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The water beneath our feet: our reliance on groundwater

The world beneath our feet is a complex place. Deep within the rocks, water is on the move and it turns out that this groundwater is vital for the future. Only 3% of the Earth’s water is available as freshwater, so how can we protect this valuable resource? Claudia Bertoni and Christopher Day, from the Department of Earth Sciences, and Marina Flores (IADIZA CONICET) take us underground in the UK and Argentina to uncover this hidden water. In Argentina, local geology adds toxic arsenic to groundwater. It is essential to understand how this occurs so that rural communities can treat…

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Clouded leopards: tracking genomes for conservation

Clouded leopards are perfectly adapted to the dense forests of Asia, but this habitat is under pressure. How can we protect these elusive mammals and better understand the habitats needed to maintain biodiversity? Join WildCRU’s Chrishen Gomez in Borneo as a team of researchers spend months in the forest searching for Sunda clouded leopards, tracking their movements and collecting genetic data. The results will help researchers to better understand whether land-use change is impacting the ability of clouded leopards to disperse long distances. Importantly, the research is also contributing towards conservation efforts, building a picture of how these majestic wild…

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Tracking down lost lions

Lion populations have declined by 75% since the 1970s. Previous research has shown this was largely due to habitat loss through land conversion, retaliatory killings for livestock losses, and a decline in available prey driven by human activities. But could climate change also have played a part? Lions used to roam far across the Northern Hemisphere, when the human footprint on Earth was much smaller. But native lion subspecies are no longer found in Europe and North America. What happened to them? Tom Pavey, from WildCRU, is studying climate change on geological timescales and mapping these events on to the…

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What is the SchistoTrack Research Group?

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is estimated to affect 250 million people worldwide. The transmission of the disease is dependent on complex interactions between human behaviour, access to adequate health care, environmental factors (such as access to clean water), and individual biological and social characteristics of people in at risk communities. Goylette Chami from the SchistoTrack Research Group takes us to Uganda to see how a diverse team of researchers are using their expertise in parasitology, clinical and social epidemiology, statistical modelling, and machine learning to try to tackle the disease. Importantly, the team works with local communities and…

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Wandering in the woods: trying to cure cancer by not trying to cure cancer

“I’m a scientist and I study cancer. But sometimes I go for a wander”. Richard White, from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, is a cancer biologist searching for a cure in the unlikeliest of places. While scientists traditionally try to find solutions to improve patient care in the lab, is there value in taking a more circuitous route to find innovative solutions to treat diseases like cancer? Join us on a journey of scientific discovery, where research not only aims to help people now, but find solutions that could treat thousands of people in the future. With special thanks…

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Immunotherapy: finding hidden ways to treat cancer

Cancer will affect everyone, in some way, during their lifetime. While treatments have gotten better over the years, they are not always effective. Doctor and researcher, Giamp Valenzano, from the Department of Oncology is trying to tackle the disease using the power of our own immune systems. You probably know the immune system as the biological powerhouse that fights off colds. But this fighting mechanism may also help to kill cancer cells. Join Giamp in the lab to see how immunotherapy could remove cancer cells, especially those evading current treatments. Writers: Dr Charlotte Bird and Giamp Valenzano Editor: James Lee-Warner

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The magic of mangroves: defending the defenders

Mangroves are very unusual plants. Their specialised prop roots form arches above ground, anchoring mangroves to the salty soil of shorelines and providing stability during high tide flooding. But while mangroves may look unusual, they provide an important ecosystem service. As natural coastal protectors, mangroves can slow down incoming waves and stabilise soil, reducing coastal erosion. But as the climate changes, how are mangroves responding to more frequent and intense storms? Find out what historical storm data and satellite images can tell us about the health of mangroves around the world and how we might be able to protect this…

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Behind the scenes in the Fly Lab

Across the world, many species are at risk of extinction because of climate change. But did you know that ectotherms, such as lizards and insects, are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures? This is because ectotherms cannot regulate their own body temperatures, so, for example, an iguana basks in the morning sun to warm up and function throughout the day. With 99% of the world’s species relying on the environment to regulate their body temperature, this leaves many animals extremely vulnerable to global warming. Join Dr Anna Vinton in the Department of Biology’s Fly Lab to see how researchers are using…

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The immune system under the microscope

Your immune system is the body’s defence mechanism against disease. But have you ever considered what the immune system actually looks like? Julia Salafranca, from the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, studies the immune system under the microscope. There are many different types of cells that help to keep you healthy, including neutrophils which kickstart the immune response. These specialist cells change shape during their lifetime, but scientists don’t know why. Find out how Julia is investigating this shape shifting behaviour and the importance of these changes for developing disease treatments in this video. Writer: Dr Charlotte Bird Editor: Rob Key

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The importance of sleep

We spend one-third of our lives asleep. But while we drift off into the land of dreams, our brains are very busy. Nerves within the brain are constantly creating new proteins, with each protein having a specific function, such as controlling the flow of charged particles and electrical activity in the brain. But these proteins only do their job properly if they are folded correctly – a bit like a paper aeroplane only flies well if you fold it a certain way. Atreyi Chakrabarty, from the Department of Pharmacology, explains that if the cell environment isn’t just right, cells can…

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The Rhino Fertility Project

When the last male northern white rhino, Sudan, died in 2018, it seemed that the subspecies was destined for extinction. But a team of researchers and conservationists are using cutting-edge technology to try to save the subspecies. Professor Suzannah Williams, from the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, shares the unusual angle her research into ovarian dysfunction took after discovering the condition was common in captive rhinos. By using ovarian tissues from female rhinos, researchers are working to generate eggs in the lab to provide a unique pathway that could help save the northern white rhino and other species…

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