Helium nanodroplets are fascinating objects that can be used as microscopic laboratories to form new types of nanomaterials. Researchers in COSY COST Action’s Working Group 4 , which recently celebrated its second anniversary, combine quantum, semiclassical and classical methods to investigate the physico-chemical properties of these droplets under…

A nanoparticle is a tiny particle typically in the size range of one to one hundred nanometres. Nano-scale systems can exhibit unique quantum mechanical properties due to their size. The European Association for Cooperation in Science and Technology, which recently celebrated its second anniversary, focuses on the science of confined molecular syst…

On most days, a weather forecast is a convenient answer to simple questions, like : do I need an umbrella? How windy will it be? For high stakes questions around landslide hazards, how do we deal with slope failure forecast? And are there any new tools improving our capabilities without waiting to learn from another disaster? Andrea Manconi, resear…

Osteoarthritis is the most common disease in the world, characterised by the progressive degeneration of cartilage in the joints. Dr Torbjörn Ogéus from the Stockholms led- & smärtspecialist clinic in Sweden, who is pioneering regenerative medicine approaches to treating osteoarthritis using patients’ stem cells. These treatments show significant i…

Transportation is a key part of our life, either travelling ourselves or in transporting goods. Fossil fuels are still the most widely applied fuel for transportation purposes, given that the vast majority of engines are traditional combustion engines. The harmful emissions from these engines are well researched, and their direct or indirect contri…

We humans share over 99% of our DNA with each other. This means personalised therapies for diseases such as cancer or neurodegenerative conditions have to be tailored to the most minute differences between us - or even between our own cells. Professor Mark Ebbert of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky leads a lab focusin…

For millennia, humans and horses have enjoyed a special relationship. Recent research shows that working with horses can improve human mental health and wellbeing. Professor Ann Hemingway is part of a multidisciplinary team that has demonstrated that equine-assisted services can improve outcomes for families impacted by domestic abuse and mitigate …

‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers’ – King Henry’s speech to rouse his troops before the Battle of Agincourt is one of the most famous in Shakespeare. But what does ‘Henry V’ tell us about theories of war in Elizabethan England? Professor Anne-Marie Walkowicz of Ohio’s Central State University in the USA argues that the play explores the ju…

What happens when CEOs are shielded by employment and severance agreements? Researchers from Singapore Management University, University of Hong Kong, Boston College, and led by Dr. Xia Chen put forward this critical question. The study investigates how CEO contractual protection impacts corporate debt contracting. With insights from a comprehensiv…

CBD has emerged as a non-psychoactive agent in cannabis, stimulating a boom of boutique cannabis products into the medicinal and adult use markets . The innovative CannaMetrix EC50 Array™ offers a solution to traditional chemical methods of testing cannabis potency, which often fall short in accurately capturing the complex interactions between can…

The global business landscape has undergone a profound transformation in recent decades. As sustainability, energy transition, and climate change have taken center stage, the need for a paradigm shift in strategic management has become increasingly apparent. Jean Garner Stead and Edward Stead from East Tennessee State University argue that traditio…

Traumatic brain injury remains a major cause of disability and death worldwide, and timely detection of the injury could lead to early intervention and save lives. Professor Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer at the University of Birmingham, UK, has developed a novel handheld device that helps detect and classify brain injury by scanning the back of the eye…

Barcodes and QR codes have become ubiquitous sights in our current information age. Soorya Annadurai, an independent researcher and software engineer at Microsoft in the USA, has developed a solution for these situations: audible barcodes, or ‘AuraCodes’, enabling the encoding and decoding of digital information through the medium of sound. Read mo…

In an age of academies and free schools, secondary schools in England have never had more freedom over their admissions rules. But how do they decide who gets in and who doesn’t? And does it really matter? These are the issues explored in this podcast, featuring Professor Simon Burges (Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol) and Dr Ell…

In conflict zones, businesses are widely seen as a positive force that promotes peace. Dr Jay Joseph at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and colleagues have studied micro and small enterprises, identifying their often contradictory impact on a conflict zone. Read more in Research Features Read the original research: doi.org/10.1177/00076…

Professor Susan Parnell, who researches the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in African cities, talks to Bristol City Council's Allan Macleod about how the SDGs are implemented in the city of Bristol and what can be learned at the local scale in order to make global progress on the Goals.Oleh ResearchPod

As the rate of climate events increases, how do businesses respond, adapt and keep their staff safe? In this episode of Responsible Business: Leading the Way, Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, Dean of the University of Bristol Business School is joined by Sarah Kenny, CEO of BMT to discuss how businesses rise to modern challenges. Find out more - htt…

The psychological contract has changed dramatically since the start of the pandemic, with the balance of power swinging towards the employee. In this episode, Professor Veronica Hope Hailey and her guest, Jane Cathrall, Executive Director, People Directorate at the Bank of England, discuss how leaders should respond to the new challenges of engagin…

Trust, from employees, customers and other stakeholders, is core to responsible business. And since the pandemic, people expect even more from businesses, which are – according to the latest Edelman Trust Barometer -- the only institution trusted by the global public. In this episode Veronica and her guest, Brad Greve, Chief Financial Officer at BA…

Cabot Institute for the Environment scientists, Dr Gemma Coxon and Dr Ross Woods, highlight some surprising facts about the water system and how nature based solutions to drought and floods may not serve the purpose we want, especially if implemented without sufficient prior research.Oleh ResearchPod

The government of Malaysia has set a target of making Malaysia a regional hub for startups by 2025. As of 2022, there were approximately 3,000 active startups in Malaysia, a stark increase from around 300 in 2013. However, whilst 30% of Malaysian startups have displayed consistent growth and profitability, about 1,800 startups struggle, with a 60% …

Kicking off this extraordinary series, we hear first-hand from Mohamedou Ould Slahi who exposed the use of torture at Guantánamo, smuggling out facts about his experience in letters to his lawyer, Nancy Hollander. Nancy joins with Professor Sir Malcolm Evans to extend the conversation and discuss her role in sharing the story, the first and only me…

Have you ever wondered what representing someone detained in a facility synonymous with secrecy and deception would be like? In the second episode of this series, we delve into the realities of striving for truth as a Guantánamo lawyer. Professor Sir Malcolm Evans, former chair of the UNs Subcommittee for Prevention of Torture, joins Nancy Hollande…

As we mark the shameful 20th anniversary of Guantánamo Bay, the third episode in this series asks if torture works. We hear, first hand, from Mohamedou Ould Slahi who reflects on what pain and fear meant to his perception of truth. His criminal defence lawyer, Nancy Hollander, and Professor Sir Malcolm Evans, former chair of the UNs Subcommittee fo…

To wrap up this extraordinary series, we look at the prospects for closing Guantánamo, the need for mechanisms that hold States accountable for their crimes - and what the facility’s legacy means for international human rights. For the last time, criminal defence lawyer, Nancy Hollander, and Professor Sir Malcolm Evans come together to discuss how …

What does the future of work look like? And how do we make it sustainable, yet progressive? In this fascinating first episode, host Ruby Lott-Lavigna poses these questions and more with Dr Rutvica Andrijasevic, an associate professor in International Labour Migration, and Dr Huw Thomas, a lecturer in Management. Together with student Mekhala Laud t…

Mental health and educational psychology often go hand in hand, but our understanding is often rudimentary. In this second episode host Ruby Lott-Lavigna is joined by Dr Felicity Sedgewick, lecturer and lead researcher at the University of Bristol who specialises in the areas of mental health and autism, and Sarah Boon, a recent alumna of the MSc P…

This episode focuses on the environment, specifically understanding urbanisation. Our host Ruby Lott-Lavigna is joined by Dr Felix Agyemang, Research Associate at the School of Geographical Sciences and Stephen Pearson, a student currently studying an MSc in Climate Change Science and Policy. Together they discuss the dynamics and processes of citi…

Cabot Institute for the Environment experts Professor Dale Southerton and Professor Valeska Ting discuss "a whole systems approach to net zero". Engineer Dr Valeska Ting and social scientist Professor Dale Southerton are two academics from completely different disciplines, both working on net zero. In this episode they meet each other for the first…

Cabot Institute for the Environment experts Dr Kate Hendry and Dr Laurence Publicover discuss "the Ocean Floor: An alien commons?" Geochemist Dr Kate Hendry and Dr Laurence Publicover, a senior lecturer in English, have been working closely together on ocean floor research. Listen to this fascinating conversation on how their two differing forms of…

Cabot Institute for the Environment's Professor Rich Pancost and Roger Griffith MBE discuss "Power of People in climate action". Rapper and songwriter Consensus share a captivating interpretation of the conversation. This discussion covers the power of people, words and cultural change in the climate crisis and how community engagement and empoweri…