UCL News
News/media from UCL (University College London), updated by UCL Media Relations. Follow @ucl.ac.uk for highlights of UCL life.
ucl.ac.uk/news/
- UCL has joined the DREAMS consortium - a major @horizoneu.bsky.social funded collaboration using AI, cutting edge lab techniques and stem cell research to speed up the discovery of therapies for rare neuromuscular disorders #UCLEurope www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- Professor Niall McLaughlin @thebartlettucl.bsky.social has received the 2026 Royal Gold Medal for architecture, awarded by @the-riba.bsky.social on behalf of His Majesty the King - the highest honour for lifetime achievement in the field.
- Renowned artist Professor Dame Sonia Boyce RA will create a lasting testament to UCL’s past, present and future, as a special public art programme for #UCL200 is announced. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- Memory dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease may be linked to impairment in how the brain replays our recent experiences while we are resting, according to a new study in mice led by Dr Sarah Shipley @shipleysj.bsky.social and Prof Caswell Barry @caswell.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
- Congratulations to Prof Dame Celia Hoyles @ioe.bsky.social, Prof Elinor Jones and Prof Helen Wilson @uclmaps.bsky.social on being elected inaugural Fellows of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences, in recognition of their exceptional work in education and for leading in their fields.
- New research has revealed how Parkinson’s spreads from the gut to the brain, with the help of immune cells – offering a new potential therapeutic strategy – in a study in mice co-led by Dr @soyonhonglab.bsky.social & Dr Tim Bartels @ukdri.ac.uk @uclqsion.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social
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- "We believe it will bring huge benefits to a profoundly underserved community": Prof Nick Fox @uclqsion.bsky.social discusses plans to open a new rare dementia support centre this year, in an article explaining the symptoms of rare dementias and why people affected often feel isolated
- An AI startup co-founded by @uclmaps.bsky.social graduates Marc Warner and Angie Ma has been bought by professional services company Accenture in a deal worth a reported $1 billion (£746 million) – the largest takeover ever of a British privately held AI startup.
- 🔊"I think it is really exciting to see young people interested in analogue. And I've even heard of teenagers who have asked their parents to install a landline again!" Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, UCL Information Studies, speaks to The One Show about the growing trend of people choosing analogue hobbies.
- Clinical practices to dispose of pregnancy remains following an early-stage miscarriage appear at odds with some patient wishes and are not conducive to inclusive care, study finds. Medical anthropologist Prof Susie Kilshaw, spoke to Woman's Hour about what she found. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
- People who have ADHD traits at age 10 are more likely than those without such traits to have physical health problems and to report physical health-related disability at age 46, according to a new study co-led by Prof Joshua Stott @uclpals.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social with Dr Amber John
- During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean’s powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern Hemisphere, finds research led Dr Jack Wharton @uclgeography.bsky.social
- Over 1 million people are estimated to currently have glaucoma in the UK, a figure projected to reach more than 1.6 million by 2060, largely due to the ageing population, according to a study led by Prof Paul Foster @ucleye.bsky.social @moorfieldsbrc.bsky.social
- Congratulations to Dr Veeru Kasivisvanathan @uclmedsci.bsky.social who has been awarded the prestigious Society of Apothecaries’ 2026 William Farr Medal in recognition of his research advancing prostate cancer care globally www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- A major international research project involving @uclqsion.bsky.social scientists is underway to test whether a finger prick-style blood test could be used to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease, even before symptoms begin @ukdri.ac.uk @lifearc.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social
- An AI-powered life science district in central London, modelled on Boston's Kendall Square, could add £3.5bn to the UK economy and create 20,000 life science jobs by 2035, finds a new analysis from @ucl.ac.uk and Public First.
- A mysterious bar-shaped cloud of iron has been discovered inside the Ring Nebula by a European team led by Dr Roger Wesson and Prof Janet Drew @uclmaps.bsky.social @cardiffuni.bsky.social, using data from a new instrument on the William Herschel Telescope www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- How the arts can save your life: Professor Daisy Fancourt @ucliehc.bsky.social @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social, author of #ArtCure, offers five tips for making 2026 happier and healthier www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
- Teachers need to be adequately trained and equipped to confidently deliver sex and reproductive health education so pupils can make informed choices in the future, according to research by @ucl.ac.uk Prof Joyce Harper @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social and Prof Michael Reiss @ioe.bsky.social
- Women and people with anxiety are both prone to low confidence in their own abilities, but a new study by Dr @sucharit.bsky.social and Prof @smfleming.bsky.social @uclpals.bsky.social @uclbrainscience.bsky.social has found that the two groups are prone to two distinct types of underconfidence
- A new study demonstrates the effectiveness of a widely-used eye injection to manage the previously untreatable rare condition, hypotony (abnormally low eye pressure), in a project by researchers at @ucleye.bsky.social, @moorfields.bsky.social, @uclengineering.bsky.social and @uclmedsci.bsky.social
- New guidance on children's screen exposure was informed by research from @clscohorts.bsky.social. @ioe.bsky.social researchers found 2 year olds in England watch TV, videos or digital content for an average of 2hrs per day, double the daily recommendation. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- Congratulations to Professor Raman Prinja @uclmaps.bsky.social who has been awarded the Ian Robson Lifetime Achievement Award from the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social for his outstanding contributions to public engagement, academic leadership, astronomy education and research
- Potentially more than 90% of Alzheimer’s disease cases would not occur without the contribution of a single gene (APOE), according to a new analysis led by Dr Dylan Williams @dylwil.bsky.social highlighting a powerful drug development target @uclpsychiatry.bsky.social @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social
- Seaweed on the UK's 7,000 miles of coast holds great potential benefits for the economy and the environment – a network involving @uclengineering.bsky.social, launched at the UK Parliament, aims to help unlock this potential, tackling barriers such as complex regulation www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ja...
- People prescribed the new generation of weight loss drugs may not get the nutritional guidance they need for safe and sustainable weight loss, leaving them vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies and muscle loss, say experts led by Dr Adrian Brown @arrdept-ucldom.bsky.social @uclmedsci.bsky.social
- About 1.6 million adults in England, Wales and Scotland used drugs such as Mounjaro to help lose weight between early 2024 and early 2025, with another 3.3 million interested in doing so in the near future, finds a new study led by @drsarahejackson.bsky.social @ucliehc.bsky.social
- "These viruses have been co-evolving with human populations for well over 2,000 years, underscoring a deep, ongoing shared history between virus and host”: Dr @lucyvandorp.bsky.social on her ancient DNA analysis of human herpes viruses @ugiatucl.bsky.social @ucllifesciences.bsky.social
- Brewing waste produced in the beer making process can be used to make an edible scaffold for cultivated (lab-grown) meat, providing a more sustainable, cost-effective alternative to current methods, suggests research led by Prof Richard Day and PhD student Christian Harrison @uclmedsci.bsky.social
- Artificial intelligence, using a blood test combined with brain images, has for the first time been able to identify two biologically distinct types of multiple sclerosis (MS), in research led by Dr @armaneshaghi.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social and @uclb.bsky.social spinout Queen Square Analytics
- UCL will be at the forefront of running a new @nihr.bsky.social-funded £14m research partnership to develop novel brain tumour treatments in the UK. The partnership, involving 48 organisations, will be co-led by Professor Darren Hargrave from @uclchildhealth.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- A major new research centre, led by Professor Max Parmar @mrcctu.bsky.social @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social, will seek to improve how clinical trials are run, cutting years off the time it takes to bring life-saving treatments to patients. The centre will receive £50m from government over 14 years
- 📚This week marks 250 years since the birth of #JaneAusten. Prof John Mullan, Professor of English Literature at @artshumsucl.bsky.social and leading Austen expert, offers his insights and opinions on the great English novelist. 📻BBC Radio 4 Front Row - www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
- The failure of governments to agree with leading scientists on a major United Nations’ report “risks impeding timely action on environmental goals”, write Prof Catalina Turcu @thebartlettucl.bsky.social and Prof Gail Taylor @ucllifesciences.bsky.social in a new Nature Sustainability article.
- The identity of a Roman-era individual found in southern England has finally been resolved after scientists at UCL and @nhm-london.bsky.social led by @andyjmwalton.bsky.social & Dr @selinabrace.bsky.social were able to sequence high quality DNA from her skeletal remains www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- A policy to provide universal #freeschoolmeals to all primary school pupils in London has delivered wide ranging benefits, despite having a limited effect on academic attainment, concludes a new report commissioned by @theeef.bsky.social and led by @ioe.bsky.social. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- Use of nicotine pouches has risen sharply in Great Britain over the last five years, particularly among young men, with one in 13 (7.5%) men aged 16 to 24 now using them, finds a new study led by Dr Harry Tattan-Birch @ucliehc.bsky.social @uclpophealthsci.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- Children living in damp and overcrowded homes missed three weeks more of school over the course of compulsory education than their peers in better-quality housing, finds a new study by Dr Gergo Baranyi @clscohorts.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- 🖋️"Where many institutions are perceived to be fractured or in decline, universities stand out: globally respected yet deeply embedded in their communities." Dr Michael Spence explores @uclpolicylab.bsky.social @moreincommonuk.bsky.social polling into the public's view of the role of universities.
- A new UK-led research group, including @ucl.ac.uk's Prof Lucy Wedderburn (@uclchildhealth.bsky.social), Prof Coziana Ciurtin & Dr Polly Livermore, aims to improve arthritis care by defining for the first time what remission truly means. Funded by £3m from Arthritis UK www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- 🎖️Biologist and science educator Dr Sue Dale Tunnicliffe @cpaucl.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social has been awarded Antigua and Barbuda’s Faithful and Meritorious Service Cross for her Distinguished Service to Science Development. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- Six particular depressive symptoms when experienced in midlife predict dementia risk more than two decades later, finds a new study led by Dr @philippfrank.bsky.social @uclpsychiatry.bsky.social @whitehall2study.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
- Research by Dr @yanghu.co.uk @sriucl.bsky.social finds concern around technology's impact on privacy, misinformation and work-life boundaries are highest among educated, Western European millennials. In fact, greater use of technology heightens digital anxiety, especially for the digitally literate.
- The UCL Map Library is a unique collection of maps, charts and atlases, assembled throughout the twentieth century, and its significance is only now being widely recognised because of the efforts of Professor James Cheshire @uclgeography.bsky.social
- Most US cities have rings of isolation in suburban areas and segregated pockets of near the urban core, shaped by race, wealth, and proximity to downtown, finds a new study of 383 American cities, led by Andrew Renninger @casaucl.bsky.social @thebartlettucl.bsky.social
- 21% of teachers persist with synthetic phonics, even when it doesn't work for their pupils, finds Prof Dominic Wyse @hhcp-ucl.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social. More flexible approaches based on motivation for reading and writing are needed to help improve England’s reading standards.
- Teenagers who are unhappy with their bodies are more likely to develop symptoms of eating disorders and depression in early adulthood, according to a new study led by UCL researchers by Ilaria Costantini and @francescasolmi.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/de...
