Fluoride beads to reduce the pain of sensitive teeth (Reporter 507) developed by Professor Jack Toumba and Dr Gayatri Kotru in dentistry gained extensive coverage. Talking to the Guardian Dr Kotru said: “The volunteers were so happy with the beads that when the trial ended they refused to give them back. If further trials go well, the beads could be available through dentists within two years.” BBC online, BBC Look North, Sky News, Daily Mail, Yorkshire Post and the Yorkshire Evening Post also featured the story.

Biologist Dr Martin Richards’ work published in Science last month shed new light on how and why early modern humans migrated out of Africa 70,000 years ago. They chose a route which would support their taste for seafood, reported the Daily Telegraph, BBC science homepage, BBC Radio Leeds and the Yorkshire Evening Post. The New York Times and New Scientist also featured the international project led by the University of Glasgow.

Writing for the Korea Herald, professor of international studies Christoph Bluth argued the US’s multi-lateral negotiations to address the nuclear stand-off with North Korea will fail. He suggested the US overcomes its ‘curious opposition to direct talks with North Korea and obtain the support of the South, Japan and China to develop a step-by-step agreement, beginning with a freeze of the plutonium programme’.

Communications expert Dr Richard Howells joined BBC Radio 4’s The Message to discuss ‘men’s television’ in anticipation of the re-launch of “Men and Motors” on Freeview. He argued that whatever qualitative doubts some people have about their programmes, the real issue for a commercial broadcaster was whether people who wanted to watch Carmen Electra’s naked women’s wrestling would have the disposable income to appeal to advertisers.

Transport studies’ instrumented car (Reporter 507) caught the attention of print and broadcast media. Talking to the Yorkshire Post research fellow Dr James Tate said: “My own research group are particularly interested in the impact that the way people drive has on pollution. One of our aims is to create rules for how to drive in a more environmentally friendly way.” BBC Look North and Radio Leeds also featured the story.

Social policy professor Fiona Williams spoke to the Times, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Italian newswire ANSA Notiziario Generale and others about the growing number of people ‘living apart together’ (LATs). Speaking to the Times Professor Williams said: “Living apart together is the new thing. It is turning things upside down because it is saying that people do not have to live together to be committed partners.”

The low general election turnout wasn’t only down to vote apathy, argued sociology lecturer Dr Simon Prideaux. Writing for the Yorkshire Post, he suggested ‘disillusionment is often confused with apathy’ and ‘as before, there was little to entice the disillusioned voter out of their disenchantment’. He concluded: “Perhaps, the answer lies in the truly alternative option of a registered ‘no’ vote. At least this may be sufficient to force political parties to re-evaluate their policies and approaches.”

Former Leeds student Nambryn Enkhbayar was elected Mongolian president, reported the Washington Times and Times newspapers. The Yorkshire Evening Post revealed that the President developed a taste for Marmite while studying English at Leeds.

Professor Juliet Lodge spoke to BBC Radio 5 about France’s no vote for the EU constitution. She said that neither a French ‘non’ nor a Dutch ‘nee’ alone would force a consultation with governments over the Constitution’s future as only 80 per cent of member states need to approve the treaty and nine have already ratified it. However, the EU cannot manage 25 states on the basis of the current Nice treaty. The current policy priorities on internal and external security present particular problems.