Search results (64)
« Back to NewsIn The Conversation: Tiny animals use stolen genes to fight infections – and could fight antibiotic resistance too
18 July 2024
Antimicrobial resistance Biology The Conversation
A little-known group of microscopic animals has spent millions of years copying recipes for antibiotics from bacteria and using them to fight infections. Could this unusual defensive strategy could offer short-cuts in the race to develop antimicrobial treatments?
In The Conversation: Lions make a perilous journey across a 1.5km stretch of water to find mates
11 July 2024
Lions in a Uganda park make a perilous journey across a 1.5km stretch of water: WildCRU collaboration suggests the drive is to find mates.
In The Conversation: The UK’s nature restoration plans have some big holes – here’s how to fill them
6 June 2024
'Have you heard anything about nature as a political priority in the upcoming UK general election? We haven’t. And as biodiversity researchers, that troubles us.' Professor Dame EJ Milner-Gulland, Department of Biology writes in The Conversation.
In The Conversation: How extreme weather will affect the insurance and energy sectors
30 May 2024
More than 70% of Britain’s electricity came from wind turbines at the peak of Storm Isha, compared to an average of 30%.
From The Conversation: Six innovative ways to float skyscraper-sized wind turbines
21 March 2024
Engineering Sustainability & the environment The Conversation
For the new frontier of offshore wind power, the focus is on floating wind turbines – turbines supported by floating structures that bob and sway in response to waves and wind and are moored with chains and anchored to the seafloor.
From The Conversation: Global warming may be behind an increase in the frequency and intensity of cold spells
4 March 2024
Climate Physics The Conversation
Beatriz Monge-Sanz from the Department of Physics discusses a less obvious consequence of global warming which is attracting growing attention from scientists.
From The Conversation: Wild solitary bees offer a vital pollination service – but their nutritional needs aren’t understood
4 March 2024
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Ellen Baker from the Department of Biology writes about the important role played by solitary bees and the need to ensure the right flower foods are available to them.
From The Conversation: Developers in England will be forced to create habitats for wildlife – here’s how it works
15 February 2024
Biology Sustainability & the environment The Conversation
Natalie Duffus and Sophus zu Ermgassen from the Department of Biology discuss how England’s new environmental policy, biodiversity net gain, will work in practice.
From The Conversation: Migratory animals face mass extinction – but as a conservationist I’m optimistic
15 February 2024
Biology Sustainability & the environment The Conversation
Dan Challender, Research Fellow in Conservation Science and Policy in the Department of Biology, writes about a landmark meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, supporting the conservation and sustainable use of migratory species.
From The Conversation: Men become less fertile with age, but the same isn’t true for all animals – new study
14 February 2024
Krish Sanghvi, Irem Sepil and Regina Vega-Trejo from the Department of Biology discuss how understanding ageing of sperm in other animals could give new insights into our own fertility.
From The Conversation: Nasa’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity has ended its mission – its success paves the way for more flying vehicles on other planets and moons
30 January 2024
Physics Space The Conversation
Kevin Olsen, UKSA Mars Science Fellow in the Department of Physics, discusses the extraordinary achievements of the Ingenuity helicopter mission.
From The Conversation: Iceland on high alert for volcanic eruption – what we know so far
15 November 2023
Earth sciences The Conversation
Professors David Pyle and Tamsin Mather from the Department of Earth Sciences discuss what might happen next in a sequence of seismic events that started in early 2020 in Iceland, and which has so far culminated in three eruptions.
From The Conversation: Bletchley declaration: international agreement on AI safety is a good start, but ordinary people need a say – not just elites
7 November 2023
AI and data science Computer science The Conversation
An opinion piece about the recent AI Safety Summit by Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Professor of Computing Science in the Department of Computer Science, Professor John Tasioulas, Director of the University's Institute for Ethics in AI, and Hélène Landemore, Professor of Political Science at Yale University.
From The Conversation: Scientists can’t agree on when the first animals evolved – our research hopes to end the debate
13 October 2023
Earth sciences The Conversation
Ross Anderson, Research Fellow in Palaeobiology in the Department of Earth Sciences, suggests a new way to estimate the timing of animal origins: considering which kind of rocks could preserve those animals, rather than documenting the oldest animal fossils.
From The Conversation: How sodium-ion batteries could make electric cars cheaper
11 October 2023
Energy Materials science The Conversation
Robert House, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow in the Department of Materials, discusses how shifting from lithium to sodium-ion batteries could reduce dependence on critical minerals and yield cheaper battery packs.
From The Conversation: How weather ‘blocks’ have triggered more extreme heatwaves and floods across Europe
15 September 2023
Climate Physics The Conversation
Professor Tim Woollings from the Department of Physics discusses the 'blocking events' that have resulted in Europe’s weather getting stuck in long periods of hot, wet or cool weather this summer.
From The Conversation: Asymmetrical bridges, timber towers and a repurposed gas platform: awards hail 2023’s best structures
14 September 2023
Barbara Rossi from the Department of Engineering Science write about the 2023 Structural Awards, hosted by the Institution of Structural Engineers, a shortlist of the world’s 35 most outstanding building projects.
From The Conversation: China makes developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts – here’s how this unique scheme works
10 September 2023
Biology Food security & biodiversity The Conversation
Professor EJ Milner-Gulland and other researchers from the Department of Biology/Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science explore how the ecological compensation system in China works.
From The Conversation: Solar panel technology is set to be turbo-charged – but first, a few big roadblocks have to be cleared
10 September 2023
Energy Materials science The Conversation
Dr Matthew Wright (Department of Materials) and Bruno Vicari Stefani (CSIRO) discuss “tandem solar cells”, the new generation in solar technology, and the need for design that does not involve reliance on scarce materials such as indium.
From The Conversation: Are big cats prowling the UK? What science tells us
29 August 2023
Dr Egil Dröge, researcher in the Department of Biology, is sceptical of rumours that big cats are on the loose in Britain.