science wire

Ancient sea reptile with gammy jaw suggests dinosaurs got arthritis too
Imagine having arthritis in your jaw bones... if they're over 2 metres long! A new study by scientists at the University of Bristol has found signs of a degenerative condition similar to human arthritis in the jaw of a pliosaur, an ancient sea reptile that lived 150 million years ago. Such a disease has never been described before in fossilised Jurassic reptiles.

Bristol dementia brain bank in appeal to reach anniversary target
Researchers at the University of Bristol are appealing for more people to consider brain donation in a bid to help it reach its first year target of 150 donors by June.

£16 million boost for UK robotics
UK research to develop smart machines that think for themselves will receive a £16 million boost today thanks to a major partnership between the government and industry.

New book puts Olympics in the picture
The first-ever book to offer an in-depth analysis of images and objects relating to the greatest sports show on earth is published this month by an art historian at the University of Bristol.

Squid and zebrafish cells inspire camouflaging smart materials
Researchers from the University of Bristol have created artificial muscles that can be transformed at the flick of a switch to mimic the remarkable camouflaging abilities of organisms such as squid and zebrafish. They demonstrate two individual transforming mechanisms that they believe could be used in 'smart clothing' to trigger camouflaging tricks similar to those seen in nature. The study is published today [2 May] in IOP Publishing's journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics , and is accompanied by a video ( www.youtube.com/watch'v=W2CgtJU3ckY ) showing the camouflaging in action.

Double dip recession spells trouble for cats
Following news last week that the UK has slipped back into recession, a national cat charity has issued an urgent appeal as more cats are being given up than ever before.

Diary of an ’irregular’ sheds light on Wilson government
A diary which provides a unique insight into the government of Harold Wilson during his first term as Prime Minister is published this month.

Electrical Engineers develop LED ’Magic Wands’
Engineers from the University of Bristol have developed illuminating 'magic wands' that work by picking up radio signals from mobile devices.

Water, water everywhere - but is it essential to life?
New research by scientists at the University of Bristol has challenged one of the key beliefs in chemistry: that proteins are dependent on water to survive and function.

New book published on the rock art of the Iberian Peninsula
University of Bristol archaeologist, George Nash has co-edited a major, bilingual study of the rock art of the Iberian Peninsula, published this month by Archaeolingua.

Archaeologists rewrite history of the Trefael Stone
The Trefael Stone, a scheduled ancient monument in south-west Wales originally thought to be an ancient standing stone is actually the capstone of a 5,500-year-old tomb, according to new research from an archaeologist at the University of Bristol.

Scientists turn the spotlight on Bristol’s insect life this spring
More than 100 parks, gardens, allotments, cemeteries and other natural and man-made habitats across Bristol will be studied by scientists from the University of Bristol this spring as part of the nex

Metal-on-metal hip replacement patients at no more risk of developing cancer in seven years following surgery
Patients who have had metal-on-metal hip replacements are no more likely to develop cancer in the first seven years after surgery than the general population, although a longer-term study is required, a study led by the University of Bristol and published on bmj.com claims. A recent BMJ and BBC Newsnight investigation looked into the potentially high level of toxic metals from failing hip implants which may, in future, affect thousands of people around the world.

Are we really a nation of animal lovers?
A new study has estimated that over 260,000 cats and dogs entered the care of UK rescue organisations during 2009, the first full year since the onset of the UK recession.

£140,000 for research into peptide nanotubes
Professor Dek Woolfson, David Fermin and Franziska Thomas in the School of Chemistry have secured a three-year Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant totalling £140,000. The award is to develop the design, assembly and functionalisation of peptide nanotubes, leading to nanothin metal wires.

World’s largest ever cleft research study
Parents of children born with a cleft lip and/or palate are being invited to enrol in the world's largest ever cleft research programme, which was launched in London today (Tuesday 27 March).

Dental plaque bacteria may trigger blood clots
Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis.

Universities can provide horsepower to UK’s growth drive
Pioneering scientific research and innovative application of discoveries can help add the necessary traction for the UK's economic recovery according to Professor Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor of the

Just so: Scientists name Dorset crocodile after Kipling
A superbly preserved 130-million-year-old crocodile skull, discovered at Swanage in Dorset in 2009, has been described as belonging to a species new to science in a paper by researchers at the University of Bristol. The specimen has been given the name Goniopholis kiplini after Rudyard Kipling, author of The Just So Stories , in recognition of his enthusiasm for the natural sciences.

$2 million for research into oral disease
A collaborative research project that could significantly improve our understanding of the role of Candida albicans in gum and jaw disease has been awarded $2 million by the US National Institutes for Health (NIH). Howard Jenkinson, Professor of Oral Microbiology and Head of Research at the University of Bristol's School of Oral and Dental Sciences , has been funded by the NIH since 2006 for research into Candida albicans - the species of Candida that causes most fungal infections.

How the Earth grew, 3 billion years ago
The growth rate of the Earth's continental crust was high during the first 1.5 billion years of the planet's history then decreased markedly for the next 3 billion years to the present day, according to new research from the University of Bristol, published today [16 March] in Science. This sharp decrease indicates a dramatic change in the way the continental crust was generated and preserved.

Latest data confirms high failure rates for metal-on-metal hip replacements
Ten days after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that patients who have received stemmed metal-on-metal (MOM) hip replacements will need annual check-ups, The Lancet publishes "unequivocal evidence" from the largest database on hip replacements in the world.  The new study by the University of Bristol confirms that stemmed MOM implants are failing at much higher rates than other types, particularly those with larger head sizes and those implanted in women, in whom failure rates are up to four-times higher.

Study hopes to find out the benefits of exercise in Type 1 diabetes
Doctors from the University of Bristol are looking for volunteers, who have recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, to take part in an exercise study. The two-phased study will be based in local hospitals across the South West. Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease, accounts for between five and 15 per cent of all people with diabetes and is treated by daily insulin injections, a healthy diet and regular physical activity.  The disease develops when the immune system goes into overdrive and attacks the body's normal cells instead of foreign invaders.

Exploring the enigma of Bristol Cathedral
The Medieval art, architecture and history of Bristol Cathedral is the focus of a new book by researchers at the University of Bristol.

Bristol archaeologists unearth slave burial ground on St Helena
Archaeologists from the University of Bristol have unearthed a unique slave burial ground on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena. The excavation, which took place in advance of construction of a new airport on the island, has revealed dramatic insights into the victims of the Atlantic slave trade during the notorious Middle Passage.

Bristol philosophers awarded £960,000 by the European Research Council
Professor Samir Okasha and Professor Ken Binmore in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bristol have been awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant worth £960,928 for their project Darwinism and the Theory of Rational Choice. The aim of the research project is to explore the relationship between Darwinian evolution and the theory of rational choice, from an overarching philosophical perspective.

New book explores the visual in sport
The representation of sport in visual culture is the subject of a new collection of essays, edited by art historian Mike O'Mahony of the University of Bristol and Professor Mike Huggins of the University of Cumbria.

Bristol professor contributes to Longman’s Poems of Robert Browning
Daniel Karlin, Winterstoke Professor of English Literature at the University of Bristol has recently had his contribution to a multi-volume edition of the poetry of Robert Browning (1812-89) published in the prestigious Longman Annotated English Poets series.

Learning about the future from the past
Current rates of ocean acidification are unparalleled in Earth's history, according to new research from an international team of scientists which compiled all the evidence of global warming and acidifying oceans from the past 300 million years.

Pumping up the funding for high blood pressure research
High blood pressure is known as the world's biggest silent killer because most people can't "feel" their blood pressure going up. It affects one in three people and can cause stroke, heart attacks and kidney failure.

Cryptographic attack highlights the importance of bug-free software
A padlocked icon in a web-browser or a URL starting with https provides communication security over the Internet.  The icon or URL indicates OpenSSL, a cryptography toolkit implementing the SSL protoc

Which type of obesity surgery is best?
There are two very commonly performed operations to treat morbid obesity in the UK but it is unclear which is the most effective and provides the greatest benefit for patients and the NHS. The BY-BA

Neuroscientists join major EU consortium dedicated to advancing new Alzheimer’s disease therapies
Two Bristol University neuroscientists have become the only UK-based academic members of a major European Union-funded consortium dedicated to accelerating the next generation of Alzheimer's disease research and drug discovery.

The decline of David and Mary: New inventiveness driving the diversification of popular culture
Inventiveness in the naming of babies in the United States suddenly increased in the late 1980s, having changed little during the previous hundred years. A new study from the Universities of Bristol and Durham considers what this tells us about the competing forces at work in popular culture: globalization and local innovation.

Chemists reveal why sea urchins are no easy prey
Nature invented a hi-tech composite material millions of years ago Scientists from the Electron and Scanning Probe Microscopy Unit in the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry were part of an international network of institutes specialising in materials characterisation who have helped solve a decades-long debate on the nature of the sea urchin spine.

The Subversive Poetics of Alfred Jarry
Dr Marieke Dubbelboer in the Department of French has recently published a book on Alfred Jarry's experimental and satirical Almanachs du Père Ubu, works which to date have received little critical attention.

Fossil cricket reveals Jurassic love song
The love song of an extinct cricket that lived 165 million years ago has been brought back to life by scientists at the University of Bristol. The song - possibly the most ancient known musical song documented to date - was reconstructed from microscopic wing features on a fossil discovered in North East China.

Learning to ’talk things through in your head’ may help people with autism
Teaching children with autism to 'talk things through in their head' may help them to solve complex day-to-day tasks, which could increase the chances of independent, flexible living later in life, according to new research from Durham University, the University of Bristol and City University London.

Scientists produce world’s first magnetic soap
A University of Bristol team has dissolved iron in liquid surfactant to create a soap that can be controlled by magnets. The discovery could be used to create cleaning products that can be removed after application and used in the recovery of oil spills at sea Scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a soap, composed of iron rich salts dissolved in water, that responds to a magnetic field when placed in solution.

Climate balancing: sea-level rise versus surface temperature change rates
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.

Verandas and egg shell examination could improve hen welfare
New research to help farmers improve the health of free-range hens has found verandas for the birds and the early scrutiny of eggshells could improve their welfare.

Promoting legal capability in the UK
A new framework, produced by the Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC) at the University of Bristol and Law for Life, aims to improve public legal education so that more people are aware of their legal rights when faced with law-related issues in everyday life, such as consumer complaints, discrimination at work or debt problems.

Computer models that predict crowd behaviour could be used to prevent the spread of infections at mass gatherings
Understanding the movement and behaviour of crowds is essential to minimising health hazards at mass gatherings (MGs).

€3.5m for research into volcanic unrest
A collaborative research project that could significantly improve our understanding of the processes behind volcanic unrest and our ability to forecast its outcomes has been awarded almost €3.5 million by the European Commission. The project - 'Volcanic unrest in Europe and Latin America: Phenomenology, eruption precursors, hazard forecast, and risk mitigation (VUELCO)' - is coordinated by Jo Gottsmann from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences.

Chinese fossils shed light on the evolutionary origin of animals from single-cell ancestors
Evidence of the single-celled ancestors of animals, dating from the interval in the Earth's history just before multicellular animals appeared, has been discovered in 570 million-year-old rocks from S

Balancing the womb
The study by academics at the University of Bristol suggests a new mechanism by which the level of myosin phosphorylation is regulated in the pregnant uterus.  The researchers, Claire Hudson and Prof

What are the prospects for sustaining high-quality groundwater?
Intensive agriculture practices developed during the past century have helped improve food security for many people but have also added to nitrate pollution in surface and groundwaters. New research has looked at water quality measurement over the last 140 years to track this problem in the Thames River basin.

Can science predict a hit song?
Most people remember listening to the official UK top 40 singles chart and watching the countdown on Top of the Pops, but can science work out which songs are more likely to 'make it' in the chart? New research has looked at whether a song can be predicted to be a 'hit'. The paper, to be presented at an international workshop this week, argues that predicting the popularity of a song may well be feasible by using state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms.

Chemists find new way to break amide bonds
Researchers in the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry have found a way to accelerate the breakdown of amide bonds. The work, published in Angewandte Chemie, features as the lead highlight in the American Chemical Society's C&ENews this week.

Researcher awarded €500,000 as part of European project to enable effective climate policy
Dr Simon O'Doherty of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry has been awarded €500,000 as part of InGOS, a European project to monitor emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases and improve the observational infrastructure.

EURO 2012 could hit school exam results
School students who take their GCSEs during a major international football tournament - such as the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship - get worse exam results than they would in a football-free summer.

€4.3million project to examine history of the transatlantic slave trade
Two University of Bristol archaeologists are part of EUROTAST, a new European-funded network which will bring together an unprecedented range of young researchers to examine one of the most traumatic chapters in world history: the transatlantic slave trade.