Reading in the news - Tue 18 Aug

Health and wellbeing:

• Dr Simon Clarke (Biomedical Sciences) wrote an article for The BMJ on the safety and ethics of AI designed viruses.
• Dr Al Edwards (formerly Biomedical Sciences) was quoted by Full Fact about the safety of smear test brushes.

Food and farming:

• ESM reported on a chocolate bar made by Master’s student Maha Khan (Agriculture, Policy and Development) out of 100% British ingredients. From our story: First 100% British chocolate bar made since 1932
• A study by PhD student Sabrina Longley (Food and Nutritional Sciences) found health benefits to artisan cheeses, reports Maeil Business, Food Processing and Science Daily. From our story: Could artisan cheeses that please ease diseases?

#PlanetPartners: working with global partners to protect the environment

• Professor Liz Stephens (Meteorology) was quoted by The Independent, This is Money, The Standard and Daily Mail (republished by News Hopper, Inkl, Hillingdon Times, London Now, MSN, AOL, Britbrief and others) about how long it will take for the UK to recover from drought.
• Regius Professor Hannah Cloke (Meteorology) was quoted by The I Paper on UK reservoirs.
• Dr Akshay Deoras (Meteorology) was quoted by Scroll.in about India’s recent flooding.
• Professor Richard Allan (Meteorology) was quoted by BBC News on how climate change has affected recent dry conditions.
• Hort News reported on the upcoming 2026 Botanical University Challenge hosted by Reading.
• Research from Professor Paul Williams (Meteorology) on climate change and air turbulence was featured by The Fashion Vibes and Briefly.
• Startup Pakistan highlighted the University’s Global Sustainability Scholarships.
• Climate Fact Checks reported on research by PhD student Ankit Bhandekar (Meteorology) into India’s monsoon season.
• The Drinks Business highlighted ‘Show Your Stripes’ lager inspired by Professor Ed Hawkins’ (Meteorology) climate stripes model.

Business and society:

• Professor Nada Kakabadse (Henley Business School) wrote for Board Agenda about choosing the right board leaders.

Alumni:

• Leeds Live, Belfast Live, Teesside Live, The Mirror and Wales Online (republished by MSN, AOL and BritBrief) highlighted that meteorologist Laura Tobin studied at Reading.
• News24 mentioned that Monalisa Zwambila, CEO of Riverbed, has an MBA from Henley Business School.