Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

News

A dehorned black rhino in the Greater Kruger region, showing some horn regrowth. Photo by Tim Kuiper.

Study finds dehorning rhinos drastically reduces poaching

Department of Biology researchers have contributed to an international study which found that dehorning rhinos resulted in a drastic reduction in poaching of these endangered animals. The findings have been published this week in the journal Science.

rtistic illustration of spectacular jets propelled by gravitational energy from a supermassive black hole at the heart of the elliptical galaxy Hercules A. Billions of times more massive than our Sun, this supermassive black hole could potentially perform as a powerful particle supercollider. Illustration is based on imaging originally captured using the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico.

New study indicates that scientists could use black holes as particle supercolliders

Scientists could turn to black holes to aid the search for dark matter and similarly elusive particles that hold clues to the universe’s deepest secrets, a new study by Oxford physicists suggests.

An iceberg

First direct observation of the trapped waves that shook the world

Using a brand-new type of satellite altimetry, a study led by the Department of Engineering Science has finally confirmed the theory that the cause of extraordinary global tremors in September–October 2023 were two mega tsunamis in Greenland that became trapped standing waves.

A farmer in a field holding some potatoes

New ARIA award aims to deliver a revolution in sustainable agriculture

Researchers in the Department of Biology and Wild Bioscience Ltd are to receive backing of a £6.7 million grant from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to pioneer a new synthetic biology approach which promises to improve yields in potato and wheat.

Joseph P. Carroll supervising operations at one of Davis Group Andreev scanning tunnelling microscope (STM)

New quantum visualisation techniques could accelerate the arrival of fault-tolerant quantum computers

A collaborative research study has developed a powerful new technique for finding the next generation of materials needed for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing with the potential to end a decades-long search for inexpensive materials that can host unique quantum particles.

Professor Dame Molly Stevens

Professor Dame Molly Stevens elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences

Professor Stevens, John Black Professor of Bionanoscience at Oxford’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering is one of five academics from Oxford elected as new Fellows by the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Professor Mike Giles, Professor Philipp Kukura, Professor Philip Poole, Professor David Pyle and Professor Shivaji Sondhi.

The Royal Society elects five scientists from the MPLS Division as Fellows

Seven academics from the University of Oxford, including five from the Mathematics, Physical and Life Sciences Division (MPLS) have been elected as Royal Society Fellows.

023 Dr Joshua Bull, Winner of the Breakthrough Researcher Award, with the Vice-Chancellor Professor Irene Tracey

MPLS success at the Vice-Chancellor's Awards 2025

The University honoured remarkable talent and dedication to excellence on Thursday 15 May as the winners of the Vice-Chancellor's Awards 2025 were announced. Dr Joshua Bull from the Mathematical Institute received the Breakthrough Researcher Award and Department of Computer Science spinout Oxford Semantic Technologies claimed the Innovation and Commercialisation Award.

Landscape from the Canadian Shield, with a rock formation bordering a lake with pine trees in the distance

Scientists define the ingredients for finding natural clean hydrogen

Researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences, Durham University and the University of Toronto have detailed the geological ingredients required to find clean sources of natural hydrogen in the Earth's continental crust.

Professor Ian Walmsley

Professor Ian Walmsley appointed to lead Oxford Quantum Institute

Oxford marks a significant milestone in its quantum advancement with the Department of Physics' Professor Ian Walmsley appointed as Director of the Oxford Quantum Institute. Professor Walmsley has also joined the National Quantum Strategic Advisory Board, which advises the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Registration log in on screen with keyboard being typed on

What lessons in cyber resilience can be learnt from the UK high street attacks?

Dr Patricia Esteve-Gonzalez from the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC), Department of Computer Science, and Luna Rohland from the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity, outline how organisations can take a strategic approach to minimising the impacts of cyber-attacks.

Blister packs of medicine

New screening method finds novel approaches to combat antimicrobial resistant bacteria

Scientists from the IOI have developed a new screening method to tackle bacterial resistance to the tetracycline class of antibiotics – providing a starting point for the development new drugs to treat drug-resistant infections.

A volcanic terrain offering impressively atmospheric scenery in Indonesia

Oxford rises to second in world for Geology and Geophysics

The University of Oxford has climbed to second place globally in Geology and Geophysics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, strengthening its position as the UK's leading institution for Earth Sciences.

Spires of Oxford buildings, against a blue sky

Four Oxford researchers elected to the US National Academy of Sciences

Véronique Gouverneur, Waynflete Professor of Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry has been elected as an international member to the US National Academy of Sciences, together with Oxford academics from social sciences and medical sciences.

L'Uturuncu Volcan en Bolivie Altitude 6008m

New study reveals the anatomy of Uturuncu, the 'zombie' volcano

Researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences have helped to reveal the inner workings of Bolivia’s 'zombie' volcano, Uturuncu. The study used seismology, physics models, and rock composition analysis to identify the causes of Uturuncu’s unrest, helping to alleviate fears of an imminent eruption.

A computer generated concept of a robotic horse.

In The Conversation: A robot that you ride like a horse is being developed. It will stretch current limits of engineering.

Matías Mattamala from the Oxford Robotics Institute writes for The Conversation about the engineering complexities of developing a robotic horse.

An imag showin the Oxford skyline

Oxford welcomes new Schmidt AI in Science Fellows

Ten new Fellows have joined the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship programme at the University of Oxford. Now entering its third year, the programme is helping to accelerate the next scientific revolution by applying artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to research across the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematical sciences.

A fisher in KUL’s programme carefully releases a Critically Endangered wedgefish. Image credit: Francesca Page.

Paying fishers to release endangered catches can aid conservation but only if done right

The study, led by the Department of Biology and published in Science Advances, is the world’s first randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of an incentive-based marine conservation programme conclusively.

The nanobubbles used in the study. Image credit: Christopher Campbell.

New ultrasound drug delivery system found to be highly effective against bacterial biofilms

Researchers from the Department of Engineering Science and NDORMS engineered ultrasound-activated, antibiotic-loaded nanoparticles that disrupt biofilms and deliver drugs directly to infection sites – advancing non-invasive targeting of infections.

A giraffe at silhouetted at sunset against a South African backdrop

From The Conversation: If we must bring back extinct species, let’s focus on the giant herbivores

An impressive feat for Colossal Biosciences would be re-engineering large animals to provide lost ecological functions writes Professor Tim Coulson in The Conversation.

Load More