Reading in the news - Mon 27 Jul

Unearthing history: The Times (print) and Vive visited the Cookham Abbey excavations, interviewing Professor Gabor Thomas and Dr Sophia Mills (both Archaeology). GB News mentioned the excavations.  

The Odyssey: Professor Amy Smith (Classics) was quoted by Greatest Hits Radio (and broadcast) on items in the University’s Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology relevant to The Odyssey film. Watch Professor Smith discuss the items on X.

Cloudy or clear?: The Reading Chronicle reported on the Clear Skies – Kiruna citizen science project, which asks members of the public to judge how clear images of the Arctic sky are. Research lead Professor Chris Scott (Meteorology) is quoted. From our story: Humans needed, not AI, to study the Arctic sky 

Health and wellbeing:

• BBC Radio 4 mentioned a study by PhD student Susanne Cromme (Psychology) on women’s untreated pain during hysteroscopies. From our story: Mumsnet posts reveal women gaslit over womb procedure pain 

Food and farming:

• A study by Professor Gunter Kuhnle (Food and Nutritional Sciences) on the amount of salt in takeaways was highlighted by Senest. From our story: Salty facts: takeaways have more salt than labels claim 
• PhD student Deborah Babalola (Crop Science) won an award for research into raspberry fruiting habits, reports South East Farmer.  
• Dr Daniel Lamport (Psychology) was quoted by The Guardian (republished by BritBrief, AOL, Inkl, MSN, and Yahoo News) on the effectiveness of functional drinks.

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Dr Jess Neumann (Geography) spoke to Times Radio and BBC Radio Sussex about ongoing UK hosepipe bans. 
• Nordisch mentioned research into increasing resilience to water shortages. 
• Regius Professor Hannah Cloke (Meteorology) was quoted by The I Paper (print, republished by PressBee, Europe Says, and MSN) about recent lack of rainfall and water shortages. 
• Professor Cloke co-wrote an article for The Conversation (republished by NZ City and Tolerance) about the impact extreme weather has on wildlife. 
• BBC Radio 4 interviewed Professor Cloke about wildfires in the UK. 
• Aberdeen Live (republished by Yahoo News) reported on research by PhD student Piyali Goswami (Meteorology) on the cause of Storm Babet. 
• Smart Buildings Magazine mentioned a study by Dr Rory Jones (Construction Management) about how lack of air conditioning makes people vulnerable to heat stress. From our story: The most at risk from heat have the least air con 
• Dr Tijana Blanusa (Agriculture, Policy and Development) was quoted by The Conversation (republished by Evening Report, Inkl, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo News, and others) about the environmental benefits of planting hedges. 
• Dr Alastair Culham (Ecology) wrote for The Conversation (republished by The Independent) about taking care of plants during hosepipe bans. 
• Rocket News quoted Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology) on the media coverage of recent heatwaves. 

Business and society:

• Fiona Blair, Director of External Relations, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Van de Noort were quoted by The Reading Reporter about Reading’s future culture plans.  
• A forthcoming study by Professor Nada Kakabadse (Henley Business School) on promoting state effectiveness was mentioned by ConservativeHome
• Tagesspiegel, HCN, and Focus (republished by MSN and Head Topics) quoted Professor Michael Schmitt (Law) about new attack targets in Russia. 
• University of St Andrews (republished by Mirage News) highlighted research by Dr Alice Butler-Warke (Politics and International relations) about far-right groups in Dundee.  
• Professor Bhismadev Chakrabarti (Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) spoke to BBC Radio Berkshire about if it's possible to change your personality. 
• Journal of Global Health mentioned research by Professor Carmel Houston-Price (Psychology) about encouraging children to eat fruit. 
• Professor Benjamin Laker (Henley Business School) wrote for Psychology Today (republished by Europe Says and Qoshe) about building resilience in creative work. 

Heritage and culture:

• BBC News and The Reading Chronicle reported on the progress of the construction of the Natural History Museum’s collections, research and digitisation centre, located at Reading-owned Thames Valley Science Park.  
• Veda Zive, Centrum, and Tiscali reported on a discovery made by Dr Thomas Clements (Biological Sciences) about a fossil mistaken as the world’s oldest octopus. From our story: ‘Oldest octopus’ fossil is no octopus at all, scans reveal. 

Other coverage:

• BBC Radio Berkshire mentioned research into hedgehog behaviour. 
• AppleGazette reported on a study into how people get music stuck in their heads. 

Alumni:

• The Reading Chronicle and Bracknell News (republished by Ground News) highlighted that MP Rupert Lowe studied at Reading. 
• Athinorama featured a book written by Music graduate Athina Kafetzi. 
• Kompas, BaBe, Ibukotakini, Harian Basis, Investor Trust, and others featured an obituary for Troy Pantuow, Henley Business School graduate and Special Staff of the IKN Authority.