Latest News Releases 8 April

A new study in Engineering details the development of a wearable stethoscope with a Lung–Sound–Monitoring–Patch (LSMP). It can monitor lung sounds in real-time, detect wheezing automatically using an AI algorithm, and has shown promising results in different patient groups, offering a new way for respiratory disease monitoring.

A recent study in Engineering delves into cyclic CO₂ injection in unconventional reservoirs. The research, integrating multiple factors like microseismic events and geochemistry, aims to understand its impact on oil recovery and CO₂ storage. Findings show that after ten cycles, there’s a rise in oil recovery and underground CO₂ storage, along with changes in reservoir properties.

A new study in Engineering explores the microbial reduction of vanadate by Bacillus subtilis and Thauera humireducens. It uncovers the electron transfer mechanisms and vanadium isotope fractionation involved, offering insights into vanadium biogeochemistry and potential bioremediation strategies.

For the first time, a study led by University of Oxford researchers has ‘listened in’ to the fascinating courtship displays of Fiddler crabs using geophones. The findings, published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology, provide new insights into how the animals communicate effectively on the noisy seashore.

Astronomers have peered back in time to find what looks like a population of 'hidden' galaxies that could hold the key to unlocking some of the universe's secrets. If their existence is confirmed it would "effectively break current models of galaxy numbers and evolution". The possible galaxies may also provide the missing piece of the puzzle for the energy generation in the universe in infrared light. That's because their combined light would be enough to top-up the energy budget of the universe to the maximum we observe, effectively accounting for all remaining energy emission at these long wavelengths.

Education projects supporting marginalised girls in lower-income countries are more likely to achieve lasting transformations when they mobilise whole communities as “agents of change”. In many low and middle-income countries, girls face persistent inequalities and social norms that limit their learning and life chances; those who live in extreme poverty, rural areas, or have disabilities, are especially vulnerable. Although programmes supporting marginalised girls’ education exist, their effects often fade after the initial funding stops, and they are especially vulnerable to wider ‘shocks’ such as economic turmoil, pandemics and natural disasters. The new study evaluated 27 projects from a UK Government-backed scheme for marginalised girls’ education, including in-depth case studies from Zimbabwe and Nepal. It finds that when these projects engage entire communities – community leaders, local organisations, and young women themselves – to participate in supporting girls’ education, the effects, despite these projects’ general vulnerability, are sustained.