Science & Technology

night owl
Many of us would classify ourselves as either night owls or early birds. While early birds may thrive best and be more alert in the morning or early afternoon, night owls feel more active and productive in the late evening or wee hours. But have you ever wondered which tendency is the best for...
Greenland
A study has found that large quantities of global-warming gases could be escaping from melting ice on Greenland. An international team of researchers camped in Greenland for three months over the summer, analysing meltwater running off the island’s ice sheet. They found that six tons of the greenhouse gas methane passed through their small measuring site alone....
neanderthal
Abrupt changes in climate may have been a significant cause of Europe’s Neanderthal humans dying out. That’s according to recent research involving academics from Newcastle’s Northumbria University. A research team – also comprising academics from Germany, Romania and the USA – studied stalactites in two Romanian caves. As stalactites grow in thin...
Image courtesy of Haneesh K.M, from Flickr Creative Commons
Moths are not the most popular of insects. They’re considered dowdier than butterflies and accused – often unfairly – of munching our clothes. But researchers from Newcastle University have discovered that moths play a vital role in pollinating plants – helping out our beleaguered bees in the process – and...
image courtesy of ddqhu, from Flickr Creative Commons
With the country sweltering under drought-like conditions in recent weeks – and things even heating up here in the north east – it might be a comfort to know that some of the world’s greatest climate experts work in Newcastle. Climate change specialist Professor Hayley Fowler, of Newcastle University, has...
photo courtesy of Jenny Downing, from Flickr Creative Commons
Many dinner party hosts and car owners are driven mad by water stains – those pesky marks left by drying water on the surface of objects. But now mathematicians from Northumbria University may have discovered an ingenious solution – a solution that could not only get rid of unsightly water...
image courtesy of Renaud Torres, from Flickr Creative Commons
Scientists at Newcastle University have managed to make artificial corneas using 3D printers. The cornea – the outermost layer of the eye – plays an important role in focusing vision. It is possible to transplant donated corneas, but – with around 10 million people worldwide needing cornea surgery to rescue...
image courtesy of Sid Mosdell, from Flickr Creative Commons
Scientists from Newcastle University have discovered that bees have something similar to the ‘sweet tooth’ often found in humans. The Newcastle researchers found that bees possess sugar-sensing taste neurons. These neurons give the insects intense pleasure when they feed on nectar, encouraging them to hang around and empty the flower...
image courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons
The Mariana snailfish doesn’t look like the sort of monsters you would imagine inhabit the ocean’s extreme depths. A slender, almost cute-looking fish, the snailfish – discovered in 2017 by scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Washington – can somehow withstand water pressure equivalent to an elephant standing...
image courtesy of Jo Naylor, from Flickr Creative Commons
Newcastle-based scientists have created a new type of super-light material – after taking inspiration from the wings of dragonflies. An international team of experts, led by scientists from Newcastle University, has come up with an innovative form of the material aerogel. As well as being ultra-light, aerogel is the most porous...

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