The custom of making resolutions for the New Year goes back to the Medieval period. As the year end approaches, a University of Exeter historian has shed light on how the future was predicted centuries ago.
The research shows how the Christian clergy supported agricultural superstitions but condemned what they perceived as magic rituals. The day of the week on which Christmas or New Year fell was used as an indicator to tell how the year would turn out.
According to one set of predictions, if Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, then Lent would be windy, summer would be dry,...
Sleeping away from the family home is linked to health risks for badgers, new research by the University of Exeter and the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has revealed.
Scientists found that badgers which strayed away from the family burrow in favour of sleeping in outlying dens were more likely to carry TB.
The 12-month study of 40 wild badgers was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and could have implications for the management of bovine TB in parts of the UK.
The behaviour of individual animals is thought to be a...
The University of Exeter has appointed Dr Claire Baines as Chief Operating Officer. She will join the University on 1 March 2013.
This is a new role for the University and comprises overall management responsibility for a wide range of activities, including HR, student recruitment, IT, libraries, catering and accommodation, marketing, fundraising, estates and planning and international relations.
Dr Baines previously performed a similar role at De Montfort University. Prior to this she held a range of senior management positions at the University of Sheffield, including the...
Nobel Laureates and world renowned scientists will gather on 9 December 2012 in Stockholm for the inaugural Nobel Week Dialogue, and University of Exeter philosopher of science Professor John Dupré will be among them.
The one-day meeting, on the theme of The Genetic Revolution and its Impact on Society, will take place the day before this year's Nobel Prize award ceremony as a special celebration of the 50th anniversary of the award of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins.
New research shows that concerns about governmental failure to act effectively and fairly in the aftermath of extreme weather events can affect the degree to which residents are willing to protect themselves.
The findings of a team led by scientists at the University of Exeter could prove key to establishing how society should evolve to cope with more turbulent weather and more frequent mega storms.
The team examined attitudes in Cumbria in north west England and Galway in western Ireland, which were both hit by heavy flooding in November 2009. Record...
Playing football or running for at least three hours a week could help teenagers counteract the potential damage to their bone health caused by prolonged spells of sitting.
An international team, including an expert from the University of Exeter, has found evidence that adolescents who spend long periods engaged in certain sedentary activities are more likely to have low bone mineral content in parts of the body where it can be an indicator of the risk of developing osteoporosis.
In the research, which has just been published by BMC Public Health, the team...
A University of Exeter academic has been hailed as one of Europe’s best young researchers when she received an award in recognition of her work in making complex science easily accessible.
Dr Claire Belcher received the European Commission’s new Marie Curie Prize for outstanding achievement in research, for her work in science communication as a Marie Curie Research Fellow.
Dr Belcher studies the influence of forest fires in the Earth's geological past and their impact on plant and animal life. She has brought the subject to a wider audience through her...
Dr Annette Plaut from the University of Exeter is swapping a lab coat for legislation as she visits Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw at the House of Commons. The visit is for a ‘Week in Westminster’, which commenced on Monday 29 October as part of a unique ‘pairing’ scheme run by the Royal Society – the UK’s national academy of science.
During her visit, Dr Plaut is shadowing the MP to learn about his work, as well as attending a House of Commons Science and Technology Committee meeting and Prime Minister’s Question Time, and meeting Professor Sir John Beddington, Government Chief...
Opportunities week arrives at the University of Exeter from 29th October to 2nd November. It’s an exciting and varied programme of activities offered by the Grand Challenges team, disciplines and colleges, the Guild and the University.
First year students will be given tasters of some of the University’s best research, which addresses some of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century; such as water security, child health, ageing, climate change, and international security. In June 2013 the students themselves will participate in these Grand Challenges, and produce...
Scientists at the University of Exeter have been heavily involved in developing a school which is in the national top ten for energy efficiency.
Experts at the University of Exeter’s Centre for Energy and the Environment have been studying the first year of operation of Montgomery Primary School in St Thomas, Exeter.
They say the school uses less than a third of the energy of a typical school, which puts it in the top 10 per cent of schools nationally for energy efficiency.
The Earl of Wessex officially opened the school last week and described it as a ‘fantastic...
