science wire

Dr Hanna Ruszczyk (Geography) believes that uderstanding what people fear most can help prevent disasters.

We all know that metals like iron and calcium are essential for a healthy body - but our pioneering scientists estimate that almost half of life's processes depend upon various metals interacting with living cells.

Our scientists have helped to solve a puzzle that could lead to cheaper and more efficient solar power.

Privately educated, white, male graduates are more likely to be recruited to senior roles and be paid higher wages by elite multinational firms, new research shows.

We drink two billion cups of coffee every day - 95 million cups in the UK alone. But did you know that your latte or mocha is under threat from a devastating fungal disease called coffee leaf rust?

Housing in sub-Saharan Africa has dramatically improved and could help in the fight against diseases such as malaria.

An ancient royal charter might not be what everyone expects to find when they come to work, but for one of our visiting fellows that's exactly what happened.

Space is a risky place. Our planet faces a number of potential threats from asteroids and comets to the impact of space weather on vital technologies.

Durham University's astrophysicists have been ranked joint sixth in the world for the quality and influence of their research in space science.

Imagine being able to step back in time and see how a great mind of the past understood our world, or experience how food and drink tasted hundreds of years ago.

A cutting-edge component of what will be the world's largest telescope has passed critical tests. HARMONI, being developed in part by scientists at Durham University, will now move to the detailed design phase.

The Milky Way is on a collision course with a neighbouring galaxy that could fling our Solar System into space.

Researching health hazards of volcanic emissions There are 1,500 active volcanoes worldwide andKīlauea volcano in Hawaii is one of the most active.

A better understanding of how plant roots develop could open up the possibility of breeding new crops that are more adaptive to climate change, and in turn help with food security in the future. Researchers looking at the fundamental processes of plant development have identified a particular protein which controls how plant roots grow and adapt to soil conditions.

We all know that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole.

A relic cloud of gas, orphaned after the Big Bang, has been discovered in the distant Universe. The cloud is unpolluted by stars even 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang and offers new information about how the first galaxies formed.

Colleges & Student Experience Research & Collaboration One in four killings by a loved one involves a victim over the age of 60, says new research.

Colleges & Student Experience Research & Collaboration Chimpanzees' sense of smell is more sophisticated than we thought with a new study showing that our closest relatives use their noses to smell danger. The study shows that chimpanzees can smell who is a stranger and who is part of their family. It was previously thought that they relied more heavily on their eyes than on their noses.

The University is to support two local artists by welcoming them to work from its theatre. The University operates residency programmes at its historic Assembly Rooms Theatre, in Durham City, so that artists and writers have a base from which to develop their work and skills.