ResearchPod

The destruction of plant crops from the propagation of plant pathogens, such as viruses, is a serious threat to global food security and human perpetuity. What's more, the world’s governing bodies lack the tools for standardised and accurate virus detection. The CEO and Founder of Multiplex startup, Dr Bernardo Pollak, and fellow researchers based in Chile have developed and tested a unique d...

Care, by itself, brings thoughts of warmth, compassion, and doing right by the people who need your help. As an employment Secto r , it sees life or death stakes placed on a chronically undervalued staff, working under stringent budgets in high pressure working environments. What, then, can we learn from the fields of trauma research and community support in caring for those carers? Dr Dianne Wepa...

What is the future of hydrogen as a renewable fuel source? Professor Michele Barbour talks with Dr Neha Chandarana, a Lecturer in Bio-based and Sustainable Composites at the University of Bristol. Neha explores the potential applications of hydrogen, from heating to various modes of transport. She also shares insights into her role as the Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Champion for the Universi...

Weight lifter David Katoatau has already lost his home in Kiribati to coastal erosion, and  faces the loss of his whole country to rising sea levels. Dancing at the 2016 Summer Olympics didn't stop the tides, but it grabbed attention across the world regarding his country's imminent fate, and raised awareness of the damages climate change is already having around the globe. Researchers f...

Cyclic glycine proline, or cGP,  is a very small molecule, but one with a profound impact on the body and mind, such as on the ageing brain and health. Dr Jian Guan, Neuroscientist and Chief Scientific Officer at The cGP Lab, New Zealand, focuses on understanding the role of IGF-1 hormone and cGP in brain health and cognitive function, and improving the ageing process overall. Read the original re...

Active risks to children's health come in many shapes and sizes. While misinformation and bad advice won't turn up in a blood test, it can have just as damaging consequences as any infection. Dr Christie del Castillo-Hegyi's research into child wellbeing and nutrition, in addition to her Fed Is Best Initiative , flies counter to a lot of the “received wisdom” new parents are given....

Sir Paul Nurse, Director of the Francis Crick Institute in London, UK is a Nobel Prize winning geneticist and cell biologist whose research is recognised worldwide, particularly for his contributions to cell biology and cancer research.  In this insightful interview with our sister publication, Research Features , Nurse discusses the institute’s creative ‘bottom up’ approach to research, his presi...

How could a chance discovery in cuttlefish biology help protect our sight? Join Professor Michele Barbour in conversation with Dr Shelby Temple, the CEO and Co-Founder of Azul Optics, a medical device company focused on using innovative screening technologies to improve eye health. Hear about Shelby’s transition from academia to entrepreneurship and the importance of building the right team.   ⭐...

With the exception of a few hereditary cancers, there is currently no accurate method to predict whether someone is going to get cancer.  Dr Andrew Teschendorff from the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, in collaboration with Dr Chen Wu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, has created a computational method called CancerStemID that could help calculate a patient’s risk of cancer...

Traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, and 80% of traumatic brain injuries are classified as ‘mild.’ But, these can have serious and long-lasting effects.  Dr Jacyln Stephens, Associate Professor in Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University specialises in brain injury, rehabilitation, and neuroscience. She discusses her research into...

In the digitalised world, citizens – while having control over their personal information – are increasingly exposing their data, and there are plenty of online platforms ready to collect this. Aigul Kaskina, in collaboration with the FMsquare Foundation, presents the concept of a fuzzy-based recommender system for user account privacy settings that can be used for citizen participation on online...

What can we learn from our history to make positive changes for the future? Professor Michele Barbour investigates this question with Dr Joanna Burch-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Co-Chair of the Bristol Histories Commission, and Co-Director of Bridging Histories. Joanna talks about her work to celebrate diversity, empower people, and foster a sense of collective heritage.   ⭐ Highlights...

The international monetary system is the unquestioned common ground for all economic activities. Stefan Brunnhuber, trustee of the World Academy of Art and Science and member of the Club of Rome asks: how and why will an upgraded financial system be a game-changer? Are we ready to think and act outside the box? Do we need a new, green Bretton Woods 2.0? Read the original research: springer/10.1007...

How much of the plastic we generate in our cities every day ends up in natural water ecosystems? And what are the paths for pollution to enter these systems? Using a combination of environmental monitoring, laboratory analysis, and computer modelling, a team led by Dr. Mauricio Arias and his Watershed Sustainability lab at the University of South Florida aim to unravel the complex mechanisms respo...

In Western Sydney, Australia extreme temperature days pose serious health and socio-economic threats to its population.  Dr Milton Speer and colleagues from the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia aim to quantify and explain what is driving the increasing disparity in extreme maximum summer temperatures between coastal and western inland Sydney....

For Story Telling Week 2024, we've revisited some past episodes to see how else stories can help summarise science. Listen to the original episode of Dr Angelica Hagsand of the University of Gothenburg here: https://researchpod.org/behavioural-sciences/eyewitness-testimony-much-alcohol-too-much  Read their original article: https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2021.1929978 Read more in Research O...

Welcome to the Enterprise Sessions   How do you launch a new business without the necessary infrastructure to support it? If you’re Dr Harry Destecroix you build it yourself. Professor Michele Barbour sits down with the Science Creates Founder to talk about the remarkable success of an ecosystem that combines specialist incubator facilities, a network of strategic partners and a dedicated venture...

Nanomaterials are small particles that can be found everywhere, including in the air we breathe, which can have detrimental effects on health and the environment. Dr Ernesto Alfaro-Moreno of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Braga, Portugal, has been involved in continued research on the toxicology of nanomaterials, with promising application in our daily lives.  Read more in...

On the face of it, investment management is purely a numbers game. But behind the scenes, equity analysts require a lot of people skills to get an accurate stock valuation out to the fund management community.  Dr An-Ping Lin, Associate Professor at Singapore Management University, and colleagues from the US and Canada have produced the very first large-scale, statistical study on why and how much...

Many of the latest anti-cancer drugs are targeted towards the tiniest molecular differences in cells. But even if you know the genetic make up of a tumour, getting medicines to - and then in to - the affected area is a different challenge. Dr Moutih Rafei at Defence Therapeutics reports on a novel drug technology that gets more treatment to the cells that need it,  and what that might mean for the...

Mobile devices have become pervasive in reach and constant in attention. What role does that availability have as a cause of, and potential solution to, crises in mental health and the care profession? And who falls between the cracks where technology falls short?   Dr Dianne Wepa from Charles Darwin University joins us again along side Dr Jabin from the University of Bradford to talk tech, therap...

Cigarette smoking increases the risk of developing lung cancer and other diseases, but how effective are public health strategies? Professor Theodore Holford at the Yale School of Public Health, USA, is part of the CISNET Lung Cancer Working Group. His work uses population health models, such as the Smoking History Generator, to show age-period-cohort effects on smoking rates across US states. Rea...

While Scotland has been a beacon of hope for many Syrian refugees, resettlement can create a grievous sense of loss and emptiness for many. Associate Professor Fawad Khaleel of Edinburgh Napier University and Dr Alija Avudukic of Al-Maktoum College, Scotland, UK, examine the challenges faced by people from Syria, who experienced forced displacement from their home country due to war and were re-pl...

Does a firms age and size matter in the world of Initial Public Offerings? Smader Siev from Ono Academic College and Mahmoud Qadan from the the University of Haifa, have explored the dynamic landscape of Initial Public Offerings, and demonstrated how age and size play pivotal roles in the IPO world. Read the original research: doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15120586

How a member of the public reacts to health crises depends on a lot of differing factors, including perceived risk or resistance to the disease, trust in the government, and general anxiety levels. Since media, including government-sourced information, can also determine how individuals respond to health messages, the impact of crisis communication could depend on how the risk is framed. Dr Su Lin...