research

Scientists and clinicians in Exeter are part of a £20 million investment to unlock the secrets of COVID-19 They will use the University’s state of the art equipment to ensure samples from Devon patients help to combat the disease.

Scientists at the University of Exeter and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E) are part of a group of the country’s leading institutions who are joining together to sequence the virus from patients throughout the UK. By knowing the sequence it will be possible to know both how it is changing (or mutating) and also to map the...

Two Devon women attempting a world best have linked up with SeaSports Southwest in their quest to become the fastest female pair to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

University of Exeter Masters Medicine students Rosie Alterman and Charlie Fleurywill launch their attempt at the 2020 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge starting in December, aiming to beat the current best of 50 days.

The adventurous pair who have also worked together in Royal Devon and Exeter’s Accident and Emergency department will be known as the Emergensea Girls for the 3000 mile test of endurance.

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Seagulls favour food that has been handled by humans, new research shows.

Herring gulls were presented with two identical food items – one of which they had seen a human holding.

The gulls pecked more often at the handled food, suggesting they use human actions when deciding what to eat.

The University of Exeter study follows previous research which found that staring at seagulls makes them less likely to steal food.

“UK herring gull numbers are declining, but urban populations have increased,” said lead author Madeleine Goumas, of the Centre for Ecology and...

Funding expected to total £1.2 million ($1,566,874) over four years from the USA’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) will help Exeter academics advance understanding about the underlying biological mechanisms leading to some people with Alzheimer’s disease developing psychosis.

The grant is one of eight awarded by the NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA) as part of its Molecular Mechanisms of the Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease program, and will fund research that aims to pave the way for new treatments, and better diagnosis and classification of psychosis in...

Contrary to the common perception that working hard and saving is the attitude of a bygone era, new research reveals that wealthy millennials across the South West are more likely to have earned their money independently rather it being inherited or gifted.

A survey of 500 millennials with investable assets of £25,000 or more by Exeter-based law firm Michelmores LLP, counters the view that millennials are a generation reaping the hard work of the baby boomers. Michelmores’ research reveals that;

80 per cent of respondents in the South West say they have generated these...

A new, state-of-the-art genome sequencing platform will put Exeter on the cutting edge of research into the genomic basis of health and disease.

The Illumina NovaSeq sequencer has just been installed at the University of Exeter, part-funded by over £600,000 from the Wellcome Trust. The investment represents a significant upgrade to Exeter’s ability to sequence whole genomes faster and in much greater depth than before.

The award has also enabled Exeter to invest in technology for profiling the way genes are expressed – or “switched on” - in individual cells. It will enable...

It sounds like the latest police drama – the Zoo Evidence Officer is on the case, searching for clues, combing through paperwork and tracking down the truth.

In fact, the new post, based at Paignton Zoo in Devon, is about detecting science-based evidence for the best ways to care for, manage and breed animals in zoological collections for conservation purposes.

Wild Planet Trust, the charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, has been awarded a grant to recruit a post-doctoral researcher for a year. The Trust’s Field Conservation...

Work is now under way to construct a cutting-edge new imaging centre expected to rapidly accelerate dementia research and improve healthcare.

The new Mireille Gillings Neuroimaging Centre will form part of the University of Exeter Medical School clinical research infrastructure. It will transform research and diagnosis of dementia and other neurological diseases, funded by part of a £10 million donation from the Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation.

The new building, located at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (RD&E) site, will help accelerate clinical...

Hearst UK, the leading print and online magazine publisher, has today revealed findings from one of its largest surveys conducted around female body confidence.

Over 2,500 women, aged 18-65, took part in surveys, kept diaries and attended focus groups to understand how they think and feel about their bodies on a day-to-day basis. The headline result – that only 4% of UK women feel beautiful – has led to the creation of campaign - “Project Body Love” - which has an end goal of permanently changing the way women feel, and ultimately speak, about their bodies.

The research was...

The charity behind the region’s three top zoos has launched a new website with a new look and a radical new approach. Wild Planet Trust is the new name for the charity that runs Paignton Zoo, Living Coasts in Torquay and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall.

The charity’s new website places a strong emphasis on highlighting the conservation and research work of the zoos.

Trust spokesperson Phil Knowling said: “Our new website leads on our science and conservation work. This is the most important thing we do, and we wanted to make that clear. The site has a strong look and is easy to get...