Reading in the news - Thu 18 Jul

Longer days: Dr Simon Driscoll (Meteorology) was interviewed on Sky News Breakfast, explaining how the melting of the polar ice caps, due to climate change, is causing days to get marginally longer.

Food and farming:

• A Guardian story on calls to introduce new labelling for ultra-processed foods includes comment from Professor Gunter Kuhnle (Food and Nutritional Sciences), who cautions against new labelling, advocating for a more positive approach to healthy eating instead.
• Gloucestershire Live, Yahoo! News and Daily Record report Professor Vimal Karani’s (Food and Nutritional Sciences) study findings on the impact of milk intake on BMI, body fat, and cholesterol levels.
• A new study looking at the benefits of plant oils vs butter included dietary intervention trials held at the University, reports Times Now. 

Business and society:

• Dr Kiwi Ting (Politics) wrote an article for The Conversation on what a House of Commons with fewer privately educated MPs could mean for the UK. 

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment 

• Continued coverage of a study which found that low-pressure during Storm Ciaran caused the boiling point of water to drop slightly, resulting in bad tasting cups of tea. PhD student Caleb Miller (Meteorology) is quoted in multiple outlets. Coverage includes: MSN, 9News, ITV Meridian, BuzzFeed.de, MSN.de, and Wetter. Read our news story.
• The Business Download features a write-up of Show Your Stripes Day and what it represents. Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology) is quoted. 

Health and wellbeing:

• Dr Alex Bye’s (Pharmacology) article for The Conversation, about whether aspirin could potentially prevent heart disease, has been translated into Portuguese, also by g1Globo. 

Other Coverage:

• Dr Joanna Baker (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) co-wrote a piece for The Conversation, about her study that found the largest animals do not have proportionally bigger brains. The research is also reported by Phys.org. Read our news story.

Alumni:

• The Times publishes an obituary for Max Atkinson, an expert in the art of speechmaking who studied at the University of Reading.
• MyLondon reports that a Reading graduate has been jailed after admitting a violent assault.