Aung San Suu Kyi to be awarded honorary degree

Holidays inspire disadvantaged children to learn, says study
Holidays could serve as a valuable extension of the national curriculum for the UK's disadvantaged youngsters, new research has suggested. They provide a significant source of learning for children from low-income families who are otherwise stuck in “routine and mundane” environments, say academics at Nottingham University Business School.

Think big, think seahorse
Amanda Vincent - one of the world's leading experts on seahorses and their relatives - is spending a year at Cambridge's Department of Geography on a sabbatical from the University of British Columbia.

Everything, everywhere, ever’ – a new door opens on the history of humanity
The history of humanity, from our earliest ancestors to today's indigenous people spread across the globe, is being retold as a Cambridge University museum reopens following a £1.8m redevelopment.

Supercomputing set to boost region’s competitiveness
A £3.5 million supercomputing hub is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

’How-to’ video tutorials could boost hearing aid use, say researchers
PA 141/12 The main barriers to hearing aid use are being addressed by experts in Nottingham as part of an innovative research project. Hearing aids have the potential to transform the lives of those with permanent hearing loss, yet out of the three million people who have one, around 25 per cent — 750,000 people — choose not to wear their device.

Oil expertise centre to boost growth
The University has a central role in a new centre of North Sea oil expertise. The Centre for North Sea Enhanced Oil Recovery with (CENSEOR-CO2) will accelerate development of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Marine biologist works with primary school to teach children about life under the waves
A local primary school has joined forces with a Plymouth University academic on a year-long project to teach children and their families all about plankton.

Netball star to represent GB

Allocating NHS funds by age only would benefit affluent Conservative areas of England
Allocating NHS funds by age only would benefit affluent Conservative areas of England Government plans to allocate NHS resources by age only would disproportionately benefit areas of England th

Ebb Tide exhibition reveals stories from the hidden depths of human history
Ebb Tide exhibition reveals stories from the hidden depths of human history Robert Louis Stevenson's final novel and rare objects from the enigmatic Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC) are the i

New £3.5m supercomputing investment set to boost region’s competitiveness
A £3.5 million supercomputing hub is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

“We need more than peace to stop the wars”
A new film launched on Thursday (24 May) co-curated by a University of Manchester lecturer and shown at the prestigious Imperial War Museum in London, is to argue that winning the peace is just as important as winning the war.

The changing face of British intelligence

Trench art features in new WW1 exhibition

Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control
New guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.

HeadSmart campaign shows success within one year
PA 138/12 A campaign involving University of Nottingham experts that aims to reduce the time it takes doctors to diagnose a brain tumour in children and young people is showing positive results within the first year of its launch.

Enterprising design to monitor critically ill patients wins University's Nursing Challenge
Sarah Richards’ proposal for a ‘Fluid balance’, which monitors the intake and loss of patients fluid, impressed the judges at Plymouth University’s Nursing Challenge 2012, which was held at the University earlier this month to celebrate International Nurses Day.

Tracking endangered elephants with satellite technology
A hundred years ago wild elephants on the Malay Peninsular could be counted in their thousands — now there are less than 1500.

Chemist wins award for outstanding contributions to science

Project to examine 'Yeti' DNA
A new collaboration between Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum of Zoology will use the latest genetic techniques to investigate organic remains that some have claimed belong to the ‘Yeti' and other ‘lost' hominid species.

The art of survival
A collection of artefacts made by prisoners from the Channel Islands in World War II has gone on display in Jersey to mark the 70th anniversary of the Channel Island deportations, with the help of a Cambridge researcher.

University sports star to carry Olympic Torch today

Consciousness conference opens with free ’expo’ on mysteries of the mind
Consciousness conference opens with free 'expo' on mysteries of the mind An opportunity to explore fascinating aspects of human consciousness is on offer at a free one-day ‘expo' curated by University of Sussex scientists at Brighton's Corn Exchange on 30 June.

ANALYSIS: absentee Egyptian votes and this week’s Presidential elections
Solava Ibrahim, University of Manchester. She is a Research Fellow at the University's Brooks World Poverty Institute.

University of Leeds takes Gold at Chelsea Flower Show
The University of Leeds has scooped Gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show today (22 May) with its first exhibit at the prestigious event. The garden, designed by Martin Walker, brings to life research carried out by leading academics and shows how simple changes to urban gardens can make a positive contribution to the planet.

The University of Nottingham and Promethean Particles take lead on €10m nano-research project
The University of Nottingham and its spin-out business, Promethean Particles, have secured a major EU research project with an overall value of €9.7 million.

Government should widen laws to combat widespread labour abuse
The Government should act urgently to stop the widespread abuse of foreign workers, say crime experts at The University of Manchester.

Romax agrees move to University of Nottingham Innovation Park
Romax Technology, one of the world's leading gearbox, bearing and driveline engineering companies, has signed an agreement to move into new premises at the University of Nottingham's Innovation Park (UNIP).

With the people, for the people: applying mental health research
From campus to community, the worlds of mental health research and medical practice are being brought together by a collaboration involving researchers, health and social care providers, and the patients themselves. When you have liaised with the consumer very early on, you know that their question is your question and they're eager for your results." —Professor Peter Jones Imagine a 17-year-old man with a learning disability arriving in A&E with suspected appendicitis.

New growth charts for school age children launched
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have been working with a team from the University of Glasgow to produce a new set of growth charts.

Unveiling of new £7million building for the Institute of Mental Health
PA 136/12 A £7 million building for the Institute of Mental Health will officially open its doors for the first time on The University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus later this week.

Free UCL festival celebrates London and Literature

Postcard: Dr Nicholas Beare in Malawi
Nicholas Beare, from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease , is photographed here at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi, examining a child for signs of cerebral malaria in the back of the eyes.

Research highlights need for adequate support for postpartum psychosis patients
Women recovering from the rare and most severe form of postnatal illness known as postpartum psychosis (PP) must receive enough help after being discharged from psychiatric hospital if maternal suicide rates are to improve, according to researchers from the University of Birmingham. Postpartum psychosis is a severe and debilitating psychiatric illness which starts suddenly in the days following childbirth.

Ryman wins one of world’s top SF prizes

New Chief Executive for Cambridge University Press

Images in new online archive mark 75th anniversary of child refugees coming to UK
Archives of material about child refugees evacuated to the UK to escape the Spanish Civil War 75 years ago have gone online at the University of Warwick, as part of the largest English-language digital collection on the conflict.

New campus home for 50th anniversary artwork inspired by Sixties mural

Centre for International Education hosts a research roundtable with senior educators from Rwanda and Nigeria

Building a unique wave test facility
A new wave tank being built at the University is to aid marine energy developers. The All-Waters Combined Current and Wave Test Facility, under construction at the University's King's Buildings campus, is expected to be completed in summer 2013.

Topping out for Materials Science and Metallurgy Building
An important phase in the construction of the new £41 million home for the University of Cambridge Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy has been reached.

Can Hollande live up to expectations?
As Francois Hollande takes up his seat as President of France, will he be able to live up to the huge expectations of those who voted for him or will his reputation for indecision be his undoing, asks Robert Tombs.

Is the Earth a cosmic feather-duster?
Scientists at the University of Leeds are looking to discover how dust particles in the solar system interact with the Earth's atmosphere. Currently, estimates of the Earth's intake of space dust vary from around five tonnes to as much as 300 tonnes every day. A €2.5 million international project, led by Professor John Plane from the University's School of Chemistry, will seek to address this discrepancy.

Bronze Age Facebook
Large clusters of rock art spanning thousands of years but located at the same site may hold key to detecting massive cultural changes in prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the north.

Opening of Alison Richard Building
The newest building on the University of Cambridge's Sidgwick Site has been named in honour of the previous Vice-Chancellor.

New Head of Department for Psychology at the IoP
The Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Richard Brown as the new Head of Department for Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry.

Former 'Dragon' to open Tremough Innovation Centre
The founder of School for Start Ups and former TV Dragon has also challenged them to break the reliance on two of its core economic drivers, tourism and the public sector.

Intoxicating history
In tracing the modern history of Germany's policy on intoxicant and drug use, which favours therapy rather than punishment, Cambridge historian Victoria Harris highlights that criminalisation may not be the only route.

Statins for the many?
Even people at low risk of heart problems would benefit from statins, cheap drugs that lower levels of ‘bad' cholesterol in the blood. That's the main finding of a giant collaborative study coordinated by Oxford's Clinical Trial Service Unit and the Health Economics Research Centre, and published in The Lancet today.

120,000 children living illegally in the UK 'need better protection'
An Oxford University study has put the number of children who were living in the UK without legal immigration status in 2011 at around 120,000 – about 0.9 per cent of the total population of children below the age of 18.

Encounters in medieval matrimony
Scholars from five different institutions, and both Christian and Muslim backgrounds, will gather in Cambridge tomorrow to look at medieval Islamic marriage and how it was viewed by contemporary Christian travellers and polemicists.

The End Of Honecker
A film about the downfall of the East German head of state, Erich Honecker, which includes an astonishing with his apparently unrepentant widow, will receive its UK premiere next week.

The Banana Theory: realising the carbon footprint of bananas
Exactly how bad are bananas? Or anything else? Inspired by Mike Berners-Lee's book How Bad Are Bananas? , The Banana Theory project demonstrates, using QR code technology and installation art, the difficulty we face when deciding how to change our lifestyle to become greener.

BSMS hosts international surgical course

Research excellence honour for life scientist
A Manchester scientist is one of just 55 biologists worldwide to be recognised by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) for their excellence in research.

Butterfly genome reveals a promiscuous past
An international collaborative study to map the genome of a South American butterfly has identified the secret behind its mimetic nature. These butterflies, in order to better survive in the wild, have taken successful survival techniques from other butterflies and have incorporated them into their own genetic code." —Dr Chris Jiggins of the University of Cambridge The genome sequence of the Postman butterfly, Heliconius melpomene, was used as a reference to study species that live together in the Peruvian Amazon.

Frugal innovation
Co-author of recently published book 'Jugaad Innovation', Professor Jaideep Prabhu argues that a frugal and flexible approach to innovation can generate breakthrough growth not only in the developing world but also in the West.

Sainsbury Wellcome Centre: contractor appointed and building work begins
Building works for a new research centre at UCL will begin later this month, following the formal signing of contracts worth in excess of £70 million with Kier Construction.

Butterfly genome reveals a promiscuous past
An international collaborative study to map the genome of a South American butterfly has identified the secret behind its mimetic nature. The genome sequence of the Postman butterfly, Heliconius melpomene, was used as a reference to study species that live together in the Peruvian Amazon. Several of these share bright wing patterns in order to reinforce a warning signal that they are bad to eat - dissuading predators from attack.

Birmingham arcaeologist named as one of National Geographic’s emerging explorers for 2012
University of Birmingham archaeologist, Jeffrey Rose is among the 15 visionary, young trailblazers from around the world who have been named as the 2012 class of National Geographic Emerging Explorers.

Media in mind: Degree show explores life from all points of view
Media in mind: Degree show explores life from all points of view The mysteries of the mind, the plight of migrant workers and the beautiful side of football are some of the inspirations behind this year's media degree show by final-year students at the University of Sussex.

Grey days in empty places
A show at the Fitzwilliam Museum featuring the work of contemporary British artists Michael Landy and George Shaw explores the places in between town and country where nature takes a hold on no man's land and weeds find niches in the concrete.

Campaign to save Manet for nation gathers pace

Archives from the pioneers of modern genetics brought together for the first time
The Bavarian Minister for Culture and Education and senior academics from the University of Glasgow and the University of Munich will be offering their views on national identity in a major conference that will take place at the University of Glasgow on Thursday 17 May 2012.

World-class imaging centre launched
Imanova, a new state-of-the-art imaging centre, was formally launched this week at a showcase event attended by Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, and representatives from the founding organisations.

Saving the planet, one microwave at a time
The vast majority of the millions of microwave ovens thrown away every year could be easily fixed and reused, according to University of Manchester research. Making simple repairs could save the UK could save millions of pounds by replacing fuses or plugs rather than throwing away perfectly reusable microwaves with brand new ones.

A new dimension to DNA and personalised medicine of the future
By investigating the existence of an unusual four-stranded structure of DNA in human cells, scientists have opened the door to novel cancer therapeutics and a new era for personalised medicine. We've come such a long way from thinking that we understand the genome - and it appeared that this structure could tell us something new." —Professor Shankar Balasubramanian When Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, they declared they had "found the secret of life".

Multi-million pound award to support first research centre dedicated to understanding the UK’s character and values
“An attitude of Gratitude creates blessings.” – Sir John Templeton The University of Birmingham has won a multi-million pound award to support the first UK centre dedicated to research into the Character , Values and Virtues that shape UK society .

East meets West at M-Shed

Oxford experts call for sugary drinks tax in the UK
Experts at Oxford University are calling for the introduction of taxes on sugary drinks as one measure that would encourage healthier diets and help tackle the obesity crisis in the UK.

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.

Cambridge Language Sciences launched

Girls face ’sexting’ threat from peers
A report commissioned by the NSPCC, conducted in collaboration with King's College London, reveals the level that ‘sexting' has reached among teenagers, with schoolgirls facing increasing pressure to provide sexually explicit pictures of themselves, a threat that appears to come from friends and peers rather than strangers.

Publish and be damned? Sussex debates the bird flu research controversy
Publish and be damned? Sussex debates the bird flu research controversy Should scientists researching bird flu be censored? That's the question that will be put to a panel of distinguished international experts at a public debate organised by the Centre for Global Health Policy at the University of Sussex.

Minister launches public-private imaging centre
Adapted from a news release issued by Imanova Tuesday 15 May 2012 Imanova , a new state-of-the-art imaging centre co-owned by the Medical Research Council and three of London's leading univ

University of Leeds prepares to take ’bee-utiful’ garden to world’s most prestigious flower show
The University of Leeds will visit one of the world's most famous flower shows next week to show how simple changes can make a positive contribution to the planet.

Finding an alternative to feeding fish fish
Scientists at the University are developing a new plant-based product that could replace fishmeal, reducing the need for farmers to feed fish to other fish at a time when more than 90% of EU waters are at risk from overfishing.

Ethical dilemmas and global health
Sociologists Sridhar Venkatapuram and David Stuckler discuss how tensions within society are slowing down the process of combating disease worldwide.

Fashion Show poised to inspire
Inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places in this year's Edinburgh College of Art Fashion Show.

Towards sustainable fish farming
Scientists at the University are developing a new plant-based product that could replace fishmeal, reducing the need for farmers to feed fish to other fish at a time when more than 90% of EU waters are at risk from overfishing.

There but not there: the meaning of absence
A lecture tomorrow by Professor Hung Wu is a rare opportunity to hear an eminent Chinese scholar talk about the ways in which the country's artists have responded to huge social and political change over the last 40 years.

Intelligent comic educating researchers of tomorrow
An interactive comic book, produced at the University of Glasgow, will become the latest global educational tool in the fight against malaria as it is launched live online.

Oxford invites its adult learners to share their stories

Brain Cancer vaccine
A brain cancer trial that uses a patient's tumour to develop their own personalised vaccine is being piloted for the first time in the UK.

Brain oscillations reveal our senses do not experience the world continuously
It has long been suspected that humans do not experience the world continuously, but rather in rapid snapshots. Now, researchers at the University of Glasgow have demonstrated this is indeed the case. Just as the body goes through a 24-hour sleep-wake cycle controlled by a circadian clock, brain function undergoes such cyclic activity – albeit at a much faster rate.

Becoming an expert: Stephen Hicks in Chile
Stephen Hicks is from Somerset, UK, and is studying a PhD in earthquake seismology and geodynamics at the University's School of Environmental Sciences.  He graduated from the University at undergradu

Benefit changes raise pressure on country life
Significant numbers of social tenants in rural areas may have to move away from their friends and communities because of changes to housing benefit criteria, a report reveals today.

New centre for research into fostered and looked after children
The University of Oxford has announced the creation of a new centre to conduct research into how to improve outcomes for foster children and looked after children (in care) so they achieve more and have more fulfilling lives. The new centre called the Oxford University Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education is a collaboration between Oxford's Department of Education and the Core Assets Group, a major provider of children's services in the UK that will also financially support the centre.

Hydrogen is tomorrow’s biofuel’ say scientists
Researchers from the University of Birmingham are creating clean hydrogen from food waste paving the way for a bioenergy alternative for the future.

Sussex English lecturer limbers up for cultural olympiad

Cities must must adapt to our changing climate, say leaders
UK cities must take more urgent and integrated action to adapt to our changing climate, according to some of the region's leading businesses and public sector representatives.

Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity: understanding these silent killers
Population-based interventions for tackling unhealthy diet and physical inactivity could save millions of lives. An ambitious research programme is providing evidence for how best to deliver the goal. It might be that the biggest influences on the population's diet and activity won't just come from simply urging people to change.

Looks matter more than reputation when it comes to trusting people with our money
Our decisions to trust people with our money are based more on how they look then how they behave, according to new research from the University of Warwick. In a paper recently published in the PLoS One journal, researchers from Warwick Business School, the University College London and Dartmouth College, USA, carried out a series of experiments to see if people made decisions to trust others based on their faces.

Winterson becomes Manchester Professor

Sussex academic selected for legacy project
Sussex academic selected for legacy project Paul Omar, Senior Lecturer in the Sussex Law School, has been approached by the International Insolvency Institute to take part in a legacy project th

Famous medieval service book returned to Wollaton church in virtual form
A rare medieval service book is being unveiled in ‘virtual form' in the Nottingham parish church where it was used during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.

Engineers and clinicians in digital interchange to master future healthcare
With an ageing population there is a pressing need to shift the focus from the treatment of long-term conditions to the prevention of illnesses and maintenance of healthy lifestyles, as well as increased self-management of conditions within the home.

Top team announced to lead new Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry
The leadership team which will take forward the new Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry has been unveiled today.

Fulbright Lecture on International Relations
Thomas R. Pickering, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, spoke at King's last night about the challenges and opportunities of effective diplomacy with Iran, as part of the Fulbright Distinguished Lecture Series on International Relations.

Ranking reveals world’s top countries for higher education
New research into national education systems gives the first ranking of countries which are the ‘best' at providing higher education.

Engineering Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Funding
UCL Engineering announced today that two members of staff will receive funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables individuals worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges.

Former UN adviser to join Manchester Medical School

Delivering better ways of preventing stillbirth
Despite recent dramatic reductions in cot death rates in the UK, and the development of sophisticated screening for Down's syndrome, preventing stillbirth is proving tougher to tackle. Now, a major study under way at Cambridge could change all that. " In the UK, one in every 200 women reaching their 24th week of pregnancy will have a stillborn baby.

Feathers show their true colours
For millennia birds have been prized, even hunted, for their beautiful plumage but what makes their feathers so colourful?

Islamic scholars head to Beijing for “Cambridge in China” conference
A conference exploring Chinese perspectives of the Middle East and the Islamic world, at a time when China's interest in the region is growing, will take place in Beijing later this week.

MBA alumnus shares his ‘Abundance’ of entrepreneurial experience at the Imperial Festival
By Tanya Gubbay Thursday 10 May 2012 While studying at Imperial College Business School, budding entrepreneur Karl Harder came up with the idea for Abundance , an investment company that enables

Medical researchers honoured with prestigious Fellowship
by Colin Smith Imperial researchers who are preventing brain injuries in newborn babies, fighting tuberculosis, improving the effectiveness of clinical trials and combating heart disease have been awarded prestigious Fellowships, it is announced today.

’Greening the Waterways’ Conference Hosted by University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham will host a one-day workshop on the application of green technologies to waterways transportation at the School of Metallurgy and Materials on Wednesday 27 June 2012.

New £3.5m supercomputing investment set to boost region’s competitiveness
The University of Birmingham is one of four institutions leading on a £3.5 million supercomputing hub, which is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

Nottingham experts take part in world’s first commercial space flight
A team of space flight veterans from The University of Nottingham have helped an American high school student launch his very own experiment in space.

Aung San Suu Kyi to be awarded honorary degree

Holidays inspire disadvantaged children to learn, says study
Holidays could serve as a valuable extension of the national curriculum for the UK's disadvantaged youngsters, new research has suggested. They provide a significant source of learning for children from low-income families who are otherwise stuck in “routine and mundane” environments, say academics at Nottingham University Business School.

Think big, think seahorse
Amanda Vincent - one of the world's leading experts on seahorses and their relatives - is spending a year at Cambridge's Department of Geography on a sabbatical from the University of British Columbia.

Everything, everywhere, ever’ – a new door opens on the history of humanity
The history of humanity, from our earliest ancestors to today's indigenous people spread across the globe, is being retold as a Cambridge University museum reopens following a £1.8m redevelopment.

Supercomputing set to boost region’s competitiveness
A £3.5 million supercomputing hub is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

’How-to’ video tutorials could boost hearing aid use, say researchers
PA 141/12 The main barriers to hearing aid use are being addressed by experts in Nottingham as part of an innovative research project. Hearing aids have the potential to transform the lives of those with permanent hearing loss, yet out of the three million people who have one, around 25 per cent — 750,000 people — choose not to wear their device.

Oil expertise centre to boost growth
The University has a central role in a new centre of North Sea oil expertise. The Centre for North Sea Enhanced Oil Recovery with (CENSEOR-CO2) will accelerate development of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Marine biologist works with primary school to teach children about life under the waves
A local primary school has joined forces with a Plymouth University academic on a year-long project to teach children and their families all about plankton.

Netball star to represent GB

Allocating NHS funds by age only would benefit affluent Conservative areas of England
Allocating NHS funds by age only would benefit affluent Conservative areas of England Government plans to allocate NHS resources by age only would disproportionately benefit areas of England th

Ebb Tide exhibition reveals stories from the hidden depths of human history
Ebb Tide exhibition reveals stories from the hidden depths of human history Robert Louis Stevenson's final novel and rare objects from the enigmatic Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC) are the i

New £3.5m supercomputing investment set to boost region’s competitiveness
A £3.5 million supercomputing hub is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

“We need more than peace to stop the wars”
A new film launched on Thursday (24 May) co-curated by a University of Manchester lecturer and shown at the prestigious Imperial War Museum in London, is to argue that winning the peace is just as important as winning the war.

The changing face of British intelligence

Trench art features in new WW1 exhibition

Patients to benefit from better advice on pain control
New guidance for doctors and other prescribers on the use of strong painkillers for patients with chronic or incurable disease has been welcomed by researchers at the University of Leeds.

HeadSmart campaign shows success within one year
PA 138/12 A campaign involving University of Nottingham experts that aims to reduce the time it takes doctors to diagnose a brain tumour in children and young people is showing positive results within the first year of its launch.

Enterprising design to monitor critically ill patients wins University's Nursing Challenge
Sarah Richards’ proposal for a ‘Fluid balance’, which monitors the intake and loss of patients fluid, impressed the judges at Plymouth University’s Nursing Challenge 2012, which was held at the University earlier this month to celebrate International Nurses Day.

Tracking endangered elephants with satellite technology
A hundred years ago wild elephants on the Malay Peninsular could be counted in their thousands — now there are less than 1500.

Chemist wins award for outstanding contributions to science

Project to examine 'Yeti' DNA
A new collaboration between Oxford University and the Lausanne Museum of Zoology will use the latest genetic techniques to investigate organic remains that some have claimed belong to the ‘Yeti' and other ‘lost' hominid species.

The art of survival
A collection of artefacts made by prisoners from the Channel Islands in World War II has gone on display in Jersey to mark the 70th anniversary of the Channel Island deportations, with the help of a Cambridge researcher.

University sports star to carry Olympic Torch today

Consciousness conference opens with free ’expo’ on mysteries of the mind
Consciousness conference opens with free 'expo' on mysteries of the mind An opportunity to explore fascinating aspects of human consciousness is on offer at a free one-day ‘expo' curated by University of Sussex scientists at Brighton's Corn Exchange on 30 June.

ANALYSIS: absentee Egyptian votes and this week’s Presidential elections
Solava Ibrahim, University of Manchester. She is a Research Fellow at the University's Brooks World Poverty Institute.

University of Leeds takes Gold at Chelsea Flower Show
The University of Leeds has scooped Gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show today (22 May) with its first exhibit at the prestigious event. The garden, designed by Martin Walker, brings to life research carried out by leading academics and shows how simple changes to urban gardens can make a positive contribution to the planet.

The University of Nottingham and Promethean Particles take lead on €10m nano-research project
The University of Nottingham and its spin-out business, Promethean Particles, have secured a major EU research project with an overall value of €9.7 million.

Government should widen laws to combat widespread labour abuse
The Government should act urgently to stop the widespread abuse of foreign workers, say crime experts at The University of Manchester.

Romax agrees move to University of Nottingham Innovation Park
Romax Technology, one of the world's leading gearbox, bearing and driveline engineering companies, has signed an agreement to move into new premises at the University of Nottingham's Innovation Park (UNIP).

With the people, for the people: applying mental health research
From campus to community, the worlds of mental health research and medical practice are being brought together by a collaboration involving researchers, health and social care providers, and the patients themselves. When you have liaised with the consumer very early on, you know that their question is your question and they're eager for your results." —Professor Peter Jones Imagine a 17-year-old man with a learning disability arriving in A&E with suspected appendicitis.

New growth charts for school age children launched
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have been working with a team from the University of Glasgow to produce a new set of growth charts.

Unveiling of new £7million building for the Institute of Mental Health
PA 136/12 A £7 million building for the Institute of Mental Health will officially open its doors for the first time on The University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus later this week.

Free UCL festival celebrates London and Literature

Postcard: Dr Nicholas Beare in Malawi
Nicholas Beare, from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease , is photographed here at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Malawi, examining a child for signs of cerebral malaria in the back of the eyes.

Research highlights need for adequate support for postpartum psychosis patients
Women recovering from the rare and most severe form of postnatal illness known as postpartum psychosis (PP) must receive enough help after being discharged from psychiatric hospital if maternal suicide rates are to improve, according to researchers from the University of Birmingham. Postpartum psychosis is a severe and debilitating psychiatric illness which starts suddenly in the days following childbirth.

Ryman wins one of world’s top SF prizes

New Chief Executive for Cambridge University Press

Images in new online archive mark 75th anniversary of child refugees coming to UK
Archives of material about child refugees evacuated to the UK to escape the Spanish Civil War 75 years ago have gone online at the University of Warwick, as part of the largest English-language digital collection on the conflict.

New campus home for 50th anniversary artwork inspired by Sixties mural

Centre for International Education hosts a research roundtable with senior educators from Rwanda and Nigeria

Building a unique wave test facility
A new wave tank being built at the University is to aid marine energy developers. The All-Waters Combined Current and Wave Test Facility, under construction at the University's King's Buildings campus, is expected to be completed in summer 2013.

Topping out for Materials Science and Metallurgy Building
An important phase in the construction of the new £41 million home for the University of Cambridge Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy has been reached.

Can Hollande live up to expectations?
As Francois Hollande takes up his seat as President of France, will he be able to live up to the huge expectations of those who voted for him or will his reputation for indecision be his undoing, asks Robert Tombs.

Is the Earth a cosmic feather-duster?
Scientists at the University of Leeds are looking to discover how dust particles in the solar system interact with the Earth's atmosphere. Currently, estimates of the Earth's intake of space dust vary from around five tonnes to as much as 300 tonnes every day. A €2.5 million international project, led by Professor John Plane from the University's School of Chemistry, will seek to address this discrepancy.

Bronze Age Facebook
Large clusters of rock art spanning thousands of years but located at the same site may hold key to detecting massive cultural changes in prehistoric hunter-gatherers of the north.

Opening of Alison Richard Building
The newest building on the University of Cambridge's Sidgwick Site has been named in honour of the previous Vice-Chancellor.

New Head of Department for Psychology at the IoP
The Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Richard Brown as the new Head of Department for Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry.

Former 'Dragon' to open Tremough Innovation Centre
The founder of School for Start Ups and former TV Dragon has also challenged them to break the reliance on two of its core economic drivers, tourism and the public sector.

Intoxicating history
In tracing the modern history of Germany's policy on intoxicant and drug use, which favours therapy rather than punishment, Cambridge historian Victoria Harris highlights that criminalisation may not be the only route.

Statins for the many?
Even people at low risk of heart problems would benefit from statins, cheap drugs that lower levels of ‘bad' cholesterol in the blood. That's the main finding of a giant collaborative study coordinated by Oxford's Clinical Trial Service Unit and the Health Economics Research Centre, and published in The Lancet today.

120,000 children living illegally in the UK 'need better protection'
An Oxford University study has put the number of children who were living in the UK without legal immigration status in 2011 at around 120,000 – about 0.9 per cent of the total population of children below the age of 18.

Encounters in medieval matrimony
Scholars from five different institutions, and both Christian and Muslim backgrounds, will gather in Cambridge tomorrow to look at medieval Islamic marriage and how it was viewed by contemporary Christian travellers and polemicists.

The End Of Honecker
A film about the downfall of the East German head of state, Erich Honecker, which includes an astonishing with his apparently unrepentant widow, will receive its UK premiere next week.

The Banana Theory: realising the carbon footprint of bananas
Exactly how bad are bananas? Or anything else? Inspired by Mike Berners-Lee's book How Bad Are Bananas? , The Banana Theory project demonstrates, using QR code technology and installation art, the difficulty we face when deciding how to change our lifestyle to become greener.

BSMS hosts international surgical course

Research excellence honour for life scientist
A Manchester scientist is one of just 55 biologists worldwide to be recognised by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) for their excellence in research.

Butterfly genome reveals a promiscuous past
An international collaborative study to map the genome of a South American butterfly has identified the secret behind its mimetic nature. These butterflies, in order to better survive in the wild, have taken successful survival techniques from other butterflies and have incorporated them into their own genetic code." —Dr Chris Jiggins of the University of Cambridge The genome sequence of the Postman butterfly, Heliconius melpomene, was used as a reference to study species that live together in the Peruvian Amazon.

Frugal innovation
Co-author of recently published book 'Jugaad Innovation', Professor Jaideep Prabhu argues that a frugal and flexible approach to innovation can generate breakthrough growth not only in the developing world but also in the West.

Sainsbury Wellcome Centre: contractor appointed and building work begins
Building works for a new research centre at UCL will begin later this month, following the formal signing of contracts worth in excess of £70 million with Kier Construction.

Butterfly genome reveals a promiscuous past
An international collaborative study to map the genome of a South American butterfly has identified the secret behind its mimetic nature. The genome sequence of the Postman butterfly, Heliconius melpomene, was used as a reference to study species that live together in the Peruvian Amazon. Several of these share bright wing patterns in order to reinforce a warning signal that they are bad to eat - dissuading predators from attack.

Birmingham arcaeologist named as one of National Geographic’s emerging explorers for 2012
University of Birmingham archaeologist, Jeffrey Rose is among the 15 visionary, young trailblazers from around the world who have been named as the 2012 class of National Geographic Emerging Explorers.

Media in mind: Degree show explores life from all points of view
Media in mind: Degree show explores life from all points of view The mysteries of the mind, the plight of migrant workers and the beautiful side of football are some of the inspirations behind this year's media degree show by final-year students at the University of Sussex.

Grey days in empty places
A show at the Fitzwilliam Museum featuring the work of contemporary British artists Michael Landy and George Shaw explores the places in between town and country where nature takes a hold on no man's land and weeds find niches in the concrete.

Campaign to save Manet for nation gathers pace

Archives from the pioneers of modern genetics brought together for the first time
The Bavarian Minister for Culture and Education and senior academics from the University of Glasgow and the University of Munich will be offering their views on national identity in a major conference that will take place at the University of Glasgow on Thursday 17 May 2012.

World-class imaging centre launched
Imanova, a new state-of-the-art imaging centre, was formally launched this week at a showcase event attended by Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science, and representatives from the founding organisations.

Saving the planet, one microwave at a time
The vast majority of the millions of microwave ovens thrown away every year could be easily fixed and reused, according to University of Manchester research. Making simple repairs could save the UK could save millions of pounds by replacing fuses or plugs rather than throwing away perfectly reusable microwaves with brand new ones.

A new dimension to DNA and personalised medicine of the future
By investigating the existence of an unusual four-stranded structure of DNA in human cells, scientists have opened the door to novel cancer therapeutics and a new era for personalised medicine. We've come such a long way from thinking that we understand the genome - and it appeared that this structure could tell us something new." —Professor Shankar Balasubramanian When Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, they declared they had "found the secret of life".

Multi-million pound award to support first research centre dedicated to understanding the UK’s character and values
“An attitude of Gratitude creates blessings.” – Sir John Templeton The University of Birmingham has won a multi-million pound award to support the first UK centre dedicated to research into the Character , Values and Virtues that shape UK society .

East meets West at M-Shed

Oxford experts call for sugary drinks tax in the UK
Experts at Oxford University are calling for the introduction of taxes on sugary drinks as one measure that would encourage healthier diets and help tackle the obesity crisis in the UK.

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.

Cambridge Language Sciences launched

Girls face ’sexting’ threat from peers
A report commissioned by the NSPCC, conducted in collaboration with King's College London, reveals the level that ‘sexting' has reached among teenagers, with schoolgirls facing increasing pressure to provide sexually explicit pictures of themselves, a threat that appears to come from friends and peers rather than strangers.

Publish and be damned? Sussex debates the bird flu research controversy
Publish and be damned? Sussex debates the bird flu research controversy Should scientists researching bird flu be censored? That's the question that will be put to a panel of distinguished international experts at a public debate organised by the Centre for Global Health Policy at the University of Sussex.

Minister launches public-private imaging centre
Adapted from a news release issued by Imanova Tuesday 15 May 2012 Imanova , a new state-of-the-art imaging centre co-owned by the Medical Research Council and three of London's leading univ

University of Leeds prepares to take ’bee-utiful’ garden to world’s most prestigious flower show
The University of Leeds will visit one of the world's most famous flower shows next week to show how simple changes can make a positive contribution to the planet.

Finding an alternative to feeding fish fish
Scientists at the University are developing a new plant-based product that could replace fishmeal, reducing the need for farmers to feed fish to other fish at a time when more than 90% of EU waters are at risk from overfishing.

Ethical dilemmas and global health
Sociologists Sridhar Venkatapuram and David Stuckler discuss how tensions within society are slowing down the process of combating disease worldwide.

Fashion Show poised to inspire
Inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places in this year's Edinburgh College of Art Fashion Show.

Towards sustainable fish farming
Scientists at the University are developing a new plant-based product that could replace fishmeal, reducing the need for farmers to feed fish to other fish at a time when more than 90% of EU waters are at risk from overfishing.

There but not there: the meaning of absence
A lecture tomorrow by Professor Hung Wu is a rare opportunity to hear an eminent Chinese scholar talk about the ways in which the country's artists have responded to huge social and political change over the last 40 years.

Intelligent comic educating researchers of tomorrow
An interactive comic book, produced at the University of Glasgow, will become the latest global educational tool in the fight against malaria as it is launched live online.

Oxford invites its adult learners to share their stories

Brain Cancer vaccine
A brain cancer trial that uses a patient's tumour to develop their own personalised vaccine is being piloted for the first time in the UK.

Brain oscillations reveal our senses do not experience the world continuously
It has long been suspected that humans do not experience the world continuously, but rather in rapid snapshots. Now, researchers at the University of Glasgow have demonstrated this is indeed the case. Just as the body goes through a 24-hour sleep-wake cycle controlled by a circadian clock, brain function undergoes such cyclic activity – albeit at a much faster rate.

Becoming an expert: Stephen Hicks in Chile
Stephen Hicks is from Somerset, UK, and is studying a PhD in earthquake seismology and geodynamics at the University's School of Environmental Sciences.  He graduated from the University at undergradu

Benefit changes raise pressure on country life
Significant numbers of social tenants in rural areas may have to move away from their friends and communities because of changes to housing benefit criteria, a report reveals today.

New centre for research into fostered and looked after children
The University of Oxford has announced the creation of a new centre to conduct research into how to improve outcomes for foster children and looked after children (in care) so they achieve more and have more fulfilling lives. The new centre called the Oxford University Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education is a collaboration between Oxford's Department of Education and the Core Assets Group, a major provider of children's services in the UK that will also financially support the centre.

Hydrogen is tomorrow’s biofuel’ say scientists
Researchers from the University of Birmingham are creating clean hydrogen from food waste paving the way for a bioenergy alternative for the future.

Sussex English lecturer limbers up for cultural olympiad

Cities must must adapt to our changing climate, say leaders
UK cities must take more urgent and integrated action to adapt to our changing climate, according to some of the region's leading businesses and public sector representatives.

Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity: understanding these silent killers
Population-based interventions for tackling unhealthy diet and physical inactivity could save millions of lives. An ambitious research programme is providing evidence for how best to deliver the goal. It might be that the biggest influences on the population's diet and activity won't just come from simply urging people to change.

Looks matter more than reputation when it comes to trusting people with our money
Our decisions to trust people with our money are based more on how they look then how they behave, according to new research from the University of Warwick. In a paper recently published in the PLoS One journal, researchers from Warwick Business School, the University College London and Dartmouth College, USA, carried out a series of experiments to see if people made decisions to trust others based on their faces.

Winterson becomes Manchester Professor

Sussex academic selected for legacy project
Sussex academic selected for legacy project Paul Omar, Senior Lecturer in the Sussex Law School, has been approached by the International Insolvency Institute to take part in a legacy project th

Famous medieval service book returned to Wollaton church in virtual form
A rare medieval service book is being unveiled in ‘virtual form' in the Nottingham parish church where it was used during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.

Engineers and clinicians in digital interchange to master future healthcare
With an ageing population there is a pressing need to shift the focus from the treatment of long-term conditions to the prevention of illnesses and maintenance of healthy lifestyles, as well as increased self-management of conditions within the home.

Top team announced to lead new Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry
The leadership team which will take forward the new Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry has been unveiled today.

Fulbright Lecture on International Relations
Thomas R. Pickering, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, spoke at King's last night about the challenges and opportunities of effective diplomacy with Iran, as part of the Fulbright Distinguished Lecture Series on International Relations.

Ranking reveals world’s top countries for higher education
New research into national education systems gives the first ranking of countries which are the ‘best' at providing higher education.

Engineering Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Funding
UCL Engineering announced today that two members of staff will receive funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables individuals worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges.

Former UN adviser to join Manchester Medical School

Delivering better ways of preventing stillbirth
Despite recent dramatic reductions in cot death rates in the UK, and the development of sophisticated screening for Down's syndrome, preventing stillbirth is proving tougher to tackle. Now, a major study under way at Cambridge could change all that. " In the UK, one in every 200 women reaching their 24th week of pregnancy will have a stillborn baby.

Feathers show their true colours
For millennia birds have been prized, even hunted, for their beautiful plumage but what makes their feathers so colourful?

Islamic scholars head to Beijing for “Cambridge in China” conference
A conference exploring Chinese perspectives of the Middle East and the Islamic world, at a time when China's interest in the region is growing, will take place in Beijing later this week.

MBA alumnus shares his ‘Abundance’ of entrepreneurial experience at the Imperial Festival
By Tanya Gubbay Thursday 10 May 2012 While studying at Imperial College Business School, budding entrepreneur Karl Harder came up with the idea for Abundance , an investment company that enables

Medical researchers honoured with prestigious Fellowship
by Colin Smith Imperial researchers who are preventing brain injuries in newborn babies, fighting tuberculosis, improving the effectiveness of clinical trials and combating heart disease have been awarded prestigious Fellowships, it is announced today.

’Greening the Waterways’ Conference Hosted by University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham will host a one-day workshop on the application of green technologies to waterways transportation at the School of Metallurgy and Materials on Wednesday 27 June 2012.

New £3.5m supercomputing investment set to boost region’s competitiveness
The University of Birmingham is one of four institutions leading on a £3.5 million supercomputing hub, which is set to power growth and innovation in the Midlands and London by opening up its vast number-crunching power to local firms.

Nottingham experts take part in world’s first commercial space flight
A team of space flight veterans from The University of Nottingham have helped an American high school student launch his very own experiment in space.