An international research team, led by the University of Bristol, has provided the first clues to understand how the mcr-1 gene protects bacteria from colistin – a ‘last resort’ antibiotic used to treat life-threatening bacterial infections that do not respond to other treatment options. Last year, members of the team, led by Dr Jim Spencer…
Blueprint for Shape in Ancient Land Plants
‘Diamond-Age’ of Power Generation as Nuclear Batteries Developed
Giant Machine Shows How a Computer Works
A giant, fully operational 16-bit computer that aims to demystify the strange and seemingly magical mechanisms of computation has been built by students and staff from the University of Bristol. The Big Hex Machine, specifically designed to explain how a computer works, has been built out of over 100 specially designed four-bit circuit boards and will…
Begonias Hold the Key to Superior Energy Harvesting
For many people, nanotechnology belongs in the realm of science fiction. Researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Essex have solved the mystery of the blue sheen on the leaves of some begonias and have found that their chloroplasts have evolved a nanoscale light-trapping structure to help them survive in the darkness of the forest…
Small Droplets Feel the Vibe
A team of researchers at the University of Bristol have used ultrasonic forces to accurately pattern thousands of microscopic water-based droplets. Each droplet can be designed to perform a biochemical experiment, which could pave the way for highly efficient lab-on-a-chip devices with future applications in drug discovery and clinical diagnostics. In a new study published…
What Dinosaurs’ Color Patterns Say about Habitat
After reconstructing the color patterns of a well-preserved dinosaur from China, researchers from the University of Bristol have found that the long-lost species Psittacosaurus (meaning “parrot lizard”, a reference to its parrot-like beak) was light on its underside and darker on top. This colour pattern, known as countershading, is a common form of camouflage in…
Hypertension—Releasing the Pressure at its Source
Researchers at the University of Bristol and Afferent Pharmaceuticals have identified a potential new way of treating high blood pressure, or hypertension, by targeting aberrant nerve signals in the carotid bodies, which sit on the common carotid arteries on each side of the neck. The study, “Purinergic receptors in the carotid body as a new drug target…
Hypertension—Releasing the Pressure at Its Source
Knots in Chaotic Waves
New research, using computer models of wave chaos, has shown that three-dimensional tangled vortex filaments can in fact be knotted in many highly complex ways. The computer experiments, by academics at the University of Bristol, give rise to a huge variety of different knots, realising many that have been tabulated by pure mathematicians working in…
Revolutionary Bio-ink Could Allow 3D Printing with Stem Cells
Scientists at the University of Bristol have developed a new kind of bio-ink, which could eventually allow the production of complex tissues for surgical implants. The new stem cell-containing bio ink allows 3D printing of living tissue, known as bio-printing. The new bio-ink contains two different polymer components: a natural polymer extracted from seaweed, and…