Reading in the news - Fri 23 Aug

Hydrogel learns Pong: A new study by Dr Vincent Strong and Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi (both Biomedical Engineering)  on enabling a hydrogel to learn to play the Pong video game is reported on by The Guardian, The Independent. Republished by MSN, Yahoo! Finance, Win Future, Tribune International, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, PHYS, Nature, AoI, Mirage News, IZMU, Bioengineer, NewScientist, ABC, The U.S Sun, ARS TECHNICA, NanoWerk, Pedfire, Science Daily and SciTechDaily. Read our news story.

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment 

• News Explorer quotes Professor Mathew Owens (Meteorology) on the unexpected increase in solar activity.
• Dr Peter Inness (Meteorology) discussed waterspouts on Channel 4 News and RNZ’s ‘The Panel’, after a superyacht sunk in a dangerous storm in Italy. Dr Inness is also quoted by National Geographic, Indy100, MSN, Keyt NewsChannel, CNN, ABC17News, AoI, and CTV News. Read our expert comment.
• The Guardian quotes Professor Ed Hawkins (Meteorology) on how the climate stripes have raised awareness about climate change. Republished by MSN.

Heritage and culture:

• News.artnet and Art Daily highlights research from the University of Reading on the Hawkedon Helmet, an extremely rare example of Roman gladiatorial armour.

Business and society:

• Contact-Centres announces the European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards finalists, chaired by Professor Moira Clark (Henley Business School), who oversees the judging process.
• Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School Africa, discusses the potential of digital technologies in enhancing small business operations for It-Online. Republished by Memeburn,IZMU

Other coverage:

• UAZMI reports on a study from the University of Reading that disproves the myth that brain size directly correlates with body size. Dr Chris Venditti and Dr Joanna Baker (Ecology) are quoted. Read our news story.
• RDG.Today highlights a 2009 study by the University of Reading that found more than £31 million is spent annually on ticket sales and related expenses during the festival season.