science
- Widely-used physical health drugs may help treat serious mental illness https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/jan/widely-used-physical-health-drugs-may-help-treat-serious-mental-illness 4 comments science
- Small-brained female guppies aren’t drawn to attractive males https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1018/081018-fish-mating-preferences 7 comments science
- Humans didn't accelerate the decline of the ‘Green Sahara’ and may have managed to hold back the onset of the Sahara desert by around 500 years. Early pastoralists in North Africa possibly developed intricate ways to efficiently manage sparse vegetation and relatively dry and low fertility soils. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0918/011018-green-sahara 9 comments science
- Male mosquitoes listen for approaching females using built-in amplifier - Essentially, what the male mosquito hears isn't actually the female wingbeat itself; rather, it hears this phantom tone that it has created to amplify the sound. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0918/250918-mosquito-hearing 4 comments science
- People in Nordic countries, North America, Australia, and New Zealand have the best spatial navigational abilities, according to a new study of over half a million people in 57 countries. Men performed better than women, but the gender gap narrowed in countries with greater gender equality. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0818/090818-global-navigation-skills 2 comments science
- Decline in working class politicians, shifted Labour towards right wing policy http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0718/300718-decline-in-working-class-politicians 6 comments science
- People with autism are less surprised by the unexpected http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0717/310717-autism-surprise 127 comments science
- Greater capacity to detect sound can give autistic people an advantage. Research has found autistic people are better at detecting a target sound that is hidden amongst other sounds, and notice irrelevant background information more often when listening to a conversation https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0517/030517-process-sound-autism 344 comments science
- Study finds that subtle, unconscious increases in arousal, indicated by a faster heartbeat and dilated pupils, shape our confidence for visual experiences. Findings raise the possibility that patients suffering from depression and anxiety might perceive an unrealistically certain or uncertain world. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1016/251016-arousal-perception 12 comments science
- Known as flux ropes or “flux transfer events” (FTEs) this twisted magnetic field structure, previously never seen before at Saturn, has now been detected for the first time. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/mathematical-physical-sciences/maps-news-publication/saturn-sun-magnetic-rope 18 comments science
- PLOS Science Wednesday: Hi reddit, we’re Mahdad, Lucy and Gabriele. We found several different effects of HIV-1 infection on anti-TB immune response, presenting new implications for treating patients with TB and HIV infections – Ask Us Anything! http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ 130 comments science
- Researchers have identified four genes with the primary purpose of dictating the width and shape -- or "pointiness" -- of the human nose. The researchers say the genes explain differences in size and shape of noses among different human populations. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0516/190516-nose-shape 7 comments science
- Using an “image stacking and matching technique” called Super-Resolution Restoration (SRR), UCL scientists have developed a technique to achieve 5cm resolution (the "equivalent of drone-eye vision") by processing stacks of 25cm resolution images taken from HiRISE in Mars orbit. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0416/260416-mars-images 11 comments science
- Following orders makes us feel less responsible for our actions https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0216/180216-following-orders-reduces-responsibility 3 comments science
- Has anyone had experience with moving from UK to US for graduate study? http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maths/courses/undergraduates/ 3 comments math
- "The memory and walking speeds of adults who have lost all of their teeth decline more rapidly than in those who still have some of their own teeth, finds new UCL research." http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1214/191214-tooth-loss 53 comments science
- "Researchers from UCL, University of Southampton and Cambridge University together with ESA and NASA have uncovered the origin of a colourful display in the night sky called 'theta aurora', explaining for the first time how auroras at high-latitudes form." http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1214/191214-aurora 3 comments science
- Leisure time physical activity linked to lower depression risk: Being physically active three times a week reduces the odds of being depressed by approximately 16%, according to new UCL research undertaken as part of the Public Health Research Consortium. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1014/151014-physical-activity-depression 27 comments science
- Mathematical beauty activates same brain region as great art or music http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0214/13022014-mathematical-beauty-activates-same-brain-region-as-great-art-zeki 324 comments science
- "A global map detailing the genetic histories of 95 different populations across the world, showing likely genetic impacts of European colonialism, the Arab slave trade, the Mongol Empire and European traders near the Silk Road mixing with people in China, has been revealed for the first time." http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0214/14022014-interactive-map-human-genetic-history 6 comments worldnews
- Scientists at UCL May Have Uncovered What Causes Cancer to Spread http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0613/130517-chase-and-run-cell-movement-explains-metastasis 85 comments science
- 'Inattention blindness' due to brain load. When processing task information under high load, the visual cortex - the brain region that normally responds to one's visual environment - ceases to respond to unattended information. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1207/17072012-inattention-blindness-due-to-brain-load-lavie 27 comments science
- Chomsky at UCL on the Poverty of the Stimulus http://www.ucl.ac.uk/psychlangsci/research/linguistics/news-events/latest-news/n_chomsky 14 comments linguistics
- Philosophy of Mathematics - Reading Suggestions? http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/LPSG/Ch22.pdf 8 comments math
- Heavy ketamine use affects short-term memory http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0911/09111701 17 comments science