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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology

Mercury: shrinking planet is still getting smaller – new research

Mercury: shrinking planet is still getting smaller – new research

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University: Planetary scientists have long known that Mercury has been shrinking for billions of years. Despite being the closest planet to the Sun, its interior has been cooling down as internal heat leaks away. This means that the rock (and, within that, the metal) of which it […]

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OU’s OpenSTEM Labs celebrates its 10-year anniversary

OU’s OpenSTEM Labs celebrates its 10-year anniversary

The Open University’s (OU) world-leading online laboratory has celebrated its tenth anniversary, marking a decade of connecting students to authentic practical experiences and remotely operated equipment no matter what their location. The OpenSTEM Labs challenge the traditional methods of STEM teaching and the need to be in a lab during ‘office hours’ by offering learning […]

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OU academic publishes research confirming the continued shrinking of Mercury

OU academic publishes research confirming the continued shrinking of Mercury

A study led by an Open University (OU) research student, Benjamin Man, has been published today in Nature Geoscience, providing strong evidence that Mercury is continuing to shrink. It is widely confirmed that Mercury began to contract at least 3 billion years ago, and the rate of contraction has likely been decreasing since then. In […]

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OU joins the Turing University Network focussing on data science and AI

OU joins the Turing University Network focussing on data science and AI

The Open University (OU) has joined a growing list of universities in The Alan Turing Institute’s network. The Turing University Network offers UK universities, with an interest in data science and AI, the opportunity to engage and collaborate both with the Institute and its broader networks in academia, industry and the public sector. It will […]

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Image of planets in the Solar System

New study calls for more ethical space research

In a new paper, released today (14 September 2023) in Nature Astronomy, Open University (OU) researchers and their collaborators highlight ethical issues surrounding research in ‘extreme’ environments used as analogue sites to understand other planets, and how this relates to the future of space exploration. OU academics Dr Alessandra Marino, Professor Karen Olsson-Francis and Professor […]

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Have we really found the first samples from beyond the Solar System? The evidence is not convincing

Have we really found the first samples from beyond the Solar System? The evidence is not convincing

Monica Grady is a Professor in Planetary Sciences at The Open University: Avi Loeb, an astrophysicist at Harvard University in the US, has published a press release claiming that some of the 700 or so spherical metallic fragments (spherules) he recovered from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Papua New […]

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BlueDot festival 2023

AstrobiologyOU at Bluedot festival: Life in extreme weather

Author: Victoria Pearson AstrobiologyOU – an Open University research group looking into life beyond earth and the challenges of astrobiology missions – were showcased this summer at the Bluedot festival, held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jodrell Bank Observatory. The annual festival combines live music, comedy and culture with science and space delivered […]

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Photo of three children with their backs to the camera. They are weaving with colourful fabric scraps

New art exhibit celebrates the beauty and value of floodplain meadows

A new art exhibit is being shown at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History to celebrate and raise awareness of Britain’s floodplain meadows. The exhibit will be open until the end of October and is part of an Open University (OU) project working to conserve, restore and protect Britain’s floodplain meadows. The Floodplain Meadows […]

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OU Lecturer wins National Teaching Fellowship for outstanding impact on student outcomes and teaching

OU Lecturer wins National Teaching Fellowship for outstanding impact on student outcomes and teaching

After a highly competitive process, Derek Jones, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Design at The Open University has received a National Teaching Fellowship (NTF) from AdvanceHE. The award recognises his contribution to the development and improvement of design education at national and international levels. The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) celebrates and recognises individuals who have […]

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First images taken by the Euclid space telescope are released

First images taken by the Euclid space telescope are released

The European Space Agency released the first images taken by the Euclid space telescope’s VIS instrument, which was built by an international team including scientists from The Open University (OU). The black and white engineering images depict stars, star clusters and galaxies, captured by the array of 36 visible light detectors in the VIS camera. […]

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