UCL in the media
Push to prevent Prime Ministers from handing out honours
Labour and the Conservatives must stop doling out honours to friends and allies, according to a senior group of politicians, judges and academics including Professor Meg Russell and Professor Robert Hazell (both UCL Political Science).
Leading scientist joins calls for Covid convictions amnesty
“Wiping the slate clean would be a proper acknowledgement that a public health crisis calls for public health responses that elude politicisation or criminalisation," says Professor Karl Friston (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology).
Private schools hit by VAT on fees could join state sector
“I think private schools are worrying unnecessarily about VAT because I don’t think the demand will fall off to the extent they say. There will be a small number of closures," believes Professor Francis Green (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society).
Inside the weight-loss drug black market
Lecturer Oksana Pyzik (UCL School of Pharmacy), founder of Fight the Fakes, says that counterfeit drugs, such as knock-off Ozempic, are too readily available on social media and there needs to be more regulation.
Labour to delay VAT on private school fees until 2025
It makes “no sense” for Labour to try to implement the VAT change immediately because it would need to be fully worked through, argues Professor John Jerrim (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society).
UK at risk of new Covid summer wave as hospitalisations jump
A new wave of COVID-19 infections this summer was likely driven by "a combination of waning immunity and the growth of the KP.2 coronavirus variant," says Professor Christina Pagel (UCL Mathematics).
Poll reveals Americans' fears about AI
Commenting on a new poll that suggests almost half of Americans fear Artificial Intelligence could attack humanity one day, Professor Mutlu Cukurova (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society) says he disagrees with the notion that computers are more intelligent than people.
Gene therapy may cure rare diseases but drugmakers have few incentives
"This is a massive challenge and I'm not entirely sure we're going to be able to overcome it, but we have to give it a go because we've spent decades making these transformative treatments," outlines Professor Claire Booth (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health).
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Study claims homosexual behaviour amongst wild animals is underreported by biologists
Professor Volker Sommer's (UCL Anthropology) book titled: 'Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective' is quoted in a Daily Mail article describing a study that suggests homosexual behaviour occurs "more frequently than what is available in published record".
Parents face confusion under Labour’s Ofsted plan
“Different schools have been judged on different frameworks. There are graded and ungraded inspections. Although at face value they seem to be comparable, they’re not really," explains Professor John Jerrim (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society).