Author: Andrew Merrington

This author has written 58 articles

New research project to provide historical perspective on contemporary farming challenges

The debate over whether UK farming can continue to feed us, be commercially viable and conserve our vulnerable natural environment is set to be addressed by a major new research project combining history with business analysis and environmental science. Researchers at the University of Exeter will examine archival records over a 600-year period – from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era – and assign a sustainability rating to each historical era. It is hoped that the £1.4m…

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Minister launches Critical Minerals Strategy at University of Exeter, Cornwall

Minister launches Critical Minerals Strategy at University of Exeter, Cornwall

The government has launched its refreshed UK Critical Minerals Strategy during a ministerial visit to the University of Exeter, Cornwall and its world-renowned Camborne School of Mines (CSM). Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, unveiled the strategy during a breakfast speech on the Penryn campus. The Minister then took a tour of CSM’s laboratories to see some of the cutting-edge work taking…

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Exeter ranked fourth in the world for commitment to Health and Wellbeing

The University of Exeter is among the top four higher education institutions in the world for the way it prioritises the health and wellbeing of its students and our broader society. The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026, released this week, places Exeter first in the UK in this field, as part of its overall assessment of the top universities most committed to tackling environmental and social sustainability challenges. Exeter was ranked 20th in the world (8th in…

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Fifty not out: University commemorates half-century partnership with US College

An international partnership between the University of Exeter and a prestigious Liberal Arts college in the United States of America is celebrating 50 years of overseas study. For the past five decades, students at Kenyon College in Ohio have taken the opportunity to spend a year with Exeter’s Department of English and Creative Writing, immersing themselves in the history, heritage and culture of Devon. To commemorate the milestone, the two institutions have unveiled a new Master’s Progression Agreement…

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Exeter scholars secure significant research funding to investigate the early history of Smallpox and Measles

The early histories of smallpox and measles – and the insight they might offer to contemporary health and medicine – will be under the microscope of a new research project. Pustules, Palaeogenetics and Pandemics from Galen to Rhazes: How to do the Early History of Smallpox and Measles is being led by scholars at the University of Exeter, and will seek to understand both historical developments of diseases and how changing disease patterns in the past might impact…

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University experts feature on BBC podcast exploring the life and legacy of an ocean giant

University experts feature on BBC podcast exploring the life and legacy of an ocean giant

The story of a giant whale that died after becoming stranded on a Cornish beach, before being ‘inherited’ by the University of Exeter, has been told in a new BBC podcast. The Whale, Secrets of a Stranding, explores how a 60-foot female Fin Whale – the second largest marine animal on Planet Earth – came to rest on the Lizard Peninsula. The 30-minute documentary goes in search of what happened to it and considers its potential legacy by…

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Award-winning producer Gub Neal returns to the University of Exeter

Award-winning producer Gub Neal returns to the University of Exeter

An Emmy-award-winning television producer has paid a special visit to the University of Exeter to meet students seeking to follow in his footsteps into the creative industries. Gub Neal, creator of the acclaimed television drama The Fall, spent time with postgraduates on one of the University’s flagship film degrees, and students who devote their time to supporting the radio and television stations within the Xmedia societies. Gub, whose extensive credits also include iconic series Prime Suspect, Cracker and…

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Scientists map the genetic distribution of maerl-forming algae across South West

Scientists map the genetic distribution of maerl-forming algae across South West

A habitat-building coralline algae that provides a vital nursing ground for marine species and an important blue carbon ecosystem has been genetically mapped around south-west Britain in a first-of-its-kind study. Using a technique called Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), marine biologists at the University of Exeter have identified the genetic diversity of several types of calcareous red seaweed that form maerl beds from key locations stretching from Cornwall to South Wales. It is the first time such a multi-site…

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Professor Sir Steve Smith honoured with lifetime achievement award by Times Higher Education

Professor Sir Steve Smith, the University of Exeter’s long-serving former Vice-Chancellor, has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award by Times Higher Education. At the prestigious THE Awards 2025 in Edinburgh this week, Sir Steve received one of the night’s top prizes, the THE Outstanding Achievement Award, for his remarkable contribution to the higher education sector. Sir Steve accepted the award – the first to be presented on the night – from THE Editor, Chris Havergal, and Chief…

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Extensive dog diversity millennia before modern breeding practices

Extensive dog diversity millennia before modern breeding practices

A groundbreaking archaeological study has revealed when domestic dogs first began to show the remarkable diversity that characterises them today. By applying cutting-edge shape analysis to hundreds of archaeological specimens spanning tens of thousands of years, researchers have traced the emergence of distinct dog forms deep into prehistory pinpointing the moment dogs began to diversify in size and shape – at least 11,000 years ago. These findings challenge long-standing assumptions that canine diversity is largely a recent phenomenon…

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University researchers ranked among the most influential in the world

University researchers ranked among the most influential in the world

Scientists at the University of Exeter have been ranked among the most influential and respected in the world according to the latest edition of a global rankings programme. Twenty Exeter academics, and a further four who are affiliated to the University, were included in the Highly Cited ResearchersTM  2025 list, produced by Clarivate – marking them among the top 1% in the world by citations in their research field. Now in its 12th year, Highly Cited ResearchersTM  recognises…

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Scientists find evolutionary explanation for “irrational” Dread Risk behaviour

The evolution of the so-called Dread Risk response has been explained by new scientific research. People often respond to low-probability, high-consequence events like terror attacks or nuclear accidents with a Dread Risk response. This intense fear of the perceived sources of dread leads to extreme avoidance behaviour, which often means that people expose themselves to higher risk of dying in more common incidents like traffic accidents. Scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Bristol have used a mathematical…

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