Watch where you're treading in North Bloomsbury. Among the fresh-fallen plane leaves and dried-on gum, you'll encounter the stenciled countenances of history's great (male) thinkers. Ghandi, Darwin, Dickens, Newton, Freud and others stare up from the pavement, accompanied by arrows that lead to UCL. A student prank? Something to do with the recent Big Draw event in this neighbourhood? Enlighten us in the comments if you know more about this. Thanks to John Willshire......

Optimists will be glad to note that things have never been better. Pessimists can take heart however, for conversely things will not get any better. We’re talking human evolution here. We are as good as it gets. London, 2008, this is it chaps. According to Professor Jones of UCL, as the human race becomes homogenised, our chances to evolve any further decrease. For it is variety and dissimilarity which generate the possibility for change and......

Here’s what we’ve learned whilst you’ve been putting your Summer wardrobe back in mothballs: Those clever boffs at UCL have developed an on-line surname toy: trouble is it is so popular that it seems to be permanently fazed. Ken has defended Sir Ian Blair against claims of racism. Anyone wanna buy a Buddhist temple in Upper Norwood? The last lady veteran of WW1, who was originally from Lewisham, has died aged 109. A 15......

London needs to go to anger management classes: a man has been arrested following the death of another in a supermarket rage incident. Fly-tipping is naughty, and might see you sent to prison. Walthamstow moves to outlaw street drinking. Harriet Harman is to attend London’s Pride again this year. UCL is to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first ever passenger train demonstration. The wife of a failed 21/7 suicide bomber gets fifteen years......

The map above shows incidence of drug crime (darkening shades of green) against locations of nursery schools (red dots). As you can see, the Mayor need not worry about infant crackheads. This and thousands of other comparisons can be made over on MapTube London, a new site from UCL's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. MapTube London allows you add your own maps of the capital, and compare data by overlaying different maps. The perfect......

Adelaide, Australia could become "the next international education hotspot". No, really, stop laughing - it's true. Our very own University College London certainly seems to think so - they've just signed an agreement to establish a satellite branch in the southern Australian city. The UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia, will open in 2010 and has a goal to "shape how the critical issues of energy and resources development and utilisation are tackled......

Right old hou-ha on T5 Day1. Technical hitches and delays made a less than favourable impression, although the threatened flash mobbing was replaced by a peaceful environmental protest. The new owners of Covent Garden would appear to be philistines. OK, maybe that’s a bit strong. But they’re not very fluffy bunnies anyway. How can cutting down on the buskers there be in anyway good? Meet the donkey diva, the four-legged (co-)star of Carmen. Clever......

Look out the window. The clouds you can see are 1059 m up. They’re coming in from the North North-East at a steady 9.3 mph. How do we know this? UCL’s new weather display, which gives fresh data on London’s weather every three seconds. It’s addictive. As well as realtime information, the site also presents graphs and record sheets, so you can track changes over time. The weather centre was installed by the Centre......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 11th February 1826: The University of London is founded. It would later be known as University College London (or UCL). Tuesday – 12th February 1554: Lady Jane Grey and her husband Lord Guildford Dudley are executed at the Tower of London. Wednesday – 13th February 1247: A major earthquake causes considerable damage to London. Curiously, it is reported that the quake was preceded for three months by......