Life expectancy for people with a history of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes is substantially lower than for people with just one condition or no disease, a new study harnessing the power of ‘big data’ has concluded.

The hormones testosterone and cortisol may destabilise financial markets by making traders take more risks, according to a study published today in Scientific Reports.

The author of a new study of evolutionary convergence argues that the development of life on Earth is predictable, meaning that similar organisms should therefore have appeared on other, Earth-like planets by now.

People talk about ‘data being the new oil’, a natural resource that companies need to exploit and refine. But is this really true or are we in the realm of hype? Mohamed Zaki explains that, while many companies are already benefiting from big data, it also presents some tough challenges.

­King John, that most restless of monarchs, is back in the spotlight as the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta approaches. For the first time, historical geographers have plotted John’s route for all 17 years of his reign to produce digital maps of his progress as he struggled to maintain his grip.

The new threshold for diabetes in pregnancy recently introduced by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) misses a significant number of women at risk of serious complications, a report published today in the journal Diabetologia shows.

Big data has captured the world’s attention, with talk of a new Industrial Revolution based on information, and of data being one of the 21st century’s most valuable commodities. Today, we commence a month-long focus on research that uses, produces and interrogates huge datasets.

The importance of family support on a child’s ‘school readiness’ is highlighted in a study published this month in the British Journal of Educational Psychology. Researchers developed and piloted a new index that might provide a simple and stress-free alternative to the government’s proposed baseline assessments for four-year-olds starting school.

A gene essential to the production of pain-sensing neurons in humans has been identified by an international team of researchers co-led by the University of Cambridge. The discovery, reported today in the journal Nature Genetics, could have implications for the development of new methods of pain relief.

In 2010, Parliament voted in favour of abolishing a rule that assumes men but not women intend to give property to family, as part of the then UK Government’s commitment to European equal rights laws. However, research shows the rule is still being invoked in courts as its abolishment has yet to be ‘commenced’ by successive, and more Eurosceptic, governments.