Technical University of Catalonia (UPC)

Eating five servings of dark chocolate a week is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a long-term US study published today in The BMJ. The research did not find this association with milk chocolate.

A study published today in Science Advances suggests that there may be a correlation between having a high body mass index (BMI) in childhood and developing schizophrenia later in life. However, the study also indicates that having a higher BMI in adulthood may be correlated with a lower risk of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

More than 60 % of the world's cities receive more precipitation than the rural areas around them, according to a study published in PNAS. The paper cites southern European cities such as Milan and Barcelona as examples of these ‘notable anomalies’, but adds that this phenomenon is not common in central and northern Europe. The research team analysed satellite and radar data from more than 1,000 cities around the world between 2001 and 2020. 

Combining two types of cameras could enable autonomous vehicles to detect objects accurately and efficiently, say researchers in Switzerland in a study published in Nature. Autonomous vehicles need visual systems capable of detecting fast-moving objects without sacrificing image quality. The system described combines a colour camera with a reduced frame rate - to lower the bandwidth needed to process images - and an event camera, which detects fast movements - such as pedestrians or vehicles - and compensates for the higher latency of the colour camera.  

Yes, I claim that we can believe that praying works. There are a number of artefacts, let's call them traps or biases, that make it easier for us to do so. I will introduce them with the help of a joking example that serves to explain how a scientific study should be designed to be rigorous, but also to understand what limitations we should look for when reading a paper.

A study carried out by researchers at the University of Amsterdam Medical Centres on more than 220,000 children examines the academic performance at age 12 of children born by induced labour. According to the authors, a reduction in scores was observed in infants born after induced labour between 37 and 41 weeks. The research is published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.

After almost three months of delays caused by various technical problems and two hurricanes, the Artemis I mission was successfully launched this morning, the first of a programme that will take the first woman astronaut to the moon. It has 42 days ahead of it, during which the spacecraft will orbit our satellite and test the stability of this lunar orbit, because in the future a space station will be located there to receive the astronauts on their journey from Earth.

A study published today in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry claims that some drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also help with some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

A study of nearly half a million adults examines the association between total and specific fish intake and melanoma risk.

A study published in the BMJ concludes that covid-19 is a risk factor for developing venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and haemorrhage.