Articles Archives

Earth & Environment

Urban water and sanitation reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa

Many countries in the developing world have undertaken ambitious reforms of their urban water and sanitation. Unfortunately, few have achieved excellent, sustainable results. In his recent book, Empty Buckets and Overflowing Pits, Dr Roland Werchota describes his research into urban water and sanitation sector reforms in four Sub-Saharan African countries, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, and explains why these […]

Physical Sciences

Converting to terahertz communications

The amount of data we generate globally is now accelerating at a breakneck pace. As this transformation occurs, exchanges of terahertz signals could become a crucial aspect of future communication systems, yet without a way to efficiently convert these waves to and from optical signals, such a prospect has remained unfeasible so far. In his research, Professor Cyril Renaud at […]

Health & Medicine

Improving the iron delivery from staple food crops and food products

Dr Raymond Glahn, US Department of Agriculture and Cornell University, has pioneered several techniques to assess how much iron (Fe) is bioavailable from foods, meals and the overall diet. Such techniques are essential to identify and optimise dietary sources of Fe and alleviate iron deficiency, one of the leading global nutritional deficiencies. Staple food crops are a focus of this […]

Biology

The bees are back in town: Pollinators in an urban ecosystem

The growing urbanisation of the landscape poses a major threat to insect pollinators. The reduction in number of these insects, especially bee species, could have a severe impact on agricultural production as many of the crops that we rely on could not produce seeds without pollination. Working with the Volusia Sandhill Pollinator Project, Professors Cindy Bennington and Peter May investigate […]

Health & Medicine

Headaches and neck pain: The impact of cervical anatomy

Headaches can be caused by a dysfunction in the neck. There appears to be a relationship between the movement or position of the spine and the intensity of headaches. Dr Rob Sillevis, from Florida Gulf Coast University, explored the anatomical relationship between a variety of structures in the upper cervical spine and the spinal cord. His observations could help understand how […]

Physical Sciences

Realising free-space communication with quantum cascade lasers

As cheap and accessible tools for transmitting private information, freely propagating light waves are highly desirable for parties operating secure communication networks. However, the encoded information these waves contain can easily be lost due to unpredictable fluctuations in the Earth’s atmosphere. In their research, Frédéric Grillot and Olivier Spitz at Télécom Paris have developed sophisticated new techniques to overcome this […]

Health & Medicine

Talking about dying: How doctors and patients talk about life expectancy

When patients have life-limiting conditions, doctors need to talk with them about dying. These conversations can be difficult for doctors, patients, and patients’ family members. Professor Ruth Parry and Dr Marco Pino, from Loughborough University, analyse recordings of conversations during which patients request life expectancy estimates. They then use the findings from this research to develop training resources that can […]

Engineering & Technology

ThreatSCOPE: Addressing software vulnerability in embedded systems

The team at cyber-security firm BlueRISC Inc., is led by Dr Csaba Andras Moritz, Founder and Chairman of BlueRISC Inc. and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They have developed ThreatSCOPE, a system assurance tool that analyses and mitigates software vulnerabilities and cyber threats in embedded systems. ThreatSCOPE uses BlueRISC’s patented ImmuneSoft technology to […]

Physical Sciences

Seizing control over quantum systems through measurement

Thanks to the deep complexities of quantum mechanics, physicists have so far faced serious difficulties in establishing control over quantum systems. In his research, Dr Arjendu Pattanayak at Carleton College in Minnesota demonstrates that the dynamics of vibrating quantum systems can be altered by adjusting the settings of the lasers used to measure them. His team’s results could lead to […]

Health & Medicine

Timely insulin therapy to treat type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is a tricky condition to treat. While insulin can efficiently lower blood sugar levels and protect pancreatic ꞵ-cells, it can also cause harmful side effects such as hypoglycaemia and weight gain. Severe hypoglycaemia may trigger arrhythmias and cardiovascular events. Professor Markolf Hanefeld suggests that an individualised approach to start timely insulin therapy on the basis of risk/benefit balance is […]