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News from The Open University

OU plays role in making space research a public affair

OU plays role in making space research a public affair

The Open University and European partner institutions are creating a way to open up science research to all to get involved. This will include citizen science projects among other initiatives. The European Science Cluster of Astronomy & Particle Physics ESFRI Research Infrastructures (ESCAPE) will launch its first phase in early 2019, as part of the […]

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Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I

Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I

Bibliotherapy – the idea that reading can have a beneficial effect on mental health – has undergone a resurgence. There is mounting clinical evidence that reading can, for example, help people overcome loneliness and social exclusion. One scheme in Coventry allows health professionals to prescribe books to their patients from a list drawn up by […]

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Young people with life-threatening conditions need to talk about sex

How do young people facing life-limiting or life-threatening conditions handle relationships and talk about sex? Making friends, exploring sex and developing relationships are an important part of becoming an adult. But young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions have limited opportunities to learn about relationships and sex.  Family, carers and health practitioners can feel ill-prepared […]

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Barnard's star

OU scientists among international team to find new planet

Scientists from The Open University are among an international team which has discovered a new planet orbiting the closest single star to the Sun. The discovery features in a paper due to be published on Thursday 15th November in Nature, co-authored by three OU astronomers: Professor Carole Haswell, Post-Doctoral Researcher Dr John Barnes and former […]

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New BBC series delves into unseen world of the British Foreign Office

New BBC series delves into unseen world of the British Foreign Office

The Open University has partnered with the BBC to co-produce a three-part documentary, which explores the strange, secretive and fascinating world of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Inside the Foreign Office begins on Thursday 15 November at 9pm on BBC Two. Filmed over 12 months, the fly-on-the-wall series follows diplomats, ministers and senior […]

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Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world

Catalonia: a year on, political prisoners go unnoticed by the rest of the world

After an unofficial referendum in October 2017, the pro-independence political parties in the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence from Spain. In response, the Spanish government invoked Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution which effectively suspended the region’s autonomy. More than a year on from these events, ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont remains in exile in […]

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Grenfell Tower film wins national award

Grenfell Tower film wins national award

A film about the Grenfell Tower tragedy, created by Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, has won an award at the British Documentary Film Festival.  Winning in the ‘Life Changing Award’ category, the film – called ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder‘ includes powerful testimonies from survivors and families of the bereaved. Dr Scott said: […]

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Photograph of someone typing on a laptop

Government must urgently address decline in part-time and mature learners, says report

Maintenance grants for part-time students, expansion of degree apprenticeships and credit transfer are just some of the recommendations aimed at addressing the decline in part-time and mature learners in the Education Select Committee’s report Value for Money in Higher Education. The report published today has been strongly welcomed by The Open University for recognising the […]

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Bicycle basket filled with colourful fruit and veg- Pinkyone via Shutterstock

Vegans: why they inspire fear and loathing among meat eaters

Food critic William Sitwell has resigned as editor of Waitrose’s in-house magazine following a row over his astonishingly hostile response to a freelance journalist who proposed a series of articles on veganism. A statement from the food retailer said that John Brown Media – which produces the Waitrose & Partners Food Magazine – had announced […]

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Gwyneth Paltrow

Goop: a classicist’s take on the ‘power’ of ancient remedies

Lifestyle company Goop – founded and run by actor and businessperson Gwyneth Paltrow – was fined US$145,000 (£112,000) for making unscientific claims about products on its website: specifically, that its jade and rose quartz eggs, intended to be inserted vaginally, could help to balance hormones and regulate menstrual cycles. In a recent interview with the […]

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