Reading in the news - Thu 11 Feb

COVID-19: expert comment on the pandemic 

• Dr Simon Clarke (Biological Sciences) spoke to talkRadio about the UK's latest quarantine plans for travellers; LBC and BBC Three Counties Radio about holiday plans for this year - his comments on LBC were also picked up by the Telegraph live blog and LBC Online; and LBC again on the WHO recommendation for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
• Dr Clarke was also quoted in The Times (print) on where the virus might have originated; The Express about the Sputnik vaccine and the South African variant; The Evening Standard about vaccine efficiency (also picked up by Yahoo News UK and MSN); and The National about community testing.
• Comment from Dr Al Edwards (Pharmacy) is used in this Daily Mail article on the new punishments for breaking international travel rules.
• Prof Ian Jones (Biological Sciences) is quoted in The National in an article about how vaccines can help tackle the pandemic.

Planet Partners: working with global partners to protect the environment 

• A new study on early Indian monsoon forecasts is reported in The Economic Times, Financial Express, Yahoo News India and other sites, and quotes Dr Amulya Chevuturi (Met). Read our news story here.

Flight paths re-routed: CNN Online, and multiple US news sites, report that airlines are now free to change their routes to take advantage of favourable jet stream winds and save fuel on transatlantic flights. The announcement from National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK's national provider of air traffic control, came days after research was published by the University of Reading showing aircraft could save fuel, and therefore reduce emissions and journey times. Read our news story. 

Sinus congestion: Prof Glenn Gibson (Food) provides expert comment for this Times (£) article on how a healthy gut can help with respiratory infection.

London real estate: Dr Cathy Hughes (Henley Business School) is quoted in this New York Times article (which also features in the print edition) on the impact of lockdown on commercial lease agreements. The same article also appears in Finance & Commerce and The Straits Times.

Other coverage

• Dr Amelia Hollywood (Pharmacy) is quoted in a Daily Mail article about a new drug to help tackle obesity.
• Dr Thomas Grisaffi (Geography) spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about how the falling price of coffee is forcing more Peruvian farmers to grow coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine. The article he co-authored for The Conversation is also reproduced on Italian site ADUC.
• FarmWeek covers the EIT Food Trust Report, which has shown that consumer trust in the food sector has increased over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read our news story.
• A CMI article on management apprenticeships talks about the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust's management apprenticeships designed in partnership with Henley Business School. Prof John Board (Dean) is quoted within the piece.
• Fresh Plaza covers Reading research which has found that blueberries might help with treatment for depression.
• An article in the Times Literary Supplement on the work of Samuel Beckett mentions the Beckett International Foundation at the University of Reading.
• Building.co.uk reports that plans developed by architecture practice Scott Brownrigg, for a TV studio at the Thames Valley Science Park, were submitted to Wokingham Borough Council last month.
• Business Live South Africa reports that Henley Business School South Africa has appointed Daniel Petzer as its head of research.