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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology

Discover the human side of space exploration in new OU / BBC programme

Discover the human side of space exploration in new OU / BBC programme

From Monday 27 October a new four-part part OU/BBC series, Once Upon a Time in Space, begins on BBC Two and iPlayer at 9.00pm. In this series, we hear the remarkable, unusual and sometimes moving history of humans in space and consider what the consequences are for the future of humankind. Told by the people […]

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From monkey glands to ‘young blood’: the long, strange history of chasing immortality through transplants

From monkey glands to ‘young blood’: the long, strange history of chasing immortality through transplants

When Russian president Vladimir Putin visited Beijing in September 2025, he told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that repeated organ transplants might make a person “get younger” and even live to 150, says Dan Stratton, Lecturer Biomedical Health Science, The Open University. The remark was widely dismissed as science fiction. Yet it coincided with genuine scientific progress. […]

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Uncovering the mysteries of the human brain in new OU / BBC programme

Uncovering the mysteries of the human brain in new OU / BBC programme

A new two-part OU / BBC series, Secrets of the Brain, begins today (29 September) at 9pm on BBC Two and available to watch on catch up through BBC iPlayer. Join renowned theoretical physicist Professor Jim Al-Khalili on an epic journey through 600 million years of evolution to uncover how the human brain, the most […]

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OU spaceflight lab hosts Cranfield University MSc student

OU spaceflight lab hosts Cranfield University MSc student

OU space researchers have recently finished hosting  Cranfield University MSc Astronautics & Space Engineering students undertaking a 4-month full-time Individual Research Projects (IRPs). The HyperVelocity Impact (HVI) and Space and Planetary Environments (SPE) Laboratories (supervised by Dr. Zoe Emerland) have facilitated projects for two students using a variety of extreme environment testing facilities. The first […]

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Open University Campus in Milton Keynes

OU Researchers Begin New Collaboration with the MIT Kavli Institute

The Open University (OU) scientists from the Centre for Electronic Imaging (CEI) have started a new research project with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Kavli Institute (MKI) for Astrophysics and Space Research to support them in the evaluation of a new detector technology developed at the OU. During the project, members of the CEI […]

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OU study sheds light on future of Milton Keynes’ ancient woodlands

OU study sheds light on future of Milton Keynes’ ancient woodlands

New research from The Open University (OU), recently published in Ecological Solutions and Evidence, has revealed how ancient woodlands in Milton Keynes are responding to the pressures of being surrounded by a growing city. The study was led by a team of OU researchers from the university’s STEM faculty: Holly Woo, Sarah Davies, Kadmiel Maseyk, […]

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Radio series Rare Earth returns for series 6

Radio series Rare Earth returns for series 6

Today at midday (22 August) the OU/BBC radio series, Rare Earth, returns with a sixth series with environmental journalist Tom Heap and physicist Helen Czerski on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.    Rare Earth is a weekly podcast and radio show which digs into the biggest issues facing our planet. Each week, hosts Tom and Helen tackle a major topic […]

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Image of a surfer catching a wave.

‘OU study opened the door to a whole new career,’ says trainee detective, John

When surf school owner John, 47, challenged himself with a return to education, he had two clear goals – to study a captivating subject, while unlocking new career opportunities. John never imagined that his Open University (OU) degree would set him on course to become a Detective Constable in his home county. As a new […]

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Explore the beauty of flowers in A Pressing Matter

Explore the beauty of flowers in A Pressing Matter

Watch tonight’s episode of The One Show to see the first in a series of short films co-produced by The Open University (OU) and BBC, with this episode exploring the art and science of pressed flowers. A Pressing Matter airs on Tuesday 12th August at 7pm on BBC One and will be available to watch […]

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Scientists simulate the Solar System’s ‘ice volcanoes’ in OU’s Milton Keynes lab

Scientists simulate the Solar System’s ‘ice volcanoes’ in OU’s Milton Keynes lab

A team of international scientists, including researchers from the Atmospheric Research and Space Exploration group at The Open University (OU), have recreated the extreme conditions found on icy moons in deep space and revealed the unstable behaviour of water. In the near-zero pressure environment of space, water reacts very differently from how it does on […]

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