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‘Heat-proof’ Eggs Help Turtles Cope With Hot Beaches

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2011Nature, Scienceascension island, cayman islands department of environment, coast of south america, eggs, favourable genes, green turtles, jonathan blount, mark orr, rapid climate change, sam weber, sea turtles, south atlantic ocean, turtle evolution, turtles are naturally heat tolerant, uk, university of exeter, warming climate threatens

*Sea turtles face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens to reduce their reproductive viability.*

*However, new research led by the University of Exeter and published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that some turtles are naturally heat-tolerant.*

The study focused on green turtles nesting on Ascension Island, a UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Scientists from the Universities of Exeter and Groningen found that eggs laid by turtles nesting on a naturally hot beach withstand high temperatures better than eggs from turtles nesting on a cooler beach just a few kilometres away. (more…)

Scientists Simulate Seashells’ Structures

By Guest PostSeptember 9, 2011Scienceartificial biominerals, artificial proteins, biological minerals, biominerals, bones, calcite crystals, calcium carbonate, crystal structure, fiona meldrum, hardness, microscopic level, nanoindenter, sea urchin spines, seashells, stephen eichhorn, synthetic crystals, synthetic polymer nanoparticles, teeth, university of exeter

*Scientists have successfully created synthetic crystals whose structures and properties mimic those of naturally-occurring biominerals such as seashells.*

*The findings, published in the journal Nature Materials, could be an important step in the development of high-performance materials, which could be manufactured under environmentally-friendly conditions.*

Professor Stephen Eichhorn, who has just moved to the University of Exeter from the University of Manchester, played a key role in the research. Professor Eichhorn has been appointed to a Chair in Functional Materials, through the University of Exeter’s £230 million investment in science, medicine and engineering. Exeter’s vision is for a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to the understanding and application of functional materials – from fundamentals to manufacture – exploiting world-leading materials knowledge to deliver new concepts, processes and products. (more…)

Re-emergence of Salmon in The Thames ‘Not From Restocking’ Say Exeter Academics

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2011Environmentatlantic salmon, Britain, early 19th century, England, english chalk stream environment, fish, indicator species, industrial revolution, jamie stevens, magna carta, oviedo university, pollution, riparian habitat, river, river system, river thames, rivers across the uk, scottish rivers, spain, thames, university of exeter, urbanisation of london

*The recent returns of Atlantic salmon in the Thames are more likely to be a result of fish straying from nearby rivers rather than a consequence of expensive restocking efforts, according to new research by the University of Exeter.*

A team of University of Exeter bio-scientists, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, Westcountry Rivers Trust and Oviedo University, Spain, have been collecting genetic data from returning fish, which suggests that habitat restoration was more effective than re-introductions. The findings will be published in the journal ‘Biological Conservation’.

Lessons from the study could be applied to other rivers across the UK according to the co-author of the paper Dr Jamie Stevens, Associate Professor of Molecular Systematics at the University of Exeter. Dr Stevens says: “Traditionally, people – such as river owners and anglers – have wanted big fish swimming up their rivers. The easiest way to ensure this quickly has been to restock those rivers with exogenous fish (from outside the river system).” (more…)

Hubble to Target ‘Hot Jupiters’

By Guest PostAugust 21, 2011Scienceadam showman, alien atmospheres of hot jupiters, astronomers, atmospheric conditions of planets, david sing, exoplanets, gilda ballester, hot jupiter atmospheres, hot jupiters, Hubble Space Telescope, kelvin, mysterious gas, NASA, rotation, solar systems, stratospheres, temperatures, thermal inversion zone, university of exeter, visible light spectrum

An international team of astronomers led by a former UA graduate student has set out on the largest program to date exploring the alien atmospheres of “Hot Jupiters” – massive planets in solar systems far away from our own.

An international team of scientists has secured a large program of nearly 200 hours of observing time with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to explore the atmospheric conditions of planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. (more…)

Research Reveals How Butterflies Copy Their Neighbours to Fool Birds

By Guest PostAugust 13, 2011Natureamazonian species, bates and darwin, butterfly, chromosomal region, chromosome, cnrs, DNA, eaten by birds, evolutionary thinkers, heliconius numata, liverpool university, mathieu joron, melinaea, müllerian mimicry, muséum national d'histoire naturelle, neighbouring species, non mimetic patterns, Paris, patterns of warning colouration, peppered moth, rainforest, richard ffrench constant, supergene, university of exeter, wallace, wing colour patterns, wing patterns

The mystery of how a butterfly has changed its wing patterns to mimic neighbouring species and avoid being eaten by birds has been solved by a team of scientists.

The study is published in the journal Nature. (more…)

Roman Civilisation Travelled Further than History Books Tell Us

By Guest PostAugust 6, 2011Culture, Sciencearchaeologist, coin, danielle wootton, devon, earthwatch, excavation, history of the romans in britain, ioana oltean, largest roman settlement, metal detectorists, pas, portable antiquities scheme, quarry pits, roman cemetery, roman coins, roman invasion and occupation of devon, sam moorhead, south west peninsula of britain, university of exeter

A University of Exeter archaeologist’s research has uncovered the largest Roman settlement ever found in Devon. The discovery could force us to rewrite the history of the Romans in Britain.

The discovery of a large Roman Settlement in Devon was the result of a chance metal detecting coin find. Danielle Wootton, the Finds Liaison Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and archaeologist at the University of Exeter was called on to investigate further. (more…)

Exeter Academic Contributes to New TV Series on Islam

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2011Culture, Mediabbc, british citizenship, historical personality, islam, islamic intellectual history, Jerusalem, jordan, mecca, muslims, muslims in britain, prophet, rageh omaar, saudi arabia, syria, the life of muhammad, the uk, the usa, turkey, university of cambridge, university of exeter

*A University of Exeter academic, who is an expert on Islam, has contributed to the new television series ‘The Life of Muhammad’ currently being broadcast on BBC Two. The three-part documentary, presented by journalist Rageh Omaar, charts the story of the Prophet who, in little more than 20 years, changed the world forever.*

Professor Sajjad Rizvi, University of Exeter’s Associate Professor of Islamic Intellectual History at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, provided expert advice to the BBC team. He also appears in the series. (more…)

Decline in Species Shows Climate Change Warnings Not Exaggerated

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bering sea, birds, bivalve mollusks, boreal forests, climate change, effects of climate change on plant and animal species, Europe, extinction, extinction risk, fenno scandia, global biodiversity, global warming, human induced climate change, ilya maclean, Madagascar, marine mammals, nematode worm, pine grosbeak, population declines, robert wilson, species, spectacled eider, tenerife, tiger salamander populations, two barred crossbill, types of habitat, united states of america, university of exeter, yellowstone national park

One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue.

This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines.

Published in leading journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study uses the well-established IUCN Red List for linking population declines to extinction risk. The research examines nearly 200 predictions of the future effects of climate change from studies conducted around the world, as well as 130 reports of changes which have already occurred. (more…)

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