News in 2020
- Research reveals unexpected insights into early dinosaur’s brain, eating habits and agility 14 December 2020 A pioneering reconstruction of the brain belonging to one of the earliest dinosaurs to roam the Earth has shed new light on its possible diet and ability to move fast.
- Scientists develop an evolutionary theory of stress 7 December 2020 Scientists have created an evolutionary model to predict how animals should react in stressful situations.
- Moths strike out in evolutionary arms race with sophisticated wing design 24 November 2020 Ultra-thin, super-absorbent and extraordinarily designed to detract attention, the wings of moths could hold the key for developing technological solutions to survive in a noisy world.
- Dr Colin J Mapes, 1938-2020 18 November 2020 Dr Colin Mapes, former lecturer in Biological Sciences at Bristol, has died. Sir Brian Follett FRS and several colleagues offer a remembrance.
- Big babies, little mothers: tsetse flies show extreme mothering 5 November 2020 The tsetse fly is an exception to the almost universal law of nature that babies are born smaller than their mothers.
- Fossil poop shows fishy lunches from 200 million years ago 3 November 2020 A new study of coprolites, fossil poop, shows the detail of food webs in the ancient shallow seas around Bristol in south-west England. One hungry fish ate part of the head of another fish before snipping off the tail of a passing reptile.
- Patrick Kennedy awarded prestigious PhD thesis prizes 30 October 2020 Patrick Kennedy has won three awards for his PhD thesis. In addition to the University of Bristol prize for the best thesis in the Faculty of Life Sciences, he has won the John C. Marsden Medal from the Linnean Society and the Thomas Henry Huxley Award and Marsh Prize from the Zoological Society of London.
- Deep sea coral time machines reveal ancient CO2 burps 29 October 2020 The fossilised remains of ancient deep-sea corals may act as time machines providing new insights into the effect the ocean has on rising CO2 levels, according to new research carried out by the Universities of Bristol, St Andrews and Nanjing and published in Science Advances.
- Ground-breaking discovery finally proves rain really can move mountains 29 October 2020 A pioneering technique which captures precisely how mountains bend to the will of raindrops has helped to solve a long-standing scientific enigma.
- Ancient tiny teeth reveal first mammals lived more like reptiles 29 October 2020 Pioneering analysis of 200 million-year-old teeth belonging to the earliest mammals suggests they functioned like their cold-blooded counterparts - reptiles, leading less active but much longer lives.
- Giant lizards learnt to fly over millions of years 29 October 2020 Pterodactyls and related winged reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs steadily improved their ability to fly, becoming the deadly masters of the sky, over the course of millions of years.
- World’s greatest mass extinction triggered switch to warm-bloodedness 19 October 2020 Mammals and birds today are warm-blooded, and this is often taken as the reason for their great success.
- Battling with neighbours could make animals smarter 6 October 2020 From ants to primates, ‘Napoleonic’ intelligence has evolved to help animals contend with the myriad cognitive challenges arising from interactions with rival outsiders, suggest researchers at the University of Bristol in a paper published in Nature Communications today [Tuesday 6 October].
- Funding to Replace Current LED Lighting in the GroDome 6 October 2020
- Mud-slurping chinless ancestors had all the moves 1 October 2020 A team of researchers, led by the University of Bristol, has revealed our most ancient ancestors were ecologically diverse, despite lacking jaws and paired fins.
- New study reveals how reptiles divided up the spoils in ancient seas 30 September 2020 While dinosaurs ruled the land in the Mesozoic, the oceans were filled by predators such as crocodiles and giant lizards, but also entirely extinct groups such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.
- Flexible genes establish widespread bacteriophage pan-genomes in cryoconite hole ecosystems 29 September 2020 Researchers from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, University of Bristol, Reading and Aberystwyth, UK, the University of Minnesota, USA and Aarhus University, Denmark, sequenced the genomes (their total DNA) of viruses which infect microbes found on the surface of glaciers from the Alps, Greenland and Svalbard, to show that they are remarkably stable in the environment.
- Discovery of a druggable pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein could stop virus in its tracks 24 September 2020 A druggable pocket in the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein that could be used to stop the virus from infecting human cells has been discovered by an international team of scientists led by the University of Bristol. The researchers say their findings, published today [21 September] in the journal Science, are a potential 'game changer' in defeating the current pandemic and add that small molecule anti-viral drugs developed to target the pocket they discovered could help eliminate COVID-19.
- Modelling of ancient fossil movement reveals step in the evolution of posture in dinosaur and crocodile ancestors 21 September 2020 Scientists from the University of Bristol and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) used three-dimensional computer modelling to investigate the hindlimb of Euparkeria capensis–a small reptile that lived in the Triassic Period 245 million years ago–and inferred that it had a “mosaic” of functions in locomotion.
- Discovery of a new mass extinction 17 September 2020 It’s not often a new mass extinction is identified; after all, such events were so devastating they really stand out in the fossil record.
- Identifying apple samples sent in by the public 8 September 2020 Details of Outreach from Professor Keith Edwards' lab that developed a genotyping system which can rapidly and easily identify apple varieties.
- Contribute to apple database and identify what type of tree is growing in your garden 3 September 2020 Scientists from the University of Bristol are asking people in the local area who have ‘unknown’ varieties of apple trees in their garden, allotment or neighbourhood to collect a few leaves and send them in to them.
- True size of prehistoric mega-shark finally revealed 3 September 2020 To date only the length of the legendary giant shark Megalodon had been estimated but now, a new study led by the University of Bristol and Swansea University has revealed the size of the rest of its body, including fins that are as large as an adult human.
- Dr Tommaso Jucker awarded British Ecological Society's Founders' Prize 2 September 2020 Dr Tommaso Jucker, NERC Independent Research Fellow and Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences, has received the BES Founders' Prize for 2020.
- Zebra stripes and their role in dazzling flies 19 August 2020 The mystery of why zebras have their characteristic stripes has perplexed researchers for over a century.
- Luke Jerram’s Palm Temple installed at University of Bristol 13 August 2020 A spectacular installation by internationally renowned artist Luke Jerram is now on permanent display outside the main entrance of the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry.
- Ancient North American reptiles lived on an island archipelago in South Wales 12 August 2020 A recent study, led by the University of Bristol has uncovered fossils of dwarf reptiles that lived in South Wales 205 million years ago and were closely related to North American animals that lived 15 million years earlier.
- How fish stocks will change in warming seas 12 August 2020 New research highlights the future effects of climate change on important fish stocks for south-west UK fisheries.
- Metallic blue fruits use fat to produce colour and signal a treat for birds 11 August 2020 Researchers have found a common plant owes the dazzling blue colour of its fruit to fat in its cellular structure, the first time this type of colour production has been observed in nature.
- The genetic basis of bats’ superpowers revealed 30 July 2020 For the first time, the raw genetic material that codes for bats’ unique adaptations and superpowers such as the ability to fly, to use sound to move effortlessly in complete darkness, to survive and tolerate deadly diseases, to resist ageing and cancer - has been fully revealed by an international research team including scientists at Bristol. The findings are published in Nature.
- Scientists outline potential of soil-free farming which could see crops grown in the desert 23 July 2020 A new study has outlined the potential of soil-free, computer-controlled farms as climate change and soil erosion limit our ability to grow crops. The research, published in New Phytologist and led by scientists at the University of Bristol, John Innes Centre and LettUs Grow, describe the growing environmental and economic case for vertical farming methods which could see crops grown in previously unfarmable environments such as the deserts of Dubai to countries with short daylight hours like Iceland.
- Genetic differences between global American Crocodile populations identified in DNA analysis 13 July 2020 A genetic analysis of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) has re-established our understanding of its population structure, aiding its conservation. The collaborative study spanning seven countries and led by the Wildlife Conservation Society and University of Bristol researchers is published in PLOS ONE.
- How long to play dead in order to stay alive? 8 July 2020 Many animals remain motionless or play dead after being attacked by a predator in the hope that it will give up and move onto some other unfortunate prey.
- Why it’s no last orders for the Tequila bat: DNA helps conservation of elusive bat 7 July 2020 Scientists studying the ‘near threatened’ tequila bat, best known for its vital role in pollinating the Blue Agave plant from which the drink of the same name is made from, have analysed its DNA to help inform conservationists on managing their populations.
- Shelling out for dinner: dolphins learn foraging skills from peers 26 June 2020 A new study demonstrates for the first time that dolphins can learn foraging techniques outside the mother-calf bond – showing that they have a similar cultural nature to great apes. The findings, led by an international research team including academics at the University of Bristol, are published in Current Biology.
- Bizarre saber-tooth predator from South America was no saber-tooth cat 26 June 2020 A new study led by researchers from the University of Bristol has shown that not all saber-tooths were fearsome predators.
- Insect crunching reptiles on ancient islands of the UK 18 June 2020 By analysing the fossilised jaw mechanics of reptiles who lived in the Severn Channel region of the UK 200-million-years ago, researchers from the University of Bristol have shown that they weren’t picky about the types of insects they ate - enjoying both crunchy and less crunchy varieties.
- What are the effects of climate change on pollinators and human health? 12 June 2020 Three quarters of crop species depend on pollinators, but the service they provide is under increasing threat from climate change. An international collaboration, led by the University of Bristol, will investigate the effects of climate change on pollinators and people’s diet thanks to funding of nearly €1 million from The Belmont Forum.
- ‘Matador’ guppies trick predators 12 June 2020 Trinidadian guppies behave like matadors, focusing a predator’s point of attack before dodging away at the last moment, new research shows.
- Extinct camelids reveal insights about North America’s ancient savannas 11 June 2020 A new study looking at extinct camelids - ancestors of today’s camels and llamas - tells the story of North America’s ancient savannas and highlights how past climatic and environmental conditions influenced the composition of mammalian faunas.
