news 2011

Physics/Astronomy - 4.05
Wettest April since 1767 according to longest rainfall dataset
Last month was the wettest April on record according to data from the UK's longest running rainfall data collection station. Although April 2012 was widely reported to be the wettest drought this century, it is likely to be the wettest April in Oxford for almost 250 years.

Physics/Astronomy - 26.04
Under 'dark halo' old galaxies have many more stars
Some of the oldest galaxies in the Universe have three times more stellar mass, and so many more stars, than all current models of galaxy evolution predict.

Physics/Astronomy - 19.04
Neutrinos put cosmic ray theory on ice
A telescope buried beneath the South Pole has failed to find any neutrinos accompanying exploding fireballs in space, undermining a leading theory of how cosmic rays are born. IceCube, a detector made up of 5,160 optical sensors embedded up to 2.5km deep in the Antarctic ice, searched for evidence of neutrinos emitted from 300 fireballs, known as gamma ray bursts, observed between May 2008 and April 2010.

Physics/Astronomy - 12.04
Sandstorms in space
Astronomers at The University of Manchester believe they have found the answer to the mystery of a powerful ‘superwind' which causes the death of stars. Writing in Nature , the team of researchers used new techniques which allowed them to look into the atmospheres of distant, dying stars.

Physics/Astronomy - 4.04
"Ordinary" black hole discovered 12 million light years away
Scientists from the University of Birmingham have led an international team of astronomers to discover evidence for the existence of an ordinary black hole in the Centaurus A galaxy, which is over 12 million light years away.

Physics/Astronomy - 29.03
Image reveals detail of a billion stars
More than one billion stars in the Milky Way are seen in detail for the first time in an image captured by astronomers. Scientists created the colour picture by combining infra-red light images from telescopes in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Chemistry - Physics/Astronomy - 12.03
Molecule may aid nuclear waste clean-up
Scientists have produced a previously unseen uranium molecule, in a move that could improve clean-up of nuclear waste. The distinctive butterfly-shaped compound is similar to radioactive molecules that scientists had proposed to be key components of nuclear waste.

Physics/Astronomy - Electroengineering/Microtechnics - 5.03
Scientists revolutionise electron microscope
Scientists revolutionise electron microscope Researchers at the University of Sheffield have revolutionised the electron microscope by developing a new method which could create the highest resolution images ever seen.

Physics/Astronomy - 23.02
Spectacularly bright object in Andromeda caused by “normal” black hole
Spectacularly bright object in Andromeda caused by “normal” black hole A spectacularly bright object recently spotted in one of the Milky Way's neighbouring galaxies is the result of a "normal" stellar black hole, astronomers have found.

Chemistry - Physics/Astronomy - 15.02
New molecule discovered in fight against allergy
PA 51/12 Scientists at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new molecule that could offer the hope of new treatments for people allergic to the house dust mite. The team of immunologists led by Amir Ghaem-Maghami and Professor Farouk Shakib in the University's School of Molecular Medical Sciences have identified the molecule DC-SIGN which appears to play a role in damping down the body's allergic response to the house dust mite.

Physics/Astronomy - Mathematics - 13.02
Rapunzel, Leonardo and the physics of the ponytail
New research provides the first mathematical understanding of the shape of a ponytail and could have implications for the textile industry, computer animation and personal care products. From Leonardo Da Vinci to the Brothers Grimm, the properties of hair have been of enduring interest in science and art.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Physics/Astronomy - 7.02
Zinc path key to cancer treatment
The body's control mechanisms for delivering zinc to cells could be key to improving treatment for some types of aggressive breast cancer. New research by King's College London and Cardiff University has identified the switch which releases zinc into cells, with important implications for a number of diseases.

Physics/Astronomy - 3.02
Surface of Mars an unlikely place for life after 600 million year drought, say
Mars may have been arid for more than 600 million years, making it too hostile for any life to survive on the planet's surface, according to researchers who have been carrying out the painstaking task of analysing individual particles of Martian soil.

Physics/Astronomy - Earth Sciences - 31.01
"How to Grow a Planet" on the BBC
Geologist Iain Stewart will demonstrate how plants are the “silent power” that has shaped the Earth, in a new three-part series for BBC2 starting this week. How to Grow a Planet will offer a totally new perspective on the world's history, and will document the crucial role that plants have played in its evolution.

Physics/Astronomy - 26.01
Laser hints at how Universe got its magnetism
Scientists have used a laser to create magnetic fields similar to those thought to be involved in the formation of the first galaxies; findings that could help to solve the riddle of how the Universe got its magnetism.