World news

runners in action

Loughborough academics continue vital athlete heat research

Researchers from Loughborough University will once again collaborate with the World Athletics Health and Science Department to investigate the effect of heat on endurance athletes.

a child playing football

The fighting spirit of young African footballers who migrate overseas

When Sadio Mané scored the decisive penalty to secure Senegal’s triumph over Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Isaak, a professional Ghanaian footballer in his late 20s, could not have been further away from the action.
A snow boarder in action

Slippery Slopes: How Climate Change is threatening the 2022 Winter Olympics

Climate change is threatening the Winter Olympics and the future of snow sports by making conditions much more dangerous to athletes and participants, finds a new report.

Rewarding public officials for successful enforcement could cut low-level corruption

Petty corruption such as bribing local police could be reduced by incentivising public officials to enforce the law, according to a new paper.
Photo of the Hazlerigg Building and Fountain lit up purple with the words: 'Holocaust Memorial Day - 27 January'

Programme of events to take place for staff and students to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Later this month, Loughborough University will be hosting a series of events that will aim to educate, raise awareness, and allow time to reflect.
Photo of a notepad with 'Between the lines' written on and a pen and inkpot next to it

Art and Science combine in upcoming exhibition as part of a project sharing the stories of international students in Higher Education

A new LU Arts exhibition will demonstrate how artists can work across disciplines as it shares the processes involved in digital artist Sarah Selby’s project ‘Between the Lines’.

Polar bears in the Arctic

Why increased rainfall in the Arctic is bad news for the whole world

Before the end of this century, most of the Arctic will for the first time receive more rain than snow across a whole year. That’s one of the key findings of a new study on precipitation in the Arctic which has major implications – not just for the polar region, but for the whole world.

Helping Pacific Island communities build energy resilience – new paper

The inhabitants of the Pacific Islands are locked in an ongoing battle against rising sea levels and tropical cyclones which ravage their homes and their energy infrastructure with devastating regularity.
Water bubbles

Loughborough water engineering experts awarded more than £287k for projects that support COP26 adaptation and resilience priorities

Loughborough University academics from the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering (ABCE) have been awarded more than £278,000 for projects that seek to address key environmental research challenges relevant to the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience theme.
Sign saying 'there is no planet b'

“We’re at the start of a critical decade”: Climate expert discusses hopes and fears around the future of our planet and why we must focus on the possible

“In my view, a lot of thinking about what to do about climate change has been bogged down by the fear of uncertainty.

Earth on fire.

What would 4°C of global warming feel like?

COP26 is underway and keeping 1.5°C within reach will feature prominently in world leaders’ discussions.

COP26 banner

COP26: a four-minute guide by a climate scientist

COP26, which is taking place in Glasgow, is the latest in a series of meetings through which the world’s governments attempt to deal with climate change.
Preview of the infographics created by Dr Richard Hodgkins.

Good COP, bad COP: How decisions made at COP26 could impact weather and temperatures in the East Midlands

New infographics created by a Loughborough University physical geographer explore how decisions made at the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP) may impact weather and temperatures experienced in the East Midlands.
Woman cooking with biomass

COP26 EXPLAINER: Biomass: what is it, why cooking with it is an issue, and what Loughborough is doing to develop and promote alternatives

A rapid and just transition to clean energy across the globe will dominate discussions at COP26 as it is crucial to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement for avoiding dangerous climate change and limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Crystallisation occuring. Protein crystal of lysozyme with tetragonal or sea urchin shape in one droplet

Clear about crystallisation: Exchange project aims to increase survival rate of various diseases by improving knowledge of a pharmaceutical purification process

For the next two years, researchers from Loughborough and Tianjin Universities will make the 10,000+ mile round journey between the two institutes in a bid to increase our understanding of a key process used in the pharmaceutical industry to purify molecules.
Illustration of solar panels

Sustainable energy expert appointed Chair of UN group dedicated to increasing solar energy uptake

An academic in Loughborough University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities has been appointed to a United Nations role that will allow her to continue pushing for solar energy uptake.

Displaced community waits in line for food.

Clean energy cooking in refugee camps should be prioritised on the humanitarian agenda, new briefing note argues

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 79.5 million people were forcibly displaced in the world at the end of 2019, and over the course of 2020, that number has soared beyond 80 million*.

New guide sets out how to deliver successful national vaccination programmes

A guide for delivering safe and effective national COVID vaccination programmes is being rolled out around the world to help countries with mass immunisations.
Blue graphic with LEADING written on it

Loughborough University launches LEADING

The University is delighted to announce the launch of LEADING, Loughborough’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Networked Research Group.

New low-cost ventilator which doesn’t need electricity could help hospitals treat COVID patients

A team of engineers from Loughborough University has designed and built a unique low-cost, non-electric ventilator in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo of the collaborative staff partners in Cape Town

Loughborough University partners with South African universities to launch collaborative doctoral training programme

Loughborough University’s Doctoral College has launched a new doctoral training programme for staff from five South African universities.

Cuppa with a scientist bonus image

“You know you’re there to endure and suffer” – climate scientist discusses extraordinary expedition to install world’s highest weather station on Mt. Everest

“There's a reason that it is so famous; it's not just that it's the highest mountain on earth, it is an incredibly awe-inspiring landscape”, says climate scientist Dr Tom Matthews, who was part of the team that installed the world’s highest weather station on Mount Everest in 2019.

Visual of a head with a cog turning inside to represent artificial intelligence

Institute of Advanced Studies announces annual Theme for 2021/22

Loughborough University’s Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) is delighted to announce AI: Facts, Fictions, Futures as their annual Theme for 2021/22.

Nissan staying in UK is great news after Brexit, but car industry’s future is still very unclear

When the UK voted for Brexit, there were no positives for the UK car industry. The prospect of a 10% tariff on car production that involves parts and sub-assemblies moving in and out of the UK was untenable.
the world

Climate change: what would 4°C of global warming feel like?

Another year, another climate record broken.