Exeter university

Scottish mountain man’s legacy supports Exeter-led expedition to combat elephant decline in Kenya

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 04/22/2016 - 10:21pm

A ground-breaking expedition that aims to save African elephants while encouraging the creation of sustainable local business in rural Kenya has won a funding award run by a Scottish wild land charity.

The Bee Elephant Enterprise project (BEE) aims to build beehive fences around farmland in the Tsavo National Park in deter elephants – which are afraid of bees – from destroying crops.

Small farmers, often desperately poor, can lose their livelihood overnight from a single elephant raid. Elephants in turn are often killed in retaliation.

By deterring the animals, the...

Easier diagnosis for fungal infection of the lung

A new clinical imaging method developed in collaboration with a University of Exeter academic may enable doctors to tackle one of the main killers of patients with weakened immune systems sooner and more effectively.

The spores of the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus are tiny, everywhere in the air and breathed in by humans every day.

They do not usually cause a problem for healthy people as their immune systems kill the spores before they can grow and infect the body. But in patients with an immune system weakened by leukaemia or bone marrow transplantation, the fungus faces...

Dementia: New insights into causes of loss of orientation

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Mon, 01/18/2016 - 10:54am

New research has revealed how disease-associated changes in two interlinked networks within the brain may play a key role in the development of the symptoms of dementia.

The University of Exeter Medical School led two studies, each of which moves us a step closer to understanding the onset of dementia, and potentially to paving the way for future therapies. Both studies, part-funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, are published in the Journal of Neuroscience and involved collaboration with the University of Bristol.

Both studies shed light on how two parts of the brain’s ‘GPS’...

SETsquared ranked top university business incubator in world

University business incubator SETsquared, a partnership involving the University of Exeter, has been ranked as the best in the world by UBI Global.

SETsquared, the enterprise partnership of the universities of Exeter, Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey, has been recognised as the best performing university business incubator on the globe at its investor showcase event in London today (Wednesday 25 November).

From start up only 13 years ago, SETsquared has supported over 1,000 hi-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than £1bn of investment, as well as contributing...

Marine airgun noise could cause turtle trauma

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Wed, 11/25/2015 - 10:13am

Scientists from the University of Exeter are warning of the risks that seismic surveys may pose to sea turtles. Widely used in marine oil and gas exploration, seismic surveys use airguns to produce sound waves that penetrate the sea floor to map oil and gas reserves.

The review, published in the journal Biological Conservation, found that compared to marine mammals and fish, turtles are largely ignored in terms of research attention and are often omitted from policy guidelines designed to mitigate the environmental risks of seismic surveys.

Possible ramifications for...

Exeter academics recognised

Two rising research stars at the University of Exeter have been recognised by each receiving a highly prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize.

Climate scientist Dr James Screen and optical physicist Dr Jacopo Bertolotti have both been awarded prizes of £100,000 towards their continued research, in recognition of their respective work on rapid Arctic climate change and light scattering in fundamental physics.

The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded to researchers who have already had a significant international impact and whose future research career is exceptionally promising...

Exeter Provost joins high-level taskforce to tackle harassment on university campuses

Professor Janice Kay, Provost of the University of Exeter, has accepted an invitation to join a high level taskforce designed to address all forms of harassment on University campuses.

The influential taskforce, set up by Universities UK, will explore what more can be done by universities across the country to prevent students from becoming victims of harassment and hate crimes on campus.

The taskforce has been established following a request from Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, in September 2015.

Professor Janice Kay commented: “I am...

Intensive farming link to Bovine TB

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Wed, 11/11/2015 - 8:56am

Intensive farming practices such as larger herd size, maize growth, fewer hedgerows and the use of silage have been linked to higher risk of bovine TB, new research has concluded.

A study by the University of Exeter, funded by BBSRC and published in the Royal Society journal Biological Letters, analysed data from 503 farms which have suffered a TB breakdown alongside 808 control farms in areas of high TB risk.

Dr Fiona Mathews, Associate Professor in Mammalian Biology, who led the study, said: “TB is absolutely devastating for farming, and it’s essential that workable...

Sitting for long periods not bad for health

New research from the University of Exeter and University College London has challenged claims that sitting for long periods increases the risk of an early death even if you are otherwise physically active.

The study, which is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, followed more than 5,000 participants for 16 years (making it one of the longest follow-up studies in this area of research) and found that sitting, either at home or at work, is not associated with an increased risk of dying.

These findings challenge previous research suggesting that the act of...

Michelmores awards 2015 land law prize

Authored by Michelmores
Posted: Mon, 10/05/2015 - 8:29am

South West law firm Michelmores LLP has awarded Kelly Newman, a third-year student at Exeter University with its 2015 Land Law prize for achieving the best results in her year – Kelly scored an impressive 78/100.

The Firm has been awarding the Land Law prize to the student with the best performance on that course at Exeter University for over 20 years.

Kelly was presented with a certificate and a cheque for her achievement at a celebratory lunch at Michelmores' Exeter office – joined by Partner Joanna Damerell and Solicitor Holly Dobbins from the Real Estate team....

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