news 2012

A new optical technique, capable of producing laser beams with unusual modes of electric field, has been developed by scientists at the University of Liverpool. The new technique could have a major impact on laser micro-machining, by increasing process efficiency and quality through the use of different modes of 'polarisation' or electric fields.

Forest carbon stocks in protected West African rainforests increased despite a 40-year drought, due to a dramatic shift in tree species composition. The new study by Ghanaian and UK scientists, led by the University of Leeds, shows that biodiversity can limit the negative impacts of drought on forest carbon storage.

There is, it seems, more than one way to create an exploding star. That's what scientists studying the origins of type 1a supernovae - important because they help to measure the accelerating expansion of the Universe and dark energy - have found. A team, including Mark Sullivan of Oxford University's Department of Physics, has reported in Science observations that suggest weaker stellar explosions from giant stars contribute to some of these bright supernovae.

A revolutionary tool created by scientists at the University of Sheffield has enabled researchers to analyse nanometer-sized devices without destroying them for the first time, opening the door to a new wave of technologies. The nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus - developed by the University's Department of Physics and Astronomy - will allow for further developments and new applications for nanotechnology which is increasingly used in harvesting solar energy, computing, communication developments and also in the medical field.

People will reject an offer of water, even when they are severely thirsty, if they think the offer is unfair, according to a new study by researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL. The findings have important implications for understanding how we make decisions that need to balance fairness and self-interest.

They are one of the most destructive forces of nature on Earth, but now environmental scientists are working to tame the hurricane. In a paper, published in Atmospheric Science Letters, the authors propose using cloud seeding to decrease sea surface temperatures where hurricanes form. Theoretically, the team claims the technique could reduce hurricane intensity by a category.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes under the seabed. Some tsunamis - including the disaster that hit Japan last year - are unexpectedly large. Cambridge scientists suggest that their severity is caused by a release of gravitational energy as well as elastic energy. We hope that our research represents a step forward in understanding how large tsunamis occur." —Professor James Jackson Scientists at Cambridge University have developed a model that may show why some tsunamis - including the one that devastated Japan in March 2011 - are so much larger than expected.

Insight into how our bodies make cholesterol could lead to treatments with fewer side-effects than existing drugs. The findings by Edinburgh scientists could pave the way for alternatives to commonly prescribed treatments, known as statins. These lower harmful cholesterol levels, but can cause liver and muscle damage.

One of the first stages of developing the new renewable energy source under an industrially relevant environment. Until now, no inexpensive molecular catalyst was known to evolve H2 efficiently in water and under aerobic conditions.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that the worm which causes River Blindness survives by using a bacterium to provide energy, as well as help 'trick' the body's immune system into thinking it is fighting a different kind of infection. River Blindness affects 37 million people, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, causing intense itching of the skin, visual impairment and in severe cases, irreversible blindness.

The menopause evolved, in part, to prevent competition between a mother and her new daughter-in-law, according to research published today (23 August 2012) in the journal Ecology Letters. The study - by researchers from the University of Turku (Finland), University of Exeter (UK), University of Sheffield (UK) and Stanford University (US) - explains for the first time why the relationship women had with their daughter-in-laws could have played a key role.

The placenta is the interface between the mother and her baby, which means it is not only key to a successful pregnancy, it determines the future health of every one of us. Only relatively recently have we discovered that there is no significant maternal blood flow to the placenta in the early weeks of pregnancy" —Professor Graham Burton In this film Professor Graham Burton discusses how the Trophoblast Centre was established to generate a fresh approach into placental research.

University of Sheffield researchers have shown, for the first time, that a method of storing nuclear waste normally used only for High Level Waste (HLW), could provide a safer, more efficient, and potentially cheaper, solution for the storage and ultimate disposal of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW). ILW makes up more than three quarters of the volume of material destined for geological disposal in the UK.

Researchers at King's have established a significant link between asthma and an immune response called 'Th17', previously only attributed to inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis. Until now, the Th2 response was recognised as the predominant immune response behind asthma symptoms due to its association with allergic inflammation.

A lung cancer risk prediction model has been shown to be a viable tool for selecting high risk individuals for prevention and control programmes. The model, developed at the University of Liverpool, was tested in international datasets and found to be a more effective predictor of individuals at risk than smoking duration or family history alone.

Since 2004, nearly 1.9 million East Europeans have come to the UK1 . New research, led by academics at the University of Bristol, has examined how current East European migration to the UK has been racialised in immigration policy and tabloid journalism, providing the first insights into how racism is affecting migrants' experiences of work and life in the UK.

A newly-discovered manuscript may represent Edward Gibbon's earliest experiment in the irony for which he would become famous, an Oxford University English academic has found. Professor David Womersley of Oxford University's English Faculty discovered the manuscript written by the 19-year old Edward Gibbon, which had been left in the attic of a house in Lausanne for many years.

A new study of nine coastal cities around the world suggests that Shanghai is most vulnerable to serious flooding. European cities top the leader board for their resilience. These finding are based on a new method to calculate the flood vulnerability of cities, developed by a team of researchers from the Netherlands and the University of Leeds.

Rates of HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis are many times higher among homeless people than in the general population, a study led by Oxford University researchers has found. 'Infections in homeless people can lead to community infections and are associated with malnutrition, long periods of homelessness and high use of medical services,' says Seena Fazel of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, who led the work.

Up to 15 per cent of the population in the UK are affected by kidney disease. While a small number of individuals will develop kidney failure, a far greater number will develop circulatory diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. New research, led by academics at the University of Bristol, has now identified the underlying mechanisms that can contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.