DCF to host awards with BBC Radio Devon

Authored by LauraHew
Posted: Thu, 07/10/2014 - 8:49am

Devon Community Foundation are set to hold their annual Volunteer of the Year awards in October at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter, honouring the hard work and achievements of the hundreds of volunteers contributing to community groups across Devon.

The awards will have an added element of excitement as BBC Radio will be broadcasting the awards live with David Fitzgerald as host for the evening.

In 2013 BBC Radio Devon selected the Foundation as their Charity of the Year and together they raised nearly £37,000 helping local people to build better and more...

Entries open for annual Startups Awards

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 07/10/2014 - 6:47am

The 11th annual Startups Awards have launched and are now open for businesses across the South West to submit their entries.

Sponsored by Simply Business and organised by Startups.co.uk, the number one website for start-ups and small businesses, the awards recognise the success of Britain’s newest businesses which have been trading for three years or less.

Previous winners of the Awards have included some of the UK’s fastest rising brands, such as BeatThatQuote.com (sold to Google for £37.7m), The Cambridge Satchel Company, Raspberry Pi, Ella’s Kitchen, Naked Wines,...

Researchers discover ‘Nano-pixels’ that promise thin, flexible high-res displays

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 07/09/2014 - 11:33pm

A new discovery will make it possible to create pixels just a few hundred nanometres across that could pave the way for extremely high-resolution and low-energy thin, flexible displays for applications such as ‘smart’ glasses, synthetic retinas, and foldable screens.

A team of UK scientists, including Professor David Wright from the University of Exeter, explored the link between the electrical and optical properties of phase change materials (materials that can change from an amorphous to a crystalline state).

They found that by sandwiching a seven nanometre thick layer of...

First Sleep Therapy Clinic opens in Exeter

Authored by PMM_2014
Posted: Wed, 07/09/2014 - 5:06pm

The first adult sleep therapy clinic of its kind has opened in the South West.

Based in Exeter, the clinic provides expert adult sleep therapy with treatment for insomnia and related sleep problems.

Run by Sleep Physiologist Stephanie Romiszewski, the course of treatment combines a scientific knowledge base with a sleep specific form of cognitive behavioral therapy to offer an effective long-term treatment for insomnia and other sleep issues.

Stephanie said: “We all know how it feels to get one bad night's sleep- and how good it feels when you finally get that...

Rotten egg gas holds key to healthcare therapies

It may smell of flatulence and have a reputation for being highly toxic, but when used in the right tiny dosage, hydrogen sulfide is now being being found to offer potential health benefits in a range of issues, from diabetes to stroke, heart attacks and dementia.

A new compound (AP39), designed and made at the University of Exeter, could hold the key to future therapies, by targeting delivery of very small amounts of the substance to the right (or key) places inside cells.

Scientists in Exeter have already found that the compound protects mitochondria – the “powerhouse” of...

Chiefs a different level says Francis

Newcomer Tomas Francis believes the professionalism on show at Exeter Chiefs is on a "different level" to anything he has experienced before in his playing career.

The 22-year-old is one of seven new signings that head coach Rob Baxter has added to the playing ranks this summer, joining the Devon outfit from Championship side London Scottish.

But already the young prop says the step up in standard at the Aviva Premiership club is clearly evident and that he knows to succeed he will have to put in the hard graft this pre-season.

"From day one the boys have made me...

Nursery brings back flowers to city centre

Exeter’s High Street is enjoying a welcome injection of colour thanks to the goodwill of a local nursery.

Tim and Simon Boyce have kindly offered to sponsor and plant up some of the hanging baskets in the High street for a second successive summer.

The brothers, who own and run a specialist hanging basket nursery at Shillingford st George near Alphington, had noticed that due to Council cut backs, the hanging baskets near McGaheys on the High Street had not been refilled. They decided that it would be a nice gesture to fill the baskets and maintain them during the summer...

Students recognised for their innovation

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 07/09/2014 - 3:40pm

Four young Devon-based students have received a prestigious award recognising talent in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at this year’s Enterprising Young Devon Awards.

The accolades, sponsored by Devon County Council, were held at the University of Exeter’s Big Bang Fair South West.

Students from South Dartmoor Academy, Braunton Academy, Tavistock College and Kingsbridge Community College beat off 450 competitors from 36 schools in the region, all aged between 11 and 18 years, to have their projects crowned the best in demonstrating innovation, creativity...

MP Supports Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness Session

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 07/09/2014 - 2:43pm

Neil Parish MP for Tiverton and Honiton attended a drop-in session at Westminster, supported by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and Dogs Trust, with Royal Mail Group Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing and Sustainability, Shaun Davis. Around 70 MPs attended and the session provided them with advice on how to react around dogs when out in their local areas.

This forms part of Royal Mail’s wider campaign to reduce the number of dog attacks on postal workers and to encourage responsible dog ownership during Dog Awareness Week which runs to the 4 July. However, postal workers are not...

Dog walkers urged to pick up after their pets

With almost half of the 5,000 people who visit East Devon’s Pebblebed Heaths every day walking their dogs on the Commons, landowner Clinton Devon Estates is taking steps to help people pick up after their pets.

One of the biggest complaints among visitors to the Heaths, which are one of the region’s most important wildlife sites, is dog fouling, so now Clinton Devon Estates is starting a trial of dog bins at a number of key car parks on the Commons.

The initiative is in collaboration with East Devon District Council, whose dog warden will be keeping an eye how the public...

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