Imperial College

Professor Andre Balogh from the Space and Atmospheric Physics research group wins the Royal Astronomical Society 2008 Chapman Medal for his work on solar-terrestrial physics.

The genes involved in the autoimmune disease lupus are reported by Professor Timothy Vyse and co-workers in Nature Genetics.

King’s College London

Children born to obese mothers are at an increased risk of obesity themselves, suggests a study in the journal Hypertension.

UCL

Stress at work is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, suggests a large-scale study published in the European Heart Journal.

Karin Rosenkranz of the Institute of Neurology publishes a new treatment for muscle spasms known as musician’s dystonia. The muscles are stimulated with low-amplitude vibrations.

Professor Matteo Carandin joins UCL as GlaxoSmithKline/Fight for Sight Chair of Visual Neuroscience at the Institute of Opthalmology.

Professor Mark Pepys Director of the UCL Centre for Amyloidosis and Acute Phase Proteins wins the 2008 Ernst Chain Prize for his work on acute phase proteins.

Westminster

The House of Commons Innovation, Universities & Skills Committee releases its first report on the planned UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation at St Pancras. More on that story later.