£70,000 funding boost for dementia research
Scientists at the Universities of Bristol and Bath will come together to help defeat dementia, thanks to a new research network across the UK being funded by a leading dementia research charity.
News in 2014
Help stop the decline of bees with only a single window box
Imagine a world without cappuccinos, chocolate, apples, strawberries or even Somerset cider. These products are all dependent on insect pollination, yet in recent years there has been a dramatic decline in bee and pollinator populations. A festival this weekend aims to show how people can make a difference with only a single window box.
Young people triumph at national Festival of Code
Three young people from Bristol defeated competition from across the country and have been recognised at the Young Rewired State Festival of Code 2014.
Time-lapse video captures graduation – Bristol style
All the action, excitement and grandeur of graduation has been captured in a stunning time-lapse video.
The Bluebelle Study: Undressing wound infections
Wound infections are a common complication of surgical procedures, and contribute major costs for the NHS as well as pain, discomfort and inconvenience for patients. A new study will examine whether a main trial comparing wound dressings with no dressings is possible and whether dressings are effective in reducing infection and helping surgical wounds to heal.
Former Stranglers front man to perform at Biochemistry anniversary celebrations
Hugh Cornwell, former front man of the rock band The Stranglers, will be playing an acoustic set as part of the School of Biochemistry's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Commemorative plaque to mark Bristol’s fight for equality
A commemorative plaque was unveiled yesterday [Thursday 28 August] at the city’s bus station to celebrate the Bristol Bus Boycott campaign of 1963 - a milestone in achieving racial equality.
Stitching the Iliad
An ambitious project to create a visual 'translation' in embroidery of all 24 books of Homer's celebrated poem, the Iliad, is being undertaken by University of Bristol PhD student, Silvie Kilgallon.
Fighting prostate cancer with a tomato-rich diet
Men who eat over 10 portions a week of tomatoes have an 18 per cent lower risk of developing prostate cancer, new research suggests.
Can technology encourage a sustainable lifestyle?
New research that discusses the role technology can play in encouraging a sustainable lifestyle will be presented this month at the 2nd annual ICT4S (Information and Communications Technology for Sustainability) conference in Stockholm, Sweden [24-27 August].
Jurassic Welsh mammals were picky eaters, study finds
New analyses of tiny fossil mammals from South Wales are shedding light on the function and diets of our earliest ancestors, a team led by researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Leicester report today in the journal Nature.
New exchange programme takes vet students to Australia
Two postgraduates among the first intake on the Vet School’s MSc in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation have recently returned from a successful visit to Western Australia.
Bristol student finds new species of tree frog
A new species of tree frog has been discovered in the forests of Madagascar by an MSc student at the University of Bristol.
Bristol’s Academic Ranking of World Universities score at five year high
The University of Bristol has been ranked as 8th in the UK and 63rd in the world in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
Scottish poverty study calls on Governments to tackle rising deprivation
The percentage of households falling below society’s minimum standard of living has increased from 14 per cent to 33 per cent over the last 30 years, despite the size of the economy doubling. This is one of the stark findings from the largest study of poverty and deprivation ever conducted in the UK.
Neither too hot nor too cold: the evolution of marine crocodilians constrained by ocean temperatures
The ancestors of today's crocodiles colonised the seas during warm phases and became extinct during cold phases, according to a new Anglo-French study which establishes a link between marine crocodilian diversity and the evolution of sea temperature over a period of more than 140 million years.
How the Asian monsoon affects methane emissions
Scientists at the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute have shown how changes in the Asian monsoon affected emissions of methane, a prominent greenhouse gas, from the Tibetan Plateau.
Butterflies evolve narrower diets in response to climate change
A UK butterfly species has responded to recent climate change by evolving a narrower diet, new research from the University of Bristol has found.
Bristol graduate to present new natural history TV series
Patrick Aryee, a University of Bristol graduate, will co-present a new three-part BBC series that explores the super senses of the animal kingdom.
How to tell what a donkey is thinking
Yawning, sighing and stretching are just three behaviours observed in donkeys that have been evaluated in newly published research led by academics from the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences and funded by global equine welfare charity the Brooke.
Investigating soil moisture dynamics using cosmic-ray technology
A University of Bristol project which will investigate soil moisture dynamics in the UK using novel cosmic-ray technology has been awarded £330,000 funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Undergraduate Admissions 2014
The University of Bristol received around 40,580 applications for the 4860 undergraduate places available across the full range of subjects from this September.
Bristol academics awarded a hat-trick of Royal Society fellowships
Three academics from the University of Bristol have been awarded prestigious research fellowships from the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.
Who owns the copyright on a monkey selfie?
The debate between photographer David Slater and Wikimedia, the company behind Wikipedia, over who owns pictures taken by a crested black macaque has raised questions over the ownership of online images.
Combatting childhood obesity from the age of two
A successful American initiative to tackle childhood obesity will be trialled in the UK, thanks to a new £431,495 research project targeting children as young as two.
Multi-million research grant will revolutionise future communication networks
Global demand for broadband communications continues to increase substantially year on year. A major factor contributing to this demand is the growing number of fixed and mobile broadband users, data-hungry applications like video, and an ever-increasing number of network-connected everyday objects and machines. It is forecast that by 2020 the number of network-connected devices will reach 1,000 times the world’s population. A University of Bristol-led research project that aims to implement radically new network models has been awarded £6 million funding by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
£2.9m awarded to Bristol EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has announced £2.9 million funding for state-of-the-art equipment for eight doctoral training initiatives at Bristol.
Bristol researchers lead the fight against cardiovascular disease
Research at the University of Bristol will help the British Heart Foundation in its mission to cut premature deaths from cardiovascular disease by 25 per cent.
International Journal of Epidemiology tops impact factor ratings
The Bristol-based International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE) has been placed at the top of its field in the ISI Web of Science Journal Citation Reports, published by Thomson Reuters.
Volcano team get measure of threat to Great Rift Valley
Little known volcanoes in one of Africa’s most stunning locations are to be explored in a bid to understand the threat they pose to life, livelihood and the landscape. Researchers are to assess largely uncharted volcanoes in the East African Rift Valley, home to vast mammal migrations, mountain gorillas, spectacular peaks and fertile plains.
Man-made noise makes eels more susceptible to predators
Despite their reputation as slippery customers, a new study has shown that eels are losing the fight to survive when faced with marine noise pollution such as that of passing ships.
Care for cousin sparks fundraising adventure
University of Bristol student Alice Dowek will face her fears when she attempts to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in September to raise money for charity.
Quantum Cheshire Cat observed for the first time
The existence of a 'quantum Cheshire Cat', theoretically predicted last year by Professor Sandu Popescu of the University of Bristol and colleagues, has been observed experimentally by a team in Vienna.
Five Bristol scientists named among “the world’s leading scientific minds”
Five University of Bristol academics have been named by Thomson Reuters as among the top one per cent of scientists who are “the world’s leading scientific minds” and whose publications are among the most influential in their fields.
Skull shape risk factors could help in the welfare of toy dog breeds
New research has identified two significant risk factors associated with painful neurological diseases in the skull shape of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS). The findings could help in tackling these conditions in toy dog breeds and could be used in breeding guidelines.
Lights Out for the Wills Memorial Building
The Wills Memorial Building will join with the rest of the UK in turning off the lights for an hour this evening [4 August] to commemorate the start of World War 1 a century ago.
Primary care telephone triage does not save money or reduce practice workload
Demand for general practice appointments is rising rapidly, and in an attempt to deal with this, many practices have introduced systems of telephone triage. Patients are phoned by a doctor or nurse who either manages the problem on the phone, or agrees with the patient whether and how urgently they need to be seen.
Bristol Bright Night illuminates city science
Bristol’s streets are set to be transformed into a living laboratory of innovation and experimentation as Bristol Bright Night sweeps through the city for the very first time.
Solar ‘super-storms’ pose a catastrophic threat to humanity
Solar ‘super-storms’ pose a catastrophic and long-lasting threat to life on Earth if they continue to go unnoticed, a space expert has warned.
Jazmin scoops silver as she jumps for joy
University of Bristol student Jazmin Sawyers was jumping for joy yesterday as she took silver in the women’s long-jump at the Commonwealth Games 2014.