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Plants use natural latex in different ways, to help poison insects or rapidly heal wounds, a new study has found. Scientists from the Universities of Oxford, Sheffield and Freiburg tested latex samples from two different types of plant. They found that Euphorbia plants use slow-drying latex to keep insects in with their noxious sap whereas Ficus plants, such as the weeping fig, use fast-drying latex to seal wounds more quickly.

Scientists at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde have discovered rotational speed can be determined by measuring Doppler Shift - the same effect utilised in radar speed guns. Doppler Shift is a phenomenon everyone is aware of, if perhaps not by name, and is most often experienced by the sound of a siren from a police car or ambulance rising and falling in pitch as it passes by.

A collaborative project involving Imperial and the UAE is assessing the potential of date palm leaves as a renewable, low-carbon building material. Phoenix dactylifera, or the date palm tree, is perhaps best known for its sweet fruit but, as growers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have known for thousands of years, its leaves can also be used in construction.

The mystery of the hexagonal shape of honeycomb cells has been revealed by simple mechanics. The honeybee comb is a widely studied natural cellular structure. The rounded hexagonal shape of its cells has intrigued natural scientists and philosophers for millennia. They have suggested many explanations some of which would need the bees to have an uncanny ability ("forethought" according to Pappus of Alexandria in 4 AD) to perform mathematical calculations or the magical quality to measure lengths and angles.

Tidal turbines stretched across Pentland Firth, which separates the Orkney Islands from mainland Scotland, could generate up to 1.9 gigawatts (GW) of power - equivalent to almost half of Scotland's electricity needs. A new study, led by Oxford University researchers, provides the first reliable estimate of the maximum energy that could be generated from Pentland Firth.

The chance of infection in some NHS wards varies dramatically according to whether the nurses leave the windows open. A University of Leeds-led team studied airflow in a “Nightingale” ward—the classic NHS ward that traditionally accommodated two rows of up to 30 beds—using tracer gases to simulate how airborne infections spread.

Academics have demonstrated for the first time that a "sonic lasso" can be used to grip microscopic objects, such as cells, and move them about. The research by academics at the University of Bristol's Department of Mechanical Engineering and the University of Dundee's Institute for Medical Science and Technology is published online in Applied Physics Letters .

Tennis players can adapt their movement/playing style in response to subtle differences in court constructions, according to new research by engineers at the University of Sheffield. The findings - published online in the Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology - are the first steps towards setting international standards to characterise the interaction between shoes and surfaces.

Public concern about new technology infrastructure like mobile phone masts has been shown to trigger reports of ill health.. and recently even the new 'green' technology of wind turbines has been blamed for medically unexplained non-specific symptoms. But now, for the first time, a study by psychologists, engineers and built environment experts at The University of Nottingham , has found no link between the 'measured' level of noise from small and micro wind turbines and reports of ill health.

New research, published in Neuron , gives insight into how single mutations in the VCP gene cause a range of neurological conditions including a form of dementia called Inclusion Body Myopathy, Paget's Disease of the Bone and Frontotemporal Dementia (IBMPFD), and the motor neuron disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

It's thought abnormalities in their ability to do play an important role in a broad range of disorders, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study's findings are outlined in the journal Molecular Cell and describe a surprising new aspect of cell adhesion involving the family of cell adhesion molecules known as integrins, which are found on the surfaces of most cells.

" The results of a study published today (7 January) suggest that microbes 'feel' their way along a solid surface, much as a blindfolded person would move near a wall. Using high-speed microscopic imaging, University of Cambridge researchers have found that sperm cells accumulate at surfaces and algae move away from them as a result of between the surface and the cells' flagella or cilia - the hair-like appendages that propel cells through their fluid environment.

Corrosion costs the oil and gas industry billions of dollars every year, it can also have far reaching environmental consequences. But so far no one has managed to stop corrosion happening. A detective style research team based at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus are working closely with industry to investigate real world problems and are taking a forensic look at the nature of corrosion — particularly in the oil and gas sector.

Scientists studying a species of South American bush cricket with some of the smallest ears known have discovered it has hearing so sophisticated that it rivals our own. The study is the first to identify hearing organs in an insect that are evolutionary convergent to those of mammals. The HFSP and BBSRC -funded research, led by the scientists at the University of Bristol, show how the bush cricket's ( Copiphora Gorgonensis ) auditory system has evolved over millions of years to develop auditory mechanisms strikingly similar to those of humans, but using an entirely different machinery.

A mathematician at the University of Glasgow is helping to find an answer to one of the last unsolved problems in classical mechanics. Andrew Baggaley, of the University's School of Mathematics and Statistics, has published a paper in the journal Physical Review Letters ,which extends our understanding of the chaotic motion of fluids, commonly known as turbulence.

How people experience time may be affected by the way that they perceive cause and effect, new research by the University has shown. Marc Buehner of the School of Psychology examined how causal belief - understanding that one thing leads to another (for example flicking a switch and a light coming on) - influences time perception.

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.

Formula One teams are more likely to cross the finish line first if their boss is a former F1 driver, according to new research conducted by the University of Sheffield and the Cass Business School. The pioneering study shows putting money on teams like Red Bull and Sauber, which are headed by experts not general managers, is a wise move as former drivers and mechanics win twice as often as other types of F1 leaders.

Orangutans may be smarter than previously thought if a new study into the sophisticated way they build nests is any indication. Scientists at The University of Manchester spent a year observing and filming (video footage available) orangutans at a research facility in Indonesia and found they apparently possess complex knowledge of mechanical design and material properties.

A breakthrough using cutting-edge stem cell research could speed up the discovery of new treatments for motor neurone disease ( MND ). The international research team has created motor neurones using skin cells from a patient with an inherited form of MND . Role of protein Using patient stem cells to model MND in a dish offers untold possibilities for how we study the cause of this terrible disease as well as accelerating drug discovery by providing a cost-effective way to test many thousands of potential treatments.