science wire

University of Warwick string quartet go batty for musical premiere of Ping!
Table tennis and classical music may seem a strange mix but the two will come together at the University of Warwick next month for a unique performance as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Lyrics without music, poetry without borders
A series of recitals organised by poet John Kinsella look at the relationship between song lyrics and poetry, inviting renowned musicians to perform their poetry and lyrics without instruments at Cambridge University.

The sweet sound of science
Musicians and music-lovers alike are invited to this year's Cambridge Science Festival - the UK's biggest free science festival - which runs from March 12-25 at venues across the University and City.

New US Gates scholars selected

College composer triumphs at Grammy Awards

Theatres of war: public spending on buildings for the arts
National recommendations for using public money to build arts venues are only succeeding in enforcing a system that is already flawed, a new study concludes.

Exhibition reveals the secrets of Antarctica
Landscapes of Exploration is being held in the Peninsula Arts Gallery – within the University’s Roland Levinsky Building – and draws together for the first time the works of 10 visual artists, one musician and three writers who undertook residencies in the Antarctic between 2001 and 2009.

Lowry breaks all records
A staggering 46,800 people flocked to The University of Nottingham's Lowry exhibition in just 10 weeks.

Under the Microscope #6 – Killer T-cells
—Professor Gillian Griffiths Under the Microscope is a collection of videos that show glimpses of the natural and man-made world in stunning close-up.

New study probes radical rethink on culture
The University of Manchester is to host a £1.5 million investigation, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), into how society can get the most out of the vast array of often overlooked cultural activities Britons take part in.

Innovative composer appeals for iPad and iPhone owners to join him in music collaboration
Owners of Apple iPads and iPhones are invited to be part of an open ‘iOrchestra’ next week and perform a large-scale composition by a University composer.

Q&A with Scott Centenary Tour composer
The Scott Polar Research Institute is proud to have provided the inspiration for a major new composition by leading British composer, Cecilia McDowall.

Watch the Sussex Conversations online

Renowned arts troupe ushers in Chinese New Year

Conquering the Antarctic: The Scott Centenary Concert Tour
City of London Sinfonia, in collaboration with the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), will embark on an ambitious concert tour in February to celebrate the centenary of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-12.

Major new grant funding for cultural institutions

Arts Council England to support University of Cambridge Museums partnership

Rock ‘n Roll Royalty comes to Kettle’s Yard
Kettle's Yard has unveiled its 2012 New Music Series featuring 12 cutting edge concerts performed by world class musicians.

Oxford announces honorary degrees for 2012

Violin and subatomic particle duet set to be performed at leading UK particle physics lab
One of the world’s leading physics laboratories is set to stage a unique musical duet between a violinist and radioactive subatomic particles later this month.

Exhibition tells 'a detective story about obsession&apos
An exhibition curated at the Bodleian Library by an English academic and a Music professor uncovers the story behind the largest donation ever made to the library.

Lost Shostakovich sonata has UK premiere
A little known Shostakovich violin sonata fragment is to be heard for the first time in the UK at a special University of Manchester performance today (19 January).

Exhibition: Reanimating Cultural Heritage in Sierra Leone
A multimedia exhibition featuring film, images and rarely seen cultural objects from Sierra Leone that explores the role cultural heritage can play in reanimating post-conflict and developing societies opens at UCL this week.

Prince Charles and Durham expert in Christmas Day documentary on composer of ‘Jerusalem’
Prince Charles and Durham expert in Christmas Day documentary on composer of ‘Jerusalem' A Durham music expert will star alongside Prince Charles in a Christmas Day programme about the composer of some of Britain's best known anthems.

Oil paintings from University of Birmingham go online for the first time
Public Invited to Tag Paintings to Help Build a National Online Catalogue The Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF), in partnership with the BBC, today announced that all oil paintings in public owner

Research Strategy published
The 2011 UCL Research Strategy calls for a transformation of the understanding of the role of our comprehensive research-intensive university in the 21st century.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden celebrates milestone in visitor numbers
In the last decade, annual visitor numbers to the Eastern region's only botanic garden have more than doubled, and in November passed 200,000 for the first time in the Garden's 165-year history.

Deborah Bull, King’s Cultural Partners Director
King's College London is pleased to announce that Deborah Bull has accepted the newly created role of Director, King's Cultural Partners, and will join King's in March 2012.

Choral tribute to inspirational medical scientist
A leading medical scientist from The University of Nottingham Medical School is to be honoured by a new choral work commissioned in his memory.

Museums to open late on Christmas Light Night

Counting down to Christmas
Forget your supermarket advent calendars this Christmas — The University of Nottingham is launching a free calendar with an interactive twist.

Lost world of local artist in new museum exhibition
Researcher reveals lost world of local artist in new museum exhibition University of Sussex art historian Alexandra Loske's trip to a Lewes antique shop led to her own exhibition of rarely seen works at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

Humanitas Visiting Professors announced

Music – or language in action?
Music is more than just sound. Sharing many features with language, it has all the hallmarks of a communicative system, as Cambridge researchers are showing.

University helps British Art Show 7 'moove' on
Plymouth University’s digital expertise has been drawn upon for a ‘mooving’ farewell as the UK’s biggest contemporary arts event draws to a close in the city.

Documentary Hub Focuses on Success
An unlikely mix of weightlifting pensioners, Jedis, and one corner of the University has changed Scottish film culture.

A Clockwork Orange songs to be performed for first time
Five songs written by renowned author Anthony Burgess from his 1969 screenplay of "A Clockwork Orange" are to be performed for the first time at The University of Manchester.

From Band Aid to X-Factor: a history of the charity single
From Band Aid to X-Factor: a history of the charity single The charity single season gets under way in earnest this week with the release of the BBC charity Children In Need's song Teardrop, followed by TV talent show The X-Factor's Christmas single, Wishing On A Star.

Communication Power in the Network Society
The world-renowned sociologist, Professor Manuel Castells, is to be the second Humanitas Visiting Professor in Media at the University of Cambridge, from 16 to 21 November 2011.

For lust of knowing what should not be known
Clare Holtham (1948-2010) had a huge enthusiasm for learning. After a troubled childhood, which led to a spell of homelessness, she became an intrepid traveller and independent-minded student at Newnham College, Cambridge.

Directors headline fourth annual Cambridge Festival of Ukrainian film

Quartet wins Music Faculty’s ’Battle of the Bands’
The Cavaleri Quartet has been named as the first recipient of the Radcliffe Chamber Music Residency at the Faculty of Music.

North East could solve riddle of lost Blake collection
26 Oct 2011 A collection of lost colour prints and illuminated books by the iconic artist and poet William Blake - potentially worth millions of pounds - is waiting to be discovered somewhere in the north east of England , according to a University of Manchester art historian.

A view to the history of Plymouth through a shop window
‘Plymouth through the ages’ has been captured by University Arts students in a stunning city centre illustration display to coincide with the UK’s biggest contemporary art exhibition.

The eyes have it: computer-inspired creativity
Constraints on creativity imposed by computer-aided design (CAD) tools are being overcome, thanks to a novel system that incorporates eye-tracking technology.

Plymouth documentary captures treasure trove under the sea
A documentary delving into a local man’s underwater world is set to be showcased at Plymouth University, to coincide with the prestigious British Art Show 7.

World-famous opera star Sir Thomas Allen appointed Chancellor of Durham University

Arts and Humanities Festival 2011
The Power of Stories will be the theme for this year's Arts and Humanities Festival when the School throws opens its doors to the public to showcase the diversity and impact of its research on society.

Lost part of Beethoven masterpiece lives again
A piece of music composed by Beethoven in 1799 and lost for over 200 years has been painstakingly reconstructed by a Professor of Music at The University of Manchester.

Leeds premiere for award-winning composer
Her song cycle One Life Stand , with words by poet Sophie Hannah is a response to Robert Schumann's 1840 song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (A Woman's Life and Loves) .

Glasgow University Academic Reveals the True Story Behind William Wallace’s Rising Against the English
For centuries historians have believed that the spark that led to the popular Scottish uprising against Edward I in 1297 was William Wallace's killing of the English Sheriff of Lanark, William Hesilrig.

Build your own gallery
Art is in your hands at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery on Saturday 10 September, 1-4pm, in a workshop led by Louise Atkinson.