Oxygen

Humble moss helped create our oxygen-rich atmosphere

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sat, 08/20/2016 - 10:47am

The evolution of the first land plants including mosses may explain a long-standing mystery of how Earth’s atmosphere became enriched with oxygen, according to an international study led by the University of Exeter.

Oxygen in its current form first appeared in Earth’s atmosphere some 2.4 billion years ago, in an incident known as the Great Oxidation Event. However, it was not until roughly 400 million years ago that this vital compound first approached modern levels in the atmosphere. This shift steered the trajectory of life on Earth and researchers have long debated how oxygen...

Firefighters become a pet’s best friend

Pets across Devon and Somerset have a better chance of surviving household fires – thanks to new oxygen masks for animals being carried on selected fire engines.

The funding for the sets of specially-designed masks has been provided by Pets at Home through its instore reward scheme.

Eight fire stations in the Devon and Somerset area are to benefit from the scheme: Barnstaple, Bridgwater, Brixham, Burnham-on-Sea, North Tawton, Ottery St Mary, Topsham and Wellington.

Station Manager Dean Hastie, of Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service, said: “I appreciate...

Topsham and Exeter welcome Suffrage Play

Today (Thursday 4 July), residents of Topsham will welcome Dreadnought South West Association into the town as they continue their journey in celebration of the centenary of The Great Suffrage Pilgrimage. At 11am, the cast of Oxygen will perform Episodes from the play outside Topsham Museum, which will be followed by a commemorative land journey to the train station and on into Exeter, where Oxygen will be performed in full (at 3pm and 7.30pm) at Rougemont Gardens. On Friday 5 July, Oxygen – which has been written by Exeter-based playwright Natalie McGrath – will be performed at the...

Oxygen – A play by Natalie McGrath

Event Date: 
03/07/2013 - 7:00pm to 05/07/2013 - 7:00pm
Venue: 
Various venues

Imagine that fifteen women gather. They have a conversation that maps eight geographic arteries across England and Wales, like points on a compass. These arteries reach out towards a singular destination like roots forming a tree. The destination is Hyde Park. At Land’s End, a group of women start putting one foot in front of the other. For them there is no going back. It’s June 1913 and the Great Suffrage Pilgrimage begins.

Oxygen is the first production from Dreadnought South West Association, a new organisation that works with arts and heritage to champion women’s voices and...

New arts project celebrating the Great 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage asks: ‘what are the important issues for women today?’

The centenary of a historic women’s rights march from Land’s End to London will be celebrated through June and July by an ambitious project called Dreadnought South West, which will feature a touring production of a new play, Oxygen, by Exeter-based playwright Natalie McGrath, as well as a series of responding arts and heritage events and commemorative land journeys. The project has been made possible through generous public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, as well as support from Exeter City Council.

In June 1913, a group of women started walking...