Planetary science is the scientific study of how planetary systems are formed and how their components (planets, moons and gas systems) interact with one another. Planetary science can help us answer scientific and philosophical questions such as how our Solar System came into being, where life came from, and what are the necessary conditions for life to exist elsewhere. A unified society of astronomers will be vital in our attempts to answer questions such as these.
The Europlanet Society is a membership organisation which promotes the active advancement of planetary science in Europe. Its mission is to foster an inclusive…
The work of Professor Richard Page and Dr Stephen Gill, the Barwon Centre for Orthopaedic Research and Education (B-CORE), uses sophisticated and modern technologies to examine gene expression and molecular pathways in painful conditions of the shoulder, including frozen shoulder. Ultimately, they hope to improve quality of life and treatment outcomes for people of all ages suffering from musculoskeletal pain such as shoulder pain from tendon disease or osteoarthritis. In addition, Professor Page and Dr Gill use biobanking to answer questions regarding the cause, mechanism and progression of musculoskeletal conditions.
Painful musculoskeletal conditions are highly prevalent in the community and…
In many countries, rice is a staple crop within people’s diets. There are many insect pests to rice. Of these pests, one of the most devastating to crops is the brown planthopper. Recently, in Asia, the brown planthopper has become resistant to various pesticides, including the frequently used imidacloprid. Dr Tomohisa Fujii from Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, NARO and his colleagues used data from three different sources (datasets, experiments and the field) to discover patterns of cross resistance between imidacloprid and other pesticides from the same class: neonicotinoids.
Pests within the food industry can lead to great economic loss…
How did we get here? This question has plagued philosophers, scientists and individuals alike for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Evolved species, such as humans, are incredibly complex systems, even down to the microscopic cellular level, and understanding our own origins of life and how our DNA came to be what we know today is a challenging question. The COOLscience Club is an international collaboration investigating how the answer to this might lie in self-replicating systems called autocatalytic sets.
One of the most popular theories about the beginnings of our universe is the Big Bang theory. This is the…
Dr Petri Turhanen was working on a synthesis of a modified version of the biological molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP), when he discovered that the cation exchange resin he was using was unintentionally producing another molecule. Closer investigation revealed that the molecule had been iodinated, meaning an iodine atom had been added. This specific reaction is challenging to perform using current synthesis techniques, which often rely on toxic and hazardous chemicals and rough reaction conditions.
As an environmental crisis looms, reducing our impact on the planet becomes more pertinent than ever. You may find reassurance in making conscientious lifestyle choices, but…
Transmission electron microscopy may have brought about some of the most cutting-edge research into materials physics, but the technique doesn’t come without its limitations. In his research, Dr Jinfeng Yang at Osaka University in Japan aims to further improve the capabilities of the most powerful microscopes ever made, by accelerating the pulsed beams of electrons they produce to relativistic speeds. Through several recent experiments, he and his team have shown that their updated technique of ‘ultrafast electron microscopy’ can image atomic-scale processes directly as they unfold.
Physicists have been measuring the properties of materials for many centuries. For most of…
Cancer treatment is improving all the time, but one area where progress has been slower is in the treatment of metastases, the secondary growths that break away from the initial tumour. Metastasis is responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths — the development of new diagnostic and treatment methods is crucial. Professor Heike Allgayer of Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg, Germany, believes the source of these much-needed innovations might be found in the metastasome: the sum of all the molecular characteristics of metastases. …
The ‘Mapping Funds’ project is creating maps based on collaborative and crowdsourced (public contribution) information as an active way to support the scientific activities and studies of at-risk scholars. These scholars are encountering constraints on their research activities due to the restrictive regimes they live and work in. The constraints include travel bans, deportations, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. The project began in 2016, and Dr Asli Telli of the University of Siegen is project supervisor. …
The ‘Mapping Funds’ project is creating maps based on collaborative and crowdsourced (public contribution) information as an active way to support the scientific activities and studies of at-risk scholars. These scholars are encountering constraints on their research activities due to the restrictive regimes they live and work in. The constraints include travel bans, deportations, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. The project began in 2016, and Dr Asli Telli of the University of Siegen is project supervisor. …
The morphology of layered anisotropic systems plays a crucial part in the development of new materials as well as in medical, forensic and biomimetic research. The ability to quantitatively describe these morphologies is required for solving scientific and engineering problems. Dr Igor Smolyar, from the National Centers for Environment Information/NOAA, Professor Tim Bromage, from New York University and Professor Dr Martin Wikelski, from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and University of Konstanz, have developed an empirical model that can quantify the structural characteristics of layered patterns.
Naturally occurring structures, such as sand dune ripples, sediment profiles, fish scales…
Research Outreach
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