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Research appears to challenge previous studies but some experts call aspects of it ‘misguided’People who are the least fit need to do 30-50 minutes more exercise a week than the fittest to get the same reduction in cardiovascular risk, according to research.Researchers examined data from more than 17,000 British adults taking part in the UK Biobank study. They completed a cycle test to measure their baseline cardiorespiratory fitness (estimated VO2 max) and wore a fitness tracker for a week to record typical exercise levels. Continue reading...

About 36% of children whose parents were detained were younger than six, Brookings Institution study foundMore than 145,000 US children have likely experienced a parent being detained by immigration authorities since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to a new report published by a reputed US thinkthank.The report, released Monday by the Brookings Institution, estimates that about 146,635 children who are US citizens have had a parent detained during the mass deportation campaign the Trump administration embarked on after he retook office in early January. The study further found that of those children, more than 22,000 experienced the detention of all of their co-resident parents. Continue reading...

Closure of local shops and poor public transport leaves households struggling to access healthy and affordable food‘Absolutely beautiful’ but no shops for miles: the Cotswolds’ rural food desertsRural Britain is becoming a “food desert” for lower-income families as the closure of local shops and poor public transport leaves them at disproportionately high risk of hunger and cost of living pressures, new research shows.Over half of households with an annual income of under £40,000 a year living in the countryside struggle to access affordable and healthy food including fresh fruit and vegetables, the Sheffield University study estimates. Continue reading...

Participants who got single dose of psilocybin were more likely to abstain from cocaine than those who got placeboResults from a new clinical trial show that a single dose of psilocybin could be an effective treatment for cocaine addiction.The study, published in Jama Network Open this month, showed that 19 participants who received a single dose of psilocybin were more likely to abstain from cocaine than 17 participants who received a placebo of diphenhydramine, a common antihistamine. Continue reading...

Privilege being mistaken for competence as study reveals no evidence to suggest companies run by state-educated peers underperformChief executives who attended private school are perceived as a “safer bet” by investors, according to a study, despite there being no evidence they perform or behave differently to their state-educated counterparts.Companies run by privately educated bosses tend to experience lower stock market volatility, even though there are no meaningful differences in their performance, decision-making or crisis management, the research from the University of Surrey found. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Doctors say ‘highly concerning’ poll highlights risk to patients of turning to AI for medical adviceOne in seven people are using AI chatbots for health advice instead of seeing their GP, a UK study has found.The poll of more than 2,000 people found that – of the 15% turning to chatbots – one in four had done so because of long NHS waiting lists. Continue reading...

Researchers say rise not inevitable and it is important to unpick what is behind differences in obesity trendsA continuing rise in obesity around the world is not inevitable, research suggests, with rates in some countries levelling off or potentially in decline.Researchers say focusing on what has been described as a global epidemic of obesity hides large variations in trends across different countries, sexes and age groups. Continue reading...

Researchers find 50+ hours a week can be detrimental to health but lighter responsibilities have positive effectThe stresses and strains of caring for someone for 50 hours or more a week leads to “accelerated cognitive decline” in middle-aged and older people, research shows.However, providing care for only five to nine hours a week has the opposite effect, boosting brain health so much that the benefits last until older age. Continue reading...

Research on weight limits of elevators made in UK and Europe 1972-2004 raises concerns over safety and equityLifts are no longer big enough to fit the UK’s larger citizens, according to researchers.A study of maximum capacity in elevators in the UK and mainland Europe found lifts have not kept up with increasing obesity levels, raising concerns about safety and equity. Continue reading...

Countries such as US and Mexico that have longer hours also have higher obesity rates, research findsThose who work longer hours are more likely to be obese and cutting how much time you spend working could help you keep the weight off, research suggests.International research presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul compared working patterns and obesity prevalence for 33 OECD countries from 1990 to 2022. The study found that countries such as the US, Mexico and Colombia, which have longer annual working hours, also had higher obesity rates, even though northern European countries consume more energy and fat on average than those in Latin America. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Until now nothing was known about ‘Jersey’, depicted with naval officer, but research raises hopes he may have won freedomFor hundreds of years, he was known only as “Jersey”, an enslaved boy of about 11 rendered in oil on canvas by the great 18th-century portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds.But now the life of the youngster, believed to be Reynolds’ earliest depiction of a person of colour, has begun to emerge, thanks to a research project. Continue reading...

• A KPMG study indicates Singaporean respondents have grown more reliant on AI tools, leading to positive efficiency improvements. • Usage trends reflect broader adoption in daily tasks, with respondents reporting tangible productivity benefits from AI integration. • The findings underscore Singapore's proactive AI embrace amid national strategies for technological advancement.

Finding would explain why type of stroke affecting about 35,000 a year in UK is not as responsive to some medicationThe cause of a type of stroke that affects about 35,000 people across the UK each year has been uncovered by researchers and may explain why some medications are ineffective as treatment.Lacunar strokes, which account for a quarter of all strokes in the UK, had been linked to the blockage of arteries in the brain by fatty deposits. However, a study published on Wednesday suggests they are not caused by blocked arteries but by the enlargement and widening of arteries in the brain. Continue reading...

Researchers found that TikTok’s For You pages prioritized pro-Republican content in New York, Texas and GeorgiaA study published Wednesday in the journal Nature finds that TikTok’s algorithm systematically prioritized pro-Republican content in three states leading up to the 2024 US elections.Researchers created hundreds of dummy accounts and conditioned them to mimic real users’ behavior by watching a set of videos either aligned with the US Democratic or Republican parties. Then, they tracked the videos TikTok recommended on these accounts’ For You pages, TikTok’s main feed. Continue reading...

Revelation comes after report commissioned by department released in response to charity’s FoI requestThe Ministry of Defence has no system for examining whether UK military action has killed or injured civilians in war, a study commissioned by the department has revealed.The MoD also “does not maintain a central register of civilian harm incidents or allegations” and, despite mass casualties caused by other countries, has concluded there is no need to do so because its existing mitigation is considered effective. Continue reading...

Researchers say findings are not reason to shy away from restrictions as MPs consider ban in England’s schoolsStrict bans on mobile phones in schools have “close to zero” impact on student learning and show no evidence of improvements in attendance or online bullying, a study has found.Researchers at US universities including Stanford and Duke looked at nearly 1,800 US schools where students’ phones were kept in locked pouches and found little or no differences in outcomes compared with similar schools without strict bans. Continue reading...

• A Northwestern University study tracked 130,267 babies born in Georgia in 2017, finding 796 fathers died within five years through 2022, with 60% of deaths preventable. • Preventable causes included homicide (143 deaths), accidental injury (142), suicide (102), and overdose (93), compared to 296 natural cause deaths, disproportionately affecting men in their 20s to early 40s. • Researchers highlight paternal mortality as a neglected crisis tied to parenthood transition, calling it a 'huge, missed opportunity' for intervention.

Reform UK is ‘doing something right when it comes to visibility’ on multiple AI systems, say researchersAI platforms are more likely to reference Nigel Farage than any other UK leader when prompted about British politics, according to an AI search analytics firm.“We are confident in saying that Reform are showing up significantly more than you would expect,” said Malte Landwehr, an expert at Peec AI, the firm that did the research. “So they’re doing something right when it comes to LLM [large language model] visibility.” Continue reading...

Louisiana’s cultural hotspot could be surrounded by Gulf of Mexico before end of this century, authors sayThe process of relocating people from New Orleans should start immediately as the city has reached a “point of no return” that will see it surrounded by the ocean within decades due to the climate crisis, a stark new study has concluded.Ongoing sea level rise and the rampant erosion of wetlands in southern Louisiana will swallow up the New Orleans area within a few generations, with the new paper estimating the city “may well be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this century”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Resistance to equity, diversion and inclusion drives affects hiring chances of people with convictions, says charityMore than a third of HR decision-makers in the UK said they have faced pushback against equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives over the past year, according to new research.The new YouGov poll, carried out for the national employment charity Working Chance, surveyed 565 HR decision-makers and found that resistance towards EDI was on the rise. Continue reading...

People with meniscus tears who underwent surgery had poorer knee function and worse osteoarthritis after 10 years than those who did notA common knee surgery for cartilage damage does not benefit patients and may lead to worse outcomes, a 10-year trial suggests.The study tracked outcomes for patients treated for a meniscus tear, who were given a partial meniscectomy, one of the most common orthopaedic surgeries. Their trajectories were compared with patients who had randomly been assigned to receive “sham surgery”, in which no procedure was carried out. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Cambridge research finds socioenvironmental stressors may influence body’s ability to function healthily in pregnancyStress from racism and deprivation could explain why black women are more likely to die during childbirth, a study has found.Researchers reviewed 44 existing studies that examined three physiological pathways associated with worse pregnancy outcomes: oxidative stress, inflammation, and uteroplacental vascular resistance, and found black women had higher levels of the three metrics. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 839,000 homes in urban areas face threat of surface-water flooding, with social housing tenants most vulnerable to costsEight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost.Research found that 839,000 homes in urban areas are now classed as being at high risk of surface water flooding, a threefold increase since 2018. Continue reading...

Charity says starting specialised care after first miscarriage instead of third reduces risk of future lossesGiving women access to specialised care after their first miscarriage could prevent about 10,000 pregnancy losses a year across the UK, according to a study.Currently, women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for specialist care on the NHS for early baby losses after they have had a minimum of three miscarriages. Continue reading...

Research on maths teaching in English secondary schools upends decades of debate over mixed-ability educationTeaching pupils in classes grouped by ability improves the results of high-flyers but does not affect the progress of less able children, according to a study that upends decades of debate over mixed-ability education.The research by University College London’s Institute of Education found that secondary school pupils in England with previously strong maths performances made slower progress in mixed-attainment classes than when they were taught alongside children with similarly high ability. Continue reading...