The Open University

Explore our world’s fascinating flora in the BBC/OU series, The Green Planet

6 January 2022

Legendary nature historian, Sir David Attenborough will offer a stunning insight into Earth’s plant life in a new series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University. The first episode of the five-part series, The Green Planet, airs on 9 January at 7.00 pm on BBC One and will be available on BBC iPlayer shortly […]

New theory about alien life subject of latest bitesize video for BBC Ideas

8 December 2021

A brand new short film is now available to view on the award-winning BBC Ideas website called Are We Thinking About Alien Life All Wrong? With the OU’s Dr Mark Fox-Powell providing academic consultancy, Professor Brian Cox explains the ‘panspermia’ theory – how alien life could spread around the Universe. This new theory, which has […]

OU/BBC – Countryfile Plant Britain Autumn Special

5 November 2021

A BBC Countryfile Plant Britain autumn special airs this weekend promising a fascinating look at how trees and hedgerows help in combatting climate change, boosting wildlife and our own wellbeing. And there’s a guest appearance from Dr Philip Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Ecology at the OU. Countryfile has been reporting on rural, agricultural, and environmental […]

OU scientist showing how application of space technology can help the global climate crisis

2 November 2021

It’s called technology transfer, when innovations in one field are used with a different goal than the original purposes – often in a different industry. Space technology must meet high standards, needs to be reliable and failure-proof and that’s why OU space scientist Dr Geraint ‘Taff’ Morgan has been invited on an interdisciplinary panel of […]

Epic moments that crafted our Universe unfold in new BBC / OU programme

27 October 2021

Join Professor Brian Cox in a journey across time and space in a new series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University. The first episode of Universe, a five-part documentary, airs on 27 October at 9.00pm on BBC2 and will begin by telling the story of the Sun, also known as ‘God Star’. Airing […]

A new vision for farming would help the world tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

22 October 2021

A coalition of agroecological and regenerative farming organisations are calling on leaders to be bold on sustainable agriculture in tackling the climate and nature emergency at COP26 in Glasgow. The coalition is pleased to see the Government publish its Net Zero Strategy this week. There are certainly many elements that are welcome, particularly around agroforestry […]

New research finds climate change caused woolly mammoths to go extinct

22 October 2021

For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until they vanished for good nearly 4,000 years ago – now scientists say they have found out why. The hairy cousins of today’s elephants lived alongside early humans and they were a regular staple of their diet. Skeletons of woolly mammoths were used to build shelters, […]

Floodplain Meadows Partnership art competition winners announced

15 October 2021

Alice Walker from Oxfordshire and Claire Cornish from Cumbria have been crowned the winners of the Floodplain Meadow arts and crafts competition. The winning pieces of art demonstrated the diverse role of floodplain meadows for biodiversity, flood water management, agriculture, and the importance of their preservation. Funded by the Morgan Family Bursary Fund and the […]

Bird eggshell study highlights potential risk to nest environments due to climate change

13 October 2021

New research has revealed how the moisture-resistance of bird eggshells has evolved to thrive in different environments, suggesting that bird populations nesting in environments prone to climate change may be at risk when weather conditions undergo a period of intense and rapid change. The study was led by academics at Royal Holloway, University of London […]

OU scientist hails space probes first close-up pictures of Mercury

4 October 2021

The joint European (ESA) and Japanese (JAXA) Space Agencies’ mission BepiColombo swung past its destination planet Mercury at only 200 km above the surface in the early hours of 2 October and sent back some spectacular pictures. David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences at The Open University has been closely associated with the mission for […]

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