The Open University

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

3 September 2025

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, […]

Radio series Rare Earth returns for series 6

22 August 2025

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 […]

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

12 August 2025

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 […]

Explore the beauty of flowers in A Pressing Matter

12 August 2025

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 […]

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

24 July 2025

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 […]

Why the UK’s butterflies are booming in 2025

17 July 2025

Biodiversity is in rapid decline, across the UK and globally, says Willow Neal, Postgraduate Researcher in Conservation Ecology at The Open University. Butterflies are excellent for helping us understand these changes. Where butterfly communities are rich and diverse, so too is the ecosystem. But the opposite is also true: if butterfly numbers are low and […]

OU leads the way to future high-resolution orbital imaging of Mars

15 July 2025

The Open University Atmospheric Research and Space Exploration group, led by Professor Manish Patel, has been awarded a €500k grant from the European Space Agency (ESA) to lead the Phase A study for a high-resolution imager for Mars, launching in 2032. The High-Resolution Imager for Mars Exploration (HiRIME) instrument is an orbiting telescope around Mars, […]

Timing Is Everything: A New Take on Planet Formation

4 July 2025

A meteoritic fragment from a long-lost planet in the outer Solar System has been discovered — and it’s rewriting the story of when planets form. Dr Ben Rider-Stokes, a researcher at The Open University (OU), has identified a unique meteorite that challenges the long-standing view that planets near the Sun formed earlier than those farther […]

The OU to receive funding for new programme of mathematics teaching

24 June 2025

The Maths Degrees for the Future scheme today names five universities who will share a £2.5 million fund to pilot new maths teaching and outreach, including The Open University (OU). The new national programme, launched by the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences (CaMS), aims to create ‘next-gen’ degree designs that connect foundational mathematical sciences to their […]

OU researcher helps to solve the mystery of Mercury’s ‘missing meteorites’

18 June 2025

Mercury’s elusive meteorites have never been conclusively identified, however, a new study published in Icarus by OU academic, Dr Ben Rider-Stokes, may offer the best understanding yet. The new research suggests two unusual meteorites may be our best analogues yet, offering a rare window into Mercury’s formation and evolution, and reshaping our understanding of the innermost planet. […]

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Category: Science, maths, computing and technology