Exeter Uni News

Researchers at the Living Systems Institute (LSI), University of Exeter, have been awarded a £3.5 million Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate how cells exchange information to coordinate the formation of tissues and organs. The seven-year project, led by Professor Steffen Scholpp, Cell and Developmental Biology, together with Professor Kyle Wedgwood, Computational Biology, will explore the role of cytonemes – long, thin cellular protrusions – in mediating signalling during development. Using a combination of advanced imaging, computational modelling, and cross-species approaches, the team will reveal…

Researchers at the Living Systems Institute (LSI), University of Exeter, in collaboration with scientists of the University of Manchester, have been awarded a £3.5 million Wellcome Discovery Award to investigate how cells exchange information to coordinate the formation of tissues and organs. The seven-year project, led by Professor Steffen Scholpp working together with the co-applicants Professor Kyle Wedgwood, Professor Hilary Ashe and Dr Cerys Manning, will explore the role of cytonemes – long, thin cellular protrusions – in mediating signalling during development. Using a combination…

Climate change in Earth’s polar regions is emerging as an under-recognised driver of global health risks, with consequences reaching far beyond the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers argue. A study by an international team of scientists led by Professor Gail Whiteman from the University of Exeter Business School presents a comprehensive framework mapping the complex connections between physical changes in the Arctic and Antarctic which could amplify climate impacts to human health worldwide. The researchers reviewed a wide range…

Schools Across the Ocean to be showcased at COP30 alongside Nature Poetry and Climate Cards Schools from the UK and Brazil are to team up on a collaborative learning programme focused on improving climate literacy and developing personal resilience and creativity. Twenty-five schools from each country will be twinned through the Schools Across the Ocean programme, uniting 5,000 pupils and some of academia’s leading authorities on the marine environment and climate change. Each transatlantic pairing will participate in…

A new study will show how diverse multicultural views about the body, mind and soul have influenced hospital design. Those behind the research hope the new insight into the history of medical buildings will help promote better holistic healthcare design in the future. The British Academy project, Building for Holistic Healthcare, is awarded to Dr Sara Honarmand Ebrahimi through the International Fellowship scheme and is sponsored by Professor Maziyar Ghiabi, from the University of Exeter. It will provide…

The country’s first NHS National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which aims to transform national and international research and innovation for specialist rehabilitation, is preparing to open its doors to its first patients.   The NRC is based on the Stanford Hall Rehabilitation Estate, near Loughborough, and will be supported in its ambitions by an Academic Network of 26 universities from across the country, including the University of Exeter. Professor Sallie Lamb, Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Exeter, said: “At…

A University of Exeter academic has been awarded a prestigious science award in France   in recognition of her pioneering research into the structure and evolution of stars and planets.  Professor Isabelle Baraffe received the Medal of the Sciences of the Universe by the French Academy of Science on 28 October at the Institut de France in Paris. The Medal honours a scientist who has made a significant and promising contribution to the development of their field.  Professor Baraffe, a Physicist at the University of Exeter said: “This medal is very rewarding as it recognises…

The law is failing victims and survivors because it is turning a “blind eye” to the long-lasting and severe financial consequences of being in an abusive relationship, a new study warns. The law should be reformed to make domestic abuse and its impacts on the victim-survivor a specific consideration when dividing financial assets, enabling awards to be enhanced. This is only currently taken into account in rare and extreme cases in family law when assets are redistributed. The…

A project studying the impact of climate change on peatlands has won a prestigious Synergy Grant from the European Research Council. CLIMPEAT (Northern Peatlands in the face of climate warming and abrupt changes) has been awarded €12.5 million over six years. The project will investigate how peatlands in the northern hemisphere respond to climate change and future warming. These peatlands contain huge amounts of carbon and nitrogen which, if released, could amplify global warming. CLIMPEAT is led by…

Techniques to reflect an additional small portion of sunlight back into space could help cool the planet if deployed globally, but they cannot address the full range of climate impacts or replace emission cuts, according to a Royal Society briefing. “Solar radiation modification” (SRM), published today, considers the potential impacts of SRM if deployed globally, in a scientifically informed way, across both hemispheres and for long periods of time. It evaluates its potential effectiveness, limitations, risks, and challenges…