Influenza remains a major respiratory disease, which places a heavy burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Vaccination is the most efficient way to prevent and control influenza. Current seasonal influenza vaccines, however, protect primarily against three selected strains and require annual updates. Their efficacy can significantly decline if the circulating viruses do not match the strains chosen each year for each hemisphere. Moreover, these vaccines fail to guard against human infections caused by animal influenza viruses, such as avian strains, which pose a potential global pandemic threat. The World Health Organization (WHO) has underscored the urgent need for a new generation of universal influenza vaccines.

The research team developed two innovative approaches to create next-generation LAIVs. The first strategy involved inserting a human α-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene into the genome of a human influenza virus. This modification prompts infected host cells to express the α-Gal epitopes on their surface. Since humans naturally produce anti-α-Gal antibodies, this can allow preexisting antibody to recognise cells infected by the vaccine, thereby enhancing vaccine induced immune responses, including antibody-mediated cytotoxicity, opsonisation and phagocytosis. The research data showed that the vaccine is attenuated and is not pathogenic in mouse models. In experiments, vaccinated mice showed strong innate and adaptive immune responses, including antibody and T-cell responses. These immune responses conferred broad protection against various influenza A virus subtypes, including human H1N1 and H3N2, and avian H5N1 strains.

The second approach to developing next-generation LAIVs involved introducing hundreds of silent mutations to a human influenza virus, shifting its codon usage from that of a human influenza virus to that of an avian influenza virus-like pattern. This shift resulted in the attenuation of the virus in mammalian cells, making it safe for use as an LAIV. Additionally, the mutant virus replicated perfectly in chicken eggs, which is crucial for current effective vaccine manufacturing processes. With this approach, the viral protein expression of the LAIV remained identical to the original wildtype virus, providing a robust immune response against the viruses. The research team successfully generated several attenuated viruses with different human influenza virus backbones, including H1N1 and H3N2. The results of in vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that these viruses were attenuated in mammalian hosts. They can thus be used as LAIVs to protect vaccinated mice from different subtypes of influenza A virus infection, including the human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses, as well as the avian H5N1 and H7N9 influenza viruses.

The development of these two award-winning LAIVs represents a significant advancement in the quest for broadly protective and efficient influenza vaccines. This new generation of LAIVs can both protect humans from seasonal influenza viruses and address the threat posed by emerging viruses, like avian influenza viruses. ‘The advantages of LAIVs lie in their intranasal administration, which has been shown to induce mucosal immune responses along the respiratory tract, providing additional protection against infection,’ highlighted Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, Chair Professor of Public Health Virology and Head of the Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, School of Public Health, HKUMed. ‘This needle-free delivery method alleviates the fear of vaccination, particularly in young children, so it will help mitigate vaccine hesitancy.’

These scientific breakthroughs represent a promising step towards a future in which influenza vaccines can offer comprehensive protection against a wide array of viral threats. Moving forward, the research team will leverage the international platform of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute (HKJCGHI) for further development, ensuring continued progress and making a global impact in this vital area.

‘Both HKUMed and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), one of the collaborators of the HKJCGHI, have initiated discussions and contributed intellectual input towards the vaccine development’, remarked Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, who is also the Co-Director of HKJCGHI. ‘It is anticipated that in the near future, further studies, including research work adhering to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards, will be conducted through the resources of the Institute.’

The research projects were led by Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, Daniel C K Yu Professor in Virology, Chair Professor of Public Health Virology and Head of the Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, School of Public Health, HKUMed; the Managing Director and Lead Scientist of the Centre for Immunology & Infection (C2i); the Co-Director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Global Health Institute (HKJCGHI); and the Co-Director of the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, HKUMed. Other members included Dr Alex Chin Wing-hong, School of Public Health, HKUMed; and the Centre for Immunology & Infection (C2i).

“Ultra-processed foods are characterized by high sugar, high salt, and other non-nutritive components, exhibiting low nutritional density yet high caloric content,” said Xiao Liu, MD, with the department of cardiology at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. “These products may contribute to adverse health outcomes through multiple mechanisms, including but not limited to dysregulation of blood lipid profiles, alterations in gut microbiota composition, promotion of obesity, induction of systemic inflammation, exacerbation of oxidative stress and impairment of insulin sensitivity.”

The systematic review included 41 prospective cohort studies spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania assessing the association between ultra-processed foods and health outcomes prior to April 2024. Taken together, the studies involved a total of 8,286,940 adult patients aged 18 years or older from the general population (30.8% male, 69.2% female).

All included studies used the Nova food classification system to define ultra-processed foods as industrially manufactured food products derived from natural foods or other organic constituents. These products undergo extensive multi-stage processing and typically contain significant quantities of food additives, including preservatives, colorants and flavor enhancers. According to the researchers, common examples of ultra-processed foods include commercially produced breads, sugar-sweetened beverages, potato chips, chocolate confectionery, candy, packaged cookies, etc.

The study found ultra-processed food consumption was associated with hypertension, cardiovascular events, cancer, digestive diseases and all-cause mortality. Each additional 100 g/day of ultra-processed food consumption was associated with a 14.5% higher risk of hypertension, 5.9% increased risk of cardiovascular events, 1.2% increased risk of cancer, 19.5% higher risk of digestive diseases and 2.6% higher risk of all-cause mortality. Researchers also observed increased risk of obesity/overweight, metabolic syndromes/diabetes and depression/anxiety.

The researchers used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to assess the quality of evidence included in the analysis. GRADE assessment indicated high to moderate certainty for most outcomes, except low certainty for metabolic syndrome/diabetes.

“Clinicians should clearly explain that ultra-processed foods are typically high in added sugars, sodium, and unhealthy fats, while being low in fiber, essential vitamins, and other protective nutrients. This nutritional imbalance contributes to a wide range of adverse health outcomes,” Liu said. “Emerging evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between ultra-processed food consumption and negative health outcomes — meaning the more ultra-processed foods consumed, the greater the health risk. Therefore, reducing ultra-processed foods intake, even modestly, may offer measurable health benefits.”

According to the researchers, governments may consider implementing measures to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods and mitigate the associated health impacts. Some suggested measures include establishing stringent food labeling regulations, requiring manufacturers to provide explicit and comprehensive ingredient disclosures — particularly detailing all additives present in ultra-processed foods, Liu said. Clinicians should also encourage patients to gradually lower their ultra-processed food intake, replacing them with more nutritious, minimally processed foods.

While the study was limited in generalizability and comparability by different definitions of ultra-processed foods, Liu said the findings are not just about what to avoid, but also about what to embrace. Emerging evidence has linked health benefits to whole foods, simple ingredients, and culturally appropriate healthy eating patterns such as the Mediterranean or DASH diet, he said. High quality studies about this topic are further needed.

This activity was previously believed to take place over hundreds or even thousands of years. 

However, high-resolution satellite observations reveal one huge glacier has been relentlessly pinching ice from its slower-moving neighbour over a period of less than 18 years.

University of Leeds researchers say it is unprecedented that this change in ice flow direction can be directly witnessed in Antarctica over such a short time span and its discovery is an important step in improving our understanding of the future of Antarctica and its contribution to sea level rise.  

Their findings are published today (8 May) in the journal The Cryosphere.

A study, led by Leeds, shows the speeding up of seven ice streams in West Antarctica, with one almost doubling in speed (87%) at the boundary where the ice meets the ocean between 2005 and 2022, and three speeding up by between 60% and 84% during that time. Six of the streams reached average speeds of over 700 metres per year in 2022 — equivalent to advancing the length of seven football pitches in one year, a remarkably fast pace for ice.

The team used satellite data to measure the change in ice speed in the Pope, Smith and Kohler (PSK) region in West Antarctica.   

They found the ice streams had sped up by 51% on average since 2005, at the grounding line — the point at which glaciers and ice shelves start to float. Grounding lines provide evidence of ice-sheet instability, because changes in their position reflect imbalance with the surrounding ocean and affect the flow of inland ice. 

However, the research team found that one piece of data was particularly striking. 

In stark contrast to the widespread acceleration observed between 2005 and 2022 on all other glaciers in the region, the ice stream on Kohler West slowed by 10%. The fastest rate of speed change was observed on its neighbour, Kohler East, as well as Smith West Glacier, which were flowing around 560 m/yr faster in 2022 compared to 2005. 

Nowadays, several glaciers around Antarctica are responding to climate change by flowing faster into the ocean. When the flow of a glacier speeds up, its ice becomes more stretched and thins at the same time, yet the Kohler West ice stream has slowed down.

Lead author Dr Heather Selley, who undertook this work as a PhD researcher in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, said: “We think that the observed slowdown on Kohler West Glacier is due to the redirection of ice flow towards its neighbour — Kohler East. This is due to the large change in Kohler West’s surface slope, likely caused by the vastly different thinning rates on its neighbouring glaciers.  

“Because Kohler East’s ice stream is flowing and thinning faster as it travels, it absorbs, or “steals” ice from Kohler West. 

“This is effectively an act of ‘ice piracy’, where ice flow is redirected from one glacier to another, and the accelerating glacier is essentially ‘thieving’ ice from its slowing neighbour.” 

She added: “We didn’t know ice streams could ‘steal’ ice from each over such a short period, so this is a fascinating discovery. 

“It’s unprecedented as we’re seeing this from satellite data and it’s happening at a rate of under 18 years, whereas we’ve always thought it was this extremely long, slow process.” 

International collaboration

The team calculated the ice velocity using a tracking technique which measures the displacement of visible features at or near the ice surface, such as crevasses or rifts.  Data on ice-thinning rates from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) CryoSat mission was also used in the study.

Leeds collaborated on the study with researchers from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) — which is led from Northumbria University — using data provided by satellites belonging to ESA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Canadian Space Agency and NASA.  

Pierre Dutrieux, study co-author and climate researcher at BAS, said: “This study provides an interesting demonstration of ice piracy, where flow into one glacier gradually switches to flow into another glacier, as the ocean melts the grounding zone and re-configures ice flow.” 

The team set out to establish mechanisms and impact of changes in conditions that impact how fast the ice flows, such as warming of the ocean, change in ocean circulation, change in air temperature and the amount of snow falling. 

They found that redirection of ice flow and ‘piracy’ at previously unobserved rates has changed the amount of ice flowing into the floating shelves that are fed by these streams. 

Crosson Ice Shelf, around 40 miles wide — roughly the distance from Leeds to Manchester — and Dotson Ice Shelf, around 30 miles wide — roughly the distance from Leeds to York — are two of the most rapidly changing outlets in West Antarctica, displaying both significant thinning and grounding-line retreat in recent decades.  

Future effects

Professor Anna Hogg, study co-author and Professor of Earth Observation in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, said: “The changes in flow direction have substantially altered the ice mass flux into Dotson and Crosson Ice Shelves, likely playing an important role in maintaining Dotson and accelerating the deterioration of Crosson.  

“This suggests that ice flow redirection is an important new process in contemporary ice sheet dynamics, which is required to understand present-day structural change in glaciers and the future evolution of these systems.”  

Over 410 million people could be at risk from rising sea levels by 2100 as a result of the climate crisis. Observed sea level rise data shows that global sea levels have already risen by more than 10 cm over the last decade.  

Dr Martin Wearing, ESA Digital Twin Earth Scientist and Polar Science Cluster Coordinator, said: “This new study highlights the unique ability of satellites to provide both the temporal and spatial coverage required to assess change in the polar regions.

“Using data from Copernicus Sentinel-1 and ESA’s Earth Explorer CryoSat, the team has revealed the complex evolution of ice flow in part of West Antarctica over the past few decades. Understanding these changing dynamics and what drives them is crucial for improved projections of future ice-sheet change and contributions to sea-level rise.”

The research was funded by UKRI Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), ESA and NASA Headquarters. 

One of the main hurdles to the commercialization of AR glasses has been the waveguide. In AR optics, the lens itself also serves as a “highway of light,” guiding virtual images directly to the user’s eye. Due to chromatic dispersion, conventional designs have required separate waveguide layers for red, green, and blue light — three to six stacked glass sheets — inevitably increasing both weight and thickness.

Professor Junsuk Rho and colleagues at POSTECH have eliminated the need for multiple layers by developing an achromatic metagrating that handles all colors in a single glass layer. The key is a array of nanoscale silicon-nitride (Si?N?) pillars whose geometry was finely tuned by a stochastic topology-optimization algorithm to steer light with maximum efficiency.

In experiments, the researchers produced vivid full-color images using a 500-µm-thick single-layer waveguide — about one-hundredth the diameter of a human hair. They also secured a comfortable 9-mm eyebox, ensuring images remain sharp even if the viewer’s eye shifts slightly.

The new design erases color blur while outperforming multilayer optics in brightness and color uniformity. Once commercialized, this technology could make AR glasses as thin and light as ordinary eyewear, reducing wearer fatigue and trimming manufacturing costs thanks to a simpler process. The era of truly everyday AR is a step closer.

“This work marks a key milestone for next-generation AR displays,” said Prof. Rho. “Coupled with scalable, large-area fabrication, it brings commercialization within reach.”

The study, authored by Junsuk Rho (corresponding author, POSTECH), Seokwoo Kim, Joohoon Kim, and Seokil Moon, was carried out by POSTECH’s Departments of Mechanical, Chemical and Electrical Engineering and the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience & Bioengineering, in collaboration with the Visual Team at Samsung Research. It was published online on April 30, 2025 in Nature Nanotechnology. This research was supported by POSCO Holdings N.EX.T Impact, Samsung Research, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Alchemist Project, the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Global Convergence Research Support Program, and the Mid-Career Researcher Program.

The study, published in The Journal of Cleaner Production, describes the new ‘pressurised spinning’ innovation and its potential to create cellulose materials more cheaply and cleanly than some current manufacturing methods, using a waste product from the dairy farming industry, cow dung, as the raw material.

The advance is the first time that manufacturing-grade cellulose has been derived from animal waste and is a prime example of circular economy, which aims to minimise waste and pollution by reusing and repurposing resources wherever possible.

The researchers say that implementing the technology would be a win-win situation for manufacturers, dairy farmers and the environment.

Cellulose is one of the world’s most commonly used manufacturing materials. Found naturally in the cell walls of plants, it was first used to create synthetic materials in the mid-19^th century, including the original material used in photographic film, celluloid.

Today it can be found in everything from cling film to surgical masks, paper products, textiles, foods and pharmaceuticals. Though it can be extracted organically, it is also often produced synthetically using toxic chemicals.

Pressurised spinning (or pressurised gyration) is a manufacturing technology that uses the forces of pressure and rotation simultaneously to spin fibres, beads, ribbons, meshes and films from a liquid jet of soft matter. The multiple award-winning technology was invented in 2013 by a team from UCL Mechanical Engineering led by Professor Mohan Edirisinghe.

Professor Edirisinghe, the senior author of the study, said: “Our initial question was whether it could be possible to extract the tiny fragments of cellulose present in cow manure, which is left over from the plants the animals have eaten, and fashion it into manufacturing-grade cellulose materials.

“Extracting the fragments from dung was relatively straightforward using mild chemical reactions and homogenisation, which we then turned into a liquid solution. But when we tried to turn the fragments into fibres using pressurised spinning technology, it didn’t work.

“By a process of trial and error, we figured out that using a horizontal rather than a vertical vessel containing surface nozzles and injecting the jet of liquid into still or flowing water caused cellulose fibres to form. We were then able to change the consistency of the liquid to create other forms, such as meshes, films and ribbons, each of which have different manufacturing applications.

“We’re still not quite sure why the process works, but the important thing is that it does. It will also be fairly easy to scale up using existing pressurised spinning technology, the vessels for which were designed and built in the UCL Mechanical Engineering workshop.”

The new technique, called horizontal nozzle-pressurised spinning, is an energy efficient process that doesn’t require the high voltages of other fibre production techniques such as electrospinning.

The team say that adapting existing pressurised spinning machines to the new process should be relatively straightforward. The greater challenge is likely to be the logistics of sourcing and transporting the raw material, cow dung, but that the environmental and commercial benefits of doing so would be significant.

Ms Yanqi Dai, first author of the study from UCL Mechanical Engineering, said: “Dairy farm waste such as cow manure is a threat to the environment and humans, especially through waterway pollution, the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when it decomposes, and the spread of pathogens. It is also often a burden on farmers to dispose of properly.

“Horizontal nozzle-pressurised spinning could be a huge boost to the global dairy farming industry, by putting this problematic waste product to good use and perhaps creating a new source of income.”

The research team is currently seeking opportunities to work with dairy farmers to take advantage of the technology and scale it up.

Animal waste is a growing problem globally. Research in 2019 estimated that the amount of animal waste is due to increase by 40% between 2003 and 2030 to at least five billion tons, with many farms producing more manure than they can legitimately use as fertiliser. This waste often finds its way into water, where it can have a devastating effect on ecosystems and even lead to disease in humans.

Core pressurised spinning research at UCL was made possible by grants awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The study assesses the contribution of the highest emitting groups within societies and finds that the top 1% of the wealthiest individuals globally contributed 26 times the global average to increases in monthly 1-in-100-year heat extremes globally and 17 times more to Amazon droughts.

The research sheds new light on the links between income-based emissions inequality and climate injustice, illustrating how the consumption and investments of wealthy individuals have had disproportionate impacts on extreme weather events. These impacts are especially severe in vulnerable tropical regions like the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and southern Africa — all areas that have historically contributed the least to global emissions.

“Our study shows that extreme climate impacts are not just the result of abstract global emissions, instead we can directly link them to our lifestyle and investment choices, which in turn are linked to wealth,” explains lead author Sarah Schöngart, an alumna of the 2024 Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP), who is currently associated with ETH Zurich. “We found that wealthy emitters play a major role in driving climate extremes, which provides strong support for climate policies that target the reduction of their emissions.”

Using a novel modeling framework that combined economic data and climate simulations, the researchers were able to trace emissions from different global income groups and assess their contributions to specific climate extremes. They found that emissions from the wealthiest 10% of individuals in the United States and China alone, each led to a two-to threefold increase in heat extremes across vulnerable regions.

“If everyone had emitted like the bottom 50% of the global population, the world would have seen minimal additional warming since 1990,” says coauthor Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, who leads the Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group at IIASA. “Addressing this imbalance is crucial for fair and effective climate action.”

The study also emphasizes the importance of emissions embedded in financial investments, rather than just personal consumption. The authors argue that targeting the financial flows and portfolios of high-income individuals could yield substantial climate benefits.

“This is not an academic discussion — it’s about the real impacts of the climate crisis today,” adds Schleussner. “Climate action that doesn’t address the outsize responsibilities of the wealthiest members of society, risks missing one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce future harm.”

The authors suggest that their findings could motivate progressive policy instruments targeted at societal elites, noting that such policies can also foster social acceptance of climate action. Making rich individual polluters pay can also help to provide much needed support for adaptation and loss and damage in vulnerable countries. They conclude that rebalancing responsibility for climate action in line with actual emissions contributions is essential, not just to slow global warming, but to achieve a more just and resilient world.

The study is the result of work undertaken as part of Schöngart’s YSSP project in 2024 for which she was awarded the IIASA Levien award.

In a multi-study paper published in the International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, a team of researchers has delved into the growing phenomenon of e-fashion — digital garments worn in virtual environments — and found these intangible items could help bridge the gap between fast fashion and environmental sustainability.

From Instagram filters to gaming skins, the idea of digital self-presentation isn’t new. But fashion brands are now taking things a step further, offering digital-only collections that exist purely on-screen.

These clothes can change colour, morph shape, and even communicate with physical counterparts via near-field communication (NFC) chips. Crucially, they come without the environmental baggage of traditional production, shipping or waste. Their production, consumption and disposal don’t require using raw and difficult-to-recycle materials such as polyester. The research studied how consumers respond to the unique appeal of digital clothing and what drives their willingness to pay for garments they can’t physically touch, try and own.

Findings show that consumers with a strong appetite for novel and tactile experiences are particularly drawn to e-fashion, valuing its creativity, customisability and interactivity. For them, virtual couture is not a compromise but an additional new frontier in personal style.

Conventional logic suggests that consumers with a strong need for touch, who enjoy physically inspecting and trying on a garment, are less likely to find e-fashion appealing.

However, the research challenges this logic. It learns that consumers with a high need for touch, and a high sensation-seeking, are an ideal target market for virtual clothing.

The research found that consumers could mentally simulate the tactile features of e-fashion, a process that becomes increasingly feasible and vivid with the adoption of virtual reality headsets.

One of the co-authors, Dr Kokho (Jason) Sit, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Whether e-fashion is a fleeting fad or a long-lasting trend remains to be seen, but its environmental potential is undeniable. Unlike fast fashion’s reliance on low-cost, often non-recyclable materials and landfill-heavy turnover, digital garments can be produced, consumed, and discarded with a single keystroke — or perhaps several keystrokes. No raw materials, modern slavery, shipping and delivery are involved, reducing deforestation, inhumane working conditions, carbon footprint and landfills.”

“This research shows that e-fashion isn’t just a gimmick for gamers or influencers. It can potentially disrupt the fast fashion model in a profitable way for fashion brands, exciting for consumers and better for the planet.”

While it may not entirely replace physical fashion, the study suggests e-fashion could meaningfully reduce our reliance on high-volume, low-value clothing and help curb the environmental toll of an industry that urgently needs reform.