Welcome to UK Biobank News – a regular update on the latest from UK Biobank.
Record-breaking imaging project crosses the finish line
Watch and read news coverage of the imaging project:
With your support, UK Biobank has completed the world’s largest whole body imaging project. We have scanned the brains, hearts, abdomens, blood vessels, bones and joints of 100,000 of you.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our participants and we would like to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you who took part.
These scans, on this scale, show what is happening in people’s bodies as they age so we can understand how, why and when we become ill.
Steve was our 100,000th imaging project participant
My wife and I signed up to UK Biobank because we wanted to give back to medical research.
I’ve loved being the 100,000th UK Biobank participant to be scanned and the team at the imaging centre have all been amazing.”
How the imaging project is already changing healthcare
AI that analyses heart scans in seconds used in thousands of hospitals
An artificial-intelligence program, developed with heart images from UK Biobank participants, gives doctors more time with their patients.
The program analyses heart scans in seconds – a fraction of how long it takes clinicians to do this by hand. The software now assesses hundreds of thousands of heart scans done every year at almost 2000 hospitals worldwide.
UK Biobank’s brain-imaging process improves the way doctors diagnose dementia
UK Biobank’s brain-imaging process is helping NHS doctors to make more accurate dementia diagnoses – and ultimately tailor care to people’s needs.
“We’re enabling patients to have better quality assessments as part of their routine NHS care,” says neuroscientist Clare Mackay from the University of Oxford, UK.
Repeat imaging project
We are already inviting the 100,000 participants who were able to take part back for a second set of scans. If this is you, keep an eye out for your invitation!
By the end of 2025, around 20,000 participants will have had their repeat scans, providing researchers with an exciting window into how our bodies change over time.
Research stories
By giving your consent for UK Biobank to access your medical and health-related records, you are helping scientists to identify better ways to prevent and treat debilitating and life-threatening diseases.
Here are some of the latest discoveries UK Biobank data is powering – click on the cards below to read the article.
Data from more than 300,000 UK Biobank participants show that air pollution can raise older people’s risk of a condition causing unbearably itchy skin.
Environment and lifestyle contribute more to the risk of premature death than does genetic predisposition.
An algorithm built with ChatGPT-like technology predicts more than 1000 health conditions – something that could help doctors to provide better care for their patients.
Read more about our data security measures and how researchers access UK Biobank data.
New data on neurodiversity now available for research
160,000 of you have completed the social interactions and focus questionnaire
Have you completed UK Biobank’s Social Interactions and Focus questionnaire? If so, you and 160,000 other participants have provided data that is now available to approved researchers in our secure research platform.
Autism, historically, has been about young children, young boys in particular. I was diagnosed very late in life, and one aspect that clearly needs a lot of research is the area of comorbidity in autistic adults.
Jane, UK Biobank participant
The questionnaire is designed to measure traits of autism and ADHD. This data offers new opportunities for research to improve our understanding of neurodiversity and how people with neurodivergent traits can be better diagnosed and supported.
Given around 90% of autistic adults aged over 40 in the UK have not received a formal diagnosis, research using UK Biobank’s dataset could particularly benefit older neurodivergent people.
In line with our ‘no feedback’ approach, the participants who completed the questionnaire will not receive any personal results and it will not lead to anyone receiving a diagnosis of autism or ADHD.
We only allow approved researchers to access UK Biobank data for health-related research that is in the public interest. Information that identifies participants – for example, name, address and NHS number – is never shared with researchers.
You may be interested to know…
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57% of respondents said they are above average at remembering appointments and daily tasks.
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75% of female respondents agreed they enjoy social chit-chat, compared to 55% of male respondents.
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The older the respondent, the more likely they are to definitely agree they enjoy meeting new people.
(26% of 55-59 year olds, compared to 39% of 85-89 year olds)
There’s still time to complete the questionnaire if you haven’t yet
This questionnaire is gathering information to understand how social interactions, focus, and the quality of relationships impact health and wellbeing.
What’s up next? Look out for our new questionnaire on cognitive function
Cognitive function is how people think, process information and solve problems. We will be asking you to complete a set of tests that will help us understand your different ways of thinking – we hope you find the tasks interesting!
Look out for your email invitation to complete this questionnaire in early 2026.
Do we have your email address?
If you haven’t given us your email address, we would be grateful if you would consider providing this. We will only contact you a few times a year to tell you how your data is making a difference and invite you to contribute further. We don’t share your personal details for any other purpose. Find out more about how we protect your confidentiality.
We would be grateful if you would share your mobile phone number with us as well, as a back-up method of communication.
You can update your contact details on our participant portal or call us on 0800 0 276 276 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm).