Scientists hope European grant can improve healthy ageing
Why does wound-healing deteriorate with advanced age? This issue will be addressed thanks to a research grant of nearly €11 million from the European Commission (EC).
News in 2008
Study explores how handedness affects school performance
Left-handed children do less well in national tests than their right-handed peers – and the gap does not diminish as they get older.
Medical student wins Penguin prize
Sethina Adjarewa, a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, is one of the winners of the 2008 decibel Penguin Prize.
Film by Bristol graduate wins festival award
A film by Esther May Campbell, a graduate of the Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television, has been awarded the prize for Best British Film at this year’s Encounters International Festival.
What does it mean to be ‘world class’?
In recent years, the notion of a world-class university has become a concept much invoked by governments and by universities themselves.
Students sleep rough to help the homeless
Around 20 students from Bristol University will be swapping their warm beds for sleeping bags, cardboard boxes and minus temperatures tonight, all in aid of charity. The students will be spending the night in the Students’ Union car park to raise money for the Bristol homeless charity, The Julian Trust.
Acclaimed poet inaugurates Penguin Archive Project
One of the UK’s most acclaimed contemporary poets, James Fenton, will come to Bristol this Tuesday to publicly inaugurate Bristol University’s £650,000 Penguin Archive Project.
Bristol Business Incubator wins prestigious UKBI Award
The Bristol SETsquared Business Acceleration Centre, part of the University of Bristol, was named ‘Established Business Incubator of the Year 2008’ by the UKBI (UK Business Incubation) in an award ceremony held this week.
Women’s Institute target violence against women
The Women’s Institute (WI) has commissioned research from the University of Bristol to look at the views of women in rural and urban areas on the issue of ‘Violence Against Women’ (VAW).
Communications and signal processing 21 years on
The UK has a worldwide reputation for innovation and design excellence with communications and signal processing continuing to be one of the fastest growing and most dynamic of all industries. The University of Bristol's Centre for Communications Research (CCR) has played a key role in contributing to this growth through innovation.
Sounds of Stonehenge
Stonehenge and the music it has inspired – from Neolithic times to the age of modern rock – will be explored at the University of Bristol this week.
Teesside Honorary Degree for VC
The University of Teesside has awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science to Professor Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol.
Paul Winchester 1957-2008
Paul Winchester, a member of portering staff, passed away on 18 November after a short illness, writes Liz Lynch.
Bristol MP to visit University on pairing scheme
Bristol MP Stephen Williams is to visit the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol on Friday November 28, as part of an MP-Scientist pairing scheme organised by the Royal Society.
Helping to prevent torture
The use of torture, often a function of legal systems in some countries that have no mechanisms in place to prevent it, is the focus of a major international conference. The conference, co-organised by the University of Bristol, is being held in Prague this week [25 to 26 November].
Celebrating cats at Christmas
Cats are one of the UK's favourite pet with a population of 7.2 million, almost twice the number it was 30 years ago.
Celebrating Hans Heilbronn
This October marked 100 years since the birth of Hans Heilbronn (1908-75), after whom the University’s Heilbronn Institute is named.
Patients at risk of self-harm after discharge from psychiatric care
Non-fatal self-harm may occur in over ten per cent of adults discharged from psychiatric inpatient care in England and Wales, according to new research from the University of Bristol published in the BMJ. The risk was found to be greatest in the first month, Professor David Gunnell and colleagues found.
Major new study of French Queer Cinema
A new book by Dr Nick Rees-Roberts in the School of Modern Languages looks at queer representation in mainstream film and experimental video in France.
Phil John, 1945 – 2008
Sue Ogborne, Senior Finance Assistant, remembers a friendly and popular former Chief Cashier.
Adult stem cell breakthrough
The first tissue-engineered trachea (windpipe), utilising the patient’s own stem cells, has been successfully transplanted into a young woman with a failing airway. The bioengineered trachea immediately provided the patient with a normally functioning airway, thereby saving her life.
Educational assessment expert to advise Government
An academic in educational assessment has been appointed an independent advisor by the Government's Department for Children, Schools and Families to an Expert Group who are looking at assessment between key stages 1 to 3, school accountability and the introduction of a new School Report Card.
Rare publishing achievement for student
It is extremely unusual for a student to have their work accepted for publication in a prestigious scientific journal. However, Felix Marx, a fourth year student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol has just published his first paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, a journal of international significance.
Leverhulme Prizes for Bristol mathematicians
Two academics in the Department of Mathematics have been awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize.
SETsquared companies raise £23 million in economic downturn
Over £23 million of investment funding has been raised this year for 12 companies based in Bristol University’s SETsquared Business Incubator Centre. Together, the Centre’s 37 early-stage, high-tech businesses have increased turnover by 20 per cent to over £6 million, increasing head count by 66 per cent to 175 people.
World's earliest nuclear family found
The earliest evidence of a nuclear family, dating back to the Stone Age, has been uncovered by an international team of researchers, including experts from the University of Bristol.
Conference aims to shed new light on form of childhood cancer
Soft-tissue sarcoma, one of the more common forms of childhood cancer, will be the focus of a major international conference taking place in Bristol this week [17 to 18 November].
Bristol students beat the world’s best
A team of students from the University of Bristol has beaten 84 other teams, including some from the best universities in the world, in a prestigious competition to genetically engineer a machine.
Outreach Day for Innocence
Students from the University of Bristol’s Innocence Project (UoBIP) will be taking to the streets tomorrow to let the public know about a new pro bono initiative, Innocence Projects’ Day, which aims to educate the public about the wrongful conviction and imprisonment of the innocent.
University marks 20 years of British-Georgian partnership
On Saturday 15 November, the University, in association with the Bristol-Tbilisi Association, supported by Bristol City Council and the National Lottery Awards for All, will host Georgian Studies Day, an annual conference about the Republic of Georgia.
Spot the penguin
The Penguin Recognition Project, a collaborative venture between the departments of Computer Science, Physics and Biological Sciences.
Quantum Photonics group scoops prestigious innovation award
The development of silicon chips for optical quantum technologies has won a global award for innovation in the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) annual Innovation Engineering Awards.
‘Women of Outstanding Achievement’ portrait unveiled
A new portrait, unveiled on Monday 10 November, will be hung in the University’s Department of Physics.
Equality Challenge Unit – a new web resource for the HE sector
A new website for the Equality Challenge Unit, designed by the Internet Development team in the University’s Institute for Learning and Research Technology, went live recently.
New technology could revolutionise breast cancer screening
The world's first radar breast imaging system developed at Bristol University that could revolutionise the way women are scanned for breast cancer, is being trialled at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT).
Manuals launched on hate speech and wearing religious symbols in public
The Council of Europe has launched two manuals on hate speech and wearing religious symbols in public areas in order to promote a better understanding of these two issues, which have serious implications for the protection of human rights.
An African adventure for Bristol athletes
Two Bristol athletes will be given the opportunity of a lifetime following the launch of a new athletic development initiative that will fund them to attend a world-famous training centre developed by one of the Olympic greats.
Arenberg-Coimbra Group Prize 2009
The Coimbra Group, of which the University is a member, is again offering its annual Arenberg-Coimbra Group Prize.
New pipe organ to mark hall’s 75th anniversary
Past and present members of one of Bristol University’s student halls of residence, Wills Hall, celebrated the arrival of a new pipe organ. The organ was given to the hall by members of the Wills Hall Association as a birthday present to mark its 75th anniversary.
Early day motions
Dan Bailey and Guy Nason, statisticians from the Department of Mathematics, have looked at just how cohesive political parties really are.