The past fortnight's news from schools around the University

Facility for the Upload of Large Files (fluff) will unavailable between 8-9.30am on 6 June The Facility for the upload of large Files (Fluff) will be unavailable due to essential maintenance work on Wednesday 6 June between 8.00am-9.30am…

Trench art features in new WW1 exhibition Research by Bristol archaeologist Dr Nicholas Saunders into the trench art made by soldiers in the First World War has helped to inform a major new exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Metz which focuses on one year of that conflict.

New book puts Olympics in the picture The first-ever book to offer an in-depth analysis of images and objects relating to the greatest sports show on earth is published this month by an art historian at the University of Bristol.

How plants chill out Plants elongate their stems when grown at high temperature to facilitate the cooling of their leaves, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in Current Biology. Understanding why plants alter their architecture in response to heat is important as increasing global temperatures pose a threat to future food production.

PhD Success Congratulations to Dan Whillis who had his PhD viva on 21 May.  His thesis 'Postsecular Awakening: Vision and Commitment in a Western Buddhist Community' was passed and praised by his examiners with no substantive corrections required.

Burmese cats to benefit from genetic test for newly discovered mutation Burmese cats to benefit from genetic test for newly discovered mutation

Relax, refuel and refresh to be exam-fit! Maximise your studying, revision and exam performance by looking after your body and mind. Make sure you include time for relaxing, refuelling and refreshing in your schedule. This project has been put together by Sport, Exercise & Health and the Students' Health Service and has received support from the Alumni Foundation.

Olympic Torch comes to Bristol! Watch the live video of the Olympic Torch Relay.

Dr Adam Dixon invited by Stanford as visiting Scholar Dr. Adam Dixon has been offered a Visiting Scholar position at Stanford University's Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects for the autumn term.

MB ChB Programme Newsletter Issue 10: May 2012 MB ChB Programme Newsletter Issue 10: May 2012

University hosts first UK Disabled Children Research Network Researchers working in the field of child disability gathered at the University of Bristol this week for the first meeting of the UK Disabled Children Research Network. The meeting, which was organised and chaired by David Abbott, Reader in Social Policy in the Norah Fry Research Centre at the School for Policy Studies, promises to be an annual event, with the Children’s Society pledging to host the 2013 event.

e-Reserves service update. The e-Reserves service is up and running again. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have any questions please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk      

e-Reserves Service unavailable. At the current time the e-Reserves service is unavailable for new and re-requests. Our colleagues in IS are looking in to the problem. All existing scans are still available through the menu links in the relevant Blackboard courses. If you have any questions please email bb-help@bristol.ac.uk.  

How plants chill out Plants elongate their stems when grown at high temperature to facilitate the cooling of their leaves, according to new research from the University of Bristol published today in Current Biology. Understanding why plants alter their architecture in response to heat is important as increasing global temperatures pose a threat to future food production.

3 - 2 Varsity victory for Bristol's Boat Club Bristol University win the Varsity Blade back from the University of the West of England!

Global Change Biology highlights bat research The leading journal in biodiversity conservation – Global Change Biology –currently highlights two papers on bats led by researchers in the School.

Research on avian conflicts showcased in special Science issue A special issue of Science has been published considering the deep evolutionary roots of violent confrontation, exploring the importance of war in our history and examining how such conflicts are mediated and thus enable peaceful coexistence. The issue focuses on human behaviour but contains an article showcasing the parallels established in non-human animals by the extensive research of Andy Radford on intergroup conflicts and intragroup affiliation in cooperatively breeding green woodhoopoes.

Dr Michael Naughton talks on BBC R4 about malpractice in criminal justice system Following the news that Sam Hallam, after seven years in prison for murder, had his conviction formally quashed, Dr Michael Naughton is featured in a discussion on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

Vet School academics featured on BBC Radio 4's More or Less Vet School academics featured on BBC Radio 4's More or Less

Dr Michael Naughton discusses miscarriages of justice on the BBC and in The Sun Dr Michael Naughton, Senior Lecturer in the Law School and SPAIS, and a leading expert on miscarriages of justice, has been interviewed on the Today programme and quoted in both The Sun and on the BBC website, in the wake of the quashing by the Court of Appeal of the conviction of Sam Hallam, who spent more than seven years in prison for a murder he always denied committing.

Computer Centre card access at all times From Friday 18 May 2012 the Computer Centre will only be accessible with the use of your University card…

‘It’s a dream come true’ as Law student Georgie is selected for the Olympics Star hockey player and Bristol University Law student Georgie Twigg says she will be going for gold after being named in Team GB’s squad for the Olympics. The University of Bristol has supported Georgie with her studies, allowing her to split the final year of her law degree over two years and arranging for all her seminars and tutorials to be on a Friday to accommodate her intense training schedule.

Law School's latest successful PhD: Ben-Jacob Diewitz The School of Law congratulates Ben-Jacob Diewitz who has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

How David Cameron's cuts strategy is losing him the support of Tory women Professor Sarah Childs and Dr Rosie Campbell have posted a blog on the Guardian newspaper website

Postgraduate awarded conference paper prize Nicole Killat of the Applied Spectroscopy Group was awarded the Best Student Paper - Honourable Mention Award at CS ManTech conference in Boston, USA.

Blackboard service announcement – Service Disruption 17th May The work on underlying systems yesterday took longer than expected. As a result Blackboard was not available between 8.30 and 10.00pm. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to you and your students. If you would like more information please contact the main IS Help desk.    

Professor Paula Giliker delivers lecture and address in Ljubljana Professor Paula Giliker will be delivering a lecture on European Contract Law entitled - A common sales law for Europe? - at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana on 24 May 2012, followed by a keynote address at the national Judicial Academy held at the Supreme Court of Slovenia on Friday 25 May 2012.

Politics and Matter Research Cluster Launched The School is pleased to announce the launch of a new human geography research cluster. The research cluster, called 'Politics and Matter', brings together human geographers from the History and Culture Research Group and the Political Economy Research Group to study the inter-relationships of politics and material geographies.

M.Sci. student's dissertation to be published in Oxford Review of Education Congratulations to Sam Rose a graduating M.Sci. student in 2011 whose dissertation 'A Benefit to the Poor? Re-evaluating Buckinghamshire's Grammar School System' has been revised and accepted for publication in the prestigious international journal, Oxford Review of Education.

Fascination of Plants Day The importance of having plants on our planet will be in the spotlight when thousands of plant scientists, botanists, farmers and gardeners from around the world come together to share their Fascination of Plants.

Prof Ruth Levitas interviewed on BBC R4 about the '120,000 troubled families' Professor Ruth Levitas' interview about the '120,000 troubled families' for BBC Radio 4's More or Less programme will be aired at 16.30 on Friday 18 May.

Science Faculty Colloquium: Professor Peter Higgs, FRS Professor Peter Higgs visits the School of Physics today.

Students' Health Exam Stress Week The Students' Health Service are running a series of interactive sessions to help with exam stress, revision and improve mental health well being.

East meets West at M-Shed An exhibition which explores how Eastern Europeans living in and around Bristol remember life under state socialism – and how their experiences have shaped their lives in the UK – takes place at M-Shed next Monday [21 May].

New findings show long-term effects of fathers’ job loss on children’s education There is a lot of evidence of the effect of job loss on peoples’ future earnings and employment opportunities. New research into the impact of fathers’ job loss on their child’s educational attainment, for the first time in the UK, finds significant effects on the next generation.

Chemistry final year project highlighted in Primary Science publication Chemistry final year project highlighted in Primary Science publication

Let’s get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts Let’s get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts

Ancient sea reptile with gammy jaw suggests dinosaurs got arthritis too Ancient sea reptile with gammy jaw suggests dinosaurs got arthritis too

Let’s get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts Scientists at the University of Bristol have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: how the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.

Professor Yongjin Zhang featured on BBC2 Newsnight Professor Yongjin Zhang featured in a live discussion with Jeremy Paxman, on BBC 2's Newsnight programme

Ancient sea reptile with gammy jaw suggests dinosaurs got arthritis too Imagine having arthritis in your jaw bones… if they’re over 2 metres long! A new study by scientists at the University of Bristol has found signs of a degenerative condition similar to human arthritis in the jaw of a pliosaur, an ancient sea reptile that lived 150 million years ago. Such a disease has never been described before in fossilised Jurassic reptiles.

Let’s get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts Scientists at the University of Bristol have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: how the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.

Bristol Chemists cause a stir University of Bristol chemist Professor Guy Lloyd-Jones and PhD student Alastair Lennox recently reported that the rate of hydrolysis of trifluoroborates can be strongly affected by the stirring rates, and by the shape, size and material of the reaction vessel

NERC funded EVOp project to run international conference The NERC funded EVOp project on which Dr Jim Freer is a Co-Investigator, is running an important international meeting at the Royal Geographical Society on 'Harnessing Emerging Technologies for Environmental Science'.

Postgraduate Open Day - 27 June The School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies will be holding a Postgraduate Open Day on Wednesday 27th June 2012.

Lessons for Labour after the Local Elections Dr Parveen Akhtar has article published in Prospect magazine

Angela Rowe on Bang Goes the Theory Angela Rowe and Jess Smith feature in this episode which sets out to discover what is behind our special relationship with dogs.

Proactis Bulletin - May 2012 - now available News and developments about Proactis and associated processes

Sales Invoices Training - course dates available Training dates for Sales Invoices are now available on the Staff Development website.

PhD student wins BSRD Postgraduate Prize PhD student Afya Al-Radha wins first prize for her poster presentation at the British Society for Restorative Dentistry Spring Meeting

Turnitin Service During the last 10 days there have been periods where the Turnitin service has been unavailable. As a matter of precaution if you have submissions where students are asked to submit directly to Turnitin please advise them to allow extra time to complete submission. We will update this blog when we are aware that Turnitin [...]

New study seeks volunteers to help older people experiencing pain It is estimated that up to 62 per cent of people aged over 75 have chronic pain, which is sometimes linked to medical problems such as arthritis. Despite its prevalence, older people are also more likely to suffer in silence. A new University of Bristol study is seeking volunteers to find out what research should be done in future for those suffering from chronic pain.

New study seeks volunteers to help older people experiencing pain It is estimated that up to 62 per cent of people aged over 75 have chronic pain, which is sometimes linked to medical problems such as arthritis. Despite its prevalence, older people are also more likely to suffer in silence. A new University of Bristol study is seeking volunteers to find out what research should be done in future for those suffering from chronic pain.

Undergraduate Ambassador Scheme (UAS) final year project highlighted in Primary Science publication Undergraduate Ambassador Scheme project published in Primary Science journal

Let’s get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts Scientists at the University of Bristol shed light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: how the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.

CMS experiment - 100 scientific results published The CMS collaboration has published its 100th scientific result based upon LHC collision data. Based upon work carried out by a team of collaborators from across the world, an analysis of around 500 trillion proton-proton collisions in 2011 has allowed the world’s best experimental limits to be set on the mass of a Higgs-like particle decaying to pairs of tau leptons.

New book puts Olympics in the picture The first-ever book to offer an in-depth analysis of images and objects relating to the greatest sports show on earth is published this month by an art historian at the University of Bristol. Olympic Visions by Dr Mike O’Mahony examines a fascinating array of visual materials that have been made to advertise, celebrate or commemorate the Games, ranging from paintings, drawings and sculptures to documentary film and photographs, posters, mascots and medals.

Blackboard service announcement – Service Disruption 17th May 5.15pm – 7.15pm On Thursday 17th May between 5.15pm and 7.15pm work is being undertaken on the University storage systems. This work will impact the Blackboard service. Please note that during this period we cannot guarantee that Blackboard will be available for use, so you should not plan to use Blackboard during this time. If you have any [...]

New study seeks volunteers to help older people experiencing pain Up to 62% of people over 75 have chronic pain but, despite its prevalence, older people are also more likely to suffer in silence. A new University of Bristol study is seeking volunteers to find out what research should be done for those suffering from chronic pain.