Latest News

Eight incarceration and escape films to watch

As we practice social distancing and stay confined to our homes, here is a list of eight inspiring prison movies to watch during the ‘lockdown’.

We asked Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film at the School of Music and Media for some recommendations for films about incarcration and lock-down situations... we’re glad to say that his recommendations all have positive endings!

Publication date: 3 April 2020

Bangor University contributes to global COVID-19 related research

Scientists at Bangor University are joining the global fight against the current COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
A group of leading academics are to pool their expertise to develop new ways of mass-monitoring levels of SARS-Cov-2, the virus which causes the newly named COVID-19 illness.

Publication date: 3 April 2020

Virtual fieldtrip for Bangor wetland students

Despite the nation-wide lockdown students at Bangor University still managed to go on a fieldtrip around Anglesey recently.

No rules on social distancing were broken though as the fieldtrip was held virtually as part of the university’s move to online teaching during the Coronavirus situation.

The ‘virtual fieldtrip’ was part of a third year module in the School of Natural Sciences, organised by Senior Lecturer, Dr Christian Dunn.

Publication date: 2 April 2020

Bangor University to host 250 temporary hospital beds for COVID-19 patients

Bangor University’s sports and leisure facilities will be converted into a temporary hospital to provide beds for patients with COVID-19 symptoms.

Around 250 additional beds will be made available to the NHS at Canolfan Brailsford as part of the partnership between the University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Publication date: 1 April 2020

Bangor University responding to the challenge 

Bangor University is currently doing several different things to help the Health Service and the local community respond to the current Coronavirus crisis. 

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Iwan Davies, said: "This is a very difficult time, and as well as continuing to educate students online, we have been responding directly to support the front line as they deal with the crisis.” 

Publication date: 1 April 2020

People Power for PPE

Community, academia and businesses are coming together in North Wales in order to create and distribute free visor shields for medical staff and carers.

On Friday a small collective decided to embark on a project to design, print, assemble and provide PPE Visors to the NHS, following approaches from senior medical staff. A design was created, approved by front line DRs and distributed for production within a day. Those with 3D printers got wind, and people started printing.

Publication date: 1 April 2020

Coronavirus: experts in evolution explain why social distancing feels so unnatural

For many people, the most distressing part of the coronavirus pandemic is the idea of social isolation. If we get ill, we quarantine ourselves for the protection of others. But even among the healthy, loneliness may be setting in as we engage with pre-emptive social distancing.

This article by Isabelle Catherine Winder, Lecturer in Zoology, School of Natural Sciences and Vivien Shaw, Lecturer in Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Publication date: 26 March 2020

Snake venom evolved for prey not protection

It is estimated that every year, over 100,000 human deaths can be attributed to snakebite from the world’s 700 venomous snake species – all inflicted in self-defence when the snakes feel threatened by encroaching humans. However, a new piece of research concludes that snake venom did not evolve as a defence mechanism.

Publication date: 25 March 2020

Why do snakes produce venom? Not for self-defence, study shows

Snake venoms vary a lot between species in their make-up and effects, which is a major problem for developing treatments. Snakes use these venoms for two main purposes. The first is foraging, where venom helps the snake to overpower its prey before eating it. The second is self-defence against potential predators – this is how millions of people get bitten, and around 100,000 killed, every year.

This article by Wolfgang Wüster, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Bangor University and Kevin Arbuckle, Senior Lecturer in Biosciences, Swansea University is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Publication date: 24 March 2020

Entrepreneurial students put Bangor University in a top spot 

More Bangor University students began their own businesses than at any other university in Wales according to a new survey.    

The study of 404,182 students at eight Welsh universities analysed the number of graduates who started their own business, moved into senior positions to run established businesses, or became freelancers. It also placed Bangor University second highest in Wales for all these categories, with just under one in ten (9.13%) graduates choosing to put their entrepreneurial skills to the test.  

Publication date: 24 March 2020

IMPORTANT UPDATE Suspension of Teaching 16-20 March

Due to the fast changing situation regarding Covid-19, and in line with many other universities, the University Executive has taken the decision to suspend all face to face teaching with immediate effect, until the end of the academic year. Instead, from Monday 23rd March all teaching and other learning materials will be delivered online to enable you to continue with your studies. This applies to undergraduate and taught postgraduate students.

Publication date: 15 March 2020

Commemorating 70 Years since the Bethesda Bomber Tragedy

In the early hours of 15 March 1950 an Avro Lincoln bomber from RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire crashed above Bethesda. None of the crew, aged between 22 and 32, survived.

In this, the 80th year since the Battle of Britain, Dr Hazel Pierce, Associate Member of the Stephen Colclough Centre for the History and Culture of the Book at Bangor University, has looked into this accident to remember the six men who lost their lives and to recognise the efforts of local people who helped in the rescue attempt that night.

Publication date: 13 March 2020

Nuclear agreement between Wales and Canada

Universities from Wales and Canada have joined forces to develop pioneering nuclear technologies together.

Bangor University, in North Wales, and the University of New Brunswick (UNB), in Canada, are to begin collaborating on new energy sources.

Publication date: 12 March 2020

Huge ecosystems could collapse in less than 50 years – new study

We know that ecosystems under stress can reach a point where they rapidly collapse into something very different. The clear water of a pristine lake can turn algae-green in a matter of months. In hot summers, a colourful coral reef can soon become bleached and virtually barren. And if a tropical forest has its canopy significantly reduced by deforestation, the loss of humidity can cause a shift to savanna grassland with few trees.

This article by John Dearing, Professor of Physical Geography, University of Southampton; Greg Cooper, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Development, Environment and Policy, SOAS, University of London, and Simon Willcock, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Geography, Bangor University is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Publication date: 11 March 2020

The Amazon rainforest could be gone within a lifetime

Large ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest, will collapse and disappear alarmingly quickly, once a crucial tipping point is reached, according to calculations based on real-world data.

Writing in Nature Comms (10.1038/s41467-020-15029-x), researchers from Bangor University, Southampton University and The School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, reveal the speed at which ecosystems of different sizes will disappear, once they have reached a point beyond which they collapse – transforming into an alternative ecosystem.

Publication date: 10 March 2020

Bangor’s elite athletes awarded Sports Scholarships

Every year, Bangor University supports students with sporting ability by offering a number of Sports Scholarships for students studying for a degree in any subject area.

These Sports Scholarships are awarded to recognise and support sporting excellence and achievement. They are aimed at helping talented and high-performance students to combine their academic study and sporting performance to assist them in achieving their full potential.

Publication date: 26 February 2020