A highly experienced consultant and chartered psychologist, Dame Robina Shah DBE has spent over 30 years working across healthcare, medical education, patient safety, public service, social justice, and inclusion.

She is currently Professor of Psychosocial Medicine and Medical Education at the University of Manchester Medical School and Director of the Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience.

Dame Robina¡¯s contribution to patient care was recognised through her appointment as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, following her earlier MBE for services to academic research in learning disabilities.

Through her roles in a wide range of sports organisations, including the FA Council, FA Women¡¯s Football Board, Manchester County FA, and Oldham Athletic Football Club, Dame Robina has also made a significant contribution to football governance, player welfare, disability football, women¡¯s football, and widening opportunity through sport.

Dame Robina has been nominated for the Freedom by the City of London Corporation¡¯s Deputy Policy Chair, James Thomson, and City Corporation Lead Member for Sport, Edward Lord.

Speaking after her Freedom ceremony, Dame Robina Shah said: ¡°I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive the Freedom of the City of London. This unexpected recognition has touched me greatly.

¡°I thank my nominators, James Thomson and Edward Lord, and accept the Freedom with humility and appreciation, mindful of the many people who have guided, supported, and encouraged me throughout my life.

¡°The City of London has long held a special significance for me. Although Manchester is my home and the place where I was born, I have had the privilege, through my civic and public roles, of attending many events in the City and seeing first-hand its unique history, traditions and contribution to public life.

¡°This recognition of my contribution to the NHS, sport, particularly football, and governance is especially meaningful, because these areas have shaped much of my life¡¯s work and public service. I wish to thank the many colleagues, patients, volunteers, community partners and organisations that I have had the privilege of working alongside over the years. Much of what I have been able to contribute has only been possible through collective effort, shared purpose and the generosity, trust and support of others.

¡°At this time, I also think warmly of my parents, whose values, kindness and humanity shaped the lens through which I have tried to serve others. They taught me to notice people, especially those who may otherwise go unseen, and nurtured in me a curiosity about people¡¯s stories, lives and experiences, grounded in compassion, dignity and respect.

¡°I also want to acknowledge my family, Tariq, Zainab, Raabiyah and Sulaymaan, whose love, support and patience have been central to all my achievements.¡±

City of London Corporation Policy Chairman, Chris Hayward, said: ¡°Dame Robina Shah¡¯s Freedom of the City of London recognises her distinguished career and expertise in a wide range of fields, including healthcare, medical education, patient care, inclusion, and football governance.

¡°A very deserving recipient of the Freedom, I hope that Dame Robina and her guests will have very fond memories of her ceremony at Guildhall for many years to come.¡±

Deputy City of London Corporation Policy Chairman, James Thomson, said: "I am honoured to have nominated Dame Robina for the Freedom of the City of London.

¡°Robina's public service has been extraordinary, especially, in giving young people opportunity through education and skills, tackling inequality and hate crime, and supporting the most vulnerable in society and giving them a voice.

¡°Robina is an inspirational role model to so many and has a personal warmth that is infectious."

City of London Corporation Lead Member for Sport, Edward Lord OBE, said: "Dame Robina has made a demonstrable contribution to public life in Greater Manchester, and to the nation.

¡°In particular, her involvement in providing independent governance expertise to the Football Association and now, on the board of Oldham Athletic Football Club, marks her out as someone worthy of recognition.

¡°As a fellow Lancastrian, it was a genuine pleasure to support her nomination for the City Freedom."

The City Corporation¡¯s  aims to make the Square Mile a global sports destination, by offering attractive and valued sport facilities, venues, activations, and events for residents, workers, and visitors.

One of the City of London¡¯s ancient traditions, the Freedom is believed to have begun in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade.

As well as being nominated for, or applying for, the Freedom, it is also offered by the City of London Corporation to individuals as a way of paying tribute to their outstanding contribution to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement.  

Recent notable recipients include broadcaster and breast cancer charity ambassador, Gloria Hunniford; two-time Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian, Cate Blanchett; novelist, Ken Follett; actor, Ray Winstone; and City of London Police Special Constable and TV presenter, Penny Lancaster.

Professor Chris Parkes, an experimental particle physicist at the University, and Professor Jeff Forshaw, a theoretical particle physicist, join over 90 other pioneers and leaders across a range of scientific fields, from astronomy and cancer research to mathematics and biotechnology.

In their election, they join the ranks of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin.

Professor Parkes is Head of the Physics & Astronomy Department at The University of Manchester and is internationally recognised for his leadership in particle physics. He previously led the LHCb experiment at CERN - one of the world¡¯s largest scientific collaborations. His research focuses on the search for new physics through studies of matter¨Cantimatter asymmetries and the development of radiation-hard silicon detectors.

Professor Parkes has played a central role in the development of the next generation of LHCb experiments, serving as Principal Investigator and Project Manager for the UK¡¯s contribution to the LHCb Upgrade, installed in 2023, and leading the design of the future LHCb Upgrade II programme. Last year, the LHCb collaboration was honoured by sharing the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Parkes was also awarded the Institute of Physics High Energy Physics Group Prize in 2010.

Professor Forshaw is a theoretical particle physicist best known for his work on quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of the strong force. His work has uncovered unexpected features of perturbative QCD and has contributed to the theoretical frameworks used to interpret high-energy particle collisions, with important applications at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and other major international experiments. 

Jeff is also a prominent communicator of science. Together with Brian Cox he has written a series of bestselling popular science books that have introduced a wide readership to the mathematical ideas underpinning modern physics. Through his books, lectures and broader public engagement he has brought the substance, and the joy, of fundamental physics to a wide audience. 

Jeff's research has been recognised by the Maxwell Medal of the Institute of Physics for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics, and his public engagement work by the Institute's Kelvin Medal for outstanding and sustained contributions to the public understanding of physics. 

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said: ¡°I am delighted to welcome this newest group of exceptional scientists to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. 

¡°Their contributions reflect the highest standards of scientific endeavour. Whether advancing our understanding of vaccines or exploring the transformative potential of mathematics and computation, their work exemplifies the enduring value of curiosity, creativity and rigorous inquiry. 

¡°Our Fellowship is strengthened not only by individual distinction, but by the diversity of perspectives and experiences its members bring. This incoming cohort highlights the truly international character of contemporary science and underscores the vital role that plays in achieving breakthroughs that benefit us all.¡±

The full list of newly elected Fellows can be found on the

The study, published in , used a combination of high-resolution imaging, flow measurements, and mathematical modelling to examine fluid flows around corals that are driven by cilia ¨C densely packed tiny hairs on the coral¡¯s surface. The collective beating of the cilia contributes to the movement of fluid around the surface of the coral, regulating the animal¡¯s immediate environment through the transport of particles such as oxygen.

The researchers found that heterogeneity in ciliary orientation¡ªsmall variations in the direction individual cilia beat¡ªcan significantly boost transport efficiency. For substances that diffuse slowly through the fluid, this natural variability increased particle transport by more than 50% compared to perfectly aligned cilia. This contrasts with other biological systems, highlighting how coral cilia are uniquely adapted to their environment.

However, the study also found that strong external flows, such as ocean currents, can reduce the coral¡¯s ability to exchange materials efficiently near the surface.

Researchers believe that the mathematical modelling used in understanding the behaviour and effectiveness of these coral-based cilia structures could be applied to ciliated tissues in humans, such as those found in the respiratory system and fallopian tubes.

Dr Draga Pihler-Puzovic, Reader at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester, said of the study, ¡°This work provides a powerful framework for understanding how coral surfaces operate across a wide range of environmental conditions. It also opens the possibility of applying the same mathematical models to human biology, offering new ways to investigate how cilia function in the body and how their dysfunction may contribute to disease.¡±

This paper was published in the journal:

DOI: 10.1103/fhfw-f1nv

The research, published in Biological Conservation, found that more than 493,000 square kilometres of land - an area larger than Spain - has been damaged by deforestation and fires in the vital transition zone between the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado savanna in Brazil.

The team - led by Dr Chuanze Li from The University of Manchester - say the findings reveal a major conservation crisis in a region that helps protect the wider Amazon, stores huge amounts of carbon and supports exceptional biodiversity but has very little formal protection.

Key findings

• Researchers mapped more than 35 years of environmental damage using AI and satellite imagery

• At least 493,000 km? of land has been affected by deforestation or fire

• Large areas damaged by fire still had not recovered even after a decade

• Only around 2% of the study region currently has formal protection

• Repeated human-caused fires may be permanently changing ecosystems

What did the study find?

The research focused on the Cerrado-Amazon transition (CAT) zone in Brazil, a vast area where rainforest and savanna meet.

Using decades of Landsat satellite images combined with artificial intelligence, researchers tracked how forests and vegetation changed between 1986 and 2020.

They found widespread damage caused by both large-scale forest clearing and repeated fires linked to farming expansion and cattle ranching.

Why this region matters

This area is one of the world¡¯s most important ecological frontiers, and acts as a buffer protecting the Amazon while supporting unique wildlife and storing carbon that would otherwise contribute to climate change if released.

But despite its importance, the region has received far less attention and protection than the Amazon rainforest itself.

Fires leave long-lasting scars

One of the study¡¯s most striking findings was how slowly vegetation recovered after fire. Researchers found that even ten years later, many affected areas had still not returned to their previous condition.

The damage was particularly severe in parts of the Cerrado, where repeated human-driven burning appears to be weakening the ecosystem¡¯s natural ability to recover.

A hidden protection gap

The study also exposed a major lack of protected areas across the region. While around 28% of the Amazon biome overall is protected, only around 2% of the Cerrado¨CAmazon transition area studied falls within protected zones.

Researchers warn that large areas facing repeated destruction currently have little or no legal safeguard.

How AI helped uncover the damage

The team combined satellite imagery with advanced artificial intelligence tools capable of detecting different types of environmental disturbance over time.

This allowed researchers to distinguish between forest clearing and fire damage across an enormous area spanning more than one million square kilometres.

What the Manchester researchers said

¡°The tools we used enabled us to produce the first wall-to-wall, multi-decade picture of what has actually happened to vegetation across this entire area,¡± said lead author Dr Chuanze Li.

¡°We were particularly struck by the recovery data,¡± said Dr Angela Harris. ¡°The conventional view is that Cerrado vegetation bounces back after fire. What this study shows - at a regional scale and across 35 years - is that it often does not, at least not within a decade.¡±

"Repeated fires are eroding the very resilience these ecosystems evolved to have - this is a warning that we cannot ignore."

"This study gives policymakers something they have not had before: a precise, long-term map of where the CAT has been damaged, how badly, and how well, or how poorly, it is recovering,¡± added Dr Polyanna da Concei??o Bispo. ¡°This is the empirical foundation that conservation planning in this region has been missing. The protection gap we document is not acceptable, and the tools now exist to close it."

Why it matters

Researchers say the maps created by the study could help governments and conservation groups identify areas most urgently in need of protection, fire prevention and restoration.

They also warn that continued destruction in the transition zone could have consequences far beyond Brazil, affecting biodiversity, climate stability and the future health of the Amazon rainforest itself.

Publication details

The study was conducted by researchers at The University of Manchester (UK),  Professor Beatriz Marimon and Professor Ben Hur Marimon at UNEMAT ¨C Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (Brazil), and Dr. Ricardo da Silva at CTREES (USA). Field data from the Plant Ecology Laboratory at UNEMAT, a reference network spanning the CAT since 1994, underpinned the classification and validation of satellite-derived disturbance maps.

The paper was published in the Biological Conservation journal.

DOI:

The three?year project, REMOVE?UM: REcovering MOlecular ValuE from Unrecycled Multi?materials, funded by EPSRC and Defra will develop new technologies to tackle some of the most challenging waste products. 

Recycling has the potential to recover significant value from materials at the end of their life, playing a crucial role in building a more sustainable future. However, while current systems are effective for simple, single materials that can be easily sorted and cleaned, they struggle to deal with complex, multi-material products. 

Michael Shaver, Project Lead and Professor of Polymer Science at The University of Manchester, explains: ¡°Recycling to recover value from materials at end-of-life is a tantalising component of a sustainable future. However, multi-material products ¨C vapes, cars, batteries, furniture ¨C comingle a host of plastics, metals, glass, ceramics and other materials designed to meet ever-increasing consumer demand for low-cost, high-performance, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing consumer goods. These staggeringly complex multi-materials are reaching their end-of-life with no strategy to facilitate the (re)integration of their components, materials or molecules into a circular economy.  

¡°Developing an economically viable and environmentally advantageous end of-life for multi-materials is vital. However, to achieve this in a just manner, it is essential we understand economic, societal, and environmental outcomes, coupling systemic approaches to ambitious fundamental research.¡± 

The REMOVE?UM project will take a fundamentally new approach, developing methods to break down these materials at a molecular level and recover valuable components that can be reused. 

The work will combine expertise from across The University of Manchester, bringing together specialists in chemical recycling, catalysis, sustainability assessment and materials science.  

The project will focus on four key areas: 

• Analysing waste streams to understand their composition and potential value 

• Developing chemical processes to selectively break down complex materials into valuable products 

• Separating recovered molecules efficiently while minimising environmental impact 

• Working closely with industry partners to translate discoveries into real?world applications and accelerate their commercial application. 

By targeting materials that current infrastructure cannot process, the team aims to complement existing recycling systems, rather than replace them.  

A core aim of the project is to ensure new recycling approaches are technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally sustainable. Life cycle assessment and economic analysis will be integrated throughout to guide decisions and deliver real benefits for society. The project also aims to cut reliance on fossil fuels by recovering reusable chemicals, while generating insights into how waste systems operate to reduce investment risk and support future recycling infrastructure. 

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director for Strategy at EPSRC said: ¡°This investment reflects our commitment to building a cleaner, more sustainable UK economy. By funding ambitious, collaborative and impactful research into recycling technologies, we are helping to tackle some of the most complex challenges in our waste system from collection through to currently hard-to-recycle material recovery. The research being undertaken, which is jointly funded by EPSRC and Defra, will support the long-term transition to a circular economy and creates the conditions for genuine economic and environmental benefit for the UK.¡± 

The project will be co-led by Dr Ciaran Lahive, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in the Department of Materials; Dr , Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering;  , Chair in Engineering Biology; , Professor of Chemical Engineering; and Dr , Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow.  

It builds on sustained work in this area by these researchers, including:  

• Chemical Recycling of Polycarbonate Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Blends via Organocatalyzed Acetolysis, ChemSusChem, 
• Recyclable Epoxy Composites Built with a Biobased Hardener, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 
• Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Supercritical CO₂ in Gel-spun UHMWPE Fibre Production, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 
• Defining quality by quantifying degradation in the mechanical recycling of polyethylene, Nature Communications, 
• Untangling the chemical complexity of plastics to improve life cycle outcomes, Nature Materials Reviews,   

The breakthrough could help explain why millions of people develop sight?threatening conditions such as age?related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as rarer inherited eye diseases.

The research is published in today.

Epidemiological research predicts that AMD, a leading cause of visual impairment in adults , will affect 288 million people worldwide by 2040.

And rarer inherited  eye disorders  which  interfere with cells in the retina that sense light and send visual signals to the brain include  Stargardt disease, retinitis pigmentosa, and cone?rod dystrophy.

The researchers analysed whole?genome sequencing data alongside RNA profiles from 201 donated human eyes.

That allowed them to study two key tissues involved in vision: the neurosensory retina, which captures light, and the retinal pigment epithelium, which supports and nourishes it.

By comparing DNA differences with gene activity in these tissues, the researchers found over 1.4 million genetic signals that influence how genes are turned on or off, known as expression quantitative trait loci, or eQTLs.

The signals influence how nearly 10,000 genes behave in the retina and almost 4,000 genes in the retinal pigment epithelium.

Many of the genetic effects were found in regions of the genome that act as regulatory switches, helping to turn genes on or off.

The study also identified hundreds of individuals whose retinal gene activity was unusually high or low compared with typical patterns.

Among these ¡°expression outliers,¡± the researchers pinpointed nearly 300 rare genetic variants that could plausibly explain the unusual gene activity.

These variants included rare changes in parts of DNA that don¡¯t code for proteins, as well as bigger structural shifts and differences in how many copies of certain DNA segments a person has.

Together, they accounted for around 28% of the outliers, offering new leads for understanding how rare mutations contribute to eye disease.

The findings provide an unprecedented resource for scientists studying the genetic roots of vision disorders, and are available to other researchers for

They also offer a roadmap for future research into personalised treatments and earlier diagnosis.

Author , from The University of Manchester,  said: ¡°Our study marks a major step toward decoding the complex genetic architecture of the human eye.

¡°And it opens the door to new strategies for protecting and restoring vision in the future.

¡°It reveals how both common and rare genetic differences shape the way they are expressed in the human retina.

¡°By understanding these patterns, we move closer to uncovering the biological mechanisms that drive heritable vision loss and to developing more targeted therapies.¡±

PhD Student at The University of Manchester, Jacob Sampson, who performed the extensive computational analysis reported in the study, added: ¡°We hope this dataset will accelerate discoveries across ophthalmology, genetics, and precision medicine.

¡°And we hope it will support efforts to identify individuals at risk of sight?threatening disease before symptoms appear.

Prof Simon J. Clark from the  University of T¨¹bingen in Germany, said: ¡°These sorts of fundamental discoveries are only possible by using very well characterised human donor material.

¡°We are incredibly lucky to have access to one of Europe¡¯s largest human eye donor repositories, founded originally in Manchester back in 2015.

¡°We remain forever grateful for the generosity of all those donors and their families who contributed over the years.¡±

The team included scientists from The University of Manchester, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, University of T¨¹bingen, University of Southampton, Universitas Riau, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, and the European Bioinformatics Institute.

• The research was supported by the Macular Society, Fight For Sight, the Medical Research Council and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.
• The paper Paired DNA and RNA sequencing uncovers common 1 and rare genomic variants regulating gene 2 expression in the human retina is published in nature Communications and available . DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72979-4 

The report, was partly based on research evidence submitted by  the University of Manchester¡¯s  .

Cited in the report, Professor of Primary Care and Community Health  at the University of Manchester told the Committee: ¡°Evidence-based exercise programmes, particularly resistance training, could both prevent frailty from developing and reverse it. Exercise programmes to prevent frailty could decrease the risk factors linked to developing conditions associated with ageing, including dementia.¡±

Boosting resilience to illness, frailty and falls through physical activity will be key to keeping the country¡¯s ageing population healthy and living independently for longer., the MPs said.

This change will be fundamental to the Government¡¯s objective of switching the NHS¡¯s focus from treating illness to preventing it 

The report follows the cross-party Committee¡¯s and recommends:

• Advice and social prescribing of physical activity should become a core, routine offering to older people from their GPs and other clinicians.
• Stronger links between local NHS services with leisure providers and community groups to make exercise more accessible.
• The Care Quality Commission should be charged with checking that exercise programmes are being provided to residents in care homes. 

The Committee also called for a national conversation and a cultural shift in the way that ageing is perceived and talked about in society. Negative stereotypes can leave older people feeling resigned to becoming inactive, at the point in their lives when a sedentary lifestyle can have serious consequences, including increasing risk of falls.

Health and Social Care Committee Chair, Layla Moran MP, said: ¡°Healthcare experts and the Government are all agreed that staying physically active can help older people to live not just longer, but healthier, happier, more sociable lives.

¡°Promoting active lifestyles among older people would also tackle two policy objectives at once ¨C shifting the NHS¡¯s focus to prevention, and bringing services closer to home, not the nearest hospital. Experts told us that exercise can be more effective than medication, and these changes would also cut the NHS¡¯s vast expenditure on drugs. It¡¯s a win-win, and this report sets out how the Government can make it happen.

Key facts

• Being physically active cuts the risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions, and some cancers.
• By 2035, 68% of people aged over 65 are expected to have two more serious health conditions, up from 54% in 2015. This causes lower quality of life, increases the chance of hospital admission and creates more complex care needs.
• In 2022, there were around 12.7 million people in the UK aged 65 or over, approximately 19% of the population. This is expected to rise to 22.1 million people (27% of the population) by 2072.
• The ONS and Health Foundation have shown that the average healthy life expectancy of children born in the most deprived areas of England is around 18 years lower than those born in the most affluent.
• In the UK, physical inactivity is associated with one in six deaths and is estimated to cost ?7.4 billion annually.

Led by The University of Manchester and The University of Huddersfield, they combined traditional EEG brain?wave analysis with cutting?edge machine?learning tools to probe how people with a history of alcohol dependence learn from rewards and punishments.

The researchers used a reward-learning game ¨C which they asked 20 abstinent alcohol-dependent and 26 healthy volunteers to complete while their brain activity was recorded.

The team found that both groups performed the task just as well as each other, however their brain signals told a different story.

A key brain response called feedback?related negativity (FRN)- which reflects how we react to mistakes or bad outcomes - was reduced in people with a history of alcohol dependence.

This blunted signal appeared after both good and bad outcomes and did not vary with how long someone had been abstaining from alcohol.

The scientists say this could be a stable trait of alcohol dependence, reflecting underlying reward processing differences in people who are at risk of alcohol problems.

The study also looked at another signal, the feedback?P3, which shows how strongly your mind reacts when you get important feedback and starts updating what you¡¯ve learned.

Overall, it did not differ between the groups, but for people recovering from alcohol dependence, this signal was largest in the early stages of abstinence, and after many years appeared more similar to that of healthy people.

Researchers say this may reflect a brain change linked to abstinence itself.

To dig deeper, the team used a machine learning method called tensor decomposition to uncover hidden patterns in the EEG signals.

In the people with alcohol dependence, this revealed unusually early and strong activity in centro?frontal brain regions near the top and front of the head.

This early surge was most pronounced in those in the earlier stages of recovery and could reflect, the scientists say, heightened sensitivity to feedback or a compensatory mechanism helping people maintain performance despite alcohol?related brain changes.

They also found that healthy volunteers showed a different pattern, with a later burst of activity in the brain¡¯s parietal lobe, linked to processing sensory information before evaluating reward value.

The researchers used unsupervised machine learning - a method that finds patterns without being told what to look for - to break down the large amounts of EEG data.

This helped discover overlapping brain signals would have been difficult to spot using traditional methods alone.

Lead author from The University of Manchester, who is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) as part of its , said: ¡°Alcohol dependency is a complex and challenging health condition, and many people have difficulties maintaining recovery despite treatment and support.

¡°We believe our findings offer fresh insight into how alcohol dependence can influence the brain systems involved in learning and reward.

¡°Larger, long?term studies are now needed to understand if the EEG markers we identified here could one day help track recovery or identify those people who might need extra support.

Researchers conducting the study are funded by the is UKRI Future Leaders Fund, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the National Institute for health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. It is published in the journal Clinical Neurophysiology.

• The paper Altered EEG markers of reward learning during abstinence in alcohol dependence: a probabilistic reversal learning study is available hereDOI

Further reactivity studies revealed that these chains can fragment into N? and N? species, and can also serve as a source of nitrene radical anions. 

Detailed analysis showed how the nitrogen chain can break into smaller fragments, specifically single?atom (N?) and three?atom (N?) units. The researchers also found that these chains can act as a source of highly reactive nitrene radical anions. 

These findings provide new insight into the fundamental chemistry of nitrogen and demonstrate ways to control its reactivity under realistic conditions. 

Nitrogen chains are considered high?energy?density materials because they can release significant energy when they decompose into nitrogen gas. This property has long made them attractive for applications such as propellants, explosives, and gas?generating systems. 

The ability to isolate and stabilise such molecules under ambient conditions could allow scientists to explore their use as ¡°storable¡± reagents for transferring nitrogen groups in chemical reactions 

Beyond applications, the research offers a rare glimpse into a type of chemistry that plays a role in extreme environments, including the upper atmosphere where nitrogen chain ions have been detected. 

By recreating and stabilising these species in the laboratory, scientists can now investigate their properties in far greater detail, providing insights relevant to fields ranging from atmospheric chemistry to planetary science. 

This research was co-led by with Professor Meera Mehra, the University of Oxford, in collaboration with The University of Manchester¡¯s , George F. S. Whitehead, , and, and Oxford¡¯s Bono van IJzendoorn. First author was Oxford¡¯s Reece Lister-Roberts. 
 

The raise brings Imperagen's total funding to ?8.5 million and will accelerate research and development, expand its wet lab capabilities, and build out its go-to-market function over the next 18 months.

Coinciding with the round , PhD joins as CEO. An experienced technology and life sciences executive with two successful exits across the US and Europe, he brings a track record of scaling deep tech businesses from early stage to market leadership. 

Enzymes are biological catalysts used to reduce waste, lower energy usage and decrease overall production costs in everything from pharmaceutical manufacturing and personal care to sustainable chemical production. However, engineering an enzyme for practical application is a challenging and complex process. Traditional approaches rely on manual screening, a slow and expensive process with a low hit rate. More recently, zero-shot methods have promised smart designs but often fall short when deployed in real world conditions. Neither method gives industrial customers the predictability and speed they need to de-risk product development at scale.

Imperagen's proprietary platform combines three stages into a single closed-loop system:

1. Quantum physics simulates millions of mutation combinations in silico, generating a rich dataset of predicted properties. 

2. Those outputs are used to train problem-specific AI models, not general-purpose ones, calibrated to the precise engineering challenge at hand.

3. Automated robotics then test the highest-performing predictions in the physical lab, producing high-quality experimental data that feeds directly back into the AI model,  so that it continuously evolves.

That feedback loop is what sets the approach apart, with each round of experiments making the next round more targeted. The system learns from the wet lab as it goes, narrowing in on the highest-performing variants with each iteration. The result is a platform that gets smarter round by round. This is the future of biocatalysis, a recursive, self improving AI platform to help rewrite chemical reactions.

The company has already worked on a number of significant projects, including with a Fortune 500 personal care company looking to launch a new product line. Imperagen¡¯s AI-guided closed loop system improved the productivity of two enzymes by 677x and 572x respectively in just five rounds. 

Commenting on the news, Dr. Levy-Yurista said: "What I see right now is that the companies that will make a radical difference in this emerging AI-driven future are all AI-native, lean on real world data, have genuine impact, and are fundamentally deep tech. Imperagen has each of those characteristics, combining them with outstanding people, phenomenal technology and the undeniable swagger you only get from Manchester. It was a no-brainer to join the team and lead this next stage in its growth."

The funds will be used to accelerate the core R&D platform, scale the wet lab operation, and grow the in-house AI team, both human and agentic. Imperagen will also invest in its go-to-market function to convert growing commercial interest into contracted revenue across its target sectors: pharmaceuticals, life sciences, personal care, sustainable fine chemicals, and industrial biotech.

Sim Singh-Landa, Investment Director at PXN, said: "The North West¡¯s life sciences ecosystem is becoming stronger all the time and stands to gain from Imperagen¡¯s local hiring and growth plans, building on the company¡¯s connection to the . We¡¯re excited to be supporting Imperagen with investment from both the GMC Life Sciences Fund and our NPIF II fund, as the company looks to scale success in enzyme engineering and deliver progress within the life sciences sector, which is one of the key sectors highlighted in the UK Government¡¯s Modern Industrial Strategy.¡± 

Imperagen was founded in November 2021 by Dr Andrew Almond, Dr Andrew Currin and Dr Tim Eyes, all researchers from the .

PXN invested via the GMC Life Sciences Fund By PXN Ventures, which it manages on behalf of the ,  and . Investment has also come from NPIF II ¨C PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II). 

The Future of Work Alliance combines BNY¡¯s demonstrable experience deploying AI at scale with The University of Manchester¡¯s world-leading research, with deep strengths in applied AI, data science and inclusive innovation. The initiative, enabled by the University's innovation arm ¨C Unit M ¨C will be delivered through the Alliance Manchester Business School and will focus on designing, testing and scaling new models for the responsible use and application of AI.

Centred in Manchester, where BNY has operated for more than two decades, the Alliance will use real operational challenges to connect academic research with day-to-day business needs. The work is intended to provide hands-on, real-world problem solving that accelerates innovation and capability building, informing how to scale AI responsibly over time. In parallel, executive and professional education programmes will support leadership, governance and change management skills needed for human-led AI adoption.

The Future of Work Alliance will focus on five connected areas:

• BNY Research Challenge Programme: live operational challenges converted into structured, student-led academic projects delivering practical insights and solutions.

• Alliance Manchester Business School Executive Education: bespoke academic programmes designed to equip BNY leaders to excel in an AI-enabled organisation.

• Postgraduate Internships: multi-week placements giving high-performing students hands-on experience within BNY¡¯s Manchester office.

• Scholarships and an Endowed Chair: support for five AI-focused scholarships and a BNY-endowed Chair to provide long-term academic leadership via the University¡¯s Challenge Accepted campaign.

• Keynote Lecture Series: convening academic and industry leaders to shape debate on the future workforce and responsible AI.

The Future of Work Alliance strengthens Manchester¡¯s role as a centre for responsible human-led AI innovation shaped around people, skills and work, while establishing a model with global relevance, intended to deliver meaningful outcomes to support students, leaders and organisations as AI becomes increasingly embedded in day-to-day work.

The University of Manchester initiative builds on BNY¡¯s wider engagement with universities, including with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Central Florida, reflecting a broader effort to connect academic research and talent with real-world business challenges.

Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester, he is one of 60 exceptional biomedical and health scientists, the latest cohort of Fellows have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to advancing medical science, through discovery research, translational work and the application of scientific knowledge in ways that deliver tangible benefits for patients and the wider public.

This year¡¯s cohort reflects the Academy¡¯s continued focus on evolving its Fellowship to be diverse, relevant and representative of the biomedical and health research community. Of the 60 new Fellows elected in 2026, 42% are women (25 Fellows) ¨C the highest proportion ever elected in a single year.

The new Fellows are drawn from 28 institutions and represent eight nationalities, with representation from across the UK. The cohort includes three new Fellows from Wales, the first elected in four years, including the first Fellow ever from Bangor University, as well as the first new Fellow elected from Northern Ireland since 2021.

The new intake spans a wide range of sectors, disciplines and research pathways. It includes five new Fellows elected from industry, alongside recognition of expertise in traditionally under?represented areas such as speech and language therapy, medical ethics, traumatic brain injury and the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The Fellows elected this year join an esteemed Fellowship of over 1,500 researchers who are at the heart of the Academy¡¯s work to nurture scientific talent and shape research and health policy in the UK and worldwide.

Professor Appleby was elected for his pioneering work in suicide prevention and mental health. An epidemiologist and psychiatrist, his research has brought new rigour to the study of suicide through innovative study designs that have demonstrated how targeted interventions can reduce suicide rates. His work has directly informed national policy, including the most recent suicide prevention strategy, and he has played a central role in advising the NHS and government on mental health for more than two decades.

He  said: ¡°I¡¯m delighted to become a Fellow of the Academy. I see it as recognition of the field I work in - suicide prevention - which not long ago was seen as a difficult subject, as bereaved families can tell us. At a time when people are exposed to an overload of health information online, the Academy has a vital role in setting the standards of evidence on which the public can rely.¡±

Professor Andrew Morris CBE FRSE PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences: ¡°It is a privilege to welcome this outstanding new cohort to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Each of our new Fellows has been recognised by their peers for exceptional achievement for the influence their work has had in advancing medical science and improving health.

¡°The diversity of disciplines represented this year reflects the richness of modern medical science and the value of collaboration across fields. At a time when health challenges are increasingly complex, the Academy¡¯s Fellowship provides a trusted, independent platform for scientific leaders to work together, champion excellence, and help ensure research delivers real benefits for people and communities.¡±

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on Tuesday 30 June.

In January 2026  began facilitating a singing group at the UK charity . Now the choir, named ¡®Voices of Hope¡¯ by its members, are participating in the Million Acts of Hope campaign with the release of their first original song .  

Fatima explains: ¡°I¡¯m a musician and researcher and my work focuses on the link between music, health and wellbeing, particularly as a strategy for organising towards more just futures. An important strand of this research is practice-based, trying to develop and understand what musical practices foster and create spaces for care, creativity and hope.  

¡°With the ¡®Voices of Hope¡¯ choir we¡¯ve found that singing is a collective act that can be used to create space. We start and end each choir session in a close circle, singing together to create a geography of togetherness through sound. 

¡°Singing together can mirror social processes, rehearsing for the futures we dream of. For example, the choir wrote a song to ask the other members how they are - the song functions as an act of care and connection that goes beyond just asking 'how are you?' because of the shared sung element that creates a common experience." 

Jane, a member of Voices of Hope, told : ¡°The Choir brings us together as one, despite our different backgrounds and the struggles we face. Through singing this song, we have found unity and comfort in each other. It has given me a sense of belonging, it reminds me that I am not alone and has helped me to heal emotionally because music allows me to express feelings that are hard to put into words. Even in difficult times, the Choir reminds me that I can be joyful and strong.¡±  

 is a national invitation to celebrate the everyday acts of kindness, care and connection happening across the UK from 13-20 May. It brings together charities, communities and faith groups to celebrate the everyday acts of kindness, care and connection happening across the UK. 

Dr Fatima Lahham is an early career researcher who is working within our Geography department on a Hallsworth Research Fellowship. Find out more about Dr Fatima Lahham¡¯s research on her .

The population-based study of more than two million people showed individuals with an intellectual disability are more likely to develop bowel cancer, especially before the age of 50.

Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration (GM PSRC), the study is published in (20/05/26). The research team is supported by both the NIHR GM PSRC and the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

People with an intellectual disability present to their GP more often with symptoms linked to bowel cancer, but are less likely to receive key investigations such as stool tests, urgent referrals, or endoscopy the team show.

They were less likely to be diagnosed through screening programmes and more likely to be diagnosed in emergency settings or even on the date of death.

And they were also more likely to be diagnosed at stage IV, when the cancer has already spread.

Among those with early-stage disease, rates of curative surgery were similar, but survival remained significantly worse for people with an intellectual disability.

For advanced bowel cancer, individuals with an intellectual disability were far less likely to receive systemic anticancer therapy, which may contribute to poorer outcomes.

The findings highlight multiple missed opportunities for earlier diagnosis, including lower use of stool tests used to check for early signs of bowel cancer and fewer urgent suspected cancer referrals.

The researchers used anonymised GP records from a large UK database containing information on about 50 million people.

The records were linked with national data on deaths, cancer, hospital care, ethnicity and deprivation to support the research.

The study also raises concerns that current screening programmes, which often begin at age 50, may not adequately protect people with an intellectual disability, given their higher risk at younger ages.

They also highlight that emergency diagnoses can limit the time available for coordinated treatment planning, which may contribute to poorer survival even when surgery is offered.

However, lifestyle factors linked to early-onset bowel cancer¡ªsuch as obesity, diet, and physical inactivity¡ªmay be more common among people with an intellectual disability, potentially amplifying their risk.

And distinguishing concerning symptoms may be more challenging for people with learning disabilities, though the researchers caution that this does not fully explain the scale of under-investigation.

Lead author Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester and The Christie said: ¡°Our findings show clear and avoidable inequalities in bowel cancer diagnosis and treatment for people with an intellectual disability, and they underline the urgent need for earlier screening and more proactive investigation of symptoms.¡±

Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: ¡°This study lays bare the stark truth that people with a learning disability are being diagnosed with bowel cancer too late, too often, and are missing out on chances for earlier treatment that could save lives. We need the NHS, government and cancer services to join us in making inclusive health a priority, acting on these findings and putting the right support in place at every stage of the cancer pathway.¡±

Claire Coughlan, Clinical Lead at Bowel Cancer UK, said: ¡°Bowel cancer is treatable and curable, especially if it is diagnosed early. However, this study makes clear that people with an ID are not only at increased risk of developing bowel cancer; they also face considerable barriers which can lead to later diagnosis and treatment.¡±

Lisa Every and her niece Chloe¡¯s story

Chloe Every died aged 27 in 2019, not long after being diagnosed with an advanced form of bowel cancer. She had a learning disability and myotonic dystrophy, a muscle condition known to affect the heart and breathing.

For Chloe¡¯s family, the fact that her cancer was only identified at such a late stage is central to everything that followed. Like many people with a learning disability, Chloe was diagnosed when the disease was already advanced, limiting treatment options and reducing her chances of survival. Her family believe there were missed chances to investigate symptoms earlier and to take her health concerns seriously before her condition deteriorated.

Once Chloe was admitted to Queen¡¯s Hospital in Romford, those missed chances continued. Her aunt Lisa Every says that Chloe¡¯s learning disability and underlying condition were not properly considered when decisions were made about her care. Despite the seriousness of her diagnosis, there was no clear, coordinated plan that took account of her complex needs.

Chloe was left in the hospital¡¯s initial assessment unit for six days, far longer than was appropriate. This delay meant she did not receive consistent care under one consultant at a critical point in her illness and contributed to a lack of joined up decision making. At a time when urgent, proactive care was needed, Chloe¡¯s treatment drifted.

Her pain was not adequately managed, and she was given medication without a clear clinical reason. Despite her myotonic dystrophy and the known cardiac risks associated with it, staff did not contact Chloe¡¯s specialist, who had treated her for many years. This was another missed opportunity to ensure her cancer treatment was informed by her wider health needs.

During her hospital stay, Chloe suffered two cardiac arrests. Before the first, she was not observed in line with her needs by nursing staff. An irregular heartbeat was noted shortly before she was given an enema, but this was not escalated to a doctor. After she was transferred to a general ward, Chloe was again not properly monitored. She later experienced a second cardiac arrest. The causes of either cardiac arrest were never investigated.

Mencap supported Lisa to fight for an inquest into Chloe¡¯s death and forced the NHS to revisit a request that had previously been ignored. The subsequent A Level 3 Serious Untoward Investigation by the NHS Trust identified a series of serious failings in Chloe¡¯s care. These included poor pain management, lack of specialist input, failures in observation and monitoring, and the fact that the Trust¡¯s Learning Disability Admission Pathway was not properly followed when Chloe was admitted.

For Lisa, the experience is marked by repeated moments where earlier action could have made a difference, from diagnosis through to end-of-life care.

¡®I was told by the head of palliative care not to be distressed if Chloe was not in ITU because she was being moved to a ward, which I assumed would be a palliative ward,¡¯ Lisa said.

¡®When I arrived, Chloe was not on any medical support at all. The nurse in charge did not know Chloe had a learning disability until I told her.

¡®I was told to go home because the nurse had ¡°11 patients to look after¡± and that Chloe was ¡°fine¡±. Chloe was then left unmonitored until she was found unresponsive.¡¯

Chloe died shortly afterwards.

Her story reflects wider evidence showing that people with a learning disability are more likely to be diagnosed with bowel cancer late, more likely to experience delays and missed chances for investigation, and more likely to face fragmented care once diagnosed. For Lisa, speaking out is about showing the consequences of those missed chances.

¡®Chloe was young and she was loved,¡± she said.

¡®She should have had the same chance as anyone else to be diagnosed earlier and to have her needs properly understood and acted on.¡¯half goes here

• the paper Bowel Cancer Care in Individuals with an Intellectual Disability: A Population-Based Cohort Study of Symptoms, Diagnostic Pathways, Treatment and Survival is available DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-026-04906-9

Bringing together perspectives from development economics, disaster studies, environmental education, social anthropology, and across the arts and humanities, participants considered how more inclusive and welcoming forms of community can be built in a world shaped by ecological disintegration.  

Socio-economic upheavals caused and exacerbated by climate change are radically redefining ¡®home¡¯ for many earthlings of all species. At the same time, rigidly binary definitions such as native/invasive relating to plants and animals echo divisive rhetoric about human migration and who does and doesn¡¯t belong. Discussions focused on how institutions, educators and communities can respond to movement and uncertainty without falling back on stigmatising outsiders.   

In a break from the conventional conference format, part of the day took place outdoors at the campus allotment in a session co-organised by Professor Jennifer O¡¯Brien. Participants repotted sunflower seedlings, watered vegetable plots and reflected on what multispecies conviviality might look like in practice. The session also highlighted the importance of creating more spaces for biodiversity to thrive in support of the University¡¯s . 

Students from the Manchester Institute of Education¡¯s  also shared reflections on place-based learning, including the potential of virtual field trips to broaden understandings of sustainability in practice. Speakers throughout the day emphasised the need for more diverse and inclusive approaches to sustainability and conservation, challenging Eurocentric and anthropocentric assumptions. As speaker Saima Ansari said: ¡°Sometimes the hardest assumptions to challenge aren¡¯t the ones out there, but the ones we don¡¯t realise we carry.¡± 

Hope was a recurring theme across the symposium. Professor Alison Browne said: ¡°If we don¡¯t give them [our students] hope, we can¡¯t give them anything.¡± The event reinforced the role of higher education not only in developing knowledge and employability, but also in nurturing the imagination, critical thinking and collective responsibility needed to respond to ecological and social challenges. For attendees, the symposium offered both a practical and intellectual reminder that more just, sustainable and convivial futures must be actively created together. 

Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to by restoring damaged peatland.

Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to capture the CO? that is produced by that is .

Meanwhile, damaged or turn into a carbon source, releasing greenhouses gases themselves. About 15% of the world¡¯s peatlands have been drained, making these kind of restoration projects essential.

But now a new project is attempting to bring these wetlands back to life. On Holcombe Moor in the West Pennines, , with a further 700 in 2024 as part of Natural England¡¯s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. Improvements are already starting to be seen.

What¡¯s the history here?

The hills of the West Pennines are no stranger to holes, with a long history of lead and coal mining stretching back to the .

Coal fired the mills nearby during the industrial revolution in cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. Smoke drifted back to the hills, carrying the heavy metal impurities of lead and arsenic from coal burning.

The industrial legacy remains visible in the elevated near the soil surface, which made it difficult for most plants to survive. Areas were stripped of all vegetation, leaving expanses of exposed soil. In the most affected places, these cut deep into the surface, turning places like Kinder Scout into a moonscape.

What was exposed and eroded so quickly had taken over to form. Much of the Pennines are covered in blanket peatland, a type of bog made through the slow accumulation of partially decayed plant matter (the type of soil we call peat).

The , with the water table maintained high enough to limit the decomposition of plant matter, while still allowing plants to grow. Not just any plant can tolerate these harsh growing conditions. One species is truly specialised to bog life and forms the main building block of peat itself ¨C Sphagnum.

Finding a super moss

Sphagnum moss is the key ecosystem engineer in peatlands, holding up to in water to maintain the saturated conditions needed for its growth.

When in a healthy state, new Sphagnum grows up through the older moss, raising the water table with it to leave the older moss submerged, partially decayed, which forms the peat itself. Bogs grow only millimetres per year, but over millennia this can build several metres of peat.

The organic nature of peat means it is carbon rich, so much so that UK peatlands store over , around ten times more than all .

Restored wetlands could also help protect the area from wildfires at the UK starts to see more .

Human pressure and pollution

With human pressures, including past industrial pollution, . Sphagnum has disappeared from these peatlands.

Now, peatland restoration efforts are under way. From the early 2000s organisations including Moors for the Future Partnership have spent decades blocking gullies to raise water tables, reseeding bare peat and , transforming the worst affected peatlands from dark .

Though blocking erosional gullies with stone or timber dams has in deeply eroded peat, restoring flatter moorland plateaux presents a different set of challenges. Namely, how to restore the wet conditions required to encourage more Sphagnum moss to grow. However, this hasn¡¯t stopped restoration organisations from trying a novel restoration method which might work to restore flatter peatlands.

Five years on from the start of the project, the original bunds are covered with grasses and many pools are now brimming with Sphagnum moss, looking more like natural bog pools.

are crescent-shaped pools, created by digging shallow scrapes in the peat surface using special low impact excavators. The aim is to capture surface water which would otherwise run quickly off the hill after rainfall. The water stored in at the bog surface for Sphagnum moss to re-establish and grow on moorland plateaus.

The National Trust, in partnership with the University of Manchester, is undertaking long-term research to understand the potential for bunds as a peatland restoration method.

The followed one of the driest springs in England for over .

It provided the first test of extreme weather in this peat bund experiment. Preliminary monitoring during the 2025 drought suggests bunded areas remained wetter for longer than unrestored peat, helping to maintain wetter conditions near the peat surface for longer ¨C the .

The excavator machines up on the hills today don¡¯t signal a return to the industrial past, but an attempt to restore the damage it left behind.

, Honorary Research Associate in Peatland Hydrology,

This article is republished from under a Creative Commons licence. Read the .

¡¤        Small and statistically insignificant drop in hotel prices on major online platforms and hotel websites
¡¤        Prices fell by around 5% for bookings made directly with hotels offline
¡¤        Customers shifted away from online travel agents towards direct booking
¡¤        Offline bookings ¨C the largest channel at the time ¨C increased their relative sales share
¡¤        Total consumer savings were meaningful, but modest relative to the overall market

Why this matters

Online platforms like Booking.com and Expedia play a major role in how people find and book hotels.

For years, many of these platforms used ¡®price parity clauses¡¯ to prevent hotels from offering cheaper deals elsewhere, including on their own websites. 

Policymakers expected that banning these rules would lead to lower prices across the board. However, the study suggests the reality is more complicated, and that headline online prices may not tell the full story.

Hidden cheaper rooms

For most travellers, booking a hotel is simple - search the internet, compare prices and click - but this research suggests that the best deal may not always be the one you see.

Instead, customers willing to call, email or walk into a hotel directly were more likely to find lower prices after the policy change. In other words, the cheapest room may be the one that never appears online.

What actually changed

The study focuses on France, which in 2015 became the first country to fully ban price parity clauses in the hotel sector. Researchers analysed data from 166 hotels across Europe, comparing France with countries where the rules were still in place.

They found:

¡¤        Online prices showed small decreases of around 1¨C2%, but these are not statistically distinguishable from zero
¡¤        Offline prices dropped significantly, around 5% or €8.50 per booking
¡¤        Bookings shifted away from online platforms towards direct offline channels

Why online prices didn¡¯t fall

One reason may be that online platforms still have powerful ways to influence hotel behaviour. Hotels that offer lower prices elsewhere risk being pushed down search rankings, making them less visible to customers.

As a result, many hotels appear to have avoided cutting prices on visible online channels, even after the rules were removed. Instead, they offered discounts where platforms were less able to monitor - in direct, offline bookings.

What customers may be missing

The findings suggest that:

¡¤        Not all price competition is visible online
¡¤        Some of the best deals require extra effort to find
¡¤        Consumers who rely only on platforms may miss cheaper options

At the same time, many users continue to use online booking tools for the convenience and additional services they offer ¨C such as price comparison, guest reviews, and streamlined booking ¨C even if it means paying slightly more.

A mixed success 

The policy did lead to more competition between booking channels, lower prices for some consumers and a shift away from platforms.

But overall, the impact was smaller than expected, especially on the highly visible online prices policymakers hoped to change.

Why it matters now

The findings are particularly relevant as new regulations, including the EU¡¯s Digital Markets Act, aim to curb the power of large online platforms.

Understanding how businesses respond in practice is crucial to ensuring these policies deliver real benefits for consumers.

Publication details

The paper was carried out by economists from The University of Manchester, the University of Oxford, the European Commission¡¯s Joint Research Centre and partner institutions across Europe. It was published in The Economic Journal.

DOI:

Air pollution can influence the brain either directly, when harmful particles enter the brain, or indirectly, through inflammation in the lungs which then impacts the brain. Neurological diseases have been increasing for decades and there is now a greater appreciation that long term exposure to elevated levels of air pollution are associated in dementia risk. While we often categorise air quality by the total amount of particulate matter, this new study demonstrates that the source of the pollution matters as much as the quantity.

The findings in reveal that different pollutant sources produce varied health effects even at identical concentrations in the air. Recognising these differences is essential for shaping public policy, improving clinical diagnosis and developing protective strategies. With an ever?growing ageing population and increasing urbanisation, the public?health imperative to mitigate neurological disease becomes increasingly urgent.

Lead author Thomas Faherty of the University of Birmingham said: ¡°This unique clinical study highlighted the importance of the lung¨Cbrain axis in brain responses to air pollution. Safely exposing the same individuals to multiple real?world pollution mixtures allowed us to detect differences between pollutants, demonstrating the value of this approach for further pollution-dementia research.¡±

In a double?blind study involving 15 healthy volunteers, participants were exposed to clean air, limonene SOA (a citrus fragrance commonly used in cleaning products), diesel exhaust, woodsmoke and cooking emissions. After 60 minutes of exposure, and a four-hour break, researchers assessed respiratory function alongside working memory, selective attention, socio?emotional processing, psychomotor speed and motor control.

Respiratory responses showed limonene had the greatest impact on lung function, followed by woodsmoke, diesel exhaust and finally cooking emissions.

Cognitive function was also found to be significantly influenced by pollutant source. Diesel exhaust and woodsmoke improved processing speed; limonene?derived secondary organic aerosol enhanced working memory compared to cooking emissions; and diesel exhaust showed signs of impairing executive function. The team suggests that the presence of nitrogen oxides (NO_X), known vasodilators, may alter blood flow to the brain and contribute to these mixed cognitive effects.

Given that measurable effects were detectable after a brief 60-minute exposure, the findings suggest that prolonged exposure could have significant long?term consequences for brain health. As rates of neurological disease increase, the study informs an immediate need for pollutant source?specific public health guidance, improved clinical awareness and more targeted strategies to protect vulnerable populations.

Professor Neil Humphrey, academic lead of #BeeWell, said: ¡°Attendance matters, but these findings show that it should not be viewed in isolation. Young people also need to feel that they belong, that they are noticed, and that they have supportive relationships with adults in school. Through #BeeWell, we are working with partners across Greater Manchester to ensure that responses to attendance challenges also support young people¡¯s mental wellbeing 

Publication details  

This research was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.   

DOI:   

The launch event introduces Jay¡¯s Personalised Safety Planning Toolkit, a co?designed set of materials created with researchers, people with personal experience of suicide and self-harm, and healthcare professionals.

Inspired by the family of Jaymie Mart, known as Jay, who died by suicide in 2012 at the age of 32, the toolkit -which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) -  offers clear, practical guidance to help adults create and review personalised safety plans.

Jay¡¯s mother Paula¡¯s experiences have formed a key part of research looking at how better to support people at times of acute mental crisis and prevent deaths from suicide.

She said: ¡°The toolkit helps as a guide in understanding and setting up an individualised safety plan for people in difficult times. They  can help to change a mindset during times of crisis, that will hopefully keep them safe until they can get help,  if needed, from family, friends or mental health professionals.¡±

Safety plans are structured tools that support people experiencing self?harm or suicidal thoughts by helping them identify strategies to stay safe during a crisis.

The resource is designed for families, friends, wider support networks, individuals themselves, and health and social care professionals.

The event is open to anyone interested in suicide prevention and safety planning, including practitioners, people who use safety plans, and those who support them.

The free full?day programme runs from 9:30am to 3:30pm at the Whitworth Art Gallery on Oxford Road in Manchester.

The day features interactive sessions and workshops designed to introduce the toolkit and demonstrate how it can be used in real?world settings, and includes a live performance about safety plans for suicide, from an theatre-arts company run by people with learning difficulties.

The event aims to strengthen community understanding of personalised safety planning and improve access to supportive, evidence?based resources.

, Professor of Psychiatry and Population Health at the University of Manchester is also Mental Health Theme co-lead at the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration

He said: ¡°Safety Plans can be a vital component of mental health care but it¡¯s really important they meaningfully involve the person themselves.

¡°I am delighted to be part of this important event which will have co-production at its heart¡±

• The toolkit was funded by the , and supported by the , and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria. The research is a collaboration between the University of Manchester, Northumbria University, Newcastle, and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR GM PSRC, NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

The findings, published in , come from an international study examining a significant episode of volcanic unrest on S?o Jorge Island in the Azores in March 2022. 

By combining detailed earthquake records from land and seabed instruments with satellite-based measurements of ground movement, scientists were able to reconstruct how magma travelled deep beneath the island with unprecedented precision. 

The team discovered that a vertical sheet of magma, known as a dike, surged upwards from depths exceeding 20 kilometres before stalling just 1.6 kilometres below the surface. 

Surprisingly, much of this upward movement occurred with minimal seismic warning. Instead, earthquake activity intensified only after the magma¡¯s ascent had slowed, presenting a challenge for eruption forecasting. 

Satellite data also showed that the island¡¯s surface rose by around six centimetres during the event, confirming that magma had entered the upper crust. However, because the intrusion failed to reach the surface, no eruption occurred, a phenomenon scientists describe as a ¡°failed eruption¡±. Such intrusions help to grow islands and this study¡¯s unprecedented sharp earthquake maps show how this happens. 

The magma rose through one of the island¡¯s main fault systems, the Pico do Carv?o Fault Zone. By studying geological traces left by ancient earthquakes, scientists had previously found that this fault system has produced large earthquakes in the past. Rather than producing a single large earthquake, as seen in past seismic activity, the magma intrusion generated numerous small earthquakes distributed along the fault. 

The team, led by Dr Stephen Hicks, based at UCL Earth Sciences, conclude that the fault acted as both a conduit and a release mechanism. It provided a pathway for magma to rise, but also allowed gas and fluids to escape sideways, reducing pressure within the magma and ultimately halting its progress. 

Co-lead author Pablo J. Gonz¨¢lez, of the Spanish National Research Council (IPNA-CSIC), explained: 
¡°The fault acted like both a highway and a leak. It helped magma rise, but may also have prevented an eruption.¡± 

, Reader in Marine Geophysics at The University of Manchester, supported the project as co-proponent and in discussing the results. 

The study demonstrates that significant magma movements can occur rapidly and with limited early warning signs, emphasising the importance of integrating multiple monitoring techniques to better assess volcanic risk. 

By combining onshore and offshore geophysical data, the researchers were able to achieve highly accurate detection and mapping of seismic activity and ground deformation, providing valuable information for local hazard assessments. 

The research reflects a large-scale collaborative effort, involving institutions across the UK, Portugal and Spain, supported by funding from organisations including the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the European Research Council, and Funda??o para a Ci¨ºncia e a Tecnologia. 
 
 

Publishing in one of the world¡¯s leading scientific journals Cell, the researchers analysed 322 healthy people from Europe, East Asia and South Asia to build the most detailed picture yet of how genetic ancestry and environment shape our biology.

They used a sweeping ¡°multiomics¡± approach, measuring everything from genes and proteins to gut bacteria, metabolic chemicals and metals to understand how ethnicity and geography shape our biology.

By recruiting people of the same genetic ancestry living on different continents, the scientists were able to separate the effects of DNA from the influence of environment with unprecedented clarity.

Genetic ancestry refers  to the estimation of where your ancestors came from based on patterns in your DNA, inherited across generations.

They found that your ethnic background leaves a deep mark on your immune system, metabolism and gut bacteria no matter where you move.

South Asian volunteers showed signs of higher exposure to pathogens across multiple biological layers.

European participants had richer gut microbial diversity and higher levels of chemicals tied to heart disease risk.

But geography also rewired key molecular networks involved in cholesterol, inflammation and energy processing.

Moving continents was enough to shift major metabolic pathways and alter the balance of gut microbes.

The most dramatic finding was that geography appears to change biological age ¡ª the molecular measure of how old your cells look.

East Asians living outside Asia were biologically older than those who stayed in Asia.

Europeans showed the opposite pattern, appearing biologically younger when living outside Europe.

The researchers say this suggests environment and genetic ancestry interact in surprising ways that could speed up or slow down ageing.

The study also uncovered a never-before-seen link between a telomerase gene involved in cellular ageing and a specific gut microbe, connected through a lipid molecule called sphingomyelin.

This unexpected three-way link hints at a molecular chain reaction through which gut bacteria may influence how quickly our cells age.

The findings create a powerful new resource for precision medicine, highlighting the need for healthcare tailored to genetic ancestry and environment rather than a one-size-fits-all model.

The researchers say their open-access dataset will help scientists and clinicians develop more accurate diagnostics, treatments and prevention strategies tailored to genetic ancestry, environment and individual biology.

¡°What this study shows, more clearly than ever before, is that our biology is shaped by a combination of both our genetic ancestry and the places we live,¡± said co?author Professor from The University of Manchester.

Manchester carried out analysis of biological metals alongside the international groups looking at proteins, the immune system, metabolism and microbiomes to generate a massive integrated picture of human variability.

Professor Unwin added: ¡°We were struck by how consistently ethnicity influenced immunity, metabolism and the microbiome, even when people moved thousands of miles away.

¡°However, it is equally clear that where we live can have substantial impacts on nudging key molecular pathways ¡ª even how our cells appear to age ¡ª in different directions depending on who you are. It proves that precision medicine must reflect real global diversity, not a single population.¡±

Michael Snyder, Professor of Genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine who led the study said: ¡°Our study is special because for the first time we have deeply profiled people from around the world, including Asia, Europe and North America. This enables us to see what properties such as metabolites and microbes are associated with ethnicity and which ones with geography.

¡°One interesting finding is the association of age with geography. East Asians that live outside of Asia have a higher biological age than those residing in Asia. For Europeans, those residing outside of Europe are younger.¡±

• The paper A Comparison of Deep Multiomics Profiles Across Ethnicity, Geography, and Age is available DOI

Their new reveals harmless microbes living on our skin release powerful molecules that can shut down the inflammatory chaos triggered by Staphylococcus aureus, the bug long known to wreak havoc in eczema.

Based at The University of Manchester and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, they found that when nutrients run low, many friendly staphylococcal species release tiny lipopeptides as they age that calm the skin¡¯s immune response.

The lipopeptides stop keratinocytes ¡ª the skin¡¯s frontline cells ¡ª from pumping out Interleukin-33 (IL?33), a major driver of allergic inflammation.

The discovery, they say, potentially open the door to a new class of safe, stable, non?infectious treatments that could help millions living with skin and other allergic diseases.

The findings are the latest breakthrough by the team, after previously showing that a protein released by Staphylococcus aureus, known as Sbi, triggers IL-33 and sparks eczema flare?ups. Applying the lipopeptides to the skin of mice prevented IL?33 release and stopped eczema from developing.

Certain types of lipopeptides -  diacylated were the most effective, while another type -   monoacylated versions had no effect. The molecules blocked IL?33 from leaving the nucleus, trapping it in the perinuclear space- the gap between the inner and outer membranes of the nucleus and preventing it from fuelling inflammation.

The new findings- published in the journal Nature Communications today -   confirm their suspicion that good bacteria might naturally counteract this effect.

Study author from The University of Manchester said: ¡°We think this is a very exciting result as lipopeptides are small, stable, non-infectious chemical structures that have the potential to be used as a topical treatment for eczema. They might also be used in the future to treat other allergic diseases such as hay fever.¡±

Study author from The University of Manchester commented: ¡°For years we¡¯ve known that children raised around farm animals or exposed to diverse microbes early in life are less likely to develop allergies, but we haven¡¯t understood the precise mechanisms behind this protection.

Study author Professor Akane Tanaka from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology said: ¡°We have previously already shown that blocking IL?33 with a biologic drug stops eczema in the same mouse model. Now we¡¯ve shown that bacteria can do it themselves- an exciting and potentially game-changing discovery.¡±

Study author Professor Hiroshi Matsuda from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology said: ¡°Our findings overturn long?held assumptions about how bacterial molecules behave. Instead of triggering immune alarms through TLR pathways, these lipopeptides bypass them entirely. The next step is testing these lipopeptides in people with eczema to see if they can be turned into real?world treatments.¡±

The study was supported by the Leo Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

• The paper Soluble bacterial lipopeptides suppress gasdermin D-associated IL-33 release in keratinocytes and atopic dermatitis in mice is available DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72376-x

Titled From Manchester, for the world: people, partnerships and place, the article highlights how the University¡¯s future is inextricably linked to the city it calls home and how the collective work of our University community is driving forward our Manchester 2035 strategy, with its strong commitment to social responsibility, civic engagement and global impact. Professor Ivison emphasises a clear message: the University¡¯s success depends on Manchester¡¯s success, and vice-versa. This shared trajectory underpins Manchester 2035, the University of Manchester¡¯s new strategy, focusing on working not just in the city, but actively for it.

Reflecting on Manchester¡¯s character, Professor Ivison points to the city¡¯s distinctive energy as a defining force. Having first visited in the late 1980s, he notes both the enduring spirit and the remarkable transformation of the city over time. That change reinforces the University¡¯s civic purpose: creating opportunity, supporting inclusive growth and innovation and tackling major challenges through local partnerships.

The article also shines a light on the University¡¯s cultural institutions - Manchester Museum, the Whitworth, John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank, being described as the University¡¯s ¡®front door¡¯. These spaces play a vital role in connecting communities with research and ideas, often providing the first point of engagement with the University for many people across the city region and beyond.

Partnership working is a central theme. The University¡¯s collaborations with the NHS, schools, local authorities, businesses and cultural organisations are key to turning knowledge into impact. These partnerships are fundamental to Manchester 2035, enabling us to co-create solutions to local and global challenges while strengthening our role as a truly civic university. They not only enhance research and innovation but also create valuable opportunities for students, helping them develop skills, gain experience and build lasting connections in Greater Manchester.

The feature also highlights the University¡¯s world-leading research, particularly in health. Manchester¡¯s cancer research ecosystem brings together the University, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Cancer Research UK. This is a powerful example of how scale and collaboration can deliver global impact. The proximity of research and clinical care at sites such as the Paterson Building enables discoveries to translate directly into patient benefit.

Looking ahead, Professor Ivison reinforces the University¡¯s long-term vision: to remain at the heart of the city¡¯s future while sharing Manchester¡¯s strengths globally. The message is simple but ambitious - taking what makes the University special and ensuring it is recognised around the world.

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The findings, published in , suggest that this fast?acting mechanism may have contributed to past climate events and could well contribute to future climate change as polar ice sheets continue to retreat.

The study draws on samples collected during the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 400, one of the final missions of the decades long?running global marine research programme. By analysing sediment cores drilled offshore in northwest Greenland, researchers found unexpectedly low methane concentrations in layers where methane hydrates would normally be abundant.

High?resolution 3D seismic imaging revealed widespread pockmarks and fluid?escape structures on the seafloor, indicating that methane?rich fluids had once migrated rapidly through the sediments. The evidence points to a striking conclusion, methane hydrates in this region were locally dissolved and flushed out by large volumes of meltwater during the last glacial cycle.

Scientists have long suspected that rapid methane release from destabilised hydrates may have played a role in major climate events in Earth¡¯s history, including the Palaeocene¨CEocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) around 56 million years ago. During this period, global temperatures rose by 5¨C8¡ãC, triggering ocean acidification, species extinctions, and widespread environmental disruption. Although the Greenland findings relate to a much more recent period, they reveal a mechanism capable of producing similarly abrupt methane release under the right conditions.

Methane hydrates, ice?like solids that trap methane within a crystalline structure, typically form under low?temperature, high?pressure conditions known as stability zones, typically found beneath permafrost or in deep?sea sediments.

Approximately 1,800 Gigatons of methane is stored in gas hydrates beneath continental margins and permafrost, making them one of the largest methane reservoirs in the global carbon cycle and a massive potential greenhouse gas source.

Until now, destabilisation was thought to occur mainly through slow changes in temperature or pressure. The new findings reveal that meltwater?driven dissolution can rapidly destabilise hydrates even within gas hydrate stability zones, previously thought of as safe stores of methane.

As ice sheets continue to thin and retreat, this newly identified process could influence the timing and magnitude of future methane emissions and shape the trajectory of climate change.

The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness was established to champion journalism that sheds light on one of Britain¡¯s most enduring social challenges. The prize recognises reporting that is person-centred, data-driven or policy-focused.

Chair of judges Michael Gove said: ¡°The Orwell Prize attracts some of the most powerful and most exciting journalism being produced in Britain today. Homelessness is a huge social evil, but it has also inspired some great reporting and fantastic analysis. It has been a joy to spend time both with this work and with my fellow judges, who have brought a huge amount of passion and authority to the business of sifting some brilliant entries.¡±

The Orwell Foundation, which runs the awards, promotes the values associated with George Orwell¡¯s writing, including integrity, courage and fidelity to truth.

The winners of the 2026 Orwell Prizes will be announced on 25 June at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London.

- Countries with higher climate vulnerability attract fewer international students
- Strong climate adaptation readiness significantly boosts student inflows
- Major climate summits such as COP15 and COP21 marked a turning point in student decision-making
- Economic factors still matter, but students increasingly weigh climate risk and resilience
- China, India and other emerging hubs could gain market share through stronger climate action and growing academic strength

What did the study find?

The study examined global student mobility patterns over two decades. Researchers found that a destination country¡¯s climate vulnerability significantly reduced its attractiveness to prospective international students.

By contrast, countries with stronger climate adaptation readiness - meaning they are better prepared to respond to climate risks such as extreme weather, heat and infrastructure disruption - saw significantly higher student inflows.

Why climate now matters to students

Traditionally, international students have been drawn by factors such as prestigious universities, stronger economies, language links and career opportunities - but the study found this picture has changed.

Major global climate summits, including the Copenhagen Accord (COP15) in 2009 and the Paris Agreement (COP21) in 2015, acted as key turning points. After these moments, student choices increasingly reflected a country¡¯s climate readiness and vulnerability, not just its economic strength.

A new competition for global talent

The findings suggest countries are now competing for students not only on education quality, but also on resilience, liveability and long-term stability. This could reshape the global higher education market in the years ahead.

Researchers found that proactive climate adaptation, combined with rising university capacity, could help emerging destinations such as China and India capture a larger share of international students.

Who could lose out?

The study suggests some traditional destinations could face growing pressure if climate vulnerability worsens or if progress on adaptation stalls.

Researchers say climate preparedness may increasingly influence how students judge future safety, quality of life and opportunity in a host country.

What the researchers said

¡°International students are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives when choosing where to study,¡± said Dr Haoyu Hu.

¡°Our findings suggest they are not only thinking about degrees and careers, but also about what kind of future a country offers - whether it feels safe, stable and prepared for climate change.¡±

Dr Hu is based at The University of Manchester, which has been recognised globally for its social and environmental impact and is the only university in the world to rank in the top ten of both the QS World University Sustainability Rankings and the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. 

The rankings recognise universities¡¯ contributions towards the United Nations¡¯ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including research, teaching, public engagement and campus operations aimed at creating a healthier, fairer and more sustainable future. 

Why this matters

International students contribute billions to economies, strengthen research systems and help fill skills gaps.

The researchers say governments and universities may need to treat climate resilience as part of their international education strategy - from greener campuses and better infrastructure to stronger public climate policy.

They also say support is needed for climate-vulnerable countries, so global talent flows do not become even more unequal.

Publication details

The study was published in the Nature Portfolio journal Communications Sustainability.

DOI:  

What are the implications?

The researchers say the findings provide strong evidence for investing in high-quality, community-designed green spaces, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

They argue that urban park improvements could form a key part of strategies to improve public health, support wellbeing and create more equitable cities.

Publication details

The study was published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

DOI:

As one of the UK's leading research institutions, and a member of the prestigious Russell Group, The University of Manchester faced rapidly growing data challenges. With research processes generating up to 15TB of data per day, and overall data volumes increasing year on year, the University was approaching a critical five-year refresh of its primary NAS storage infrastructure, from 10PB to at least 20PB, and at significant cost. 

As part of a process to improve efficiency, the University's Research IT Data Management Team identified an opportunity to implement intelligent lifecycle management to automate the identification and archiving of inactive data. ¡°The challenge was identifying which datasets among billions of files could be safely moved to archive storage,¡± explained Wayne Smith, Research Data Management Lead at the University. ¡°A manual approach would have required scripting through massive volumes of data, consuming significant staff time and introducing risk through human intervention. StorageMAP gives us the visibility and confidence to make these decisions efficiently, transforming how we manage our research data.¡± 

By implementing StorageMAP, the University is able to rapidly and efficiently scan billions of files and petabytes of data, identifying ageing and unused datasets suitable for archiving. By removing this data from primary storage, system administrators can now spend significantly less time on manual processes and implement lifecycle management decisions more effectively, with clear visibility into storage utilisation patterns across the research environment. 

"Research-intensive universities face unique data challenges, with volumes and associated infrastructure costs growing at unprecedented rates," said Michael Jack, CRO, Datadobi. "The University of Manchester has demonstrated how intelligent data management can transform storage economics. Rather than simply buying more expensive primary storage, they're using StorageMAP to make data-driven decisions that align resources with research priorities while achieving substantial cost savings."