06 April 2021
King's in the News – April 2021
As the global King’s community is often at the forefront of research and society – we round-up a few articles featuring King’s alumni, staff and research.
Covid: More walking and family chats post-lockdown – poll suggests
Working from home, walking and shopping locally are among the lockdown behaviours that look likely to remain popular after pandemic restrictions are lifted, according to a new survey.
The study for BBC News and King's College London, conducted by Ipsos MORI, suggests virus regulations may have a lasting impact after Covid. The study has shown that lockdown has meant that many people have become more connected with their neighbours, and 35% of those surveyed felt that the pandemic has brought people closer.
‘Teachers had written me off after 2 weeks': The inspirational London doctor who proved everybody wrong.’
King’s College London Alumnus Dr Zak Abdille spoke to My London about the challenges he overcame to become a doctor.
‘I was told by teachers and the parents of peers that someone like me could never become a doctor,’ he told My London.
Dr Abdille went on to take the six-year medical degree here at King’s, going on to also achieve an additional degree in anatomy and developmental health, also at King’s.
You can read Dr Abdille’s inspiring story here at My London.
5 ways lockdown has encouraged sustainable living
The pandemic has transformed the way we live. In many ways these were predictable changes such as more people working from home resulting in an impact on spending habits as we move away from a daily takeaway coffee, resulting in a negative impact on hospitality and the economy. But many changes have also been for the better. In the Independent they explore the positive impact lockdown has had on sustainability and the environment.
‘Data from the London Air Quality Network, which is run by King’s College London, found that air pollution fell substantially across UK cities in March 2020.’
Despite Brexit, Britons won’t stop being European
The pandemic isn’t the only thing to have made an impact on life in the UK recently, there has also been the small matter of Brexit to tend to.
CNN digs deep into Brexit, three months on, speaking to Anand Menon, Professor of International Politics here at King’s, about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s take on foreign policy both pre and post Brexit:
‘He has backed his European allies on Syria, Iran, Russia and will put climate change at the top of his agenda for his chairmanship of the G7. On substantive issues such as these, Johnson is pretty much aligned with European states and the US under Biden.’
The science of why the sun makes us feel so happy
After months inside during a bleak winter, time in the sunshine could be just what the doctor ordered – but why is it so good for us?
Researchers at King's and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that regular exposure to sunlight lowered the risk of near-sightedness - or myopia - in children and young adults.
Read more on the Telegraph (paywall).
Research cuts put UK's reputation at risk, say academics
Professor Richard Sullivan, Director, Institute of Cancer Policy, Co-Director Conflict & Health Research Group is quoted in the article along with other leading academics, arguing that reduced budgets will threaten to undermine the government’s ‘science superpower’ ambitions.
Read the full Financial Times article here (paywall).
