Reading in the news - Fri 21 Apr

Debunking fake news: Dr Al Edwards (Pharmacy) is quoted by The Independent, Computer Weekly, and Inkl discrediting false allegations that an upcoming emergency alert test being sent to devices using 4G and 5G is an "activation signal" to activate pathogens in an unspecified "shot".

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Professor Paul Williams (Meteorology) is quoted by The Telegraph, NBC News, and Yahoo! On the impact of climate change on the severity of clear-air turbulence.
• The latest European State of the Climate report was released today, and included findings that Europe experienced its hottest summer on record last year. Professor Richard Allan (Meteorology) is quoted by New Scientist, Public News Time, and Dicomo Giornale on how increasing temperatures will continue due to climate change.
• Dr James O’Donoghue was interviewed by BBC Radio Berkshire on leading research tracking the destruction rate of Saturn's rings which are melting due to the planet's intense gravity. Read our news story.
• Professor Hannah Cloke (Geography/Meteorology) is quoted by Birmingham Live and MSN naming last year's hot summer a 'grim milestone' for the warming to come, and the study she co-authored, which found social inequalities are contributing to urban water crises, is reported by Innovation Origins. Read our news story.
• PhD student Chloe Brimicombe (previously Geography/Walker Institute) is quoted by Inside Climate News, describing heat wave conditions in the UK last summer. She also mentions how dry the University's green campus became as a result of the drought.

COVID-19: expert comment on the pandemic

• Dr Simon Clarke (Biological Sciences) was interviewed by Talk Radio and discussed the rare case of someone who died from a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

#UniForReading: our role as a civic university

• Reading Today and Wokingham Today report on the University's donation of £30,000 to fund community projects across the Thames Valley. Vice Chancellor, Professor Robert Van der Noort is quoted. Read our news story
• Bracknell News (in print) reports that the University's construction of a new cricket pavilion in Shinfield is nearly complete.

Health and wellbeing:

• Further coverage of research led by Dr David Field (Psychology) on the benefits of Vitamin B6 for mental health is featured in print by The Sun (in print) and BBC Radio York. Read our news story.
• BBC 1 South News, BBC Radio Oxford, and BBC Radio Shropshire reported on the extra funding that Dr Maria Maiarú (Pharmacy) has secured for her research on how magic mushrooms could reduce chronic nerve pain. Read our news story.
• Nau.ch and India Education Diary report on Dr Maria Maiarú’s (Pharmacy) research that suggests modified Botox could be the answer to chronic nerve pain for some patients. Read our news story.
• Professor Claire Williams (Psychology) is quoted by Positive Health, in a letter to the editor, on her collaborative research findings which suggest consuming blueberries provides brain function benefits. Read our news story.

Business and society:

• Via Ritzau and Dansk Industri reports that Dr Adeyinka Adewale (Henley Business School) will give a speech as part of The Danish Diversity Day Conference in May.
• Head Topics names that the launch of The John Madejski Centre for Reputation Africa in Cape Town as a culmination of its twenty-year long relationship with the University and Henley Business School.

Food and farming:

• AHDB mentions a University study on how long milking heifers remained in their herds.

Other Coverage:

• Student, Jess Ashley was interviewed by BBC Radio Berkshire and discussed her review of the TV series, The Power, which is available on Amazon Prime.
• Professor Julia Waters' (Languages and Cultures) comments on the death of her sister Ruth Perry, headteacher of Caversham Primary School, in The Reading Chronicle.
• Postgraduate researcher at the University, Daryl Lai is named by Law Asia as among the top Taiwan lawyers of 2023.
• Bracknell News (in print) reports that Bracknell MP James Sunderland expressed his upset after a student society event he was due to speak at was cancelled. The society has since invited him to speak at an alternative date, they report.
• IHCAN (in print) reports that a live seminar programme by BioCare Education Series will be hosted at the University in November and will discuss the circle of life.

Alumni:

• The Argus (in print) publishes a tribute for Reading alumnus and councillor, Rupert Simmons, who passed away this week.
• East Anglian Daily Times (in print) reports that a couple who met at the University whilst studying there have moved into a home together.