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Arctic study shows key marine food web species at risk from increasing CO2

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2013Environmentarctic marine life, arctic ocean, arctic regions, arctic study, atmosphere, carbon dioxide, catlin arctic survey, ceri lewis, changing climatic, copepods, crustaceans, helen findlay, increasing co2, marine food web, novel data, ocean acidity, oceanic conditions, pnas, range of ph, risk, university of exeter

A research expedition to the Arctic, as part of the Catlin Arctic Survey, has revealed that tiny crustaceans, known as copepods, that live just beneath the ocean surface are likely to battle for survival if ocean acidity continues to rise.

The study found that copepods that move large distances, migrating vertically across a wide range of pH conditions, have a better chance of surviving.

The increasing level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is changing ocean chemistry leading to seawater moving down the pH scale towards acidity. Some areas of the Arctic Ocean are already experiencing the fastest rates of acidification on the planet and, combined with sea-ice loss and warming temperatures, the impacts of climate change are likely to hit Arctic marine life first. (more…)

Microplastics make marine worms sick

By Guest PostDecember 4, 2013Environment, Natureantimicrobials, chemical additives, chemical transfer, debris in marine, energy level, harmful chemicals, marine life, marine lugworms, marine plastic pollution, marine worms, mark anthony browne, microplastic, ocean sediments, organism, plastic rubbish, plasticisers, plastics, plymouth university, professor tamara galloway, sick, solid waste pollution, stephanie wright, university of exeter, wadden sea

Tiny bits of plastic rubbish could spell big trouble for marine life, starting with the worms, say a team of researchers from the University of Exeter and Plymouth University who report their evidence in a pair of studies in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 2.

The marine worms play a key ecological role as an important source of food for other animals.

Work by Stephanie Wright from Biosciences at the University of Exeter found that if ocean sediments are heavily contaminated with microplastics, marine lugworms eat less and their energy levels suffer. A separate report, from Mark Anthony Browne on work performed at Plymouth University, shows that ingesting microplastic can also reduce the health of lugworms by delivering harmful chemicals, including hydrocarbons, antimicrobials and flame retardants to them. (more…)

Playing with future of British armed forces

By Guest PostNovember 23, 2013Politics, Weaponsafghanistan, armed forces, barbie, best selling, body armour, british homes, british troops, conflict, cultures, geopolitical climates, help for heroes, her majesty, hmaf dolls, licensed by, london, military action figure, ministry of defence, professor klaus dodds, royal holloway university, sean carter, social scientists, tara woodyer, toy range, university of exeter, university of portsmouth, war, withdrawal

Social scientists are to examine whether action figure dolls help form children’s opinions on war and have a role to play in shaping the future of our armed forces.

It is the first time research has examined the role of toys in the making of young citizens. The £492,508 project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The researchers, Dr Sean Carter, from Geography at the University of Exeter, Dr Tara Woodyer, of the University of Portsmouth and Professor Klaus Dodds, of Royal Holloway University of London, have expertise in human geography, children’s play, childhood studies, geopolitics and the culture of war. (more…)

Cause of genetic disorder found in “dark matter” of DNA

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2013Healthblood, cause, cell, dark matter, disease, DNA, genetic disorder, glucose, junk dna, mike weedon, pancreatic agenesis, pancreatic beta cells, professor andrew hattersley, ptf1a regulatory region, regulating level, sugar, type 1 diabetes, university of exeter

For the first time, scientists have used new technology which analyses the whole genome to find the cause of a genetic disease in what was previously referred to as “junk DNA”.

Pancreatic agenesis results in babies being born without a pancreas, leaving them with a lifetime of diabetes and problems digesting food.

In a breakthrough for genetic research, teams led by the University of Exeter Medical School and Imperial College London found that the condition is most commonly caused by mutations in a newly identified gene regulatory element in a remote part of the genome, which can now be explored thanks to advances in genetic sequencing. (more…)

Stress makes snails forgetful

By Guest PostNovember 13, 2013Nature, Scienceabsorb oxygen, alberta innovates, bad for memory, breathe underwater, lymnaea stagnalis, pond snail, sarah dalesma, skin, snail study, stress, university of calgary, university of exeter

Snail study reveals that stress is bad for memory.

New research on pond snails has revealed that high levels of stress can block memory processes. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Calgary trained snails and found that when they were exposed to multiple stressful events they were unable remember what they had learned.

Previous research has shown that stress also affects human ability to remember. This study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that experiencing multiple stressful events simultaneously has a cumulative detrimental effect on memory. (more…)

Unpublished WW1 novel shares secrets of the past with a new generation

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2013Culture, Politicsa romance, acts of courage, analysis, dcm, distinguished conduct medal, egalitarian belief, first world war, forest of dean, frederick william harvey, gloucestershire regiment, gloucestershire soldier, grant repshire, herbert howells, ivor gurney, new generation, poetry, prisoner of war, roger deeks, semi autobiographical novel, severnvale, soldier, university of exeter, unpublished ww1 novel, will harvey, world war

A heroic World War One soldier’s previously unknown semi-autobiographical novel has come to light following the completion of a project to archive and make public the manuscripts, poems and correspondence of Frederick William Harvey.

F W Harvey’s papers are now available to the public thanks to a major collaborative project between the University of Exeter and the Gloucestershire Archives.

The Gloucestershire soldier became well known nationally for his poetry and his acts of courage. Despite having trained as a solicitor, he enlisted in the ranks and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal before being made an officer. Found among Harvey’s papers was an unpublished novel titled ‘Will Harvey – A Romance’, which is a fictional, but semi-autobiographical, novel which covers the early lives and school-days of two brothers. The story then follows them into the trenches of WWI, where Eric is killed (as was F W Harvey’s brother in real life) and Will is captured (again as in real life). There were several attempts to have it published however it seems that the post-WWI public was no longer interested in reading about the war. (more…)

Poetry is like music to the mind, scientists prove

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2013Culture, Health, Scienceadam zeman, anatomical sense, art, brain imaging technology, favourite poetry, fmri technology, introspection, music to mind, poetry, prose, recollection, scientist, university of exeter

New brain imaging technology is helping researchers to bridge the gap between art and science by mapping the different ways in which the brain responds to poetry and prose.

Scientists at the University of Exeter used state-of-the-art functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, which allows them to visualise which parts of the brain are activated to process various activities.

No one had previously looked specifically at the differing responses in the brain to poetry and prose. (more…)

Maths predicts rise and fall of empires

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2013General, Scienceafrica, americas, ancient empires, asia, cavalry, chariots, computer model, empires, Europe, evolution, evolutionary driver, fall, grid cell, human history, math, mathematical model, mathematical simulation, military innovation, old world, predict, predict the future, quantitative accuracy, rise, sergey gavrilets, simulate warfare, socio cultural evolution, tom currie, university of connecticut, university of exeter

Researchers have developed a new mathematical model that accurately describes the evolution of ancient empires.

The computer model can predict with 65% accuracy where and when the largest complex societies arose in human history.

The research, which suggests that intense warfare is the evolutionary driver of large complex societies, is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was carried out by researchers from the University of Exeter in collaboration with University of Connecticut and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) in the US. (more…)

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