In the news

The Beatles’ groundbreaking album of 1967, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is still causing a stir today, particularly in the academic world.

Experts from Britain and the United States gathered at the University of Leeds earlier this month to analyse its musical genius and lyrics about “tangerine trees and marmalade skies”, reported The Guardian,The Times, PA Television, ABC Radio Australia, the Manchester Evening News, and the Herald Sun.

Simon Warner, a senior teaching fellow in the School of Music, believes the album had a more profound impact on music and culture than arguably any other record: “Put simply, it’s the most important album by the most important group.” But he admits that during the punk years, it was derided for ‘killing’ rock music.

A rare signed print of the album’s original sleeve cover, donated by artist Sir Peter Blake, takes pride of place in the School of Music – it is one of only three in existence.

The Independent reported that researchers from Leeds are developing high-tech clothing to be worn by the mountain climbers Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding, who aim to retrace the fateful route taken up Mount Everest eight years ago by George Leigh Mallory, whose body was discovered on a terrace 2,000 feet below the summit.

The latest growing trend in relationships, reported The Times, is that of couples who are in a committed relationship together, but choose to live apart. A new report by sociologist Professor Sasha Roseneil estimates there are two million couples in this category, including actress Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton.

Ramblers were invited to join a bilberry bee hunt in the Peak District National Park, following research findings by spatial ecologist Dr Bill Kunin that bee diversity is declining in the UK and Europe, reported the Manchester Evening News and the Sentinel. Walkers were asked to conduct simple surveys from moorland paths recording any sightings of the endangered bilberry bumblebee.

Professor of contemporary French culture David Looseley was interviewed on the American radio show On Point to discuss the new film, La Vie en Rose, about the legendary French singer Edith Piaf. Professor Losseley joined the film’s director, Olivier Dahan, to examine Piaf’s impact on popular music and her contribution to the construction of her own myth.

Scientists at Leeds have discovered that reduced oxygen to the brain caused by a stroke or a heart attack could make people vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, due to the build-up of toxic chemicals in the brain, reported The Times, the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and the Sun. Professor of cellular physiology Chris Peers said: “It could even be an issue for people who snore heavily, whose sleep patterns are such that there will be times in the night when their brain is hypoxic.”

Kester Aspden, a former history of crime lecturer at Leeds, spoke to the Yorkshire Post about his new book, Nationality: Wog – The Hounding of David Oluwale, which tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant who drowned in the River Aire in 1969, after he became the victim of police brutality and racism. Dr Aspden said the title for his book came from a police charge sheet, on which someone had crossed out “Brit” and written “Wog”.

Regional dialects are as “bostin, chuffed and made up” as at any time in history, according to initial findings of a BBC Voices project to investigate British dialects. English professor Clive Upton told the Guardian and the Independent that an amazing range of words had been found: “Take trainers and the street. While a Yorkshire youngster here in Leeds would wear his pumps to meet his mate in the ginnel or snicket, his Scots counterpart might wear gutties to see his pal in the close.”

Pakistan’s state television network, PTV, interviewed Dr Des McLernon from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering about the importance of building a research culture within Pakistani universities. Dr McLernon said: “A successful economy will invariably have good researchled universities, and any country with vibrant university research will always have a successful economy.”

Was the classic film Star Wars just wellmarketed intergalactic garbage, or one of the all-time greats? Lecturer in cinema Dr Leo Enticknap told the Yorkshire Post he has no doubts as to the film’s importance, both culturally and financially: “Many critics pointed out that the script was a crude adaptation of the standard western format… and concluded that it was a generally unremarkable film apart from the special effects.”

If you want to get involved working with your local community, you must consider what that community actually needs, otherwise its members could end up feeling exploited. Michalis Kakos, lecturer in citizenship education, told The Times Higher Education Supplement that: “Community involvement is a strong political act … you shouldn’t consider it an act of charity.”

A device developed by Leeds spinout company IVMD that can predict the onset of labour up to two weeks in advance could save the NHS millions of pounds, reported BBC News Online, the Daily Telegraph, the Manchester Evening News and the Yorkshire Post. The invention, already trialled on 60 women at the University of Leeds, measures electrical signals in the womb to determine the date of birth.