{ "items": [ "\n\n
\n \n 28 November 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Chemistry\n \n \n \n \n Energy\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n \n \n Sustainability & the environment\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA feature article about three Oxford research groups using chemistry to help reach sustainability goals. From solving global plastic pollution to improving the performance of rechargeable batteries found in electric cars, \u2018green chemistry\u2019 is a truly promising topic.
\n \n\n\n \n 21 November 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Antimicrobial resistance\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nTo mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, researchers supported by the Oxford Martin Programme on Antimicrobial Resistance Testing at the University of Oxford have reported advances towards a novel and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test that can return results within as little as 30 minutes - significantly faster than current gold-standard approaches.
\n \n\n\n \n 21 November 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nThe new study from researchers in the Department of Biology demonstrates that bumblebees are not able to avoid contaminated nectar, putting them at high risk of pesticide exposure and posing a threat to crop pollination.
\n \n\n\n \n 15 November 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Physics\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nAstrophysicists at the University of Oxford have helped to discover a spectacularly bright and unusual explosion in a galaxy 4.4 billion light-years away. Luminous fast blue optical transients are characterized by their intense blue light and are amongst the brightest known optical phenomena in the universe.
\n \n\n\n \n 1 November 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Climate\n \n \n \n \n Food security & biodiversity\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nThe study by researchers in the Department of Biology also concluded that halting deforestation is the single most important mitigation measure Brazil can take towards net zero emissions by 2050 while preventing biodiversity loss.
\n \n\n\n \n 26 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Computer science\n \n \n \n \n Medical science\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nThe first digital atlas showing how the human brain develops in the womb has been published by a global research team led by the University of Oxford.
\n \n\n\n \n 25 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Food security & biodiversity\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA new study led by researchers in the Department of Biology has demonstrated that bumblebees make choices while foraging to maximize the rate of energy return, i.e. the amount of nectar sugar collected each minute.
\n \n\n\n \n 19 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Computer science\n \n \n \n \n Medical science\n \n \n \n \n Physical sciences underpinning health\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nAs the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, viruses can quickly evolve new ways of evading our immune systems, undermining our efforts to control outbreaks. But a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by researchers in the Department of Computer Science and Harvard Medical School could help predict new viral variants before they emerge.
\n \n\n\n \n 18 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Physics\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n \n \n Space\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nOxford will be the international headquarters for the Breakthrough Listen initiative, the largest ever astronomical programme searching for \u2018technosignatures\u2019 - evidence of past or present technology that would signal the presence of life beyond planet Earth.
\n \n\n\n \n 17 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Physics\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n \n \n Space\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA global team of scientists led by researchers in the Department of Physics have announced the results of an unprecedented collaboration to search for the source of the largest ever seismic event recorded on Mars. The study rules out a meteorite impact, suggesting instead that the quake was the result of enormous tectonic forces within Mars\u2019 crust.
\n \n\n\n \n 16 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Computer science\n \n \n \n \n Quantum\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n \n \n Women in science\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nLia Yeh, a DPhil student in the Department of Computer Science, is one of 67 doctoral students around the world, and the only one in the UK, to be awarded a 2023 Google PhD Fellowship.
\n \n\n\n \n 5 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Climate\n \n \n \n \n Earth sciences\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA new study led by the Department of Earth Sciences has overturned the view that natural rock weathering acts as a CO2 sink, indicating instead that this can act as a large CO2 source, rivalling that of volcanoes. The results, published today in the journal Nature, have important implications for modelling climate change scenarios.
\n \n\n\n \n 4 October 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Chemistry\n \n \n \n \n Medical science\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA breakthrough technique developed by University of Oxford researchers could one day provide tailored repairs for those who suffer brain injuries. The researchers demonstrated for the first time that neural cells can be 3D printed to mimic the architecture of the cerebral cortex.
\n \n\n\n \n 21 September 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Food security & biodiversity\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nAn international group of scientists, including botanists at the University of Oxford\u2019s Botanic Garden, has issued an urgent call for coordinated action to save the iconic genus Rafflesia, which contains the world\u2019s largest flowers. This follows a new study which found that most of the 42 species are severely threatened.
\n \n\n\n \n 20 September 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n MPLS\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n \n \n Teaching\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nIn February 2020 the Radcliffe Science Library (RSL) team packed up their boxes, moved their books to the VHL and closed the doors on the RSL. This was to allow a thorough refurbishment of the building. Now more than three years later they will be reopening. Read more in this article from the RSL team.
\n \n\n\n \n 31 August 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Chemistry\n \n \n \n \n Innovation and Enterprise\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nUniversity of Oxford researchers have made a significant step towards realising miniature bio-integrated devices, capable of directly stimulating cells. The work has been published in the journal Nature.
\n \n\n\n \n 22 August 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nUniversity of Oxford researchers have contributed to the first successful extraction of ancient DNA from a 2,900 year-old clay brick. The analysis provides a fascinating insight into the diversity of plant species cultivated at that time and place, and could open the way to similar studies.
\n \n\n\n \n 15 August 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Earth sciences\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nPlate divergence at Mid Ocean Ridges where new tectonic plates are formed is generally thought to be a passive process dominated by the gravitational pull of subducting plates. However, this new study shows that at some diverging locations this process is likely to be less passive than originally thought.
\n \n\n\n \n 9 August 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Biology\n \n \n \n \n Chemistry\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA team including Oxford chemists has shown that influential reports of magnetic field effects on Drosophila (fruit fly) behaviour cannot be reproduced. Drosophila have been widely used as a model organism for studying the mechanism of the magnetic compass sense of migratory songbirds.
\n \n\n\n \n 8 August 2023\n \n
\n\n \n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n Chemistry\n \n \n \n \n Research\n \n \n\n \n\n\n
\n \n\n \n \n \nA team of scientists led by the University of Oxford have achieved a significant breakthrough in detecting modifications on protein structures. The method, published in Nature Nanotechnology, employs innovative nanopore technology to identify structural variations at the single-molecule level, even deep within long protein chains.
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