News

WUN member, the University of Cape Town hosted the 16^thAnnual International  Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) Conference from 29 August to 1 September 2012, attracting 300 delegates from around the world.

Opened by UCT Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price, the conference examined the state of internationalisation of universities in South Africa and how they can best keep apace with the rest of the world in this dynamic facet of higher education. The hosting of the conference was evidence of UCT’s commitment to internationalisation.

A team of scientists including those from the University of Southampton have shed new light on the world’s history of climate change.

The Pacific Ocean has remained the largest of all oceans on the planet for many million years. It covers one third of the Earth’s surface and has a mean depth of 4.2 km. Its biologically productive equatorial regions play an important role particularly to the global carbon cycle and long-term climate development.

New born human infants have the largest brains among primates, but also the highest proportion of body fat. Before birth, if the supply of nutrients from the mother through the placenta is limited or unbalanced, the developing baby faces a dilemma: should resources be allocated to brain growth, or to fat deposition for use as an energy reserve during the early months after birth?

Scientists at the University of Southampton have shown that this decision could have an effect on how fat we are as children.

The University of Bergen professor in African archaeolgoy, Christopher Henshilwood, was awarded a Europen Research Council Advanced Grant in 2009.

The Chinese Politics in a Globalized World program for the Spring semester 2013 is up and running!

Associate Professor Ariadne Vromen from the University of Sydney has won a $312,000 grant to study whether social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter can help to reduce young people’s disenchantment with politics.

All is right on the night. The naysayers are dispersed. As the Olympics roll on, London and the Brits are cresting the wave with a superb backdrop of history, humanity and style.

Brownlee brothers, both University of Leeds Alumni, take the Gold and Bronze medals for Team GB in the London 2012 Triathlon

Professor Martin Trethewey, the Arthur L. Glenn Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Penn State University, has been appointed to the WUN Academic Advisory Group (AAG).

Professor Trethewey will take over the role of developing the WUN program at PSU and represent the university on the AAG. He takes over the role from Peter Schiffer, who was former Chair of the AAG and is moving on from Penn State.

WUN today announced the 2012 round of the Research Development Fund (RDF).

Scientists working on the next generation of faster, smaller and more complex electronic devices are meeting at the University of Sydney for the 4th Worldwide Universities Network International Spintronics Conference. 

The three-day event brings together world experts in the frontier science of spintronics – a new technology that is expected to replace the conventional digital logic used in IT systems. 

The University of Wisconsin-Madison recently announced the appointment of an Interim Dean of the Division of International Studies and Vice-Provost for Globalization, who also takes responsibility as the university’s representative to the WUN Academic Advisory Group.

Academics from around the world gather in York this week for one of the most significant social policy conferences in the UK in recent times. The Social Policy Association and the East Asian Social Policy research network have joined forces to host ‘Social Policy in an Unequal World’, which opens on 16 July at the University of York.

25 years after its launch, Erasmus has become the best known EU programme and the most successful student exchange scheme in the world. More than 231 000 students received Erasmus grants to study or train abroad during the 2010-11 academic year – a new record and an 8.5% increase compared to the previous year. Since 1987, the programme has provided more than 2.5 million European students with the opportunity to go abroad to study at a higher education institution or for a job placement in a company.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) hosted a Forum on ‘The Public Interest and the Future of Public Higher Education in the 21st Century’ as part of the WUN Global Higher Education and Research Challenge on the occasion of the visit of Chancellor David Ward from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Led by the University of York, researchers from across the world have joined forces to improve the quality of midwifery care and reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality.

Research based education for global development challenges

The University of York’s Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) is hosting the launch events this week for an ambitious €4.3 million project exploring the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacies.

Scientists at the University of York and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Australia have discovered a complex gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the medicinal compound noscapine.

The University of York has been ranked eighth in the world and number one in the UK in new Times Higher Education world rankings of universities less than 50 years old.

THERE are 8 million Chinese over 80 years of age and, by some estimates, there will be 100 million Chinese octogenarians by the middle of this, the Asian century.

And although old age may bring brittle bones, there is a view that Australia's ties to China could benefit from a hip replacement. Half a million even.

WUN partner, the University of Cape Town, will host the 16th International Education Association of South Africa Conference on 29 August to 1 September 2012.

The theme of the conference is promoting higher education internationalisation through international research collaboration, partnership and innovative teaching. The event will take a broad view of internationalisation of higher education with topics ranging from the role of donors, governments and agencies in promoting internationalisation to quality assurance in higher education internationalisation.

Recent developments in the emerging field of spintronics – the technology that is expected to drive the next wave of faster and smaller electronic devices – will be discussed at an international conference hosted by the Worldwide Universities Network at the University of Sydney this July.

The University of Leeds has signed a £3m collaborative research deal with Sinochem Group.

Two new studies into the “plumbing systems” that lie under volcanoes could bring scientists closer to predicting large eruptions.

The Worldwide Universities Network has extended its global reach by welcoming its first South American partner.

Aggressive American signal crayfish are threatening Yorkshire’s native white-clawed crayfish populations because they have better resistance to parasites and are less fussy about what they eat.

Andrew Wood, Executive Chef at the University of York, and his Deputy Ian Dickson, have been in China learning to cook authentic Chinese haute cuisine.

A new study from the Centre for Low Carbon Futures shows that UK cities could cut their energy bills by billions by exploiting commercially attractive opportunities in energy and carbon management.

WUN Chief Executive, Professor John Hearn, and representatives of the Worldwide Universities Network met with University of Rochester President Joel Seligman to officially sign the WUN membership agreement and discuss research links. The signing follows Rochester’s accession to the network in December 2011.

Historians, archivists and experts in computer science from the Universities of York and Washington, as well as others, are teaming up to develop new ways of exploring digital historical records.

Human rights defenders from around the world will share their experiences and discuss the challenges they face in a series of public lectures at the University of York.

Engineering our way out of global climate warming may not be as easy as simply reducing the incoming solar energy, according to a team of University of Bristol and Penn State climate scientists.  Designing the approach to control both sea level rise and rates of surface air temperature changes requires a balancing act to accommodate the diverging needs of different locations.

Scientists at the University of York and the University of Melbourne have determined the structure of the enzyme endomannosidase, significantly advancing our understanding of how a group of devastating human viruses including HIV and Hepatitis C hijack human enzymes to reproduce and cause disease.

The University of Rochester has joined the Worldwide Universities Network. 

Founded in 1850, Rochester is one of the smallest of the country’s top-tier research universities, with 2,000 staff and 9,300 students. It offers more than 180 degree programs. 

A new partnership between the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at the University of York and PubMed Health at the US National Library of Medicine is launched today.

A proposed new centre for the study of medieval European literature based in York and Odense is set to become a reality thanks to an award of nearly £4.5 million funding from the Danish National Research Foundation.

An international team of researchers has used ancient DNA to shed new light on the realism of horses depicted in prehistoric cave paintings.

The University of York has welcomed it first two scholars sponsored by a new foundation to promote cultural links between the UK and China.

A University of York academic has played a key role in the production of a hard-hitting television series on modern day slavery now showing on Al Jazeera English.

An international team of scientists has determined the evolutionary family tree for one of the most strikingly diverse and endangered bird families in the world, the Hawaiian honeycreepers.

The Worldwide Universities Network has been joined by one of the leading universities in Asia, with the signing of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to the partnership.

A pit of writhing snakes – that’s what the first picture of turbulent gas in our Milky Way looks like. A recent collaboration between WUN partners, the University of Sydney and the University of Wisconsin-Madison used a CSIRO radio telescope in eastern Australia to make the groundbreaking image, published in Nature earlier this month.

The 2011 Workshop on ‘Biomaterials and Their Interactions with Biological and Model Membranes’ took place in Salou, Spain from 19-23 September 2011.

Santander Universities Global Division is to provide funding for scholarships and awards after signing a co-operation agreement with the University of York for a total of £198,000 over the next three years.

Fifteen members of AEVO from five WUN institutions attended a two-day workshop at the University of Leeds, 12-13 September 2011, to launch this novel project which tackles the crucial issue of climate impacts on Arctic communities.

A worldwide study involving University of Sydney researchers has concluded that a costly and controversial treatment for neonatal sepsis is ineffective.

Astronomers reveal new findings from ‘monster’ black hole

Ref: 11/94
Working as part of an international team, astronomers at the University of Southampton have revealed some striking features in the gases emitted from the regions close to one of the brightest, supermassive black holes known to man.

There are far fewer species on Earth – just 2 million – than widely believed and it is possible to discover them all this century, according to Associate Professor Mark Costello from The University of Auckland’s Leigh Marine Laboratory.

A University of Alberta-led research team has taken a rare look inside the skull of a dinosaur and come away with unprecedented details on the brain and nasal passages of the ancient animal.

Problem-solving therapy may help people who attempt suicide or self-harm according to a study by University of Auckland researchers published in the British Journal of Psychiatry this month.

University of Alberta chemistry researchers have discovered an active catalyst that has the potential to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of manufacturing processes used to make products such as agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

A team of researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the UW has conducted the first comprehensive assessment of every gene in the genome of advanced, lethal prostate cancer. Until now, the genetic composition of such tumors had been poorly defined.

A drug used to protect bone may extend survival in older breast cancer patients, according to researchers at the Universities of Sheffield and Leeds.

Corn split off from its closest relative teosinte, a wild Mexican grass, about 10,000 years ago thanks to the breeding efforts of early Mexican farmers.

University of Bergen researchers have contributed to an international declaration on the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Now the UN is discussing the issue.

A 100-year-old lock of hair from a West Australian Aboriginal man has led to a discovery that Aboriginal Australians are directly descended from the first people to leave Africa more than 70,000 years ago.

Novel use of CT scanning technology has allowed researchers at the University of Bristol to create a four-dimensional picture of how ants build their nests.

Relatively accurate predictions for the extent of Arctic sea ice in a given summer can be made by assessing conditions the previous autumn, but forecasting conditions more than five years into the future depend on understanding the impact of climate trends on the ice pack, new research shows.

New research from the University shows that past trends in climate must be very carefully understood before using them to model the future.

The human brain doesn’t stop developing at adolescence, but continues well into our 20s, recent research from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta demonstrates.

A University of Bristol study has found a simple 15-minute screening programme for women at risk of osteoporosis can reduce their chance of fracture by half.

Changes in the ratio of nitrate to phosphorus in the oceans off the coasts of Korea and Japan caused by atmospheric and riverine pollutants may influence marine ecology and the makeup of marine plants, according to researchers from Korea and the U.S.

A nondisease-causing virus kills human breast cancer cells in the laboratory, creating opportunities for potential new cancer therapies, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who tested the virus on three different breast cancer types that represent the multiple stages of breast cancer development.

Medical researchers have come a step closer to understanding how to stop breast cancers from coming back.

The media may portray text messaging and social networks as powerful new weapons for freedom fighters, but these new communication tools may not be as uniformly beneficial or as robust as suggested, according to Penn State researchers.

Human devices, from light bulbs to iPods, send information using electrons. Human bodies and all other living things, on the other hand, send signals and perform work using ions or protons.

World leaders gathering at the United Nations in New York this week to discuss non-communicable disease (NCD) such as obesity and diabetes need to consider how law is an essential weapon in the fight against the problem, a University of Sydney legal expert said.

Our livers can fight back against the immune system – reducing organ rejection but also making us more susceptible to liver disease, report scientists from the University of Sydney’s Centenary Institute.

Adult stem cells from mice converted to antigen-specific T cells — the immune cells that fight cancer tumor cells — show promise in cancer immunotherapy and may lead to a simpler, more efficient way to use the body’s immune system to fight cancer, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

Deforestation in the rainforests of West Africa reduces rainfall over the rest of the forest, according to new University of Leeds research published in Geophysical Research Letters.

A grain of salt or two may be all that microbial electrolysis cells need to produce hydrogen from wastewater or organic byproducts, without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere or using grid electricity, according to Penn State engineers.

While electronic cigarettes may be a long-term alternative to the real thing for some smokers, Penn State College of Medicine researchers suggest medical providers should continue to encourage more traditional smoking cessation methods.

Researchers must collaborate to manage one of the planet’s most precious and threatened resources — for food production and much more, says Steve Banwart.

Mineral inclusions discovered in diamonds prove that surface rocks can be subducted into the deep part of the Earth’s mantle. The isotopic composition of the diamonds confirms that recycling of crustal materials, including carbon, extends into the lower mantle.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed polymers that fluoresce in the presence of bacteria, paving the way for the rapid detection and assessment of wound infection using ultra-violet light.

Researchers at The University of Western Australia in collaboration with more than 200 centres from 24 countries have identified DNA links to blood pressure which could lead to new treatments for cardiovascular disease.

Archaeology is no longer just about digging holes. New research by a team led from the University of Leeds promises to improve the investigation of our heritage from the air.

University of Leeds researchers have used next-generation DNA sequencing techniques to discover what causes a rare form of inherited eye disorders, including cataracts and glaucoma, in young children.

The European Union Center of Excellence (EUCE) at University of Wisconsin–Madison has
received a grant for €300,000 (ca. $430,000) from the European Commission in Brussels renewing
its funding through 2014.

Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally occurring biominerals such as seashells.

Groundbreaking new research has found that sulphur dioxide can boost a plant’s defence system, which could change the way table grapes, wine and dried fruits are preserved.

Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered that resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant found in common foods, prevents a metabolic syndrome in some offspring that could lead to health issues like diabetes.

Researchers at The University of Western Australia today released the results of a long-running study which has established a significant link between type 2 diabetes and the risk of potentially fatal bowel cancer in men.

A molecule which can stop the formation of long protein strands, known as amyloid fibrils, that cause joint pain in kidney dialysis patients has been identified by Leeds researchers.

Scientists from the University of York have played a pivotal role in a discovery which could finally unlock the full potential of waste plant matter to replace oil as a fuel source.

A fundamental new understanding of programs that control energy production in the human body provides new clues to help the development of therapeutics for a broad range of mitochondrial diseases.

Experts from the University of Sheffield have shed new light on the application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) on a nano scale, paving the way for improved medical imaging techniques, computing, telecommunications, data storage and photovoltaics.

Researchers at the University of York have been awarded a major EU grant to help gain a clearer understanding of the underlying physics behind ultrafast magnetic processes.

A three-day meeting at UCT on the contested politics of The Uses and Abuses of Culture hosted jointly by the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) and HUMA was held in July 2011.

An international team of researchers at the University of York has used ancient DNA to produce compelling evidence that the lack of genetic diversity in modern stallions is the result of the domestication process.

A major international e-Science conference at the University of York will explore the concept of cloud computing to enable better use of software and data from research and industry.

Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered a pain-free way of tackling dental decay that reverses the damage of acid attack and re-builds teeth as new.

New research by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York shows that species have responded to climate change up to three times faster than previously appreciated. These results are published in the latest issue of the leading scientific journal Science.

A key glacier in Greenland is melting faster than previously expected, according to findings by a team of academics, including Dr Edward Hanna from University of Sheffield.

A growing body of recent research indicates that, in Earth’s warming climate, there is no “tipping point,” or threshold warm temperature, beyond which polar sea ice cannot recover if temperatures come back down.

Caffeine guards against certain skin cancers at the molecular level, according to a study appearing online August 15, 2011, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

University of Southampton researchers have developed new nano-structured glass, turning it into new type of computer memory, which has applications in optical manipulation and will significantly reduce the cost of medical imaging.

A new diagnostic method developed by researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta is proving it can be a reliable tool for health professionals to predict an overweight or obese patient’s risk of death and even the degree to which they need to lose weight.

Engineering students from the University of Leeds have found a way to let surgeons keep their sense of touch when operating at a distance with ‘keyhole’ techniques.

Ice and frozen ground at the North and South Poles are affected by climate-change-induced warming, but the consequences of thawing at each pole differ due to the geography and geology, according to a Penn State hydrologist.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have led a new report that provides the first comprehensive technical and economic assessment of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) as a viable but poorly understood option for reducing carbon emissions.

New research by scientists at the University of York gives a fresh perspective on the physics of black holes.

Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered clues to why many patients do not respond to a standard drug for the blood cancer lymphoma, raising hopes that more effective treatments can be designed.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have designed a chemical system which represents perhaps the simplest protocell model of cell formation on the early Earth. The work is described in an article published today in Nature Chemistry.

Two new studies from Penn State College of Medicine have found that smokers who tend to take their first cigarette soon after they wake up in the morning may have a higher risk of developing lung and head and neck cancers than smokers who refrain from lighting up right away.

Bridging the gap between research and patient benefit

The 2^nd Worldwide Universities Network Symposium in Oral Health Sciences was held between 25 and 26 July at the University of Leeds.  The programme included presentations from 21 international speakers who shared their experiences in translational research in dentistry with 110 delegates from around the world.

The Symposium featured invited speakers from Australia, China, Japan, the United States, Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

A group of researchers at the University of Alberta hopes to draw attention to what has become a forgotten essential nutrient.

Some plants may use less water under global warming, says a University of Sydney scientist involved in a major study published in the journal Nature.

Nearly 3000 blind and partially-sighted New Zealanders could be suffering from undiagnosed sleep timing disorders according to a recent study from The University of Auckland.

Early and regular home visits to first-time mothers that encourage breastfeeding and ‘tummy time’ during their child’s first year of life improve the likelihood of their children growing up being a healthy weight, according to research published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

The University of York is welcoming a record number of American Fulbright scholars for the new academic year. Five American academics will join the University in October, teaching and researching subjects ranging from gender, violence and conflict, to restoration of the pedagogical bassoon works of Julius Weissenborn.

Leading memory researchers from across the world are gathering at the University of York for a major six-day conference. Organisers believe the event from 31 July – 5 August is the world’s largest ever conference on memory.

During the last prolonged warm spell on Earth, the oceans were at least four meters — and possibly as much as 6.5 meters, or about 20 feet — higher than they are now.

A new target for nitric oxide has been revealed in studies of how it inhibits the growth of Salmonella. This bacterium is a common cause of food-poisoning.

Major conference on nanomedicine held in Hangzhou

The world’s established forests remove 8.8bn tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere – equivalent to nearly a third of annual fossil fuel emissions – according to new research published in Science.

A pivotal study in Africa conducted by the UW’s Clinical Research Center is bringing new hope that taking a daily AIDS drug can keep an uninfected person from getting the AIDS virus.

Scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle have determined the atomic architecture of a sodium channel. The achievement opens new possibilities for molecular medicine researchers around the world to design better drugs for pain, epilepsy and heart rhythm disturbances.

Researchers are one step closer to understanding how an individual’s genetic make-up predisposes them to Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a common auto-immune arthritis which causes pain and stiffness of the spine, and in serious cases, progressive fusion of the vertebrae and other affected joints.

Report on the one-day symposium “Into the Archive: J.M. Coetzee and his Precursors” which took place on Tuesday 28 June 2011 at the University of Leeds.

Climate change in Asia is the latest focus area for researchers at the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research.

Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed smart nanomaterials, which can disrupt the blood supply to cancerous tumours.

In some cases, an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but for people with diabetes, regular, over-the-counter Aspirin may also do the job.

Weight-gain and diabetes-like symptoms are common side effects of antipsychotic medications, and New Zealand research into the chemical changes involved is raising hope that these effects may be better managed or eliminated.

A University of Leeds researcher has drawn inspiration from biology to build a giant robotic worm that can wiggle its way around obstacles.

How people choose to consume resources and use contraception influences their responses to climate change, according to a team of psychologists.

Scientists at the University of Southampton have pioneered a chemical method of linking DNA strands that is tolerated by living organisms.

An international team of scientists, including Dr Chris Coath from the University of Bristol, have measured oxygen isotopes in solar wind, captured by NASA’s Genesis mission, to infer the isotopic composition of the Sun, and, by inference, the solar system as a whole.

Targeted multi-drug treatments for hepatitis C patients that could stop the virus in its tracks have come a step closer, thanks to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

There is no simple or unambigious connection between population growth and poverty, according to Vigdis Broch-Due. Her research in northern Kenya questions stereotypical views of poverty.

Men who have difficulty falling asleep are at greater risk of depression than those who nod off easily, researchers have found.

The eye of the peacock mantis shrimp has led an international team of researchers to develop a two-part waveplate that could improve CD, DVD, blu-ray and holographic technology, creating even higher definition and larger storage density.

Limiting television and other media use, encouraging infants and children in preschool and child care to be more physically active, and requiring child care providers to promote healthy sleeping practices are some of the actions needed to curb high rates of obesity among America’s youngest children, according to a new report.

A University of Alberta research team will be introducing new varieties of root crops and goats to rural areas in Tanzania, hoping to improve local food security and nutrition.

A multidisciplinary research team in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta has taken a big step towards understanding the cause and potential cure for a deadly cardiovascular disease.

In the war between drugs and drug-resistant diseases, is the current strategy for medicating patients giving many drug-resistant diseases a big competitive advantage? That is the question being asked in a research paper that will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The unusual geological characteristics of the seabed and underlying sediments south of the epicentre of the 2004 Boxing Day Sumatran-Andaman earthquake contributed to the devastating power of the resulting tsunami, according to research involving University of Southampton scientists.

Fast action on pollutants such as black carbon, ground level ozone and methane may help limit near term global temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees C, says a new assessment.

University of Sydney researchers have discovered that children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy had lower levels of the type of cholesterol known to protect against heart disease in later life – high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) could lose brain function earlier than is noticeably detectable, affecting their ability to make decisions about their care. Physicians need a method to assess these sensitive changes in brain function, without the need for extensive neuropsychological tests.

With the launch earlier this month of NASA’s satellite Aquarius, more than half a dozen University of Washington researchers are involved in projects to calibrate data from space with actual measurements of ocean salinity.

Diabetic kidney disease has become more prevalent in the United States over the past 20 years, despite a substantial increase in the use of medications for the treatment of people with diabetes, according to a study to be published June 22 in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In a world-first study, researchers at the Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI) at the University of Sydney may have found a new way to help the Parkinson’s disease patients who experience walking problems.

University of Leeds researchers, funded by Cancer Research UK, have used a library of DNA to create a vaccine that could be used to treat cancer, according to a study published in Nature Medicine.

There have been instances in Earth history when average temperatures have changed rapidly, as much as 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) over a few decades, and some have speculated the same could happen again as the atmosphere becomes overloaded with carbon dioxide.

Scientists from the University of Sydney are celebrating the 100th anniversary of superconductivity with a discovery of their own.

Women who go to sleep on their left side on the last night of their pregnancy have a halved risk of late stillbirth compared with women who do not according to findings from The University of Auckland published on bmj.com today.

Young adults who are Web-savvy but lack knowledge about federal government may struggle to use the Web for political participation, according to a team of researchers.

Soon, some treatments for blinding eye diseases might be developed and tested using retina-like tissues produced from the patient’s own skin, thanks to a series of discoveries reported by a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researchers.

Researchers at The University of Western Australia in collaboration with scientists at CSIRO Plant Industry have made a discovery that will change the way scientists look at the role of respiration in regulating plant responses to disease.

Fast action on pollutants such as black carbon, ground level ozone and methane may help limit near term global temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 2 degrees C, says a new assessment launched today.

Southampton scientists have set sail on the first research cruise specifically to study ocean acidification in European waters.

Twenty-four scientists from eight different UK institutes, led by the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, will carry out the science from aboard the UK research vessel RRS Discovery.

From May 16 to 18, the 2011 International Symposium on Functional Polymers and Nanomedicine was held in Hangzhou. The Symposium was organized by Center for Bionano-Engineering at Zhejiang University, University of Leeds and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University jointly.

Scientists at Penn State have used large-scale DNA sequencing data to investigate, for the first time, a longstanding evolutionary assumption: that DNA mutation rates are influenced by life-history traits, including metabolic rate and the length of time between generations.

Detailed analysis of the most pristine meteorite ever recovered shows that the composition of the organic compounds it carried changed during the early years of the solar system. Those changed organics were preserved through billions of years in outer space before the meteorite crashed to Earth.

Controlling water loss is an important ability for modern land plants as it helps them thrive in changing environments. New research from the University of Bristol, published today in the journal Current Biology, shows that water conserving innovations occurred very early in plants’ evolutionary history.

Seven per cent of adults and 14 per cent of Canadian children have a hard time breathing because of asthma. Brian Rowe, in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, is working towards making life easier for both asthma patients and emergency physicians who treat them.

It is time to drop the alien versus native species dichotomy in conservation, according to a group of eminent scientists concerned with the restoration of ecosystems around the world.

It has been 100 years since the discovery of superconductivity, a state achieved when mercury was cooled, with the help of liquid helium, to nearly the coldest temperature achievable to form a superfluid that provides no resistance to electrons as they flow through it.

A recently released paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), “The Role of Mother’s Genes and Environment in Postpartum Depression,” explores the interplay between genes and environment when determining whether a mother is at high or low risk for postpartum depression.

Research from the University of Sheffield has found that a common treatment for a life-threatening heart condition has little significant impact on patient outcomes. The paper is due for publication this week (Saturday 21 May) in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

The rate of release of carbon into the atmosphere today is nearly 10 times as fast as during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 55.9 million years ago, the best analog we have for current global warming, according to an international team of geologists.

Oceanographers at The University of Western Australia have discovered the first underwater ‘rivers’ to be identified in a sub-tropical region flowing along the ocean bed off Perth’s coastline.

University of Sydney scientists have discovered a startling new mechanism where sunlight can rearrange the atoms of molecules to form new chemical substances.

Brain cancer therapy may be more effective if the expression of an iron-storing protein is decreased to enhance the action of therapeutic drugs on brain cancer cells, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

As invasive forest pests such as emerald ash borer and Asian long-horned beetle decimate forests they never should have seen, scientists are investigating ways to slow the introduction of new insects that may be just as devastating.

People who are deaf benefit from better vision due to the fact their retinas develop differently, experts at the University of Sheffield have shown.

Ground-breaking research by NIWA and The University of Auckland, investigating the annual movements of New Zealand seabirds migrating within the Pacific Ocean, has revealed that populations are genetically distinct, and have been for centuries as a result of their differing migration behavior.

Baby clownfish use hearing to detect and avoid predator-rich coral reefs during the daytime, but new research from the University of Bristol demonstrates that ocean acidification could threaten this crucial behaviour within the next few decades.

UCT and the Pennsylvania State University recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Shanghai, China. The setting may not be as unlikely as it first appears – universities from across the globe were represented at a meeting (and AGM) of the Worldwide University Network (WUN).

Researchers at The University of Western Australia have discovered a gene mutation in a rare new form of muscle wasting disease which will lead other sufferers to be more accurately diagnosed.

Cancer patients who used a 5000-year-old combination of gentle exercise and meditation experienced significantly higher wellbeing levels, improved cognitive functioning and less inflammation compared to a control group, new University of Sydney research has found.

A new study reveals that the progressive loss of lung function in asthma sufferers could be entirely independent of the effects of inflammation. The findings have significant implications for the long-term treatment of asthma.

The University of Sydney is leading an investigation into the use of online social networking tools and other information technologies by older Australians as a means of combating social isolation and increasing community engagement of seniors.

Earthquake scientists trying to unravel the mysteries of an unfelt, weeks-long seismic phenomenon called episodic tremor and slip have discovered a strange twist. The tremor can suddenly reverse direction and travel back through areas of the fault that it had ruptured in preceding days.

Long considered to be little more than putty in the brain and spinal cord, the star-shaped astrocyte has found new respect among neuroscientists who have begun to recognize its many functions in the brain, not to mention its role in a range of disorders of the central nervous system.

In the computer displays of medical equipment in hospitals and clinics, liquid crystal technologies have already found a major role. But a discovery reported from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that micrometer-sized droplets of liquid crystal might find new uses in a range of biological contexts.

A novel way to immobilise radioactive forms of iodine using a microwave, has been discovered by an expert at the University of Sheffield.

Gaining more than the recommended weight during pregnancy can put women at increased risk of becoming obese and developing related health problems, including high blood pressure, later in life.

Researchers at the University of Alberta have taken an important step in understanding the immune system of bacteria, a finding that could have implications for medical care and both the pharmaceutical and dairy industries.

A University of Alberta-led research team has discovered that billions of years before life evolved in the oceans, thin layers of microbial matter in shallow water produced enough oxygen to support tiny, mobile life forms.

The inner core of the Earth is simultaneously melting and freezing due to circulation of heat in the overlying rocky mantle, according to new research from the University of Leeds.

Scientists at the UW Department of Genome Sciences have identified several sporadic or “de novo” genetic mutations in children with autism spectrum disorder.

The University of Sydney’s Professor Thomas Maschmeyer is behind cutting edge research that could fuel the aviation industry from sustainable energy sources in the not too distant future.

A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules.

Scientists at the University of Leeds are to investigate how lethal viruses attack differently sized populations of moths and butterflies in research that may help develop new methods of pest control.

Just as a road atlas helps travelers find their way, a new corn atlas will help plant scientists navigate vast amounts of gene expression data from the corn plant, as described in the May 10 issue of The Plant Journal.

Researchers at The University of Western Australia have discovered a gene that allows dormant seeds buried in the soil to detect germination stimulants in bushfire smoke called karrikins.

Researchers with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta have discovered that some “protective” T-cells can kill neurons. This finding is significant because a specific type of T-cell therapy is being touted in the medical community as a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions.

Anxiety disorders are severely debilitating, the commonest cause of disability in the US workplace, and a source of great anguish to individuals and their families. Although fear and anxiety are part of our natural response to stress, the causes of chronic and inappropriate levels of anxiety are complex and treatments unsatisfactory.

The end-Permian extinction, by far the most dramatic biological crisis to affect life on Earth, may not have been as catastrophic for some creatures as previously thought, according to a new study led by the University of Bristol.

Researchers at The University of Western Australia have shown changes in a part of the brain previously not known to be involved in tinnitus generation.

A University of Alberta researcher has received special funding to turn underground coal seams into methane gas, a less environmentally harmful source of energy.

The work of Faculty of Science PhD graduate Alex Gardner—published in Nature magazine in April—has revealed some alarming evidence that Canada’s Arctic glaciers and ice caps have lost nearly as much water as there is in Lake Erie.

The evolution of ichthyosaurs, important marine predators of the age of dinosaurs, was hit hard by a mass extinction event 200 million years ago, according to a new study from the University of Bristol.

The structures of many protein molecules remain unsolved even after experts apply an extensive array of approaches. An international collaboration has led to a new, high-performance method that rapidly determined the structure of protein molecules in several cases where previous attempts had failed.

An international WUN workshop to be hosted by the University of Sydney next week will investigate the common ground between two of the biggest challenges facing the modern world – improving global health and reducing the impact of climate change.

Exotic species can be used to restore important functions in ecosystems that were lost following the extinction of key species, according to a new study of giant tortoises on a small island in the Indian Ocean.

Research in the worm is shedding light on a protein associated with a number of different human cancers, and may point to a highly targeted way to treat them.

A massive database cataloging the human genome’s functional elements — including genes, RNA transcripts and other products — is being made available as an open resource to the scientific community, classrooms, science writers and the public, thanks to an international team of researchers.

University of Sydney researchers have discovered new patterns in the movement of granular mixtures with findings that could assist the study of oil and gas recovery and CO2 geo-sequestratrion.