UCL in the media
Forget the age-old smoker's cough, now doctors are seeing patients with 'vaper's cough' (and it can sound very different!)
Professor Lion Shahab (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care) said: 'developing a cough is a normal response to stopping smoking as the cilia in the lungs recover and become functional again.’ 'So, if a smoker switches to vaping, something similar may be going on.'
Nigerian Pastor; Muslim Drag Queen; Humanism
Professor Nichola Raihani (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) explores what it means to her to be Humanist. She said: ‘Humans have evolved to be an inordinately cooperative species’.
Women should give up vaping if they want to get pregnant, study suggests
Dr Helen O’Neill (UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health) said: ‘Most people are not aware of any link between lifestyle vices and fertility. But it’s important people understand there is so much that can be done to increase your chance of having family’.
Read: The Guardian; More: The Telegraph (£), Daily Mail, Evening Standard, The Times (£)
Thinking doesn't have to feel so hard
Dr Matthew Botvinick (UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit) explained most people don't contemplate whether or not to make coffee in the morning. They just go ahead and brew a cup because it's part of their routine.
'Planet Nine' hypothesis gets new boost
Professor Andrew Coates (UCL Space & Climate Physics) said: 'This is an interesting new study providing possible further evidence for a Planet Nine, based on the orbital dynamics of several long-period objects orbiting the sun at large distances beyond Neptune.’
The best new books on economics
Dr Brian Klaas (UCL European & International Social & Political Studies) is profiled in the best new books on economics with his new book ‘Fluke’.
Second global AI safety summit faces tough questions, lower turnout
Professor Jack Stilgoe (UCL Science and Technology Studies) warns against pinning the future of AI on scientific breakthroughs and lucrative financing efforts. He said: “The failure of the technology to live up to the hype is inevitable”
Read: Hindustan Times; More: Reuters, Daily Mail, US News & World Report, Decan Herald
Wes Streeting says Labour is better prepared than it was in 1997
“The next Government can super-charge this revolution in health care by supporting the technology transfer process with targeted support to accelerate great ideas from our universities to have real impact where they are needed most," says Dr Anne Lane (UCL Business).
Four solar flares erupt from the sun at the same time
A likely explanation for a 'super-sympathetic' solar flare event - where simultaneous solar flares erupt from the sun at the same time - is that one flare triggers a disturbance that travels through the solar corona, says Dr Daniel Verscharen (UCL Space & Climate Physics).
Why the experts don’t pay for branded medication
While there can be small differences between generic and name-brand medications, Dr Sara Garfield (UCL School of Pharmacy) explains that the most important thing is the active ingredient.