The Open University

Tardigrades: we’re now polluting the moon with near indestructible little creatures

8 August 2019

Monica Grady, The Open University writing for The Conversation An Israeli spacecraft called Beresheet almost made it to the moon in April. It took a selfie with the lunar surface in the background, but then lost contact with Earth and presumably crashed onto the lunar surface. Now it’s been revealed that the mission was carrying […]

Appendix removal: does it really increase your risk of getting Parkinson’s disease?

14 May 2019

Kevin McConway, The Open University writing for The Conversation. Recent scary press reports suggest that having your appendix out could triple your risk of getting Parkinson’s disease. Given that there is currently no cure for this neurodegenerative condition, people who have had their appendix out might be quite worried. But worrying, at this point, would […]

To the moon and back – OU student Hannah on breaking boundaries

6 May 2019

Hannah Sargeant spends her days exploring the universe. As a planetary scientist and PhD researcher at The Open University, Hannah, 26, is fulfilling her childhood dream by researching all corners of the solar system. During her career, Hannah has been involved with international research projects to support a series of missions to the Moon, ultimately supporting future […]

Does nature sound good to you? Huge new national experiment part of major collaboration with BBC

2 April 2019

Could listening to nature improve your health? It’s widely acknowledged that spending time in natural environments boosts people’s mood, but little is known about what part sound plays. Now, a new national experiment using The Open University’s nQuire platform is conducting one of the biggest investigations into the therapeutic effects of sound. The nQuire platform […]

Research reveals role of Indian Summer Monsoon on global climate stage

18 March 2019

A study by an international research team led by The Open University (OU) has revealed new insights to help understand the historical importance of the Indian Summer Monsoon. The study shows how the Monsoon acted as a conduit for moving heat and moisture during a period of climate transition, thousands of years ago. • Study […]

Proving you’re never too glamorous for Science

13 March 2019

Amy King has been a science enthusiast from a very young age. Her school told her that “science isn’t for girls”; she proved them wrong by achieving straight As at college. A university interviewer told her she was “too glamorous to be a scientist”. Since then, Amy has enrolled on a BSc in Natural Sciences […]

Researchers challenge sea level stats, but warn forecast still poor

7 February 2019

Researchers, including academics from The Open University (OU), say predictions about rising sea levels may not be as high as feared. But they warn that unless there is a drastic reduction in carbon emissions, sea levels will keep rising. In a research paper, just published in the journal Nature, they suggest that sea level rise could […]

Karolien Verheyen: Sarcoidosis diagnosis was my study inspiration

7 February 2019

In 2007, Karolien Verheyen was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a rare condition that causes small patches of red and swollen tissue (granulomas) to develop in the body’s organs. Her diagnosis led Karolien to find out more about how the human body functions and she registered for a module in human biology with The Open University, later […]

From volcanoes on Mars to scarps on Mercury – how places on other worlds get their names

2 January 2019

The New Horizons spacecraft, which flew past Pluto in 2015, successfully completed a flyby of “Ultima Thule”, an object in the Kuiper belt of bodies beyond Neptune on January 1, 2019. The name Ultima Thule, signifying a distant unknown place, is fitting but it is currently just a nickname pending formal naming. The official names […]

Do you hit snooze? OU academic uncovers our sleep patterns

3 December 2018

There’s more to a good night’s sleep than we might think, suggests Dr Paul Kelley, who has created a public research project to open our eyes to our chronotype – our natural sleep pattern. If you’re prone to sleeping on the job, it could be you’re going against your chronotype. Changing your work/study hours might […]

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Category: Science