Release Date 20 December 2016

Don't feed birds in spring: Researchers at Reading have found that feeding birds in the spring makes it more likely that their eggs will be stolen by predators. Prof Mark Fellowes (Biological Sciences) quoted in this Daily Mail article.

Robot Wars:  PhD student Will Thomas is a contestant on BBC 2's Robot Wars.

The sigh: Dr Hannah Newton (History) features in a BBC Radio 4 panel discussion on the origins of sighing - why we do it, as well as the social and historical contributors.

Schafernaker fails to deliver shipping forecast: This Daily Mail article on Tomasz Schafernaker coughing and spluttering his way through the shipping forecast mentions that he was a Reading student.

Recipe for success: This article in Business Quarter features three sisters who have created successful baking businesses; one of the sisters cites doing an ice cream making course here at Reading.

The history of giving chocolate: Dr Ruth Salter (History) explains the history of giving chocolate at Christmas to BBC Radio Berkshire. 

Student property demand: Studenttenant.com, has examined the demand for property around the top universities in the UK and Reading comes joint third for the highest demand in the UK. Story featured in Property and Developer Magazine.

Listed buildings: The University's URS Building mentioned as an unusual building that was listed by Historic England in 2016. Story appears on regional news sites, including The Northamptonshire Telegraph, The Yorkshire Post and The Portsmouth News.

Walker Institute launch: Red Pepper covers the launch event of Reading's Walker Institute, which tackles the challenges of climate change.