Latest Open University Stories
When it comes to mating, timing is everything for amphibians. Researchers have found that the mating activity of amphibians is synchronized by the full Moon. The fascinating fact that frogs, toads and newts across the globe seem to enjoy mating by moonlight has never before been noticed. It appears that in order to make sure that a sufficient number of males and females join up at the same time, they use the lunar cycle to co-ordinate their gatherings. This proves to be an ingenious tactic....
By Katie Bodinger HIGHER education institutions in Wales are working together to bridge a shortage of secondary teachers in certain subjects. The free Prepare to Teach course is being offered in maths, science, design and technology, modern foreign languages, English, music, information technology, Welsh and religious education. It is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (Hefcw). The 2008-09 course, which starts this month, offers participants flexible start...
By Jolley, David W Widdowson, Mike; Self, Stephen Abstract: Research from biological and geological sources has highlighted the role of volcanoes in the outgassing of P, and thermal fixation and subsequent atmospheric oxidation of NO^sub x^ in volcanic environments. The impact of these nutrient fluxes on biological systems has been demonstrated on present-day Hawai'i, and here we consider the impact on the plant communities within a large igneous province (LIP). The Miocene Columbia River...
Musicians and scientists share their passion for fossils in a new TV series When it comes to firing the British public with enthusiasm for old rocks, few people could be better qualified than Dr Hermione Cockburn. The presenter of Fossil Detectives, a new series created by the Open Unversity and the BBC Natural History unit, Cockburn is an earth scientist and Open University tutor, who left full-time academia five years ago to pursue a career in science television. She's been seen in What...
By April Marciszewski, Tulsa World, Okla. Aug. 3--It's about caring for the entire community, not just individual patients. It's about harnessing the altruism of first-year medical and physician assistant students before the hard work of school wears them down. It's about walking down the street from a hospital, as University of Oklahoma-Tulsa President Dr. Gerry Clancy did almost 15 years ago in Iowa, and taking medical care to a homeless shelter full of people with mental illnesses....
By Liz Lightfoot DISTANCE LEARNING Thanks to the web, a new generation of adults is getting a second shot at education. By Liz Lightfoot This month, the University of London's external programme celebrates its 150th anniversary - just as the distance-learning industry faces a turning point. Material once delivered by horse and cart is now available free of charge on the internet. The decision by two British universities to join their American counterparts in making lectures freely...
Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have found a fast and effective way to investigate important aspects of human ageing. Working at the University of Oxford and The Open University, Dr Lynne Cox and Dr Robert Saunders have discovered a gene in fruit flies that means flies can now be used to study the effects ageing has on DNA. In new work published today in the journal Aging Cell, the researchers demonstrate the value of this model in...
Farmers are upbeat about genetically modified crops, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). A group at the Open University, led by Professor Andy Lane, has taken the first systematic look at what large-scale, commodity farmers "“ not those mainly involved in organic growing - think about genetically-modified crops. We know how consumers, governments and the food industry regard GM, but this is the first proper look at the attitudes of the people...
NASA -- Open University researchers have uncovered startling new evidence about an extreme period of a sudden, fatal dose of global warming some 180 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs. The scientists' findings could provide vital clues about climate change happening today and in the future. The OU Department of Earth Sciences team, PhD student Dave Kemp and supervisors Drs. Angela Coe and Anthony Cohen, along with Dr. Lorenz Schwark of the University of Cologne, discovered...
