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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology

future looking

OU academic among next generation of research leaders awarded funds to address global issues

The OU’s Dr Tracie Farrell has been announced among 84 promising future leaders as part of a sweep of research and innovation awarded fellowships given funding totalling £98 million. These 84 most promising science and research leaders will benefit from £97.8m to tackle major global issues and to commercialise their innovations in the UK, Science […]

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Gaia mission: five insights astronomers could glean from its latest data

Adam McMaster, PhD Candidate, Astronomy and Andrew Norton, Professor of Astrophysics Education, both from The Open University have written a piece for The Conversation about the new data from the Gaia mission. The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Gaia mission has just released new data. The Gaia satellite was launched in 2013, with the aim of […]

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Ground-breaking number of brown dwarf stars discovered

Ground-breaking number of brown dwarf stars discovered

An international team led by researchers from The Open University and the University of Bern have directly imaged a remarkable four new brown dwarfs thanks to a new innovative search method. Brown dwarfs are mysterious astronomical objects straddling the line between stars and planets and are essential to our understanding of both stellar and planetary […]

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Prehistoric Planet: TV show asked us to explore what weather the dinosaurs lived through

Robert Spicer from The Open University; Alex Farnsworth from University of Bristol and Paul Valdes from University of Bristol write for The Conversation about the new TV series, Prehistoric Planet. When conjuring up images of when dinosaurs ruled the planet we often think of hot and humid landscapes in a world very different from our own. However, the new […]

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Researchers reveal who will face the financial brunt of net zero transition

Researchers reveal who will face the financial brunt of net zero transition

International researchers – including experts from The Open University – have mapped the distribution of over $1 trillion losses from potentially worthless oil and gas assets to the individuals, pension funds and governments who will be impacted, as nations rush to reach their pledges of achieving ‘net-zero’. Driven by technological, societal, and political change, renewable […]

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Sustainability in the built environment: OU academics call for change in building regulations

Sustainability in the built environment: OU academics call for change in building regulations

OU experts have called for greater sustainability in the construction of new buildings, which are globally responsible for 10% of all carbon emissions.[1] Dr Alice Moncaster and PhD student Jane Anderson, international experts in reducing carbon emissions in construction, have provided evidence towards a Select Committee report (published 26 May 2022) that they have hailed as […]

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How to grow plants on the moon – OU expert’s view of new study

How to grow plants on the moon – OU expert’s view of new study

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at The Open University writes for The Conversation on the impact of new findings that reveal why plants don’t thrive in lunar habitats. What do you need to make your garden grow? As well as plenty of sunshine alternating with gentle showers of rain – and busy bees and […]

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New research highlights need for change in climate mitigation tactics

New research highlights need for change in climate mitigation tactics

A new study has found that the presence of moisture has a stronger role in developing areas of tropical vegetation than manmade CO2 emissions. The research, undertaken by Dr William Gosling from the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam and supported by the OU, found previous suggestions that human-elevated CO2 […]

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New research shows that adding rock dust to UK soils could dramatically reduce CO2 emissions

New research shows that adding rock dust to UK soils could dramatically reduce CO2 emissions

A major new study shows adding rock dust to UK agricultural soils in place of imported fertilizer could remove between 6 and 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere annually by 2050. The study, led by the Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation at the University of Sheffield and partners including The […]

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OU celebrates students and climate action with tree planting

OU celebrates students and climate action with tree planting

The OU has had its first tree planting day to celebrate its research students and to demonstrate its commitment to climate action. This is part of an evidence-backed initiative which means the OU Graduate School plants a tree for each research student who graduates, in either the Forest of Marston Vale or in Malawi, through […]

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