The Open University

OU offers free digital course to Lancashire and Greater Manchester residents

12 November 2020

People across Lancashire and Greater Manchester have a chance to retrain to become a tech engineer for free with The Open University (OU). The OU is offering residents across Lancashire and Greater Manchester the opportunity to upskill and make a career change into the technology sector. DevOpsSkills, a 20-week part-time course, developed by The Open […]

OU physicist receives national award for creating award-winning online lab

29 October 2020

Today, Professor Nicholas Braithwaite, of The Open University (OU), received a national award from the Institute of Physics (IOP) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to practical science. Professor Braithwaite was awarded the Lawrence Bragg medal and prize for developing the award-winning OpenSTEM Labs. Spearheaded by Professor Braithwaite, the flagship online laboratory for teaching practical […]

Water on the Moon: research unveils its type and abundance – boosting exploration plans

27 October 2020

New study unearths water on the Moon, Open University academics James Mortimer, postdoctoral researcher in planetary science and exploration and Mahesh Anand, professor of planetary science and exploration, explain how this discovery will enhance our understanding of water on the lunar surface. The Moon was for a long time considered to be bone dry, with […]

Asteroid Bennu: successful touchdown – but the scientific mission has only just begun

21 October 2020

Following the successful touch-and-go landing on asteroid Bennu, Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at The Open University, suggests that this momentous feat is only the beginning for the OSIRIS-REx team and wider scientific community. Relief showed clearly on the faces of the team of NASA scientists and engineers as they were told: “Touchdown is […]

Coronavirus ‘excess deaths’: why England and Wales have been hardest hit in Europe – new study

14 October 2020

Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics at The Open University, speaks on the numbers behind the global pandemic and explains why England and Wales have experienced ‘high excess deaths’ in comparison to other countries. To get through the COVID-19 pandemic, we need good information. One hugely important statistic is how many people have died […]

NASA mission to asteroid Bennu set to return with new space rock samples

9 October 2020

Space rocks returning from near-Earth asteroid Bennu on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will bring never-before-seen samples back to Earth. Open University (OU) researcher Dr Ben Rozitis, a collaborator on the OSIRIS-REx mission, asserts that the mission, if successful, will return with a large collection of space rocks not currently represented in existing collections on Earth. Launched […]

Mars: mounting evidence for subglacial lakes, but could they really host life?

29 September 2020

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University, discusses the discovery of subglacial lakes on Mars and if this could lead to finding out if there was, or is, life on the planet. Venus may harbour life some 50km above its surface, we learned a couple of weeks ago. Now a new paper, published in Nature Astronomy, […]

OU research could improve mobility of Huntington’s patients

17 September 2020

A case study conducted by The Open University (OU) has found that wearable haptic devices – technology similar to a mobile phone vibrating at a set rhythm – could improve the mobility of people living with Huntington’s Disease. OU PhD student Riasat Islam and former OU PhD student Dr Theodoros Georgiou, used haptic rhythmic cueing […]

Venus: could it really harbour life? New study springs a surprise

15 September 2020

Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, at The Open University speaks on the landmark discovery of phosphine, a rare gas, on Venus and whether this latest discovery could point to extraterrestrial life on the planet. Earth’s sister planet, Venus, has not been regarded as a high priority in the search for life. Its […]

Groundbreaking discovery could signal life on Venus

14 September 2020

Scientists from across the globe, including Dr Helen Fraser of The Open University, have detected a rare gas – phosphine – in the clouds of Venus. The landmark discovery could point to extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’ life on the planet. For decades, the scientific community has speculated that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for […]

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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology