Research press releases

a close up of cameras in place to capture a tennis player's serve

Wimbledon in focus: Advantage Loughborough – serving up research and innovation in tennis (VIDEO)

Loughborough University is using science to its advantage as new research examines how tennis players can improve the power, accuracy, and consistency of their serve.
dr anthony papathomas sitting down

Expert comment: disordered eating in athletes (VIDEO)

From the outside looking in, athletes often appear to be the pinnacle of physical health. But behind the podium places, victory laps, and trophy lifts, a less visible struggle can often be found.  
Christ the Redeemer watches over Rio Je Janeiro

Loughborough University scholar awarded prestigious ERC grant for groundbreaking youth research across the Global South

A Loughborough University London academic has been awarded €2.4m in European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant funding to launch a major international research project that will explore how young people across the Global South navigate uncertainty and push for change.

A man with white hair does his finances with a calculator

Costs for minimum retiree needs have fallen while moderate and comfortable standards see modest rises

The latest update of the Retirement Living Standards (RLS) shows a decrease in the cost of the minimum retirement lifestyle, down to £21,600 per year for a two-person household, due to the impact of lower energy prices and changes in the public’s expectations for this standard.
A UK oil rig

UK oil and gas firms face hidden risks in net zero transition

Smaller companies with ageing North Sea assets were especially vulnerable to financial losses, researchers found.
Materials pressured between two graphene layers melt in complex ways. Illustration: Ville Heirola/Aalto University.

Physicists use artificial intelligence to reveal how layered gases and metals melt

A team of physicists – including a Nobel Prize winner – has used artificial intelligence to uncover how layered materials melt and shift between physical states when confined to two dimensions.
Primary age children sitting around a teacher

It costs £1,000-a-year to send your child to state primary school and £2,300 for secondary school - new report

New research reveals that families in the UK must now cover minimum annual education costs of over £1,000 for a primary school child and nearly £2,300 for a secondary school pupil – a sharp rise that far outpaces inflation and earnings growth since 2022.
A digital image of three hands holding jigsaw pieces signifying team working

Leicestershire’s universities join Nottingham in ambitious research project where communities can shape research to solve real-life problems

Loughborough University, the University of Leicester and De Montfort University are joining forces with Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham in an unprecedented ambitious project which brings together academia and the community to support growth and development, broaden prospects, drive change, and improve wellbeing.
athlete richard whitehead in a mask

Richard Whitehead’s 100 marathon challenge – with a little help from Loughborough University (VIDEO)

For many, completing just one marathon in a lifetime is a huge achievement.
a child, head bowed, with phone in hand

Hit TV series Adolescence: “your child could receive these types of online messages. It's not out of the ordinary” – Loughborough University expert says (VIDEO)

The hit Netflix series, Adolescence, which delivers a hard-hitting storyline around a social media-fuelled killing and the influence of incel subculture, has highlighted the very real concerns children and young people face navigating the online world. 
five people sat on stools having a panel discussion

Loughborough University selected as a UK Sport Social Impact Partner

Loughborough University has been announced as one of UK Sport’s first-ever Event Social Impact Partners with the aim of using major events to drive positive change.
shadows of people playing football in the sunset

The world’s first global thematic report on sport trafficking unveils critical insights into exploitation

Loughborough University, in partnership with Mission 89 and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch of the British Parliament, has released the first-ever comprehensive global thematic report on sport trafficking.
hundreds of clothes on hangers

New study challenges circular fashion’s economic and environmental claims

A new study reveals that circular fashion (CF) – the practice of recycling, reselling, and renting clothing to reduce waste – might not be the green solution it claims to be.
Children line up in a school canteen waiting to be served their lunch by a dinner lady.

Labelling food with the physical activity required to burn off calories reduces sugary food purchases in secondary school pupils, study finds

A trial at English secondary schools of alternative food labelling – which displayed the number of minutes of physical activity needed to burn off calories – reduced the purchase of sugary foods by a small amount, new research has found.

two female athletes compete for the ball in wheelchair rugby

Loughborough research leads to rule change in World Wheelchair Rugby

Research conducted by Loughborough University has led to a rule change in World Wheelchair Rugby (WWR), increasing female participation in the sport.
a close up of a petridish in a lab setting

New research will tackle the global threat of antimicrobial resistance

A Loughborough University-backed research project investigating the development of new treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections is set to launch.
The team at Loughborough's Centre for Research in Social Policy

Loughborough’s research into living standards secures four more years of funding from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Loughborough’s Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) has secured a further four-year partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to continue its work defining socially acceptable standards of living.
steak cooking on a grill

Processed red meat isn’t just bad for your heart, it’s also associated with dementia

Less red meat is good for the planet and a growing number of people have started the new year resolving to pursue a meat-free diet.
a worm eye view of hands joined in a circle

Health research funding confirmed

Millions of pounds of government cash to help carry out wide-ranging research to identify the health needs for people in Leicestershire has been confirmed.
A sundew carnivorous plants digesting a fly

Sundews’ secret to survival: Study reveals how carnivorous plants adapt to microhabitat challenges

Scientists have uncovered how sundews, Charles Darwin’s favourite plant, become more carnivorous in certain habitats.
An Edinburgh skyline

Latest Cost of a Child in Scotland research finds costs outstripping additional Holyrood support for families

A huge gap remains between the cost of raising a child in Scotland and actual family incomes, despite the significant impact of Scottish government policies and lower childcare costs.

Concept image showing an atom and electrons surrounding it with wavelengths going through the middle. Rainbow-colour scheme on a black background

Physicists' breakthrough in fine-tuning electron behaviour in quantum materials could fast-track next generation of technology

Physicists at Loughborough University have made an exciting breakthrough in understanding how to fine-tune the behaviour of electrons in quantum materials poised to drive the next generation of advanced technologies.

athletes on the starting line in an open water swim race

Research reveals health risks caused by swimmers’ core body temperatures during open water competitions

A study led by Loughborough University has revealed divergent challenges caused by swimmers’ core body temperatures during elite open water swimming competitions.
the 'loughborough university' sign outside campus

World-class ‘accelerator’ to speed development of crucial rehabilitation technologies

A world-class impact accelerator will connect hundreds of East Midlands MedTech SMEs with health and care professionals, academics and the public to drive the design, development and delivery of pioneering rehabilitation technologies.
A shot of the Think Human exhibition in Derby.

Museum exhibit showcases Loughborough's excellence in ergonomics & human factors

A museum exhibit developed in collaboration with Loughborough University is showcasing how ergonomics helps human development – from securing Olympic gold medals for Team GB to helping navigate rail stations and delivering progress to latest cancer treatments.