Latest research news

Obesity linked to tots’ TV
The first research into television and pre-school obesity has linked excess weight to a growing practice of giving toddlers their own bedroom
TVs. The study by Columbia University in the US interviewed 3,000 children under five years of age. (Guardian)

Scientists discover how smell stirs memory
A study has located the precise region of the brain that appears to be responsible for connecting everyday sensation with something that
happened in the past. Research is led by Dan Johnston, a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. (Independent)

UK lung cancer survival rate static
Britain is failing to improve its lung cancer survival rates, probably because the disease is diagnosed too late, a 20-year Finnish study has
shown. (Times)

Literary festival has lost the plot
The 16th Hay Festival seems less a wholesale celebration of literature than a salute to every intellectual and practical pastime, says Michael
Glover. (Independent, Guardian)

Lost Atlantis of north emerges from Moray Firth
A freak low tide has uncovered a once-prosperous port that was at the centre of Scotland’s international trade until it was lost to the sea almost 300 years ago. (Independent)

Egyptian seal found in stable ruins
An Egyptian seal belonging to a pharaoh who died almost 4,000 years ago has been uncovered in the rubble of a Scottish stable block. The
discovery was made by archaeologist David Connolly of Addyman Associates, which is conducting the excavation on behalf of the National
Trust of Scotland. (Independent)

Only children are more selfish
Research by London-based research group Mintel shows that children without siblings can be socially isolated and have a more selfish
attitude to life. (Guardian)

Meet the real spiderman
Fritz Vollrath, of Oxford University, has spent two decades researching spiders. He tells Roger Highfield what a real spiderman would be capable of. (Telegraph)

Statistical model tackles World Cup predictions
A new statistical model of the World Cup football tournament could provide a more accurate set of predictions than either bookmakers or television pundits, according to Henry Stott, a mathematician at the University of Warwick, UK. (New Scientist)

Medical journal statistics potentially 'misleading'
Reports of treatment trials in top international medical journals usually include only the most flattering statistical result, a new analysis reveals. This could mislead doctors and patients into believing a drug or procedure is more effective than it actually is, say researchers at the University of California, Davis. (New Scientist)