News: April 2018
Reefs that experience high frequency temperature variability most likely to resist coral bleaching
As scientists and conservationists race to work out the best way to conserve the world’s coral reefs, a new study reveals why some reefs appear to be more resistant to coral bleaching during ocean warming events and calls for higher-resolution data to be collected.
Publication date: 30 April 2018
How can we communicate all that nature does for us?
As a conservation professor I believe people need to understand why protecting nature matters to them personally. Appealing to human self-interest has generated support for conservation in Switzerland, for example, where the government protects forests partly because they help prevent landslides and avalanches , or among communities in Botswana which conserve wildlife partly because of the value of trophy hunting. But this understanding risks being obscured by unhelpful arguments over terminology.
Publication date: 27 April 2018
Bangor appears in UK Top 10 League Tables
Bangor University is among the top 10 universities in the UK for six subjects taught at the university according to the Complete University Guide for 2019. The University appears third in the Wales University table, coming equal 62nd overall in the first free-to access complete ranking of all the UKs universities.
Publication date: 25 April 2018
Bangor weightlifters bring home the gold
Bangor University students secured podium positions at the British University and College Weightlifting Championships which took place at St Mary’s University, Twickenham recently.
Publication date: 25 April 2018
Conservation through religion? Scientists confirm that sacred natural sites confer biodiversity advantage
Sacred natural sites (SNS) are found all over the world. They are thought to play an important role in conservation but until recently there was little systematic investigation of this claim. Now, new research published in the journal Biological Conservation by an international and multidisciplinary team, led by the University of Ioannina and including Bangor University, has shown that there is a notable conservation benefit to SNS. The researchers of the project, known as THALIS-SAGE, chose for their study the region of Epirus, in north-western Greece, that is host to numerous sacred groves protected through religion for hundreds of years.
Publication date: 20 April 2018
Major Coffee chain’s interest in Biobased and compostable plastic coffee cup lids
With 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups being used in Britain each year, there are almost as many plastic lids being thrown away. Scientists are working with industry in to develop a new compostable plastic, which will withstand the hot liquids and can be specially moulded for coffee cup lids.
Publication date: 20 April 2018
Learned Society of Wales appoints four Bangor Fellows
The Learned Society of Wales has this year named four academics from Bangor University among the new Fellows elected to the Society from across the arts, humanities, sciences and public service sectors. Election to Fellowship is a public recognition of academic excellence, and LSW Fellowship is keenly competed. Fellows are elected following a rigorous examination of their achievements in their relevant fields.
Publication date: 19 April 2018
Flushed with success: How the National Trust plans to stop energy going down the drain.
Over the past 18 months the National Trust has spent almost half million pounds at Penrhyn Castle on projects to create sustainable energy and hot water - yet much of this energy goes to waste - simply flushed down the drain. To combat this the team at Penrhyn Castle, in collaboration with Bangor University and Trinity College Dublin, are embarking on an exciting new heat recovery project to make use of the huge amount of hot water that usually goes, quite literally, to waste.
Publication date: 17 April 2018
Supercontinent formation may be linked to a cycle of supertides
Earth’s crust is made up of fractured slabs of rock, like a broken shell on an egg. These plates move around at speeds of about 5cm per year – and eventually this movement brings all the continents together and form what is known as a supercontinent. The last supercontinent on Earth was Pangaea , which existed between 300-180m years ago. This collection and dispersion of the continents is known as a supercontinent cycle, and the world now is 180m years into the current cycle. It is predicted that the next supercontinent will form in about 250m years, when the Atlantic and Pacific oceans both close and a new ocean forms where the large Asian plate splits. This article by Mattias Green , Reader in Physical Oceanography at the School of Ocean Sciences was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article .
Publication date: 12 April 2018
Bangor University Student successes in LifeStart challenges
Two Bangor University students have been successful in recent ‘LifeStart Challenges’, winning substantial sums of money and valuable experiences. Bangor University is one of only 12 universities taking part in LifeStart – a new challenge platform developed by Virgin StartUp. LifeStart aims to help students find their edge and achieve greater career and financial success by helping them learn critical enterprise and financial skills through participation in prize-winning Challenges.
Publication date: 10 April 2018