News Archive: September 2020

Despite high hopes, carbon emissions from Amazonian forest recovery are dwarfed by deforestation

Regrowing forests are absorbing just a small proportion of the carbon dioxide released from widespread deforestation in the Amazon, according to new evidence.

Publication date: 29 September 2020

Welsh Government to explore proposals for a North Wales medical school

Health Minister, Vaughan Gething, has set-up a group to examine the feasibility of a North Wales medical school. The Welsh Government is already providing £7m a year to fund undergraduate medical training in North Wales and is now looking to explore a proposal by Bangor University and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board for a new medical school.

Publication date: 26 September 2020

Learning Disability Nursing film shortlisted for Arts & Business Cymru Award

A film to promote learning disability nursing that was commissioned by Bangor University and the University of South Wales and produced by Hijinx has been shortlisted for an Arts & Business Cymru Award in the Arts, Business & Health category.

Publication date: 24 September 2020

Bangor students urged to help Gwynedd fight Covid-19

As Bangor University and the wider community welcomes students back to the area for the beginning of the new academic year, Gwynedd Council is urging students to make sure they are up to speed with the latest Welsh Government Covid-19 rules.

Publication date: 24 September 2020

In a divided society, who trusts the police?

What defines my national identity and in which state institutions do I trust? These are questions that are interconnected and are something many people ask themselves. The police are one of the most powerful agencies and symbolises the state. In a divided society, people may start to wonder on which side the police are.

Publication date: 23 September 2020

Twenty years on mum of six achieves her dream to become a nurse

A mum-of-six has finally fulfilled her dream of becoming a nurse 20 years after she gave up her studies to have a baby – overcoming the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic in the process.

Publication date: 18 September 2020

Bangor Computer Science Adds GitHub Accolade

The School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering and Bangor University becomes one of only seven UK universities with a resident Certified GitHub Campus Advisor.

Publication date: 18 September 2020

Arctic sea ice is being increasingly melted from below by warming Atlantic water

This article by Tom Rippeth , Professor of Physical Oceanography, School of Ocean Sciences , is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article

Publication date: 18 September 2020

AI called GPT-3 can write like a human but don’t mistake that for thinking – neuroscientist

This article by Guillaume Thierry, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article . Since it was unveiled earlier this year, the new AI-based language generating software GPT-3 has attracted much attention for its ability to produce passages of writing that are convincingly human-like. Some have even suggested that the program, created by Elon Musk’s OpenAI, may be considered or appears to exhibit , something like artificial general intelligence (AGI), the ability to understand or perform any task a human can. This breathless coverage reveals a natural yet aberrant collusion in people’s minds between the appearance of language and the capacity to think.

Publication date: 17 September 2020

Academics help organise Computer Graphics and Visual Computing (CGVC) 2020 conference

Academics from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering helped to organise Computer Graphics and Visual Computing (CGVC) 2020 conference, which took place on Thursday 10th and 11th September 2020 via Zoom. The conference was hosted by Rita Borgo and Alfie Abdul-Rahman (King's College London) and was the 38th annual computer graphics, visualization, and visual computing gathering organised by the Eurographics UK Chapter.

Publication date: 16 September 2020

Graduates gain employment during 20-year business relationship

A biotechnology company and university are celebrating more than two decades of a partnership that has resulted in multiple employment opportunities for graduates. Bee Robotics and Bangor University first started working together in 1998 and the relationship has proved vital for both organisations.

Publication date: 15 September 2020

New initiative to help Welsh SMEs innovate to recover

In a significant development the Welsh Government have announced they will now fund up to 75% of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (also known as KTPs) for SMEs, enabling easier access to the UK’s flagship innovation programme.

Publication date: 15 September 2020

Insect used as scientific ‘model’ has standardised names for body part names added

Surprisingly for a model organism which has been used in research that has led to the award of six Nobel Prizes for physiology and medicine, the humble or not so humble fruit fly, does not have a complete anatomical naming system. The fruit fly has been widely used as a model organism to study genetics, neuroscience, physiology, development and immunity since the first decade of the 20th Century (1910) because of its relatively simple genetics and a rapid life cycle.

Publication date: 15 September 2020

Wild swimmer teams up with university to look at microplastics in National Parks

A wild swimmer is visiting all 15 of the UK’s national parks as part of a scientific expedition with Bangor University.

Publication date: 14 September 2020

Bangor University Professor features in Documentary presented by Sir David Attenborough

Last year a UN report revealed that around one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. A new BBC programme, Extinction: The Facts, goes beyond the emotional to investigate what biodiversity loss and extinction mean - not just for the planet but for us as a species.

Publication date: 14 September 2020

‘Extinction: The Facts’: Attenborough’s new documentary is surprisingly radical

This article by Julia Jones , Professor in Conservation Science, School of Natural Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article . We have learned so much about nature from David Attenborough’s documentaries over the past seven decades. In a new BBC film he lays bare just how perilous the state of that nature really is, why this matters for everyone who shares this planet, and what needs to change.

Publication date: 14 September 2020

Bangor graduates celebrate BAFTA Cymru nominations

Three graduates from Bangor University's MA Filmmaking course are celebrating this month as productions they've worked on reach the shortlist for a BAFTA Cymru Award.

Publication date: 14 September 2020

School of Health Sciences MOOC shortlisted for Nursing Times Award 2020

A MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), developed by staff at School of Health Sciences , supported by Bethan Jones from the Learning Technology Unit, and in conjunction with Tracey Cooper, Interim Director of Infection Prevention & Control, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust has been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards this year.

Publication date: 10 September 2020

Funding boost for research to support the development of marine renewable energy in Wales

An industrial sector identified as vital to growing a sustainable economy in Wales is to be given a further boost with the awarding of an additional £1.5M of EU funding from the Welsh Government.

Publication date: 10 September 2020

Study shows that the Banking Union has contributed to reduced bank risk in Europe

The Banking Union and its centralised banking supervision mechanism have reduced the riskiness of the European banking sector, according to new research led by Bangor University

Publication date: 9 September 2020

Crab-shells could provide a new virucide for PPE

A material derived from waste crab-shells is being tested for use as a virucide for use on PPE and other medical devices. North Wales-based company Pennotec (Pennog Limited) are working with experts at Bangor University to develop a unique coating which has long-lasting virus-destroying properties.

Publication date: 7 September 2020

New research reveals anaerobic digestion could undermine UK net-zero emissions

Based on research by Bangor University , Feedback’s ‘Bad Energy’ report reveals that, contrary to industry claims, AD has a limited role to play in a sustainable future. While it compares favourably to the most environmentally damaging methods of energy generation and waste disposal, there is a raft of alternatives to AD that can better mitigate the UK’s carbon emissions, while also making more food available.

Publication date: 7 September 2020

Steve Backshall to join teaching team at Bangor University

TV presenter and explorer, Steve Backshall, is set to give a series of lectures at Bangor University. Known for programmes such as Deadly 60, Expedition and Blue Planet Live, Steve Backshall will teach students about conservation, zoology and the wildlife filming industry

Publication date: 4 September 2020

An initiative to help SMEs based in Wales

The Welsh Government have announced they will now fund 75% of KTPs. Please get in touch with Bangor University today to find out how you can benefit. Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs ) are a core component of Wales’ R&D and innovation offer to businesses and the aim of this initiative is to make KTPs more accessible and cost effective for SMEs and encourage more businesses to benefit from the programme.

Publication date: 3 September 2020

This ancient Chinese anatomical atlas changes what we know about acupuncture and medical history

The accepted history of anatomy says that it was the ancient Greeks who mapped the human body for the first time. Galen , the “Father of Anatomy”, worked on animals, and wrote anatomy textbooks that lasted for the next 1,500 years. Modern anatomy started in the Renaissance with Andreas Vesalius, who challenged what had been handed down from Galen. He worked from human beings, and wrote the seminal “ On the Fabric of the Human Body ”. This article Vivien Shaw , Lecturer in Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences and Isabelle Catherine Winder , Lecturer in Zoology, School of Natural Sciences is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

Publication date: 3 September 2020

Ancient Chinese text revealed to be an anatomical atlas of the human body

The standard history of anatomy traces its roots back to classical Greece, but a new reading of a recently discovered Chinese text argues that the Chinese were also among the earliest anatomists. Writing in The Anatomical Record, Vivien Shaw and Isabelle Winder of Bangor University, UK and Rui Diogo of Howard University, USA, interpret the Mawangdui medical manuscripts found in a Chinese tomb in the early 1970s, as the earliest surviving anatomical description of the human body.

Publication date: 2 September 2020

Kidney Disease and pregnancy- what do women need for their support?

“ I didn’t know what I didn’t know, because no one asked me” Women may have many things to think about before becoming pregnant, as well as questions which need answering while they are pregnant. There are around five thousand women of childbearing age in Wales who have a condition that affects their kidneys. They may have additional questions about the impact of pregnancy on their kidney disease and how their kidney disease might affect their pregnancy.

Publication date: 2 September 2020