News
Concerns over mercury levels in fish may be unfounded
1 October 2013
New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol suggests that fish accounts for only seven per cent of mercury levels in the human body. In an analysis of 103 food and drink items consumed by 4,484 women during pregnancy, researchers found that the 103 items together accounted for less than 17 per cent of total mercury levels in the body.
New research links individual animal behaviour with social spacing
30 September 2013
New research by the universities of Bristol and Princeton has found certain animal species are capable of co-ordinating their spatial behaviour to cover terrain by maintaining areas of exclusive use while sharing other regions of space with their neighbours.
Study reveals dramatic fall in death rates after hip replacements
27 September 2013
Mortality rates in the first 90 days following hip replacement surgery have halved according to a study led by Professor Ashley Blom from the University of Bristol's School of Clinical Sciences.
Study finds link between commonly prescribed statin and memory impairment
25 September 2013
New research that looked at whether two commonly prescribed statin medicines, used to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad cholesterol’ levels in the blood, can adversely affect cognitive function has found that one of the drugs tested caused memory impairment in rats.
Do anaesthetics trigger stress?
24 September 2013
New research, carried out in collaboration between the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences and AstraZeneca Brixham Environmental Laboratory, could improve the welfare standards of millions of fish used by scientists around the world.
Live demonstration of SDN-enabled optical circuit switching at ECOC 2013
18 September 2013
A live demonstration of a hybrid packet-optical circuit switched software-defined network (SDN), developed by the University of Bristol and Polatis, Inc, will take place at Europe’s largest optical communications event next week [22- 26 September].
£1.8million for new research on Italian cultures and the study of Modern Languages
18 September 2013
A new research project looking at how modern Italian culture has developed around the world has been awarded £1.8million by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). From the insights it develops into transnational Italian cultures, the project will forge a new framework for the discipline of Modern Languages as a whole.
Why some parents think your partner isn’t good enough
18 September 2013
It is common for parents to influence mate choice — from arranged marriages to more subtle forms of persuasion — but they often disagree with their children about what makes a suitable partner. A new study has found an evolutionary explanation for why some parents try to control who their children pair up with.
Impact of 2008 global economic crisis on suicide: time trend study in 54 countries
17 September 2013
Researchers are suggesting that the 2008 global economic crisis could be to blame for the increase in suicide rates in European and American countries, particularly among males and in countries with higher levels of job losses. The findings, led by researchers at the universities of Bristol, Oxford and Hong Kong, are published today on bmj.com.
Prestigious scholarship sees historian Emily head for New York
17 September 2013
A PhD student from the University of Bristol has been awarded a prestigious scholarship to study in New York, where she will look at how history can inform present day debates about humanitarian policy.
Bristol Nanomaterials Centre goes to China
16 September 2013
Staff and PhD students from the Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials have been visiting their counterparts in China.
Achilles’ heel of ice shelves is beneath the water, scientists reveal
15 September 2013
New research has revealed that more ice leaves Antarctica by melting from the underside of submerged ice shelves than was previously thought, accounting for as much as 90 per cent of ice loss in some areas.
Functioning ‘mechanical gears’ seen in nature for the first time
12 September 2013
Previously believed to be only man-made, a natural example of a functioning gear mechanism has been discovered in a common insect - showing that evolution developed interlocking cogs long before we did. The juvenile Issus - a plant-hopping insect found in gardens across Europe - has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing ‘teeth’ that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal’s legs when it launches into a jump.
A microbe’s trick for staying young
12 September 2013
While aging remains an inevitable fact of life, an international team involving researchers from the University of Bristol and the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany has found that this is not the case for a common species of yeast microbe which has evolved to stay young.
Stay healthy during pregnancy to keep lead levels low
6 September 2013
New research from the Children of the 90s study at the University of Bristol shows that mothers who drank alcohol and coffee, smoked and had a coal fire in their home during pregnancy were likely to have higher levels of lead in their blood than women who didn’t. Dietary calcium and iron seemed to have a protective effect.