News: December 2015

New Ashoka rice variety brings food security to millions

Around a million smallholders and their families in east and west India are enjoying greater food security thanks to work by researchers at Bangor University in Wales. Food security is a phrase that’s bandied about, but increasing food security can have real impact on people’s lives, and can come about by different means.

Publication date: 18 December 2015

Bangor University’s part in the world’s largest Marine Reserve

Bangor University is playing a significant role in the management of the world’s largest marine reserve.

Publication date: 18 December 2015

“Darwin’s puddle” shows how new species can emerge without geographic separation

Cichlid fish from a tiny volcanic crater have been caught in the act of sympatric speciation Can new species really evolve if there is no physical boundary to drive genetic separation? Physical and genomic evidence from the 700-metre wide volcanic crater Lake Massoko appears to have caught the process in the act.

Publication date: 18 December 2015

Psychology PhD Studentships 2016

Publication date: 18 December 2015

A future where ‘smart’ contact lenses could predict your risk of suffering a common cold: Tear fluid antibodies and the common cold

Why is it that there are some people who can go a whole winter without so much as a sniffle, whilst others seem to catch every common cold that comes their way? A new study from Bangor University’s Extremes Research Group at the School of Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences , showed that it could be possible to predict the likelihood of participants succumbing to common cold symptoms by analyzing the level of antibodies in tear fluid.

Publication date: 16 December 2015

NERC-funded Envision Doctoral Training Partnership

Bangor University is a member of the prestigious NERC-funded Envision Doctoral Training Partnership ( http://www.envision-dtp.org/ ), together with the Universities of Lancaster and Nottingham, and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, British Geological Survey and Rothamsted Research.

Publication date: 15 December 2015

Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research and Impact

Publication date: 15 December 2015

£12m EU backed bio-refining research and innovation project gets the ‘green’ light

A new £12 million investment in Wales’ ‘green’ economy has been announced by Welsh Government Finance and Government Business Minister, Jane Hutt recently.

Publication date: 14 December 2015

New long-range micro backpacks for bees could provide vital information

Harnessing the bee’s own electrical energy is the solution proposed by an exciting new project to create a lightweight and long range bee-tracking device. Bee populations, our vital crop and fruit pollinators, are in serious decline; their survival faces challenges on several fronts, insecticides and varroa mites to name a few.

Publication date: 14 December 2015

Pontio call for scientists and artists

Publication date: 14 December 2015

Hot bath after exercise improves performance in the heat

New research from Bangor University shows that taking a hot bath after exercise for 6 days reduces both resting and exercising body temperature and improves running performance in the heat. Prof Walsh, whose team lead the work, said “for sports people who compete in the heat, the new mantra should be: "train-cool, bathe-hot".

Publication date: 11 December 2015

When languages die, we lose a part of who we are

This article by Anouschka Foltz , Lecturer in Psycholinguistics, at the School of Lingusitics & English Language was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article . The 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) is in full gear and climate change is again on everyone’s mind. It conjures up images of melting glaciers, rising sea levels, droughts, flooding, threatened habitats, endangered species, and displaced people. We know it threatens biodiversity, but what about linguistic diversity?

Publication date: 9 December 2015

Deciphering the connection between language and meaning

A Bangor University academic discusses the connection between language and meaning in a new book published by Cambridge University Press. In The Crucible of Language , Professor Vyv Evans brings the latest findings together to explain what we know, and what we do, when we communicate using language. He shows how linguistic meaning arises, where it comes from, and the way in which language enables us to convey the meanings that can move us to tears, bore us to death, or make us dizzy with delight.

Publication date: 8 December 2015

Prof Dean Williams influences NICE Guidelines

Diabetic foot disease is an ever increasing problem and a major burden on healthcare provision worldwide. Foot ulceration is associated with serious complications including loss of limb that have devastating personal and socio-economic implications. The cost of diabetic foot care in England in 2010–2011 was estimated at £580m.

Publication date: 8 December 2015

Bangor University rewards outstanding impact from its research and enterprise activities

Projects which have benefited local and global communities were rewarded as Bangor University held its third annual Impact and Innovation Awards on the 3 rd December 2015.

Publication date: 4 December 2015

Undergraduate Internship Opportunity- The PhD Experience

Publication date: 2 December 2015