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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology

Explore the weird and wonderful world of invention in OU/BBC series, The Secret Genius of Modern Life

Explore the weird and wonderful world of invention in OU/BBC series, The Secret Genius of Modern Life

We uncover the secrets behind the miraculous technologies of the modern world in a new programme, The Secret Genius of Modern Life, beginning this Thursday (10 November) at 8.00pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. The 6-part series, co-produced by The Open University (OU) and BBC, is hosted by Hannah Fry, Professor of Mathematics, author and […]

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Building a net zero carbon construction industry

Building a net zero carbon construction industry

A team of experts developing UK’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) has launched a call for evidence to help inform the development of the Standard which aims to transform the construction industry. Once created, the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard will provide a single agreed definition for the industry to determine what constitutes […]

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What can we expect from Elon Musk’s Twitterverse?

What can we expect from Elon Musk’s Twitterverse?

It would be hard to avoid the news of Twitter’s acquisition by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk as the sale has certainly not been drama-free. The acquisition was officially completed on 27 October, and Musk immediately fired top Twitter executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, whom he replaced with himself. One of his first announced policy […]

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OU academic urges community involvement as the Japanese Government prepares to release ‘treated water’ from nuclear plant, Fukushima

OU academic urges community involvement as the Japanese Government prepares to release ‘treated water’ from nuclear plant, Fukushima

While over a decade has passed since the accident at the Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, the most contentious aspect of bringing the site under control is only just beginning. The Japanese Government has now approved plant operator TEPCO’s plan to release treated water into the Pacific Ocean from 2023, provoking concern across […]

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Outer space, generic

Four ways to spot hints of alien life using the James Webb Space Telescope

Joanna Barstow, The Open University: The study of exoplanets, worlds which orbit stars other than our sun, is currently being transformed by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We will shortly gain our first insight into conditions on rocky, potentially Earth-like worlds beyond our solar system. One of these distant worlds might host life. […]

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OU Student Ian Muirhead

From Army veteran to space scientist

When Open University graduate Ian Muirhead isn’t searching for moons and exoplanets, he’s inspiring the next generation of space scientists to reach for the stars. It’s a career he never dreamed possible when he left school at 15 without any qualifications. Over 20 years’ on and Ian tells us he couldn’t be happier making the […]

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Famous astrophysicist passes but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

Famous astrophysicist passes but his equation for alien intelligence is more important than ever

David Rothery is a Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University and here he talks about the passing of American astrophysicist Frank Drake and the legacy he left the universe. First published in The Conversation.   How many intelligent civilisations should there be in our galaxy right now? In 1961, the US astrophysicist Frank […]

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Journey through our breath-taking, icy world in BBC/OU series, Frozen Planet II

Journey through our breath-taking, icy world in BBC/OU series, Frozen Planet II

Legendary nature historian, Sir David Attenborough, narrates the highly anticipated Frozen Planet II in a stunning new series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University (OU). Following on from Frozen Planet released in 2011, the series began on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 8.00pm on Sunday 11th September. We’re invited to observe life […]

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OU academic supports capture of JWST’s first ever direct image of a distant world

OU academic supports capture of JWST’s first ever direct image of a distant world

For the first time an international group of researchers, including Dr Mariangela Bonavita of the OU, have used NASA’s JWST to take a direct image of a planet outside our solar system, released by NASA today. The image of the planet, as seen through four different light filters, shows how JWST’s powerful infrared gaze can […]

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Outer space, generic

OU academics support NASA JWST research into first confirmed detection of carbon dioxide outside our solar system

After years of preparation and anticipation, researchers, including experts from the OU, have announced the first clear evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting a distant star. The findings came from the NASA/ESA/CSA observatory JWST, which captured astonishingly detailed evidence through the atmosphere of a hot gas giant, WASP-39 b, 700 […]

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