University of Exeter

A new peer-reviewed study is among several to suggest the UK variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 leads to greater rates of death and hospitalization

Health & Wellbeing

New study suggests UK coronavirus variant is significantly more deadly

A study published in the British Medical Journal is offering some of the first clear evidence to suggest the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7, informally known as the UK variant, is linked with significantly higher rates of death than previously known strains.

Shark and ray populations are declining at a rapid rate, a new study has found

Environment

Shark and ray populations have plummeted by 71% in half a century

Scientists examining shark and ray populations across the globe have published an alarming study depicting a rapid decline of these species over the past half century, with the blame mostly resting at the feet of unsustainable fishing practices.

An expansive new study has highlighted the connection between blood pressure differential between arms and heightened risk of heart attack and stroke

Medical

Blood pressure variance between arms cause for cardiovascular concern

Minute differences in the blood pressure between each arm aren’t cause for concern, but there is a point at which variances could represent cardiovascular trouble, and an expansive international study has shone new light on where that point lies.

Lead author of the study Emily Duncan releases a tagged bottle into the Ganges river

Environment

Tagged bottles reveal the path of plastic through the ocean

A new study has shed further light on the way plastic waste moves through the marine environment with the use of tagged plastic bottles. The bottles were dropped into the Ganges river and some ended up thousands of kilometers away.

A new study has found that climate change is causing nights to warm faster than days across much of the planet

Environment

Climate change heating up nights faster than days, study finds

A new study has found that climate change is raising nighttime temperatures across the globe faster than daytime temperatures, which could have “significant implications” for the environment, the authors warn.

Scientists have used an advanced technique to detect and measure plastics in seafood samples

Environment

New technique reveals the plastics we consume with a plate of seafood

Scientists have developed a new method to detect trace amounts of plastic in edible tissues, and tried it out on a range of seafood such as oysters, prawns, squid, crabs and sardines to find plastic particles in all samples tested.

Mountains of plastic waste wash into the ocean every year, and we face a big battle to clean up the mess

Environment

Floating booms could only clean up 5% of plastic on the ocean surface

A new study has cast doubt over one method of cleaning up ocean plastics in floating trash-collection barriers, finding that these devices are unlikely to put a dent in the overall problem, even if left to run well into next century.

Determining which antibiotics are likely to work against which bacteria could be crucial to tackling the rise of superbugs

Medical

Glowing bacteria could slow the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Scientists at the University of Exeter have developed a promising technique that could help slow the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs, by quickly illuminating bacteria when antibiotics are having the desired effect.

Through the discovery of plastic fragments in the feces and regurgitated food of dippers, scientists have found what they say is the first evidence of river microplastics traveling up the food chain

Environment

Study reveals first sign of river plastics traveling up the food chain

The efforts of researchers to trace plastic waste continues to turn up evidence of its detrimental effects on the natural world, with the latest example a study detailing the first evidence of river-borne plastic waste traveling up the food chain.

Workers remove Sargassum seaweed from the beach in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Good Thinking

Inexpensive process converts seaweed into biofuel, fertilizer and more

Sargassum seaweed is growing out of control in many regions – it washes up on beaches in huge amounts. Utilizing a new technique, that rotting organic matter could soon be converted into biofuels and other products.

Microcytosis, when red blood cells are abnormally small, may be an early warning sign for some cancers

Medical

Small red blood cells could be novel early-stage cancer biomarker

Research from a medical student is pointing to an early-stage biomarker for a variety of cancers. The research found subjects with abnormally small red blood cells were twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer as those with normal blood results.

Forest island Isla Manechi where ancient evidence of squash and cassava cultivation was discovered

Science

Ancient settlers once farmed on thousands of artificial forest islands

Over 10,000 years ago ancient human settlers began the construction of around 4,700 artificial forest islands in ancient Amazonia to farm savanna land, according to the results of a newly published paper.