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News archive: Research press releases 2022

22 December 2022

Analysis of more than 1,200 vessels from hunter-gatherer sites has shown that pottery-making techniques spread vast distances over a short period of time through social traditions being passed on.

21 December 2022

Researchers examining the impact of the Covid pandemic on low income families have released a series of animated films documenting the project.

20 December 2022

Researchers have shown how historic estates, such as Castle Howard and Duncombe Park, have helped shape biodiversity and the role they continue to play in the protection of nature.

20 December 2022

Researchers used story-writing to explore schoolchildren’s perceptions of marine plastic litter and the effects on their behaviours to the problem.

20 December 2022

People aged 95 and over still want to be part of society and enjoy a level of independence, despite having a more limited interaction with the world, a new study shows.

19 December 2022

While most women plan to be involved in decisions about their care during childbirth, inpractice most decisions are led by midwives, a new study reveals.

12 December 2022

A University of York-led bid to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has successfully won more than £7.3m for a project to help reduce reliance on single suppliers in the UK’s telecommunications network.

12 December 2022

More action is urgently needed to safeguard the world’s precious mountain ecosystems, according to a University of York researcher whose policy brief is being presented at this month’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference (“COP15”) in Montreal, Canada.

7 December 2022

Researchers at the University of York are testing whether online games and simulations might help in the recruitment of teachers - particularly from applicants with a background in STEM subjects.

5 December 2022

The UK has made little progress in the last decade towards creating a truly financially inclusive society, a new study reveals.

1 December 2022

A new report has revealed some of the barriers prospective students face in studying life sciences at postdoctoral level.

1 December 2022

Researchers are calling for primary schools to help test a new online tool aimed at supporting schools in implementing a ‘whole school’ approach to food as part of their food policy.

1 December 2022

Researchers at the University of York are a step closer to identifying ways to support clinicians in predicting drug treatment outcomes for patients with visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil.

29 November 2022

Governments should embrace the realities of shifting biodiversity rather than “investing in futile efforts to return the natural world to its historic state”, a new study argues.

28 November 2022

Zero deforestation commitments may inadvertently leave vital habitats in Latin America and Africa vulnerable to agricultural expansion, a new study has found.

28 November 2022

An international team of scientists have produced new recommendations to help ensure a more sustainable future for UK fisheries in the post-Brexit era.

26 November 2022

Scientists are to investigate the impact of chemical pollution in Yorkshire’s rivers as part of a £1.6m study.

24 November 2022

The full scale and impact of Covid-19 in UK homes has been laid bare in a new book which shines a spotlight on the role housing played during the pandemic.

24 November 2022

A stark digital skills deficit among people with severe mental illness means they struggle to access key services which are increasingly online, according to research by scientists at the University of York.

23 November 2022

Researchers have developed a comprehensive database of drugs that could be repurposed to tackle mutated SARS-CoV-2 viruses, narrowing the search from thousands to a select few candidates.

22 November 2022

Covid-19 can negatively impact short-term memory function, the results of a new study have revealed.

22 November 2022

A study at the University of York aims to use ultrasound technology to understand whether language development in infants starts much earlier than the ‘babble’ phase.

15 November 2022

Black people with disabilities are facing systematic racism and exclusion in Brazil, according to a report being presented to the United Nations.

14 November 2022

Researchers have observed a wild chimpanzee showing an object to its mother simply for sharing’s sake – social behaviour previously thought to be unique to humans.

14 November 2022

A new study by researchers at the University of York suggests that a substantial number ofpeople with common mental health problems in England may go untreated.

11 November 2022

Managers in small and micro-businesses in the UK face major challenges in supporting employees with mental health difficulties, according to a new study.

10 November 2022

Techniques to improve mental health and wellbeing, such as mindfulness and meditation, may also encourage people to look after the environment, researchers have found.

4 November 2022

A new study comparing the biodiversity of wild mammals in Europe 8,000 years ago with the present has found that more species have been gained than lost on the continent.

3 November 2022

Researchers have proposed a new way of harnessing music therapy for the diagnosis, assessment and monitoring of depression.

2 November 2022

Scientists have used a mathematical model to reveal how toxic proteins cluster together inside the brain during the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

25 October 2022

Researchers studying the teeth of an elderly woman who lived 2,000 years ago have charted her diet from infancy to just before her death.

24 October 2022

Researchers have obtained the first genetic data from Palaeolithic human individuals in the UK, and the oldest human DNA from the British Isles so far.

20 October 2022

A new study has shown that a high street voucher scheme is an effective way to help women stop smoking during pregnancy.

20 October 2022

Researchers have created a virtual reality choir to understand whether virtual singing could have the same health and wellbeing benefits as group singing in real life.

17 October 2022

Playing sounds to people while they sleep can be used to help them to forget specific memories, a new study has revealed.

14 October 2022

People living in shared ownership properties could be hit hard by a double whammy of rising inflation and interest rates, according to new research involving the University of York.

13 October 2022

Class background remains a barrier to accessing opportunities in later life, even among those who are successful, research by the University of York has found.

13 October 2022

EU citizens may be facing discrimination when trying to rent a home in the UK following a switch by the government to digital-only proof of immigration status, according to a pilot study by the University of York.

12 October 2022

Researchers at the University of York have shown that false assumptions about tobacco use in South-East Asia can result in policies that fail to address the major health concerns of the region.

11 October 2022

A common insect larvae could be inadvertently contributing to microplastic pollution in our rivers and waterways by chewing up litter, a new study has found.

10 October 2022

A major trial led by researchers at the University of York, funded by the NIHR and hosted by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, will look at whether junior mental health practitioners can deliver low-cost interventions to tackle the mental health crisis affecting children and adolescents.

10 October 2022

A study by the University of York and Aarhus University has revealed that baby talk displays similar properties across 36 languages.

10 October 2022

The University of York and the Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi will jointly lead the establishment of a new research centre to improve mental and physical health in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

10 October 2022

The University of York has launched a new Institute of Mental Health Research aimed at reducing the number of people affected by mental ill-health and its impact on individuals, families and health services.

10 October 2022

Researchers at the University of York played a key role in a major new study which suggests that Universal Basic Income could help to reverse the epidemic of mental health problems among young people in the UK.

6 October 2022

Researchers at the University of York have launched a new project to document and share the everyday experiences of families on low-income, with the aim of improving the lives of those struggling to get by.

4 October 2022

Researchers suggest a toxic chemical is more likely to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of crabs along the North East coastline than natural algae.

3 October 2022

Scientists have shed light on the vast distances travelled by vultures - with several birds regularly commuting over 1,200 km in week-long excursions.

29 September 2022

New research suggests patients don’t like Mondays when it comes to appointments, which has important implications for appointment scheduling.

29 September 2022

A community farm, established by the University of York and based at a container park, has been awarded the Best Community Initiative Award at the World Vertical Farming awards 2022.

27 September 2022

The Universities of York and Newcastle have joined forces with two leading cancer charities to create a new biobank which will provide vital resources for researchers working to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in children and young people.

21 September 2022

Researchers in York and Delhi are launching a major project to explore how to bring high quality healthcare to people around the world left behind by poverty and marginalisation.

15 September 2022

A York academic is calling on the UN Human Rights Council to increase pressure on the Chinese and other governments around the world to tackle modern slavery.

7 September 2022

Climate change is putting the availability of biomass fuels and technologies – vital alternatives to fossil fuels – at risk, according to new research.

6 September 2022

Many women felt compelled to break lockdown laws, which banned meeting friends and family at home, due to caring responsibilities, a major new report has found.

5 September 2022

Researchers have made a significant step forward in the understanding of how breast cancer cells spread through the body.

25 August 2022

The old adage of use it or lose it doesn’t appear to run true when it comes to someone's ability to retain and use a foreign language, a new study has revealed.

16 August 2022

New technology, developed by researchers at the University of York, has proved successful in reducing the risk of electrocution to drivers and passengers of electric vehicles as a result of damage to the cars in major road accidents.

15 August 2022

One year on from the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, researchers are calling for urgent action to help former Afghan staff who remain stuck in the country with their lives under threat due to their employment with the UK government.

12 August 2022

Researchers have developed a new technique to grow and sequence colonies of immune cells, giving new insights into how and when they accumulate mutations.

8 August 2022

More than three-quarters of households in the UK, or 53 million people, will have been pushed into fuel poverty by January 2023, according to a new report authored by York academics.

4 August 2022

Researchers at the University of York have shown how bacteria capture important nutrients to allow them to grow and survive in the body.

3 August 2022

Researchers have created the first complete map of the network of connections that make up the human immune system, showing how immune cells communicate with each other.

3 August 2022

Researchers at the University of York have shown that creating sound in virtual reality that mimics people’s everyday interactions with the ’real’ audio-visual world has benefits over a movie-type sound experience.

1 August 2022

Scientists have discovered the precise way detergents break biological membranes, which could increase our understanding of how soaps work to kill viruses like Covid-19.

31 July 2022

Southern dialects may be spreading across the UK, but the North is pushing back in some areas, new research has shown.

29 July 2022

Chimpanzees use a “hunting bark” to recruit group members to a hunt and capture their prey more effectively, new research has shown.

25 July 2022

A vast region of peatland in the heart of the Congo Basin is 15% bigger than previously thought, a new study mapping the full scale of the area has revealed.

25 July 2022

An international team of scientists have discovered a molecule which prevents tumour cells spreading from a primary cancer site to colonise other sites in the body.

22 July 2022

The authors of an article published in Nature Food say the Government’s Food Strategy fails to deliver the system-wide change that is urgently needed.

8 July 2022

Water quality is still ‘unacceptably poor’ in many British rivers, research involving academics at York has shown.

7 July 2022

Researchers from the University of York have discovered why reducing particle pollution is actually increasing surface ozone pollution in some emerging economies, negatively impacting health, ecosystems and agriculture.

7 July 2022

Overfishing of deeper-water species and the unexpected ocean impacts of wildfires on land are among fifteen issues that experts say should be urgently addressed.

6 July 2022

Researchers at the University of York, as part of a UK-wide network, will bring together academics, industry leaders, government bodies and members of the public to address greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural and food industry.

5 July 2022

A major study of children aged between seven and ten in Bradford has revealed 90% are exposed to issues affecting their wellbeing such as bullying, a lack of three meals a day, no internet access at home and constant worrying about money.

1 July 2022

A study exploring loneliness and solitude during lockdown highlights how different people experienced social restrictions as either “hell or bliss”.

23 June 2022

A song co-created by artificial intelligence and researchers from the University of York has reached the final of the AI Song contest.

22 June 2022

Researchers have discovered how to target stem cells affected by leukaemia without causing harm to healthy stem cells, paving the way for new, safer treatments for the disease.

22 June 2022

An international team of scientists, involving researchers from the University of York, have assessed how robotics and autonomous systems might help the UN achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

21 June 2022

A review of the Government’s £80 million investment in treatment for drug users has shown that “non-existent staff and fragmented clinical services” were a major barrier to implementing improved practices for some of the most marginalised patients.

20 June 2022

A significant number of children who do not meet the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals are going hungry, a new study has shown.

8 June 2022

The University of York is leading a unique partnership that will bring together residents, local authorities and leading researchers to tackle some of the big issues around social care.

1 June 2022

Just 12 landlords were convicted for offences under the Protection from Eviction Act (PfEA) in 2020/21, according to new research by the University of York and the charity Safer Renting.

30 May 2022

With close to 50 face transplants carried out in 11 countries around the world to date, a new report addresses the urgent need to set a standard of care to ensure the procedure is ethical and as safe and effective as possible for patients.

27 May 2022

Mining social media to identify race and ethnicity as part of research into health disparities is unreliable and inconsistent, a new study has concluded.

20 May 2022

Children starting school were less likely to meet the expected levels of development in 2021 than before the pandemic, new research suggests.

20 May 2022

A new universal basic income model could cut poverty by more than half at no net cost, reducing it to its lowest level for 60 years, according to a report co-authored by a University of York academic.

20 May 2022

People with severe mental illnesses are falling through the cracks when it comes to oral health care, according to new research.

19 May 2022

Scientists working in partnership with fishermen have stumbled upon a new way of catching scallops using underwater “disco” lights, a breakthrough that could maximise catches while reducing damage to the marine environment.

10 May 2022

Scientists have discovered how to significantly improve the sustainability of the sugarcane industry by turning a major by-product into a valuable chemical used in food, medicines and cosmetics.

5 May 2022

An emeritus professor at the University of York is leading a project to reconstruct the famous Anglo-Saxon ship found at Sutton Hoo.

4 May 2022

Researchers at the University of York have expanded a unique regional cancer database, which will help clinicians understand more about conditions such as leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

3 May 2022

New ancient DNA analysis has shed light on how the black rat, blamed for spreading Black Death, dispersed across Europe – revealing that the rodent colonised the continent on two occasions in the Roman and Medieval periods.

25 April 2022

Analysing sodium levels in breast cancer tumours can give an accurate indication of how aggressive a cancer is and whether chemotherapy treatments are taking effect, new research has shown.

22 April 2022

Many of the UK’s protected areas are not delivering for nature and are in poor ecological condition, a new report has found.

21 April 2022

An interactive digital map has been developed by staff and students at the University of York in collaboration with partners across the city to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the York Blitz.

20 April 2022

The family background of UK children still influences their educational achievements at primary school as much as it did nearly one hundred years ago, a major new study has revealed.

20 April 2022

Our early ancestors probably created intricate artwork by firelight, an examination of 50 engraved stones unearthed in France has revealed.

19 April 2022

Academics from the University of York will use a share of £22m from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to improve our understanding of blood cancer.

7 April 2022

The two-child limit on social security benefits in the UK has only led to a small decline in fertility rates and pushed low-income households further into poverty, according to a new report.

5 April 2022

Professor Emma Waterton has won a £2million Leverhulme International Professorship award to bring a team to the University of York and establish a new research centre.

28 March 2022

Researchers from the University of York have been awarded three prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants worth a total of more than £5 million, to support pioneering work in chemistry and archaeology.

25 March 2022

A new report has highlighted inequality, poverty and inadequate social care as the key challenges facing York as the City recovers from the pandemic.

22 March 2022

Going without food and heating has become a routine part of daily life for families on low incomes, according to the latest findings from the Covid Realities project.

21 March 2022

The pandemic left many GPs around the world feeling depressed, anxious and in some cases burned out, a review of global studies has revealed.

17 March 2022

A new blood test could help to safely cut hospital stays for children with cancer who develop a fever, a new study has shown.

15 March 2022

A new study has found that oil palm can be farmed more sustainably on peatlands by re-wetting the land - conserving both biodiversity and livelihoods.

2 March 2022

Lessons on grammar are a key feature of the national curriculum taught in England’s primary schools, but they don’t appear to help children to learn to write, new research reveals.

1 March 2022

University of York academics have contributed to a major report which warns that human-induced climate change is causing dangerous disruption around the world and the narrow window left to secure a liveable future for all is closing.

17 February 2022

A University of York academic will co-lead on two new projects that will demonstrate how physics can transform our understanding of life.

16 February 2022

New research by academics from the universities of York and Manchester has highlighted how in its first year, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on England and Wales was far worse for some than others.

14 February 2022

A new study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world’s rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied.

7 February 2022

Up to a third of children in the UK are consuming at least one energy drink a week, with high levels of consumption linked to headaches, sleep problems, alcohol use, smoking, irritability and school exclusion, new research reveals.

7 February 2022

Researchers have been awarded £3.3 million to develop new tools and policy guidance to protect minority ethnic groups from discrimination as key public services move online.

7 February 2022

A new research programme jointly led by the University of York and Hull York Medical School will develop a psychological treatment to combat depression in young people.

1 February 2022

Benefits to UK fisheries from Brexit “fall far short of government rhetoric”, a new study has revealed.

31 January 2022

Many women feel they are not being listened to about their health needs – with older women feeling “invisible” to health professionals, and women throughout their lives experiencing a lack of empathy around problems relating to menstruation, fertility, childbirth and menopause, a major new report reveals.

25 January 2022

From the dank underworld of Yorkshire’s caves to the soaring cathedrals of York and Ripon, a new project is inviting people to experience the acoustics of these spaces as our ancestors did.

24 January 2022

New research has found that allowing newly bereaved parents to have extended time with their baby or child is highly valued and has lasting impacts.

24 January 2022

A new report recommends urgent reforms to the UK’s social security system to protect low-income families from extreme hardship.

21 January 2022

In a groundbreaking new health study, a team of researchers will capture the journeys of 30,000 Bradford schoolchildren from adolescence to adulthood.

14 January 2022

Experts from a University of York research centre have played a key role behind major changes to the way GCSE languages are taught.

4 January 2022

The University of York has been awarded £2.3 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for new research into stem cell gene therapy for sickle cell anaemia.