News and features
Bristol hosts Swiss-British Summit to drive innovation in healthcare and environmental sustainability
23 May 2024
The University of Bristol’s BioDesign Institute hosted the Synthetic & Engineering Biology British-Swiss Summit on 22 May 2024. The inaugural event was devoted to understanding the opportunities presented by engineering biology technologies to drive innovation in healthcare, forging collaborations between Switzerland and the UK with a focus on environmental sustainability.
- Researchers identify a genetic cause of intellectual disability affecting tens of thousands of people 31 May 2024 A neurodevelopmental disorder, caused by mutations in a single gene, affecting tens of thousands of people worldwide, has been identified by researchers. The work, published today [31 May] in Nature Medicine, was conducted by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Bristol, KU Leuven, Belgium; and the NIHR BioResource (currently based at the University of Cambridge).
- Bristol PhD student set to compete in European Finals of 3MT competition 30 May 2024 Bristol PhD student Rachel Hare is set to compete in the finals of the European 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) contest, becoming the first University of Bristol entrant to reach this stage of the competition.
- Origins of Welsh dragons finally exposed by experts 30 May 2024 A large fossil discovery has helped shed light on the history of dinosaurs in Wales.
- Biobased building materials less sustainable than concrete in South Africa, experts find 29 May 2024 Scientists at the University of Bristol have discovered that mycelium composites, biobased materials made from fungi and agricultural residues, can have a greater environmental impact than conventional fossil-fuel-based materials due to the high amount of electricity involved in their production.
- Prenatal exposure to air pollution associated with increased mental health risks 28 May 2024 A baby’s exposure to air pollution while in the womb is associated with the development of certain mental health problems once the infant reaches adolescence, new research has found. The University of Bristol-led study, published in JAMA Network Open today [28 May], examined the long-term mental health impact of early-life exposure to air and noise pollution.
- Award-winning new film chronicles Dylan Thomas’s relatively unknown journey through Iran 28 May 2024 Many people are familiar with Dylan Thomas as a popular Welsh poet whose most famous work was the ‘play for voices’ Under Milk Wood, produced just before his death in 1953. But he is perhaps less well known for his film work.
- Innovative academics selected for new Early Career Enterprise Fellowships 28 May 2024 Ten ambitious academics have been named as the University of Bristol’s first cohort of Early Career Enterprise Fellowships (ECEF).
- Energy from the sky: how drones can be used to generate electricity 28 May 2024 Using drones to harvest wind energy could play a significant role in the UK’s net-zero mission.
- University of Bristol researchers develop world’s smallest quantum light detector on a silicon chip 28 May 2024 Researchers at the University of Bristol have made an important breakthrough in scaling quantum technology by integrating the world’s tiniest quantum light detector onto a silicon chip.
- Caterpillars can detect their predators by the static electricity they emit 24 May 2024 Caterpillars respond defensively to electric fields similar to those emitted by their natural predators, scientists at the University of Bristol have found.