‘Twinkle twinkle little star’ could prove itself more science lesson than nursery rhyme thanks to a new discovery. For the first time, diamonds far smaller than grains of sand have been observed shimmering around stars. But this discovery is more a case of A Touch of Frost than Frost of London, as it’s allowed a…
A team of postgrads from The University of Manchester have emerged victorious from an international competition, thanks to the creation of a 3D-printed bionic limb. They hope soon to make the design available to the public without charge. What started as (and remains) a final year Mechanical Engineering Master’s project has resulted in Alex Agboola-Dobson…
It’s the ultimate 90s movie mash-up – Arachnophobia meets Jurassic Park. And it’s happened in real life, right here at the University of Manchester. Imprisoned within a block of amber dating back to the Cretaceous period, a spider has been discovered that could provide an unparalleled insight into the evolution of everyone’s favourite creepy-crawly. And…
Who can resist an episode of The Jeremy Kyle Show when it’s a DNA results special? Well, here at The University of Manchester, we’ve just wrapped up our own DNA mystery – and the result was just as shocking. As is a popular theme on the ITV chat show, the question we wanted to answer…
There’re just days to go until Christmas and we bet you’ve already mentally checked out even if you’re still keeping up the pretence of focusing on anything that’s not Yuletide-related. Not us though. Here at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, we wanted to look at the science behind some of our greatest Christmas traditions…
We’re sure you know your dress size, but do you find it changes depending on the shop you visit? Chances are the answer’s ‘yes’. But why is this? And who determines clothes sizing anyway? Well dress sizing appears to be a product of the age we live in; of fast fashion, greater resource and lower…
The School of Physics is the proud holder of an Athena Swan Silver Award. This award recognises the advancement of gender equality in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment, research and education. Nationwide, just 20% of students studying Physics at degree level are female. At The University of Manchester, this figure is higher…
If you’ve started a degree in science or engineering here at The University of Manchester this week, you’ve made a good choice – and you’ll be following in some very distinguished footsteps. You see, Manchester has been at the centre of the European scientific community for centuries. It was in this city that John Dalton…
Tim Gregory and Tessa Naran share more in common than just their UoM background. They also both want to be astronauts and are currently appearing on our screens every Sunday at 9pm. The reason? They’re participants in the new BBC 2 show Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?. Beating off tough competition from 3,000…
When it comes to the nuclear power industry, you’ll always be playing the long game. So, when you’re considering its future, you need to think long-term. And one topic occupying the minds of people in the nuclear power industry right now is the future of its power source. Uranium, a silver-grey coloured heavy metal that…
