Students take 20 Steps towards positive change in Bristol17 January 2014A campaign to encourage students to lead more sustainable lifestyles will launch on Monday 27 January, led by the University of Bristol’s Student Union groups, UBU Get Green and Bristol Hub.
Bristol professors named in UK’s top 100 scientists15 January 2014Two scientists from the University of Bristol have been named in an elite list of the UK’s 100 leading practising scientists by the Science Council.
£3.8 million for public health research partnership15 January 2014The University of Bristol, with partners at University College London, Cambridge MRC Biostatistics Unit, and the University of the West of England, has been awarded government funding of £3,865,761 for health protection research.
Inconsistent preferences can be preferred by natural selection15 January 2014It seems paradoxical that a preference for which of two houses to buy could depend on another, inferior, house – but researchers at the University of Bristol have identified that seemingly irrelevant alternatives can, and should, influence choices. Even more remarkable is the finding that optimal choices can violate the principle of transitivity: it can be best to choose A from A or B, and choose B from B or C, but choose C from A or C.
Bristol PhD student to lead team to experience 'life on Mars'14 January 2014Ashley Dale, a PhD student at the University of Bristol, will lead a team of seven experts to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah’s high-altitude terrain this Saturday [18 January].
University collaborates with Affymetrix on genotyping arrays for sustainable wheat production13 January 2014Affymetrix, Inc. and the University of Bristol announced today that they have collaboratively designed a wheat genotyping array and analysed data from experiments as part of an effort to understand wheat genetics and breeding with a goal of ensuring guaranteed sustainable production.
An Antarctic outlet glacier engaged in an irreversible retreat13 January 2014An international team of researchers has shown that Pine Island Glacier (PIG), the primary contributor to sea-level rise from Antarctica, has entered a period of self-sustained retreat and its discharge to the ocean will likely increase in comparison to observations from the last decade.
New Centre for Doctoral Training in Synthetic Biology announced10 January 2014Postgraduate training in a wide range of engineering and scientific fields important to the UK’s economy received a boost this week when 19 new Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) were announced by Universities and Science Minister, David Willetts.
How we look in the right place at the right time9 January 2014Human visually guided behaviour relies on looking in the right place at the right time. Researchers from the University of Bristol have identified how the selection of potential locations of interest in the visual scene is combined with detailed object recognition in the central visual field. Both tasks are performed simultaneously and without interfering with each other.
Professor Richard Peace, 1933-20139 January 2014Richard Peace, Emeritus Professor of Russian at the University of Bristol, died on 5 December 2013. Former colleague Professor Derek Offord offers this tribute.
£245,000 for research into England's first Deaf church9 January 2014Dr William John Lyons, senior lecturer in the University of Bristol’s Department of Religion and Theology, has secured a three year Leverhulme Trust project grant worth £244,911 for his project 'Scripture, dissent and Deaf space: St Saviour’s, Oxford Street'.
Negative feedback makes cells 'sensitive'8 January 2014New research has shown that negative feedback loops in cell signalling systems can be essential for a cell’s ability to perceive the strength of a growth stimulus. Cells lacking the feedback loop became insensitive to the level of the stimulus in a manner similar to a cancerous cell displaying unrestrained growth.
Why do some people develop type 1 diabetes rapidly while others at risk do not?8 January 2014The autoimmune process leading to type 1 diabetes can develop quickly in some children and young people but very slowly in others despite the presence of proteins in their blood indicating an on-going autoimmune process in the pancreas. Thanks to combined funding of over $1 million a new study hopes to understand why some people develop type 1 diabetes very early while others who are known to be at risk are protected for decades.
From simple beginnings: Spinal nerve connections develop using simple rules8 January 2014Repairing spinal injuries with stem cells may be a step closer thanks to scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Plymouth. A new study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, employed novel techniques to show that spinal nerve cell networks may develop using much simpler rules than expected.
How common is aggression in UK dogs?7 January 2014Aggressive dogs represent a serious risk to human health, tragically causing fatalities in rare cases. The development of aggression can also impact on a dog’s welfare, because of a breakdown of the human-pet bond, euthanasia or relinquishment. New research has estimated the prevalence of human-directed aggression in different situations, and examined the potential risk factors for dogs showing aggression towards people.
Sex matters for microbes3 January 2014Caught in the act! Researchers from the University of Bristol have observed mating for the first time in the microbes responsible for African sleeping sickness. This tropical disease is caused by trypanosomes, single-celled parasites that are found in the blood of those afflicted.
