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Researchers from our top-rated Biosciences department have made an exciting discovery that could revolutionise how scientists design and engineer biological systems. Their new study reveals a way to predict and control how proteins inside cells bind to metals - an essential process for life. Revealing secrets of protein metalation Metals such as iron, manganese, and cobalt are crucial for many biological processes, helping proteins carry out vital functions in cells.

Our Department of Biosciences is making strides in understanding antibiotic resistance, boosted by a prestigious Leverhulme award. Professor Jonathan Heddle joined our Department of Biosciences in 2023 with the support of a £4.8 million Leverhulme International Professorship award. The Leverhulme award helped establish the Centre for Programmable Biological Matter at Durham University, which has already yielded results that could help us fight antibiotic-resistant infections.

Scientists from our top-rated Physics department have set a global milestone by achieving quantum entanglement of individual molecules using cutting-edge magic-wavelength optical tweezers. This achievement not only overcomes a fundamental challenge in quantum science but also opens up new possibilities in quantum computing, high-precision measurements, and physics research.

Researchers from our top-rated Computer Science department have made an exciting discovery that could improve how doctors treat dangerous heart rhythms, like those seen in cardiac arrest. Their work offers a way to better understand and predict how to stop irregular electrical waves in the heart, a process called quenching.

Scientists from our Geography department have made a major breakthrough in understanding one of the most powerful forces shaping the ocean floor: turbidity currents. These dense, fast-moving underwater flows of sediment and water carve out deep-sea canyons and transport vast amounts of sediment, organic carbon, and nutrients across the ocean floor to the deep-sea.

Modern humans, Neanderthals, and other recent relatives on our human family tree evolved bigger brains much more rapidly than earlier species, a new study of human brain evolution has found. The study, published in the journal PNAS , overturns long-standing ideas about human brain evolution. The researchers found that brain size increased gradually within each ancient human species rather than through sudden leaps between species.

Researchers from our top-rated Psychology department have discovered that social bonding behaviours in chimpanzees, like grooming and play, can spread through groups much like contagious yawns or laughter in humans. Observing chimpanzees at Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia, scientists found that individuals were more likely to start grooming or playing after seeing others engage in the same behaviour.

Scientists from NASA and our Department of Physics have used supercomputer simulations to reveal that Mars' moons may have been formed from destroyed asteroid fragments. The researchers found that an asteroid passing near Mars could have been pulled apart by the planet's gravity, with the resulting rock fragments strewn into a range of orbits.

Our researchers have studied wild monkeys problem-solving for food to better understand how social dynamics can influence behaviour and learning. The research team, led by our Department of Anthropology, and in collaboration with University of São Paulo, studied two groups of wild bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil's Serra da Capivara National Park.

An international team of researchers, including Dr Peter Etchells from our Department of Biosciences, have published new research which brings to light new discoveries in the development and understanding of stem cells. The new study, published by the journal Science, saw researchers from Durham, University of Helsinki and Utrecht University collaborate to identify the key components required to control the balance of stem cells in plants.

A new drug called Ellorarxine is offering hope to those suffering from motor neurone disease (MND), according to a recent study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Researchers from our top-rated Chemistry department have found that this novel compound, developed by Nevrargenics Ltd., could significantly improve the neuronal health of MND patients and enhance their nervous system's ability to regenerate.

Attending psychic nights can help ease a person's grief, according to the initial findings of a research study. The first-of-its-kind study, led Dr Adam Powell from our Institute for Medical Humanities, has explored the growing cultural phenomenon of psychic nights in England's pubs. Psychological benefits regardless of belief People attending psychic nights reported benefits such a sense of hope, comfort or closure.

Researchers from our top-rated Computer Science department have made significant advances in understanding honeybee behaviour through the use of innovative robotic technology. The study, published in the cover page of prestigious journal - Science Robotics, offers unprecedented insights into the daily activities of honeybee colonies, particularly focusing on the queen bee and her interactions with worker bees.

A Durham physicist is part of an international research team that has discovered the biggest pair of black hole jets ever seen in space, spanning 23 million light-years in total length. The jets' size is equivalent to lining up 140 Milky Way galaxies back-to-back. The research was led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and involved scientists at multiple universities, including Dr Roland Timmerman of our Department of Physics.

A new study, involving our Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, has revealed that autistic individuals' involvement in hate forums is more complex than previously thought. An international team of autism researchers, healthcare practitioners, anti-extremist experts and autistic advocates, including Durham's Dr Patrick Jachyra, have published a new study that explores the reasons behind some autistic adults' participation in online and offline hate forums.

New research by our Psychology department has found that White Western women are less positive about their bodies and feel greater media pressure to be thin than Black Nigerian and Chinese women. The study looked at how age and culture impacts on women's positivity and pride about their bodies and the sociocultural pressures they experience.

A new study shows that retired rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have abnormal levels of certain proteins in their blood. This may make them more prone to developing diseases such as motor neurone disease (MND). This is what new research led by our bioscientists has found as part of the UK Rugby Health project.

We've helped clarify centuries of controversy surrounding brain size evolution - and resolved some puzzling complexities in the relationship between brain size and body mass. Researchers from the University of Reading and the Department of Anthropology here at Durham analysed an enormous dataset of brain and body sizes from around 1,500 species.

New research, by our Department of Psychology, has found that negative social contact among people of differing societal or cultural groups can have a disproportionate negative effect on broad social cohesion within communities. The research, led by Professor Stefania Paolini, analyses 70 years of research into the psychological effects of intergroup social contact.

New research from our Psychology and Mathematical Sciences departments found that stress and/or depression during pregnancy, affects how much unborn babies touch and engage in the womb. This ultrasound study suggests that a mother's stress and/or depression can influence the movement patterns of unborn babies reflecting their body awareness.