Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Children developing colour concepts have ‘blindness to background’ as they struggle to identify colour existing independently of objects, new research has revealed. Experts at Aberystwyth University and Newcastle University have looked at the way pre-school children identify colours. A research study conducted by Dr Catherine O’Hanlon, Lecturer in Developmental and Neurodevelopmental Psychology at Aberystwyth University, is shortly to be published in the scientific journal Developmental Science. Despite colour being an important aspect of human visual experience, it often takes toddlers many months of teaching and reinforcing before they learn to apply colour words correctly and consistently. “When it comes to colour, two to four year old children really struggle” explains Dr O’Hanlon from the University’s Department of Psychology. “The words are learned relatively late and the concepts developed even later.” Professor Jenny Read, Professor of Vision Science at the Institute of Neur...

A study by scientists at Aberystwyth University’s IBERS working with Wales YFC reveals that rumen fluke (Calicophoron daubneyi) is now prevalent on Welsh farms. Funded by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and an Owen Price Scholarship in conjunction with Wales YFC, the study is published today in the journal Parasitology. See link - Rumen fluke (Calicophoron daubneyi) on Welsh farms: prevalence, risk factors and observations on co-infection with Fasciola hepatica The research was undertaken by scientists at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) working in partnership with young farmers in Wales to identify rumen fluke prevalence levels and associated risk factors across Wales. Rumen fluke was previously regarded as a rare parasite, but is now an emerging problem in the UK and information on its prevalence in Wales has been very scarce to date. The similar parasite liver fluke is one of the biggest problems facing the UK livestock industry, estimated to co...

An Aberystwyth PhD student has discovered that birds with additional DNA may live longer lives. In research published in the journal 'Aging', IBERS PhD student Ilze Skujina screened hundreds of mitochondrial DNA sequences for the presence of duplications and demonstrated that they are found significantly more often in longer-lived bird species. http://www.aging-us.com/article/ggTZQvxjJXncACAsf/text Ilze said “Understanding how ageing happens in different groups of species like birds may provide insights into ageing in humans.” The mechanics of flight utilises a large amount of energy and results in higher body temperatures but despite this, birds live longer than mammals of equal size. Mitochondria are the 'batteries' of cells and generate chemical energy that every cell in the body can use. Mitochondria play an essential dual role in maintaining a constant body temperature and in generating energy, which both link to expected lifespan. Dr Rob Mc Mahon, Ilze’s PhD sup...

Modern forensic analysis will be paired with detailed historical research to reveal new insights into medieval British society hidden within the wax seals of thousands of historic documents. The unique research project, called Imprint, will examine fingerprints and palm prints left behind on the wax seals of documents dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. These seals, attached to documents such as land transactions, business contracts, and financial exchanges were the medieval equivalents of modern-day signatures and credit cards. The three-year study is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and led by Dr Elizabeth New from Aberystwyth University and co-investigator Professor Philippa Hoskin from the University of Lincoln. They will work with historical materials in the cathedrals of Exeter, Hereford and Lincoln, the National Library of Wales and Westminster Abbey. The aim is to reveal more about medieval social structures, networks of authority, and the bur...

Inspired by detective crime series ‘Hinterland’, Aberystwyth University Animal Science student Henriette Wisnes is investigating why cats kill so many other animals. Pathological pussy-cats or misunderstood moggies? Millions of animals are thought to be ‘eliminated’ by our precious little bundles of joy every year. But do our furry friends prefer a set menu across the country? Or is there a preference for local produce? And do some countries house more ferocious felines than others? Using a simple online form the public is being asked to ‘snitch’ on their tabbies. Already, more than 250 participants from the UK and continental Europe have responded. Henriette, who is now in her third year at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental & Rural Sciences (IBERS) is investigating how natural hunting instincts in cats can impact on the local wildlife. When asked what ‘Fluffy’ brings home, she says: “Some cats seem to have a preference for what one mig...

Researchers at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University have collaborated with scientists from Dijon, France to try to solve the problem of bad tasting beer. Beer brewers face a tricky problem. The high level of activity in the yeast used to produce beer generates a lot of heat during the brewing process raising the temperature at the bottom of brewing vats. Unfortunately, yeast often suffers damage to their structure at these high temperatures, and this damage gives the beer a bad taste. Their research paper has been published in the journal Environmental Microbiology - ‘Surviving the heat: Heterogeneity of response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides insight into thermal damage to the membrane.’ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.12866/abstract . Understanding why some yeast cells survive high temperatures when others perish is key to improving processes such as brewing and with over 20 million pints of beer consume...

Parents remain concerned about the impact advertising and marketing are having, both directly and indirectly, on the lives of children and young people a new report reveals. Research published by Mothers’ Union reveals that despite welcome attention since 2010, four in five (80%) parents in Britain are concerned about the commercialisation of childhood, and a similar proportion (81%) say that the media encourages their children to ask their parents to buy them things that they see advertised, indicating the potential impact of “Pester Power”. The research, which was carried out by ComRes with over 1,000 parents in Great Britain in 2010 and 2013, also demonstrates that the proportion of parents who think advertising that can be seen by children is well regulated has decreased since the charity’s previous research in 2010. Just 30% of parents in Great Britain agree that advertising is well regulated in 2013, compared to two in five (39%) who said this in 2010. Speaking as the research ...

The Award winning oat breeding team at IBERS (Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences) has secured new funding from the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) for research aimed at further improving the nutritional value and economic sustainability of oats. The demand for high quality food grade oats is increasing annually, driven by its proven health benefits and through product innovation by the milling and cereals industries. Despite an expanding market, the oat crop continues to be challenged by the high investments being made in alternative crops and this intensifies competition. This new BBSRC LINK 5 year project will address some of the major challenges facing UK agriculture in terms of the sustainable production of safe and nutritious food. Professor Athole Marshall, Head of Plant Breeding at IBERS said “This new project is strategically important, specifically in enhancing oat crop productivity, quality and nutritional composition, i...

Glaciers in northern Antarctic Peninsula melting faster than ever - despite increased snowfall. Increased snowfall will not prevent the continued melting of glaciers in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, according to new research published today (Sunday 14 September) in the journal Nature Climate Change. An international team of researchers, which includes Professor Neil Glasser from Aberystwyth University, has discovered that small glaciers that end on land around the Antarctic Peninsula are highly vulnerable to slight changes in air temperature and may be at risk of disappearing within 200 years. Temperatures are currently rising rapidly in the Antarctic Peninsula. Because warmer air holds more moisture, the amount of snowfall has also increased. Some researchers have suggested that this may offset the melting of the glaciers in the future. However, this study found that even small increases in air temperature increased melting so much that even large amounts of extra snowfall ...

The work of a computer scientist at Aberystwyth University has helped capture images of Greenland glaciers for the purpose of building digital elevation maps and gathering glaciology data for research. Dr Neal Snooke, a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, has been working on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, commonly known as drones, for the past three years. In June, six new UAVs were sent to Greenland fully equipped with Sony Alpha 14 megapixel cameras to capture high quality photographic data of Store and Lille glacier, which flows into the sea off Greenland. Dr Snooke explains, “The mission was a great success. We were able to capture thousands of high quality digital images that can be processed to produce high resolution 3D models of the glacier. The images showed and monitored the movement and calving of the glacier on a frequent basis. “The idea came in the spring of 2013 when talking to Professor Alun Hubbard from the Department of Geography and Earth Sc...

The UK and Welsh Governments yesterday both confirmed [1], [2] that they have not undertaken any research to assess the likely impact of fracking on jobs in other sectors. Serious concerns have been raised about the impact of unconventional gas exploitation on investment in the renewable energy sector [3]. Concerns have also been raised that the industry could have negative impacts on other sectors, such as tourism, recreation and agriculture. “Governments at all levels are blundering ahead with plans to make the UK the epicentre of European fracking. But while there’s plenty of hype from the Government and industry about potential jobs in fracking, neither the UK nor the Welsh Government has lifted a finger to find out what toll this destructive industry will take on jobs elsewhere”, said Gareth Clubb, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru. “In their desperation to promote fracking, the UK and Welsh Governments appear to have overlooked the number of livelihoods fracking might destr...

Scientists at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), are working with partners at Rothamsted Research North Wyke in Devon to develop new grasses that enable grassland soils to capture increased volumes of rainfall, thereby reducing the risk of flooding downstream. The five-year £2.5 million LINK project named SUREROOT is funded by the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council), and match-funded by a range of industrial partners from across the food production spectrum, including a seed company, a major retailer and the meat, poultry and dairy industry. Large areas of the UK are facing continued and widespread threats from flooding that damage UK homes, and are causing the UK economy and agricultural production significant losses (e.g. an estimated £600m in 2012). Many of our river catchments are upland grasslands predominating in the wettest areas of the UK. If the rates of surface run-off could be reduced and r...

The Centre of Excellence for UK Farming (CEUKF), an agri-food supply-chains alliance to help UK Farming address production and sustainability challenges, has announced that its partnership now includes five leading UK research institutions and helps run a number of collaborative agri-food R&D projects. Since its launch in 2011 with seed-funding from food retailer Waitrose, the centre now includes: Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS); NIAB TAG; Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute of Northern Ireland (AFBI); Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Harper Adams University. CEUKF delivers briefings and news item for the partners and their projects through its Farming Futures (FF) website, twitter followers and the partners’ wider network. The CEUKF Steering Board of industry and academic leaders is chaired by Lord Curry of Kirkharle who said, “CEUKF is helping to cement relationships through building trust and smoothing lines of commun...

Researchers at Aberystwyth University have established that the wild ponies grazing the Carneddau Mountains, North Wales are a genetically unique population, which should be conserved to safeguard their existence.  Preserving the genetic resource provided by the Carneddau ponies is particularly crucial since recent snow storms led to the death of many of these animals, dramatically reducing their numbers. The study, the first into the genetic characteristics of the wild ponies, whose habitat in northern Snowdonia reaches heights of over 600 metres, was undertaken by scientists at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University using samples collected at the annual round-up of ponies above the village of Llanfairfechan. The aim was to establish to what extent the Carneddau ponies are genetically related to other UK native breeds and particularly whether they relatively recently separated from the existing Welsh Section A pony....

Shops struggling with the recession and rising energy costs are being offered a helping hand by South Wales researchers. Aberystwyth University and the Dyfi Biosphere are inviting local retail businesses to take part in one of their free workshops taking place in Aberystwyth on Wednesday 11th July and Machynlleth on Thursday 12th July. The workshop series is designed specifically for small and medium sized retailers, and aim to help them recognise that climate change presents a real and valuable opportunity to build and sustain their businesses. Above all, the project will explore ways of helping businesses break free from the current constraints of the economic recession. Many businesses are beginning to realise the benefits of adapting to a changing climate. However, Dr Nicola Thomas of Aberystwyth University said that more sceptical business owners are particularly welcome: “We aim to convert each ‘but’ into a commercial opportunity.” Nicola continued, “we will commit to under...

Aberystwyth University has been awarded a £60,000 grant to fund an innovative research project aimed at improving how prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men, is diagnosed. This generous grant, given by the Merthyr Tydfil-based appliance manufacturing giant Hoover and awarded by The Prostate Cancer Charity, will help improve the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis.  Professor Reyer Zwiggelaar, the Principal Investigator of the project at the Department of Computer Science at the University and his PhD student, Jonathan Roscoe, met with David Lunt, Chairman of The Hoover Foundation, and representatives from The Prostate Cancer Charity, to formally be presented with the vital funds. Meeting at the research centre on Penglais Campus they discussed how this research aims to help doctors see more clearly the extent and location of a man’s prostate cancer and in turn enable them to make better decisions about treatment. Professor Zwiggelaar said, “We are delighted that the ...

Aberystwyth University and the Hywel Dda Health Board have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will pave the way for greater collaboration in areas of research, continuing professional development and provision of shared services. The University and the Health Board are also working towards establishing a Professorial Chair in areas of mutual interest such as how people in rural areas access health services and support, and general health and well-being. The new agreement builds on existing collaboration between the University and the Hywel Dda Health Board in areas of research. One such project has been looking at strategies to prevent falls amongst the frail and elderly and has involved staff at the University’s Department of Sports and Exercise Science, Bronglais General Hospital and Age Concern Ceredigion. In a new area of research, psychologists at the University are working with Aberystwyth based charity The Beacon of Hope on evaluating the effectiveness of home based tele-...