science wire

New figures for Angola, Armenia, Ethiopia, Nepal and Senegal have been published by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The fast spread of mobile phones across low-income countries like India can make it harder for poorer people without phones to access essential health services, new research has suggested.

For the first time, researchers have shown that Asian elephants in Sri Lanka are scared of honey bees, much like their African counterparts. Playbacks have been used for many years to explore the behavioural responses of African elephants to a suspected natural threat. However, the research published in Current Biology, is the first time this technique has been used to record how Asian elephants react to the sound of bees.

A newly developed smart sensor which can recognise a vast range of reactive surfaces, the technology such as acetone,could be used to protect society from crime and terrorism.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have discovered that a cellular mechanism preferentially protects plant genes from the damaging effects of mutation.

Handwritten illustrated letters from Father Christmas written by the author JRR Tolkien to his four children give a touching insight into Tolkien's personal family life.

Researchers have created a model of self-harm that shows high levels of the problem in the community, especially in young girls, and the need for school-based prevention measures.

Pregnant women and those who are planning pregnancy should not discontinue their medication without consulting a specialist, says a major new report from researchers at the University of Oxford.

Oxford University economists have today issued an urgent international 'wake-up call' around nature's continued decline and the grave threat posed to global prosperity by ignoring it.

Oxford University has been ranked as the world's best institution for medical and health teaching and research for the seventh consecutive year in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The Oxford Internet Institute's Project on Computational Propaganda sheds light on the use of 'fake news' to manipulate public opinion.

My Body My Life, a new research-based exhibition, that challenges abortion stigma through clothing, will run next month at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, from 7-11 November 2017.

A new review of the UK's energy sector, conducted by Professor Dieter Helm, Economic Fellow and Professor of Economic Policy at Oxford University, suggests that British consumers are paying more than they need to for energy bills.

Modified silk from Asian wild silkworms could be used in a strategy to repair damaged spinal cords, according to scientists from the universities of Aberdeen and Oxford. The researchers, working in collaboration with Oxford Biomaterials Ltd, discovered that cleaned, sterilised silk from the Antheraea pernyi (AP) silk spinner had properties well suited to spinal repair.

Professor Rosinka Chaudhuri has been appointed Oxford University's first ever Global South-Mellon Visiting Professor.

In a free, public event, the Sierra Leone-British novelist and journalist Aminatta Forna will discuss her search for the truth about the death of her father, and explore questions about commemoration.

A new Oxford University collaboration will support understanding and action around the spread of superbugs, that do not respond to drugs such as antibiotics. A new Oxford University collaboration will support understanding and action around one of the world's biggest health threats, drug-resistant infections.

The questions have been released ahead of the deadline day for students to apply to study at Oxford University next year (15 October).

Apprenticeships remain a relatively fragile mode of vocational education, despite growing political interest internationally, according to new Oxford University research.

The facility will be launched today by, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Inc. The venue aims to build a community of innovation across the University, inspiring and supporting Oxford's 23,000 students to develop their entrepreneurial skills or create and scale commercial ventures.

The facility was launched this week by Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Inc. Mr Cook described his invitation to the opening of the multi-million pound hub as a "privilege".

Today's announcement by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration marks the first time gravitational waves have been detected from the merger of two neutron stars - as well as the first detection of electromagnetic radiation from the same cosmic event. The scientists behind the original observation two years ago were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

An international team of scientists have completed the 'atlas of life' - the first global review and map of every vertebrate on Earth.

The college's governing body has declared its intention to elect Professor Tracey, who is currently Head of the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Nuffield Chair of Anaesthetic Science at the University of Oxford.

In her annual Oration, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Louise Richardson, has called on the University "to focus our resources on the activities we care about most, the research and teaching which are, and always have been, the central mission of this great University.

Researchers at Oxford University have shown how it might be possible to reverse blindness using gene therapy to reprogram cells at the back of the eye to become light sensitive. Most causes of untreatable blindness occur due to loss of the millions of light sensitive photoreceptor cells that line the retina, similar to the pixels in a digital camera.

An international research collaboration has shed light on the impact that grass-fed animals have on climate change, adding clarity to the debate around livestock farming and meat and dairy consumption.