Tag Archives: researchers

Fossilized pollen unlocks secrets of ancient Royal Garden

Researchers have long been fascinated by the secrets of Ramat Rahel, located on a hilltop above modern-day Jerusalem. The site of the only known palace dating back to the kingdom of Biblical Judah, digs have also revealed a luxurious ancient garden. Since excavators discovered the garden with its advanced irrigation system, they could only imagine […] … learn more→

Unscrambling the Devil tumour

Researchers have mapped the genome of the Tasmanian Devil for the first time, a crucial step towards understanding the transmissible facial tumours decimating Devil populations and related human cancers. < The international team, led by Dr Janine Deakin of the Research School of Biology at The Australian National University, compared the normal Tasmanian Devil genome […] … learn more→

On academic plagiarism

When I was very young, the father of the neighbor’s family – a young academic – suddenly disappeared. The young academic was working, I was later told, on original research upon which he had pinned the hopes for his career. Nearing the completion of his work, however, a professor he had been working with published […] … learn more→

Test your memory!

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have launched what could be the world’s biggest ever memory experiment. Yasemin Yazar, Dr Zara Bergström and Dr Jon Simons from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Experimental Psychology, along with Dr Charles Fernyhough from Durham University, have teamed up with the Guardian to run an online experiment for […] … learn more→

Can communities rise to the age challenge?

Researchers at the University of York warn that action is needed now to adapt communities in the UK to address the pressures created by unprecedented demographic changes. A study by the University’s Centre for Housing Policy suggests a road map for the creation of ‘lifetime neighbourhoods’ which, researchers say, will help people to maintain their […] … learn more→

A new model for understanding biodiversity

Researchers develop a unified theory of ecosystem change by combining spatial modelling and food web analysis. Animals like foxes and raccoons are highly adaptable. They move around and eat everything from insects to eggs. They and other “generalist feeders” like them may also be crucial to sustaining biological diversity, according to a new study published […] … learn more→

PCs to blame for rise in stressed out workers

Researchers interested in stress at work have been concerned at the increased intensity of work in the EU over the past 20 years. A more detailed breakdown has shown that this increase between 1995 and 2005 occurred in all countries with only one exception, the UK. Our early adoption of computers may be the key. […] … learn more→

Aboriginal Australians were first explorers

An old lock of hair has enabled researchers to sequence the genome of an Aboriginal Australian, and show that modern Aboriginal Australians are direct descendants of the first people to arrive there. The ground-breaking study used a single lock of hair from the Duckworth Collection at the University of Cambridge. It shows that the direct […] … learn more→