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Studies have traced how a gene mutation over 100 million years ago led flowers to make male and female parts. The findings - published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition - provide a perfect example of how diversity stems from such genetic 'mistakes'.

Read more news Published Thursday 14th October 10 Scientists at the University of Leeds have perfected a new technique that allows them to make molecular nanowires out of thin strips of ring-shaped molecules known as discotic liquid crystals (DLCs). The findings could be an important step in the development of next generation electronic devices, such as light-harvesting cells and low-cost biosensors that could be used to test water quality in developing countries.

Read more news Published Wednesday 13th October 10 Statement from Professor Peter Moizer regarding the recent Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) hearing, and his role as a member of a BAA inquiry panel. Professor Moizer said, "I welcome the Court of Appeal conclusion that the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) was wrong to find apparent bias in this case.

The research has been made possible thanks to a grant from the Alzheimer's Research Trust, the UK's leading dementia research charity.

However, the worst effects of these events on agriculture could be mitigated by improved farming and the development of new crops, according to the research by the University of Leeds, the Met Office Hadley Centre and University of Exeter.

Entrepreneurs have become part of everyday life thanks to programmes like The Apprentice, but little is really known about why some real-life entrepreneurs succeed while others fail.

The work, carried out at the UK's synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source, reveals the potential of a new manmade material to replace lead-based ceramics in countless electronic devices, rangi

However, the researchers - who focused mainly on the Iraq war - say more can be done to ensure critics of the Government line are given a voice in the mainstream news media.

In the first professional development course of its kind, academics at the Leeds Institute of Psychological Sciences, including Memory Group head Professor Martin Conway, will be running a bespoke half day workshop, 'Memory and the Law', on Saturday, 13 November 2010.

The study by Dr Lorna Fraser and Dr Kimberley Edwards shows a link between the number of fast food outlet in Leeds and the likelihood of local children becoming obese. They also found that burger bars, chippies, kebab shops and similar outlets were more likely to open in areas of high deprivation. There are more than 700 fast food outlets in the city of Leeds - one for every 1000 residents.

University of Leeds engineers are working with the artist Victoria Ferrand Scott to exploit the untapped potential of architecture's 'ugly duckling' as a versatile and even sensuous sculptural material.

The findings come from a study of butterfly populations in UK landscapes by scientists at the Universities of Leeds and York.

The unusual instrument is a lithophone made up of 'ringing rocks' from the Cumbrian hills. It has been created to introduce children to geology and the landscape of the Lake District through music.

Currently, many computer-based systems for teaching and translating languages are out of date or not user-friendly.

Extreme sandstorms like the fast-moving 'walls of dust' seen in Hollywood film The Mummy may look spectacular, but their effects on weather systems and climate change are even more dramatic.

Researchers at the University of Leeds and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now found a way to manage these short-lived draws on the electricity grid far that could halve the fuel needed.

This work is an important step towards making cheaper, compact T-ray sources that could be used for applications such as security screening, drug quality control and materials testing. T-rays can penetrate efficiently through paper, clothing, plastic, and many other materials, making them ideal for detecting concealed illicit substances, imaging tumours without harmful side effects, and spotting defects such as cracks within materials.

Professor Liane Benning (University of Leeds) and Dr Dominique Tobler (University of Glasgow) will travel to Ny-Ålesund on the island of Svalbard in the Arctic to investigate how the snow and ice there was first colonised by extremophiles - organisms that thrive in harsh conditions.

But baring all when you've been covered up all year is a recipe for raising the risk of melanoma - a serious form of skin cancer that can spread rapidly. Far better to take it easy in the sun, a new study from the University of Leeds shows. Doctors already know that people with a lot of moles on their skin have a greater risk of getting melanoma than people who hardly have any.

Figure Mask No. 2 (1956) exemplifies the type of work Davie was producing when he was invited to become Gregory Fellow in Painting at the University of Leeds from 1957-59, and shows the influence of his beloved improvisational jazz music.

Scientists from the University of Leeds and other organisations in Europe, Africa and the US showed that forest exploitation started with the removal of the most valuable products first, such as timb

The researchers estimate that the river - known as a submarine channel - would be the sixth largest river in the world if it were on land based on the amount of water flowing through it. Submarine channels are similar to land rivers, but they are formed by density currents - underwater flow mixtures of sand, mud and water that are denser than sea water and so sink and flow along the bottom.

Hydrogen has been tipped as a cleaner, greener alternative to fossil fuels. But scientists have struggled to find a way to make it that doesn't consume vast amounts of energy, use up scarce natural resources, or spew out high levels of greenhouse gas.

Working with colleagues from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Open University the researchers will look at how blanket peatlands can be restored in a way that minimises greenhouse gas emissions. Northern-hemisphere peatlands, such as the blanket peatlands of north Wales and the north Pennines, contain three times as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest.

Dr Jonathan Sheffield OBE will take up the position of Chief Executive Officer, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network on 1 October 2010.

Dr Jonathan Sheffield will take up the position of Chief Executive Officer, National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network on 1 October 2010.