Life Solved

Ever wondered what it’s like inside the mind of a burglar? Professor Claire Nee from the University of Portsmouth explains how she’s been watching crime in action to demystify the criminal mind.   Professor Nee’s research watches offenders re-enact their crimes in a virtual reality environment to learn about the unconscious processes behind their choices. The idea is that burglars are ‘expert...

In the case of major incidents such as terrorism, other crimes or an accident, emergency services rush to respond and save lives. But in this episode of Life Solved, we find out how the stress and pace of high-risk scenarios can influence the behaviour and memories of witnesses to such incidents.   Professor Becky Milne and her colleagues at the University of Portsmouth know this kind of witn...

Your shopping habits, buying choices and the clothes you wear be impacting human rights, the environment and our supplies of finite resources.   The fashion industry cannot continue to operate the way it currently does.   In this episode of Life Solved, Dr Elaine Igoe shares stories from her innovative fashion design, community and sustainable production projects at the University of Por...

Death and bereavement are natural life experiences, but how is our approach to education and communication letting young people down?   In this episode of Life Solved from the University of Portsmouth, Dr Sukhbinder Hamilton shares her latest research findings on how higher education students are reluctant to seek support for grief.   She challenges often unconscious taboo messaging in t...

Throughout history, vulnerable young people suffering with trauma have been dismissed as 'beyond help' or simply too badly behaved by the institutions charged with their care.   In this episode of Life Solved from the University of Portsmouth, we hear how this bias is still denying many the ongoing support needed to overcome childhood disadvantage. Dr Wendy Sims-Schouten explains how her rese...

Murals, music, comic books and theatre: could art be the gateway to saving lives and tackling world problems?   Find out how a University of Portsmouth collaboration is using art as the conduit for vital public health messaging around the world.   Today, Dr Cressida Bowyer and Dr Louis Netter explain the mission of ACT Nairobi: Action Against Covid Transmission, a project created to shar...

What do you call the academic study of fandom? Comic book and cult TV fans are known for their inventive collective nouns, but what about the academics that are studying their behaviour?   In this episode of Life Solved, Professor Lincoln Geraghty introduces us to the Aca-fans: the academics who are researching the (often positive) social impact of fandom on communities and individuals. This...

How do unconscious language choices in media reporting contribute to the social inequality of women? And how does the language of online Incel – or involuntary celibate - groups leave participants more likely to engage in hate speech towards women?   In this episode of Life Solved, Dr Alessia Tranchese explains how she has examined the linguistics of different media to uncover the hidden viol...

In this episode of Life Solved from the University of Portsmouth, we hear how the work of Professor Gordon Blunn and his team is revolutionising the way artificial limbs and joint replacements are integrated with the human body.   Using 3D printing technology, Professor Blunn explains how this smart design can tackle the challenges of worn, ill-fitting or uncomfortable prostheses.   His...

Have you ever heard of a ‘resource curse’? Too much of one good thing really can stunt a developing nation’s economy, according to Professor Andy Thorpe. He says a diverse economy is a healthy one.   In this episode of Life Solved, we gain an insight into the complex and far-reaching world of Development Economics. The University of Portsmouth’s Professor Andy Thorpe tells us about carrying o...

In this episode of Life Solved, Professor Tamsin Bradley explains how innovative research into violence against women is informing international development organisations on how to respond to crises.   Professor Bradley has been working with international community projects in areas like Nepal, South Sudan, Myanmar and Bangladesh to explore women’s experiences of violence after economic or en...

Vodka distilled from grain and water sourced in a nuclear disaster zone?   Normally when alcohol inspires world-changing ideas, they don’t turn out that well, but this University of Portsmouth Professor is clear-headed about how to help kick-start Chernobyl’s economy.   Professor Jim Smith explains his findings after years of studying the impact of radiation upon wildlife and the food ch...

“Where we're looking at these emerging contaminants. I still don't know what their fate is. So where does it end up if it's in the sediments? What are the processes that's happening there? Is it being broken down or is it just building up?” In the final episode of Life Solved series 2, we hear about the Portsmouth technology that’s changing the game for water quality, and which may even help reduc...

“People switch off on water... in this country. We have a disconnect. In lower income countries, people have a much greater connection with the environment because they're in contact with it more."   Beneath our feet, at the end of our roads, or hidden out of site, there’s a whole world of water and waste! Managing this is key to human health, from tackling the increasing levels of chemicals...

"the thrill or the unpredictability or the letting one's hair down...is really important, but comes with those risks...I think the whole point of femininity is that it's full of contradictions."   How does a night on the town change how feminine or masculine our behaviour is? Dr Emily Nicholls takes us through her research on how gender is performed through drinking and sobriety in British cu...

"Having the correct number of holes in the film, depending on the fruit...can double the shelf life for raspberries or blueberries."   Less packaging isn’t always better for the environment. Professor Paul Trott explains how innovative food packaging can help tackle problems of food waste in society. But what problems are making it worse and who holds the power to make change?   Subscrib...

"more children drown than die in fires or die on a bicycles. And yet we have cycle proficiency, we have fire training. We have adverts on national television about smoke detectors. You'll never see anything on television about drowning"   What should you do if you find yourself drowning in cold water? Drowning kills 320,000 people worldwide per year but Mike Tipton says basic education i...

Life Solved, the podcast from the University of Portsmouth, showcases world-class research that's about to change our lives for the better. In series 2 we've looked at lots of topics relating to our work in the enviornent and sustainability, but we're taking a little break for Christmas. This episode gives you a sneaky peak of some of the conversations still to come when we're back on the 5th of J...

"there is evidence that quite a high proportion of us are colonized with multi-resistant organisms in our gastrointestinal tract... Manuka Honey has been shown to have anti-microbial properties for a long time"   Your kitchen cupboard could hold the key to future-proofing our hospitals against infection. With antibiotic resistance on the rise, Dr Fouch and her team have been looking at altern...

"if you have depression it is a physical construct now, rather than "it's all in the mind""   Have you ever felt your stomach knot up before a public speech? Professor Swinny has been exploring the physical link between our bodies and our life experiences. Can being stressed make you ill? Does depression change your body? And how does trauma change us physically? The answers lie in our brains...

"You can't have modern medicine without antibiotics because you can't have surgery.... All your chemotherapies impact immunity. I think it would be good if we could find a way to not get the resistance coming back"   Antibiotics have transformed healthcare and meant that once life-threatening illnesses can be treated with ease, but resistant bacteria are a worrying prospect. That’s why Profes...

"headache tablets, statins, things for cholesterol or things for hayfever or contraceptive pill.... they end up into the nearest river...we drink that water. We use this water recreationally"   When you pour a medicine down the sink or flush it down the loo, where do the chemicals end up? Professor Alex Ford has been exploring how the behaviour of sea creatures changes when zombie-like parasi...

"we should... not underestimate (dogs) and...how rich their environment needs to be… for them to really enjoy life."   We speak to Dr Juliane Kaminski, whose fascination with the animal mind and its difference from our own is leading to insights in how we can better relate to our furry friends. Her team have found out how a particular eyebrow movement in domestic dogs can be used to influence...

Series 2 of Life Solved features ideas and research that is changing our understanding of human relationships with environments. John Worsey chairs two discussions exploring the world’s plastic pollution problem, and how this might be challenged with enzyme technology that’s developing here at Portsmouth.   He also finds out how developing nations are outstripping the developed world in adopt...

Season 2 of Life Solved is coming on Tuesday 3rd of November with a special episode on the economic side of sustainable living and practise. In this highlights episode John Worsey looks back on a few moments from Season One. Hear extracts covering social media's changing role in political discourse, how drone operators can be mentally affected by their work during warfare, how our changing climate...