science wire

The world's first widespread human testing of a flu vaccine which researchers hope will protect more over 65-year-olds against influenza has begun in the NHS. More than 10,000 people aged 65 and over will be asked to take part in a study supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and delivered by the University of Oxford in Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Migratory birds are both attracted to and influenced by light. As a result, their behaviours alter drastically in the presence of artificial light at night, according to a new Oxford University collaboration, that was conducted at a unique landmark: the 'Tribute in Light' in New York. Every year, billions of birds undertake migratory journeys during the spring and autumn months.

The Europaeum, an association of the leading universities in Europe is celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Thousands of people turned out for the Curiosity Carnival - Oxford's biggest ever public engagement event - on Friday.

Voters in key swing states were exposed to larger amounts of 'junk news' in the run-up to the US presidential election last year. Voters in key swing states were exposed to larger amounts of 'junk news' in the run-up to the US presidential election last year, new research has shown.

Scientists have made a crucial step towards unlocking the 'holy grail' of computing - microchips that mimic the way the human brain works to store and process information. The research team has made the pioneering breakthrough of the development of photonic computer chips that imitate the way the brain's synapses operate.

The high-tech scanning techniques were enabled by funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) , and could reveal whether chemotherapy is damaging a person's heart before any symptoms appear. Doxorubicin is a commonly used type of chemotherapy drug which slows or stops the growth of cancer cells by blocking an enzyme which cancer cells need to divide and grow.

The University of Oxford's Department of Physics will play a pivotal role in a flagship global science facility that could change our understanding of the universe. The UK is investing £65million in the initiative, which will be based in the United States and could secure Britain's position as the international research partner of choice.

Abigail Williams, a Professor in the English Faculty and Fellow at St Peter's College, has written The Social Life of Books: Reading Together in the Eighteenth-Century Home .

A highly drug resistant malaria 'superbug' from western Cambodia is now present in southern Vietnam, leading to alarming failure rates for dihydroartemisinin (DHA)-piperaquine - Vietnam's national first-line malaria treatment, leading malaria scientists warn.

Researchers have launched a campaign to end 200 years of confusion in diagnosing a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects two children in every classroom.

Professor Donal Bradley, head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at Oxford and Professor Qing Liu, the President of the Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute (JITRI), celebrate Oxford University's new partnership with JITRI.

An unusual collaboration between engineers at Oxford, the Zooniverse citizen science platform and international disaster response organisation Rescue Global is enabling a rapid and effective response to Hurricane Irma.

Significant emission reductions are required if we are to achieve one of the key goals of the Paris Agreement, and limit the increase in global average temperatures to 1.5°C; a new Oxford University partnership warns.

Family historians, teachers, crime writers and academics can now follow the lives of people convicted and transported to Australia or imprisoned in Britain using a vast, free online resource, the Digital Panopticon website.

The concept and associated value of the mathematical symbol 'zero' is used the world over as a fundamental numerical pillar. However, its origin has until now been one of the field's greatest conundrums. Scientists from the University of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries, have used carbon dating to trace the figure's origins to the famous ancient Indian scroll, the Bakhshali manuscript.

Oxford University scientists are today mourning the demise of the landmark Cassini Space Mission, launched almost twenty years ago.

A group of respiratory medicine experts have called for an overhaul in our thinking about how asthma and other airways diseases are categorised and treated, saying the current approach is outdated and does not reflect advances in treating these conditions.

A new study from Oxford reveals the health service costs for hospital care of people who self-harm, emphasising the need for effective clinical services and prevention initiatives.

Oxford University has claimed the top spot in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2018, which judge the performance of 980 universities across 79 countries.

Without increased research and an immediate review of deep ocean conservation measures, the creatures that live there - such as the Eumunida Lobster,  face an uncertain future.

'Butterfly in a cell' represents mitochondria, small structures floating free throughout the cell, that create the energy that allows the heart to keep pumping.

The camp was part of a programme aimed at 'unlocking the potential' of high-achieving children from areas with lower-than-average progression to higher education.

A confocal micrograph of an artificial tissue containing 2 populations human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293T) printed in the form of an arborized structure within a cube. Image credit: Sam Olof/ Alexander Graham Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a new method to 3D-print laboratory-grown cells to form living structures.

Researchers at Oxford University have developed a novel way of determining the value of new technologies in the information and communications sector, filling a significant gap in existing methods and potentially creating a decision-making tool for investors. A variety of methods are currently used to work out what new technologies are worth, from simple financial formulas to highly complex techniques, combining qualitative and quantitative models.

Knowing where and how Antarctic penguins, seabirds and marine predators migrate is critical for conservation efforts. Although electronic tracking devices have helped scientists track marine animals' migration patterns, the devices can be expensive, invasive for the animal and challenging to retrieve.

Should people who profit from the cultural representation of wildlife pay towards conservation? That is the question asked in a new opinion piece written by zoologists from Oxford University's Wildli

In response to today's announcement by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust concerning fire safety at its hospital sites, the University's Head of the Division of Medical Sciences, Professor Christopher Kennard, has written to staff.

Oxford researchers are among a group of infectious disease experts to argue that the advice that patients should complete a course of antibiotics is not supported by evidence and should be dropped.

Research conducted by Dr. Laura Langner at the University of Oxford's Department of Sociology investigated changes in couples' hourly wages once one partner enters work-hour flexibility. The study found that once men started working flexible hours, their wives' hourly wages increased significantly, particularly if they were mothers (14.2 percent after four years).

Xanda, Cecil the lion's oldest surviving son, has been shot and killed by hunters in Zimbabwe two years after his father's death shocked the world.

A new research collaboration could significantly increase the quality and economic productivity of one of the UK's largest crop outputs, Sitka spruce conifer trees.

Urgent action is needed to protect marine life, with more than 60 per cent of the world's oceans lacking effective conservation measures, according to new Oxford University study.

Helen read Modern History at St Hugh's College, and completed an MLitt in 6th-century Italian History at Hertford College.

When bacteria are passed vertically, straight from mother to offspring, they tend to be much better for their hosts than if they are transmitted via the environment (horizontally). e.g. a light-producing bacteria that helps the squid defend against predators. Image credit: C. Frazee, and contributed by M. McFall-Ngai Bacteria passed straight to children have more healthcare benefits than if they are transmitted via the surrounding environment, new Oxford University research reveals.

When bacteria are passed vertically, straight from mother to offspring, they tend to be much better for their hosts than if they are transmitted via the environment (horizontally). e.g. a light-producing bacteria that helps the squid defend against predators. Image credit: C. Frazee, and contributed by M. McFall-Ngai Bacteria passed straight to children have more healthcare benefits than if they are transmitted via the surrounding environment, new Oxford University research reveals.

His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain and Her Majesty Queen Letizia today saw Oxford University's close academic and cultural links with Spain.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new type of imaging test to provide an early warning of coronary artery disease, and the risk of heart attacks. The new imaging technique can be applied as a new feature in routine computed tomography angiography (CTA), and will improve the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, enabling timely prevention strategies and improving the treatment of thousands of people living with the disease.

The world's most indestructible species, the tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, also known as the water bear, will survive until the Sun dies, according to a new Oxford University collaboration.