Human beings are highly efficient at recognising familiar faces, even from very poor quality images.

Those who fly to tropical shores this Christmas in search of sea and sun, may be unaware that an exotic shell picked from the beach could potentially bring relief to many thousands of people suffering life-threatening illnesses.

Scientists from the University of York are part of a UK team which has made an important step towards new malaria treatments by identifying a way to stop malaria parasites from multiplying.

Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step in the search to develop effective second generation biofuels.

The University of York is set to play a major role in three networks in industrial biotechnology and bioenergy designed to boost interaction between academia and industry.

The University of York’s Centre for Novel Agricultural Products has been awarded £10 million to fund research projects that have the potential to make a significant impact in both agriculture and the search for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Researchers from the University of York’s Department of Psychology are carrying out a new study examining whether electrical stimulation of the brain can improve the understanding of words and pictures after a stroke.

A new study, conducted by researchers at the University of York, has found that compression stockings perform just as well as traditional bandages for the treatment of venous leg ulcers.

Researchers from across Europe are developing a pilot survey of fuel poverty which will pave the way for better data across the EU.

University of York researchers and their clinical NHS colleagues are expanding a project to investigate the health and wellbeing of newborn babies and their parents to include a study of depression during pregnancy and early motherhood.

The social security system in one of Britain’s most remote overseas territories is undergoing a partial restructure with the help of academics from the University of York.

An international team of European and Japanese scientists led by the University of York has launched a €4.6m collaborative project funded by the European Commission (EC) and the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST) to develop new materials to replace the scarce metal Iridium commonly used in magnetic storage devices.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers say they have found ‘missing heat’ in the climate system, casting doubt on suggestions that global warming has slowed or stopped over the past decade.

Prostate cancer patients who receive radiotherapy could soon be treated more effectively, according to research published today in the British Journal of Cancer.

An international team of researchers, co-led by scientists at the University of York and Yunnan Normal University, has produced the first multi-disciplinary evidence for management of cattle populations in northern China, around the same time cattle domestication took place in the Near East, over 10,000 years ago.

A team of British researchers, led by the University of York, is warning governments and healthcare decision makers across the globe to be wary of the myths and hype surrounding medical tourism.

New research involving a University of York academic provides strong evidence that internationally important British bird populations are being affected by climate change, which could threaten their long-term conservation status.

An international team of researchers has used pioneering electron microscopy techniques to discover an important mechanism behind the reaction of metallic nanoparticles with the environment.

Celebrity chefs are encouraging more people to cook with sustainable seafood, but how far do they practise what they preach?

An international team of scientists, led by physicists from the University of York, has shed important new light on coral skeleton formation.

A postgraduate student with the Hull York Medical School (HYMS) has won a major European award for the second consecutive year for his research into cardiothoracic surgery.

Foreign patients coming to the UK for private medical treatment are a lucrative source of income for the NHS, according to a new study by researchers at the University of York and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Universities of York and St Andrews, has developed a new method to increase the efficiency of solar cells.

Plants use sugars to tell the time of day, according to research involving a University of York scientist which is published in Nature today.

University of York researchers are playing a key role in a project investigating why killer whales continue to live long after they have stopped reproducing.

An international team of scientists has provided proof of a key feature of quantum physics – Heisenberg’s error-disturbance relation - more than 80 years after it was first suggested.

A successful collaboration between the Universities of York, Leeds and Sheffield has received a £19m award from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to create the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities.

A team of UK scientists, including experts from the University of York, have discovered huge ice channels beneath a floating ice shelf in Antarctica.

Research carried out by the University of York has highlighted ways in which health and care staff working with young adults with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses can improve their care.

A University of York scientist claims that invasive species such as Himalayan balsam and rhododendron should be welcomed to Britain rather than reviled. At least, they should not be hated simply because they are alien, he says.

The University of York is launching an innovative 3.5m Euro project which will use new technologies to improve the understanding of urban pollution and its effects on human health and the environment.

Acupuncture or counselling, provided alongside usual care, could benefit patients with depression, according to a study by researchers at the University of York.

An international team of archaeologists led by experts from the University of York has uncovered evidence of human activity in the high slopes of the French Alps dating back over 8000 years.

Copper bracelets and magnet wrist straps have no real effect on pain, swelling, or disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new findings from a study conducted at the University of York.

An international team of scientists, including biologists from the University of York, has discovered five new species of bats in West Africa.

A new systematic review by academics at the University of York suggests that acupuncture is at least as effective as other physical therapies for short-term relief from the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee.

Scientists at the University of York have discovered that very small chemical changes to dietary flavonoids cause very large effects when the plant natural products are tested for their impact on the human immune system.

Our early ancestors had a taste for spicy food, new research led by the University of York has revealed.

A tiger, a West African primate and a large antelope are among species staving off extinction thanks to the help of zoos, according to a new report co-ordinated by Dr Andrew Marshall from the University of York and Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo.

Female blue tits with brightly coloured crowns are better mothers than duller birds, according to a new study led by the University of York.

Scientists at the University of York are part of a £3 million research initiative announced by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Scottish Government to fund four projects aimed at improving food security for some of the world’s most important crops.

A psychology professor at the University of York has been awarded a national fellowship to support research into helping parents understand what their babies might be thinking or feeling.

The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) and the University of York have today announced a new joint venture: an Initiative in Agrifood Resilience. This announcement comes on the same day as the Government launches its new UK Agri-Technology Strategy, which sets out how investment will back the technologies of the future allowing our agricultural industries to grow and flourish.

Mental health experts from around the world are teaming up to undertake a unique research programme applying social science to mental health practice.

During heat waves – when ozone production rises – plants' ozone absorption is curtailed, leaving more pollution in the air, and costing an estimated 460 lives in the UK in the hot summer of 2006.

Researchers from the University of York have demonstrated that the change in cannabis declassification in 2009 has coincided with a significant increase in hospital admissions for cannabis psychosis - rather than the decrease it was intended to produce.

Physicists from the University of York have carried out new research into how the heating effect of an experimental cancer treatment works.

Groundbreaking new electron microscopy technology developed at the York JEOL Nanocentre at the University of York is allowing researchers to observe and analyse single atoms, small clusters and nanoparticles in dynamic in-situ experiments for the first time.

A team of UK researchers believe earthworms could provide a window into past climates, allowing scientists to piece together the prevailing weather conditions thousands of years ago.

Archaeologists from the University of York say a virtually intact Late Roman well discovered near Heslington, on the outskirts of the city, may have had significance in contemporary local agricultural cycles and fertility practices.

A new study by researchers at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York, reveals the productivity of the NHS in England increased by 3.2 per cent in the first year of the Coalition administration.

The Nepalese Himalayas north of Kathmandu, provide a mountain landscape of exceptional beauty, where trekkers can experience rugged snow-capped peaks, pristine mountain streams and lush wild flower meadows.

An innovative scientific and educational collaboration between the University of York and Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo has scooped a top national award in recognition of the outstanding impact of its conservation and educational work.

A unique health economics assessment of copper’s role in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) is being presented this week at the WHO’s International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) in Geneva, demonstrating rapid payback on the capital investment.

The protected area network in Tanzania is playing a vital role in the survival of savannah bird species as they move west in response to climate and environmental changes, according to new research led by the University of York.

Scientists at the University of York have uncovered new insights into the way seeds use gene networks to control when they germinate in response to environmental signals.

A pioneering study led by researchers from the University of York highlights the role and contribution of community nursing assistants and their potential impact on patient experience.

Scientists, led by Professor Simon McQueen-Mason and Professor Neil Bruce at the University of York, have discovered a new enzyme that could prove an important step in the quest to turn waste, such as paper, scrap wood and straw, into liquid fuel.

The impact that providing informal care to close relatives has on people's health and quality of life depends on where they live and their cultural and social background, according to research published today by the Centre for Health Economics, University of York.

A new study by archaeologists at the University of York challenges evolutionary theories behind the development of our earliest ancestors from tree dwelling quadrupeds to upright bipeds capable of walking and scrambling.

Research teams from UW-Milwaukee and the University of York investigating the properties of ultra-thin films of new materials are helping bring quantum computing one step closer to reality.

Environmental projects which map some of the most important benefits we get from nature have been brought together for the first time in an online database, following national survey work by researchers in the University of York Environment Department.

Overfishing has reduced fish populations and biodiversity across much of the world's oceans. In response, fisheries are increasingly reliant on a handful of highly valuable shellfish. However, new research by the University of York shows this approach to be extremely risky.

A major new study suggests a range of potential improvements in the way schools pursue citizenship education.

A team at the University of York’s Institute for Effective Education (IEE) has been commissioned to carry out the national evaluation of the Realising Opportunities (RO) Programme.

An international team of scientists, including a University of York researcher, has carried out ground-breaking experiments to investigate the atomic structure of astatine (Z=85), the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth.

An international team of physicists, including scientists from the University of York, has shown that some atomic nuclei can assume asymmetric 'pear' shapes.

A new study involving researchers at the University of York has revealed substantial areas of doubt and uncertainty about the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.

An international team of physicists, including researchers from the Universities of York and St. Andrews, has demonstrated that chaos can beat order - at least as far as light storage is concerned.

A groundbreaking new initiative led by the University of York, with partners at Cass Business School, part of City University London and Durham University Business School, aims to unlock the potential for scientific and social benefits in digital games.

Researchers at the University of York will have access to the most impressive and advanced nuclear physics research facility in the world as the United Kingdom today becomes part of a €1.6 billion international project that will be to nuclear physics what CERN is to particle physics.

In a study commissioned by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), researchers from the University of York have highlighted potentially worrying inequalities in transition to postgraduate degrees.

The alcohol industry – including some supermarkets, drinks companies, and trade associations – distorted international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government’s public health policy to its advantage, according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

An international team of scientists, including University of York physicist Dr Irene D’Amico, has shed new light on a fundamental area of physics which could have important implications for future electronic devices and the transfer of information at the quantum level.

Research led by a scientist at the University of York has thrown new light on the way breakdowns in the DNA copying process inside cells can contribute to cancer and other diseases.

Hunter-gatherers living in glacial conditions produced pots for cooking fish, according to the findings of a pioneering new study led by the University of York which reports the earliest direct evidence for the use of ceramic vessels.

A new study by scientists at the University of York and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) shows that bird species which have colonised the UK in recent decades breed initially almost exclusively in nature reserves and other areas specially protected for wildlife.

The University of York has launched a new centre to help collaboration between researchers investigating the social, economic and cultural influences on mental health and wellbeing.

The Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) Project published its first report today. 'The Impoverishment of the UK' reveals significant levels of poverty and deprivation.

Scientists at the University of York have discovered the driving force behind the development of prostate cancer.

An international team of plasma physicists has used one of the world’s most powerful lasers to create highly unusual plasma composed of hollow atoms.

Independent maternal demographic factors such as social status, ethnicity and maternal age can predict the likelihood of operative births in the UK, according to a new study by researchers from the University of York.

A consortium of top UK academics is developing computer codes to provide new insights into existing and predicted materials using the national supercomputer (HECToR).

Plant cells communicate information about the time of day to their chloroplasts, the part of their cells that underpins all agricultural productivity on Earth, according to new research involving three University of York students which is published today in Science.

Research by scientists at the University of York has revealed new insights into the life and death of black holes.

New research led by the University of York will carry out a detailed appraisal of Drug Recovery Wings which have been established in 11 prisons in England and Wales.

A project to drive forward the understanding of key biological processes by developing new microscope technologies has received a £2m funding boost.

A team of archaeologists from the University of York are to travel to the roof of the world to discover, survey, and record mountain archaeology in the Nepalese Himalayas.

The most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s is not only responsible for the condition’s distinctive movement problems but may also affect vision, according to new research by scientists at the University of York.

Scientists at the University of York have developed a new medical tool which could help surgeons carrying out complex procedures in the operating theatre.

Researchers from the University of York are exploring the role village pubs play in local communities in Ireland and ways of halting their decline.

A new study led by scientists at the Universities of York and Bradford has identified the two areas of the brain responsible for our perception of orientation and shape.

Recent natural disasters illustrate vulnerability of older people: majority of deaths from the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) occurred among older people.

An international team of researchers has shown that old wives' tales that snails can tell us about the weather should not be dismissed too hastily.

Two University of York academics are playing a key role in a review of social security reforms introduced in one of Britain's remotest overseas territories.

A major report published today examines the challenges faced by the Government in delivering its new digital strategy.

A study by health economists at the University of York has, for the first time, produced an estimate of the impact on other NHS patients of new and more costly drugs and other treatments.

An international team of nuclear astrophysicists has shed new light on the explosive stellar events known as novae.

Scientists at the Universities of York and Leeds have made a significant discovery about the cause of the destruction of ozone over oceans.

Scientists at the University of York played a pivotal role in new research that has signaled a significant step forward in the understanding of how insulin works.

People with dementia and their family carers are to play a pivotal role in a pioneering study led by researchers at the University of York into the effectiveness of using Life Stories to influence their care and improve their quality of life. The study has been funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery (NIHR HS&DR) Programme.