News Archive: July 2020

Creative writing lecturer wins Poetry Book of the Year

Creative writing lecturer and poet, Zoë Skoulding has been awarded the Poetry category Wales Book of the Year Award for her latest volume of poetry: Footnotes to Water. Footnotes to Water follows two forgotten rivers, the Adda in Bangor and the Bièvre in Paris, and tracks the literary hoofprints of sheep through Welsh mountains. It was a Poetry Book Society choice last year.

Publication date: 31 July 2020

Bangor University Lecturer wins Llyfr y Flwyddyn

Ifan Morgan Jones has been awarded the Welsh Llyfr y Flwyddyn fiction category for his novel, Babel . Ifan Morgan Jones is a lecturer in journalism. He has written four novels, the first of which, Igam Ogam, won the Daniel Owen Memorial prize at the National Eisteddfod in 2008. He completed a PhD at Bangor University in 2018 on the subject of the Welsh language press in the 19th century and this research formed the basis of his novel Babel .

Publication date: 30 July 2020

Cancer research published in Science Advances

Cancer is a disease that has touched us all, and although we now know a lot about how cancers develop and grow, we still have a lot to learn. A major factor in cancer development and in treatment resistance is the presence of genome instability. This essentially involves frequent alterations to the genomic DNA of the cell, including changes to the letters of the genetic code as well as more obvious changes such as chromosome deletions, or even movement of large DNA fragments from one chromosome to another. Work in UKRI Future Leader Fellow Dr Chris Staples’ laboratory housed at the North West Cancer Research Institute (in the School of Medical Sciences at Bangor University) focuses on how cells normally prevent such genome instability from occurring.

Publication date: 26 July 2020

Bangor expert advises on US public health emergency preparedness and response

The lessons learned from responding to public health emergencies tend to fade, and public health funding and research priorities shift. That is why an expert from Bangor University’s School of Health Sciences was called on to join a US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine review of the current state of the evidence for public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR) in the United States.

Publication date: 24 July 2020

Teenage friends praised for immense bravery in sea rescue

A Bangor University student is praised by Police the his immense bravery in rushing into the sea to save a man. Dyfed-Powys Police Superintendent Ifan Charles met with Marine Biology and Oceanography student Tom Williams and friends Ciaran Phillips and Morgan Discombe-Hughes to thank them for their actions after a man got into difficulty on the water’s edge.

Publication date: 23 July 2020

Do you value exercise?

Exercise has many health benefits but, surprisingly, only a small minority is really physically active to an appropriate level.

Publication date: 23 July 2020

International Prize for Professor

Stefan Machura, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, has received the International Prize Honorable Mention 2020 of the Law and Society Association (LSA) “in recognition of significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the field of law and society." The LSA is based in the USA but its membership is all over the globe. It is the internationally leading scholarly association in this field.

Publication date: 23 July 2020

We discovered a new species, but war means it may now remain hidden forever

The world has a new species. My colleagues and I were hugely excited to announce it but, alas, this stingray – a distant cousin of sharks – can’t be claimed to be a particularly spectacular or awe-inspiring animal. It’s small – about the size of an outstretched hand – and, as far as we know, plain, without distinctive markings. But what’s special about this stingray is where it came from, how we came to discover it – and why we may never see it again. This article by Alec Moore , Post-Doctoral Fisheries Scientist, at the School of Ocean Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

Publication date: 23 July 2020

School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering hosts a virtual celebration for graduates

On the 16th July 2020, the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering hosted a virtual celebration for the graduating students. A formal graduation ceremony is planned for 2021, but the School wanted to celebrate their graduating students and award prizes.

Publication date: 21 July 2020

Bangor Honorary Professor to lead work on teaching Wales’ “rich history built on difference and diversity”

Professor Charlotte Williams OBE has been appointed by the Welsh Government to lead a new working group to advise on and improve the teaching of themes relating to Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and experiences across all parts of the school curriculum. Professor Williams is Honorary Professor in the School of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences at Bangor University and former Associate Dean and Professor of Social work at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. She holds Honorary Fellow appointments at Glyndwr University and the University of South Wales.

Publication date: 21 July 2020

Students rewarded for supporting their peers

Two mature students have been rewarded for supporting their fellow students at Bangor University. Jodie Jackman and Dinah Jennings have both been active and effective in the University’s Peer Guide Scheme, which enables students to help and support new students at the University.

Publication date: 17 July 2020

Postgraduate grants for Bangor University students

Grants are being made available for Welsh students to study postgraduate degrees at Bangor University.

Publication date: 16 July 2020

New Netflix series is another take on women in Arthurian legend, says Bangor University academic

Netflix will begin streaming its latest epic fantasy drama, Cursed, based on the Arthurian legend and centering on the iconic Lady of the Lake on Friday July 17th. Prof Raluca Radulescu, Director of the Centre for Arthurian Studies at Bangor University, explains why this mysterious and powerful character in Arthurian legend continues to appeal.

Publication date: 16 July 2020

International Placement with Philips Healthcare for SHES Student

After finishing the third year of her bachelor’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology Katarina Kylisova, who came to Bangor from the Czech Republic decided to participate in Erasmus+ International Exchange internship programme available at Bangor University and further broaden her horizons.

Publication date: 10 July 2020

Super-lenses made from spider webs and laser-based advanced manufacturing to be discussed in public seminar.

Super-lenses made from spider webs and laser-based advanced manufacturing are just two of the topics being discussed by world-class Bangor University academics in an upcoming public seminar.

Publication date: 10 July 2020

Post-Covid shift away from global supply chains could boost North Wales economy

A backlash against globalisation in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis can kick-start North Wales’s powerful manufacturing sector with a boom in cutting edge technologies like 3D printing boosting the recovery, according to a top expert. Bangor University economics lecturer Dr Edward Jones, predicts more businesses and governments will want to have their supplies closer to home as they emerge from months of unprecedented lockdown.

Publication date: 9 July 2020

How animals are coping with the global ‘weirding’ of the Earth’s seasons

This article by Dr Line Cordes, Lecturer in Marine Biology, School of Ocean Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The UK’s weather did a somersault in the first half of 2020, as the wettest February on record gave way to the sunniest spring. Climate change has warped the environmental conditions that might be considered normal, creating progressively weirder seasons that cause havoc for society. Longer, drier summers increase the risk of crop failure and fires, floods engulf homes, and less winter snowfall and earlier thaws threaten freshwater supplies.

Publication date: 9 July 2020

Forest Research wins funding for collaborative research into oak tree health

A pioneering new project to investigate the health of our British oak trees has been the go-ahead thanks to almost £2 million investment from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Defra and Scottish Government. The project, named ‘BAC-STOP’ (Bacteria: Advancement of Control and Knowledge to Save Threatened Oak and Protect them for Future Generations’), will focus on Acute Oak Decline (AOD) - an emerging complex disease in which bacteria cause stem lesions on native species of British oak.

Publication date: 8 July 2020

Bangor University’s Clubs & Societies placed second in WhatUni.com awards 2020

Bangor University has been awarded second place in the ‘Societies & Sport’ category of this year’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards. The University also came in the top four in the Giving Back category.

Publication date: 8 July 2020

The impact of climate change on marmot survival differs between seasons

Many animals have evolved life cycles and strategies (patterns of survival and reproduction) in line with predictable seasonal variation in environmental conditions. Short and mild summers produce bursts of vegetation and food, the perfect time to give birth to young. Long, harsh winters when food is scarce have shaped animals to largely depend on fat reserves for energy, and in extreme cases, to hibernate or migrate. However, climate change is altering these seasonal conditions to which many species are adapted. Temperatures are increasing, winter snowfall is declining, snow is melting earlier, summers are extending, and the frequency of extreme events (e.g., droughts, floods) are on the rise.

Publication date: 7 July 2020

Cyfri’r Cewri: Wales’ mathematicians

Professor Gareth Roberts who is well-known for his Welsh language work to popularise mathematics, and who is a former Pro Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University has a new book published. The book builds on Llewelyn Gwyn Chambers’ work Mathemategwyr Cymru (Cardiff, 1994). Previously a Reader in the Department of Mathematics at Bangor, he set out the history of some 70 Welsh mathematicians.

Publication date: 7 July 2020

Solving mysteries with Leverhulme Research Grants

Three awards to Bangor University will enable scientists to solve some of the unanswered mysteries of science and record one of the earth’s most diverse ecosystems.

Publication date: 7 July 2020

Academics and cartoonist bring Sociology to life in the Welsh language

Two academics from Bangor University have collaborated with the cartoonist Huw Aaron to present the important field of Sociology in a fun and memorable way in Welsh

Publication date: 6 July 2020

Bangor and Santander Universities offer support through Enterprise Support Allowance during COVID crisis

Bangor University and Santander Universities are supporting student and graduates with their businesses and new ventures through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publication date: 3 July 2020

Bangor researchers’ work informs Lords report warning of ‘pandemic of misinformation’ in democracy

The advice of two researchers at Bangor University has informed a report into democracy and digital technologies by a House of Lords committee.

Publication date: 3 July 2020

Hypoxia - novel finding turns brain function on its head

The brain is a hungry organ. To fuel brain activity, brain blood flow increases to provide oxygen and nutrients. This matching of blood flow to brain activity is called ‘neurovascular coupling’ and is assumed essential to maintain brain function.

Publication date: 3 July 2020

Work begins on UK system for estimating COVID-19 cases from wastewater

Scientists will develop a standardised UK-wide system for detecting coronavirus in wastewater, in order to provide an early warning of future outbreaks and reduce reliance on costly testing of large populations. The majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 - the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease - are believed to shed the virus in their faeces, even if they are asymptomatic, so sewage surveillance is widely seen as a promising way of identifying future disease hotspots.

Publication date: 2 July 2020

Three from Bangor University shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year Awards

Creative writing is in full flow at Bangor University as two creative writing Lecturers have been included in this year’s English language Wales Book of the Year shortlist, and a Journalism Lecturer is shortlisted in the Welsh language Llyfr y Flwyddyn shortlists, announced on I July 2020.

Publication date: 1 July 2020