Reading in the news - Mon 29 June

Heatwave coverage continues: 

• Research from Dr Alba Fuertes (Construction Management) about dangers to construction site workers during the heatwave was featured by Tech Times, HVAC News, PBC Today, Construction News, Digital Construction, MedicalXPress, and others. From our story: Construction sites are not ready for extreme heat 
• Research from Dr Rory Jones (Construction Management) about how lack of air conditioning makes people vulnerable were mentioned by The Times, BBC News, Euro Security, Dominican Republic Post, Caribbean Financials, Aljazeera (republished by AOL, Byteseu, and Yahoo News), and various global outlets. From our story: The most at risk from heat have the least air con 
• Comments from Professor Stefán Smith (Built Environment) on how the UK is prepared for increasing temperatures were featured by Emerging Risks. 
• Dr James Weber (Meteorology) was quoted by The Guardian and Net Weather about how the heatwave has affected ozone production, with further mentions in Počasí. From our expert comment: Ozone pollution surges as heatwave records tumble 
• Professor Richard Allan (Meteorology) was quoted by The Times and Hey FOMO about last week’s heatwave. 
• Dr Akshay Deoras (Meteorology) was quoted by The Standard, Carbon Brief, Manchester Evening News, BBC News, Heart (republished by MSN, BritBrief, Yahoo News, AOL, Rocket News, and BritBrief), and others about record-breaking temperatures reached last week. 
• Professor Liz Stephens (Meteorology) was quoted by New Straits Times on the health risks of extreme heatwaves. 
• Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology) spoke to BBC Newscast about what made the recent heatwave stand out from others. 

Health and wellbeing:

• A study by Dr Maria Maiarú (Pharmacy) on treating chronic pain was highlighted by MycoStories. 
• Dr Simon Clarke (Biomedical Sciences) was quoted by The Sun, Batuah News, Kompas, and Sekber News about how cats and luwaks can pass diseases to humans. 

Food and farming:

• Daily Record and Gourmet Report (republished by BritBrief) provided further coverage of research by Professor Gunter Kuhnle (Food and Nutritional Sciences) into flavanol-rich foods. From our story: Not all five-a-days are equal for heart health 

• A study by Dr Charlotte Mills (Food and Nutritional Sciences) found that chewing sugary gum and beetroot can lower blood pressure, reports List23 and SciTech Daily. 

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• DC News Now, DW News, India Times, Multibagg, South China Morning Post (republished by Yahoo News, MSN, and Newswav), and others quoted Dr Akshay Deoras on Indias current monsoon season.  
• Riaupa Morning quoted Professor Liz Stephens about the effects from an ongoing El Niño event.  
• Professor Ed Hawkins was quoted by Bloomberg and Malaysian Reserve (republished by EFinance Thai and The Edge) about adapting to increasing temperatures.  Meteored highlighted changes to climate stripes developed by Professor Hawkins.  
• Comments from Professor Hawkins comparing the 1976 and current heatwaves were mentioned by The Parliament, BBC Radio Wales, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (republished by Mirage News). 
• Astronomy quoted Professor Mathew Owens (Meteorology) on the grounding of an A320 flight.
• Professor Emily Black (Meteorology) was quoted by Daily Maverick (republished by MSN) about South Africa’s efforts to reduce their climate change impact, mentioning The Real Scoreline campaign. From our story: The Real Scoreline reveals nations facing climate penalties 
• Royal Astronomical Society highlighted that Dr James O’Donoghue (Meteorology) has won the 2026 Carl Sagan Medal for space science research. From our story: Carl Saganmedal for scientist who took millions to space 
• The Dirt featured research into declining hoverfly populations. 

Business and society:

• Board Agenda featured an article written by Professor Nada Kakabadse (Henley Business School) and the late Professor Andrew Kakabadse (Henley Business School) about how boardrooms assess AI systems. 
• Research from Professor Shixuan Wang (Economics), Dr Rita Fontinha (Henley Business School) and PhD researcher Son-Kien Nguyen (Economics) to predict NHS resignations was featured by Noah News. From our story: Tool predicting NHS staff resignations scoops top AI prize 
• Professor David Bilchitz (Law) wrote for Times Live about attitudes towards migration in South Africa. 
• Forbes and BusinessWeek mentioned research from Dr Naeema Pasha (formerly Henley Business School) into mapping out careers. 
• Comments from Reading researchers about how the US may have violated international law in its actions against Cuba were featured by HCN, Europe Says, and Saba. 
• Interia Geek Week highlighted a study by Dr Nicholas Hedger (Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) into flinching during films. From our story: Why watching someone get hurt on screen makes you wince 
• Research from Professor Bhismadev Chakrabarti and Dr Anthony Haffey (both Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) into links between brain processes and autistic traits was featured by PsyPost. 
• Noah News reported on a study by Professor James Reade (Economics) into the economic significance of Ascot Racecourse. 
• Professor Reade wrote for Economics Observatory about his sports result model which predicts match outcomes. From our story: Argentina favourites for glory, says simulation 

Heritage and culture:

• The Conversation (France) featured an article written by Dr Anna Molnár (Henley Business School) about the role of convents in medieval Vienna’s economy.  
• Najwazniejsze and Kazan reported on a study by Dr Jacob Gardner (Biological Sciences) into changes in body size across prehistoric humans. From our story: Bigger bodies were a late addition for humans 

Other coverage:

• Windsor Express highlighted the success of the Reading rowing team during the recent Marlow Regatta. 
• An upcoming talk from Professor Jon Gibbins (Biomedical Sciences) was highlighted by Hemostasis Today. 

Alumni:

• Punch (republished by Head Topics) mentioned that Uzoma Emenike, Nigerian Ambassador to the USA, studied at Reading. 
• Dillywire republished an article from Daily Wire written by Bridget Riley, Medieval History graduate, about the US’ 250^th anniversary.