Research news
2012
Friday 14 December 2012
Most multi-cellular species on Earth are arthropods living in tropical forests. Yet, given the difficulties involved in just counting them, we know very little about their exact numbers – even at the scale of a single forest.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Researchers from the UK, USA and India, led by scientists at the University of York, are embarking on a major four-year project which aims to develop new strains of rice to help to feed millions of people.
Thursday 15 November 2012
Dr Betsy Pownall (Biology) and Dr Fabiola Martin (CII) were part of a delegation from the University of York that visited Brazil in September 2012.
Wednesday 14 November 2012
A University of York researcher is looking forward to spending Christmas in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey.
Friday 9 November 2012
A York-based team, in collaboration with industrial partners, has secured three years of research funding from NC3Rs (National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research) to investigate how mathematics can be used to reduce our reliance on animal testing in evaluating the toxicological safety of new chemicals.
Friday 9 November 2012
The University of York has welcomed its first students from Brazil under the Science without Borders scheme.
Monday 22 October 2012
One of the longest standing mysteries of migration has finally been solved after a team of scientists – including researchers from the University of York - discovered where the UK’s Painted Lady butterfly population goes each autumn.
Thursday 18 October 2012
As the climate changes, conservationists are divided over the most effective way to preserve animal and plant diversity because they cannot simply preserve the status quo. Ensuring species can shift to track the climate to which they are suited is a complex problem, especially when there are competing demands on land use. A simple prediction is that more habitat would help species to shift, but it is not obvious what the best spatial locations for habitat would be.
Monday 15 October 2012
Early signs of lung cancer could be diagnosed using a simple blood test following a new discovery by scientists at the University of York.
Thursday 11 October 2012
A team of international researchers has provided the first comprehensive DNA evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.
Friday 21 September 2012
Scientists at the University of York are to lead an international team that will explore the use of plants to recover precious metals from mine tailings around the world.
Wednesday 19 September 2012
Professor Neil Bruce (CNAP, Biology)and Dr Gideon Grogan (YSBL, Chemistry) have been awarded a Marie Curie Network Project P4FIFTY - FP7 PEOPLE- ITN 2011-289217, Development of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes for the Chemical Manufacturing Industries.
Friday 14 September 2012
An international team of scientists has found the answer to why female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species - to care for their adult sons.
Monday 10 September 2012
Researchers from the University of York are fitting one thousand northern hairy wood ants with tiny radio receivers in a world first experiment to find out how they communicate and travel between their complex nests.
Friday 7 September 2012
A new study, by scientists from the Universities of York, Glasgow and Leeds, involving analysis of fossil and geological records going back 540 million years, suggests that biodiversity on Earth generally increases as the planet warms.
Thursday 6 September 2012
Summary of Department of Biology news on July and August
Thursday 6 September 2012
Cancer scientists at the University of York have shown a link between prostate cancer and vitamin A for the first time.
Tuesday 14 August 2012
A new study led by scientists at the University of York has shown how birds, butterflies, other insects and spiders have colonised nature reserves and areas protected for wildlife, as they move north in response to climate change and other environmental changes.
Wednesday 8 August 2012
The Department of Biology is taking part in the Grand Tour, a visual celebration of York’s phenomenal achievements in science and innovation. The exhibits include:
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Photos from the recent Research Away Day held on the 11th July at Hazlewood Castle, near Tadcaster.
Thursday 12 July 2012
Many congratulations to Calvin Dytham who has been promoted to a Personal Chair from 1st October 2012.
Friday 6 July 2012
Following a period of intense recruitment, Biology looks forward to welcoming a number of new academic staff over the next few months.
Friday 6 July 2012
Congratulations to Adrian Mountford who has won one of the five coveted 'Supervisor of the Year' awards for 2012.
Friday 6 July 2012
The Business Secretary Vince Cable opened the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC)1 at the University of York on 5 July, 2012.
Thursday 21 June 2012
Mathematicians at the University of York in the UK and the University of Canterbury in New Zealand say they have disproved a widely accepted theory underpinning the operation of complex networks of interactions in the natural world.
Thursday 21 June 2012
Professor Jane Hill has been presented with The Marsh Award for Conservation Biology by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) at a ceremony in London.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Biologists at the University of York have helped to discover that one of the world's most infectious classes of disease – viral haemorrhagic fevers – can spread much more easily than previously thought.
Friday 15 June 2012
Friday 1 June 2012
Scientists at the University of York and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Australia have discovered a complex gene cluster responsible for the synthesis of the medicinal compound noscapine.
Thursday 24 May 2012
A new study led by scientists in the Department of Biology at the University of York has shown how a butterfly has changed its diet, and consequently has sped northwards in response to climate change.
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Tuesday 22 May 2012
A research paper studying the impacts of rain forest fragmentation on the genetic diversity of tropical ants was awarded ‘Best Paper’ under the category of ‘Journal of Science, Technology and Medicine 2011’ by the Malaysian Scholarly Publishing Council.
Thursday 17 May 2012
A world-leading scientist will talk about ribosomes – the large molecular machines that are crucial to life – at a major public lecture at the University of York on 25th May.
Monday 23 April 2012
A biologist at the University of York, who specialises in research into the impacts of human activities on wild animal species, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the world's top scientific honours.
Wednesday 11 April 2012
Bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, the 'superbug' behind MRSA, can be a major problem for patients who have a medical implant, such as a replacement heart valve or pacemaker.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Summary of Department of Biology news on March 2012
Tuesday 20 March 2012
New research carried out at the University of York and published in BMC Evolutionary Biology has used evolutionary techniques on modern day and ancestral mouse mitochondrial DNA to show that the timeline of mouse colonisation matches that of Viking invasion.
Friday 16 March 2012
A team of scientists has received a top award in recognition of research on bladder tissue engineering carried out at the Jack Birch Unit at the University of York.
Wednesday 14 March 2012
The YCR Cancer Research Unit hosts a play exploring the ethical and emotional implications of modern medicine
Friday 9 March 2012
Two young scientists from the University of York are attending Parliament next week to present their science to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges as part of SET for Britain.
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Scientists at the University of York have shed light on the molecular machine that archaea rely on to segregate their genome at cell division.
Wednesday 7 March 2012
Dr Antony Dodd gave an invited seminar at the Royal Society describing exciting new data concerning the circadian regulation of photosynthesis at a conference for Royal Society University Research Fellows.
Monday 5 March 2012
A new study by an international team of researchers is calling for a rethink on the most appropriate way to reduce commercial fishing’s impacts on ecosystems and fisheries productivity.
Friday 2 March 2012
CII researcher Dr Marjan van der Woude is the guest interviewee on February's Society for General Microbiology podcast
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Forensic-style scientific techniques are revealing new insights into the lives of our ancestors thousands of years ago.
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Bridget Kendall talks to plant biochemist Dianna Bowles about her joy for work and sheep.
Friday 27 January 2012
A team of biologists at the University of York has made an important advance in our understanding of the way cholera attacks the body. The discovery could help scientists target treatments for the globally significant intestinal disease which kills more than 100,000 people every year.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
A successful collaboration between the White Rose universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York has attracted £6 million to create a joint Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) in mechanistic biology.
Monday 23 January 2012
CII scientists are collaborating with colleagues across a range of Departments in developing the new Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders (C2D2)
Monday 23 January 2012
The pioneering work into combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) undertaken by the research group of Professor Deborah Smith, CII Professor of Molecular Parasitology and current Head of the Department of Biology at York, has been cited in a new feature on the Wellcome Trust's website.
Wednesday 18 January 2012
The first BBSRC-Fapesp funded project has been awarded to CNAP Professors Neil Bruce and Simon McQueen Mason at the University of York. The award supports work to identify new enzymes that can be used in the breakdown of lignin and lignocellulose for the production of liquid biofuels.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Scientists at the University of York have made a significant step forward in isolating the cause of Parkinson's disease in younger adults.