News: July 2020
Teenage friends praised for immense bravery in sea rescue
A Bangor University student is praised by Police the his immense bravery in rushing into the sea to save a man.
Dyfed-Powys Police Superintendent Ifan Charles met with Marine Biology and Oceanography student Tom Williams and friends Ciaran Phillips and Morgan Discombe-Hughes to thank them for their actions after a man got into difficulty on the water’s edge.
Publication date: 23 July 2020
We discovered a new species, but war means it may now remain hidden forever
The world has a new species. My colleagues and I were hugely excited to announce it but, alas, this stingray – a distant cousin of sharks – can’t be claimed to be a particularly spectacular or awe-inspiring animal. It’s small – about the size of an outstretched hand – and, as far as we know, plain, without distinctive markings. But what’s special about this stingray is where it came from, how we came to discover it – and why we may never see it again.
This article by Alec Moore, Post-Doctoral Fisheries Scientist, at the School of Ocean Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Publication date: 23 July 2020
School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering hosts a virtual celebration for graduates
On the 16th July 2020, the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering hosted a virtual celebration for the graduating students. A formal graduation ceremony is planned for 2021, but the School wanted to celebrate their graduating students and award prizes.
Publication date: 21 July 2020
Students rewarded for supporting their peers
Two mature students have been rewarded for supporting their fellow students at Bangor University.
Jodie Jackman and Dinah Jennings have both been active and effective in the University’s Peer Guide Scheme, which enables students to help and support new students at the University.
Publication date: 17 July 2020
Postgraduate grants for Bangor University students
Grants are being made available for Welsh students to study postgraduate degrees at Bangor University.
Publication date: 16 July 2020
Super-lenses made from spider webs and laser-based advanced manufacturing to be discussed in public seminar.
Super-lenses made from spider webs and laser-based advanced manufacturing are just two of the topics being discussed by world-class Bangor University academics in an upcoming public seminar.
Publication date: 10 July 2020
How animals are coping with the global ‘weirding’ of the Earth’s seasons
This article by Dr Line Cordes, Lecturer in Marine Biology, School of Ocean Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The UK’s weather did a somersault in the first half of 2020, as the wettest February on record gave way to the sunniest spring. Climate change has warped the environmental conditions that might be considered normal, creating progressively weirder seasons that cause havoc for society. Longer, drier summers increase the risk of crop failure and fires, floods engulf homes, and less winter snowfall and earlier thaws threaten freshwater supplies.
Publication date: 9 July 2020
Forest Research wins funding for collaborative research into oak tree health
A pioneering new project to investigate the health of our British oak trees has been the go-ahead thanks to almost £2 million investment from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Defra and Scottish Government.
The project, named ‘BAC-STOP’ (Bacteria: Advancement of Control and Knowledge to Save Threatened Oak and Protect them for Future Generations’), will focus on Acute Oak Decline (AOD) - an emerging complex disease in which bacteria cause stem lesions on native species of British oak.
Publication date: 8 July 2020
Solving mysteries with Leverhulme Research Grants
Three awards to Bangor University will enable scientists to solve some of the unanswered mysteries of science and record one of the earth’s most diverse ecosystems.
Publication date: 7 July 2020
The impact of climate change on marmot survival differs between seasons
Many animals have evolved life cycles and strategies (patterns of survival and reproduction) in line with predictable seasonal variation in environmental conditions. Short and mild summers produce bursts of vegetation and food, the perfect time to give birth to young. Long, harsh winters when food is scarce have shaped animals to largely depend on fat reserves for energy, and in extreme cases, to hibernate or migrate.
However, climate change is altering these seasonal conditions to which many species are adapted. Temperatures are increasing, winter snowfall is declining, snow is melting earlier, summers are extending, and the frequency of extreme events (e.g., droughts, floods) are on the rise.
Publication date: 7 July 2020
Work begins on UK system for estimating COVID-19 cases from wastewater
Scientists will develop a standardised UK-wide system for detecting coronavirus in wastewater, in order to provide an early warning of future outbreaks and reduce reliance on costly testing of large populations.
The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease - are believed to shed the virus in their faeces, even if they are asymptomatic, so sewage surveillance is widely seen as a promising way of identifying future disease hotspots.
Publication date: 2 July 2020