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The Latest Breaking News from EPSRC

Copying ants could improve grip of robots, research suggests

A prototype ‘hairy gripper’ based on the mouths of ants has already been developed and tested.

Evening Standard

Heathrow closure: what caused the fire and why did it bring down the whole airport? Expert panel

Heathrow Airport, the busiest airport in Europe, was shut down following a fire at a single electricity sub-station on the night of March 20. The fire at the North Hyde substation in Hayes, about 1.5 miles from Heathrow in west London, seriously disrupted the area’s power supply, including that of…

The Conversation

Heathrow fire shows just how vulnerable UK energy infrastructure is – we’ve simulated the major climate-related risks

London’s Heathrow Airport has been forced to close temporarily after a fire in a nearby electricity substation. More than 1,300 flights have been suspended and thousands of passengers left stranded.

The Conversation

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Ditches and canals are a big, yet overlooked, source of greenhouse gas emissions – new study

It’s a cold winter morning in the bleak and bare arable fields of the East Anglian fens. At the edge of a field, a scientist dips a long pole into a ditch. So, what is a climate researcher doing here?

The Conversation

Next generation computers: new wiring material could transform chip technology

The rapid technological advancements of our world have been enabled by our capacity to design and fabricate ever smaller electronic chips. These underpin computers, mobile phones and every smart device deployed to date.

The Conversation

Recruiting the world’s first disabled astronaut doesn’t mean space travel is inclusive – here’s how to change that

In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing.

The Conversation

The gas crisis is not over yet

Policy and luck have bought Europe a reprieve from the heights gas prices reached between the winters of 2022 and 2023, but prices are climbing again and the global gas market remains precariously balanced.

The Conversation

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New technologies could help destroy persistent ‘forever chemicals’

Scientists and engineers are developing new ways to destroy per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) efficiently and sustainably. This class of chemicals is known as “forever chemicals” because PFAS persist and accumulate in the environment, animals and our bodies.

The Conversation

Why the UK government’s £500 million investment in Port Talbot is not enough to secure the British steel industry

At first glance, a £500 million government investment into a critical industry looks like a move designed to inspire confidence. But the large sum will provide little comfort to the 2,500 people expected to lose their jobs as Tata Steel close the UK’s last blast furnace at Port Talbot in…

The Conversation

Could rotating black holes be the wind turbines powering the distant future? We tested the physics

Black holes are mysterious objects – there’s a lot we don’t know about them. One longstanding question has been whether rotating black holes, which are so powerful they drag space-time along with them, could be used as an energy source.

The Conversation

Wind powers a record summer for renewable energy in Britain

Great Britain’s electricity system (Northern Ireland is part of the integrated Irish electricity grid) made a leap forward in August 2024. The amount of power generated by fossil fuels fell to 3.6 terrawatt-hours (TWh), its lowest level in over a century. This meant that each kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed during…

The Conversation

Quantum computers can accelerate the transition to net zero power grids

Power grid operators, such as National Grid in the UK, rely on high-performance computers to plan grid expansions and to schedule when energy should be produced from different sources. These problems are becoming larger and more complex due to the transition to net zero carbon emissions, and they are now…

The Conversation

Elon Musk’s Tesla is promising to sell a humanoid robot. It could be the first of many

Elon Musk’s recent announcement on Twitter that “Tesla will have genuinely useful humanoid robots in low production for Tesla internal use next year” suggests that robots that have physical human-like characteristics and provide “genuinely useful” function might be with us soon.

The Conversation

Some artificial sweeteners are forever chemicals that could be harming aquatic life

With so much health advice to avoid excessive sugar in our diets to reduce risks obesity and tooth decay, some people choose to use artificial sweeteners as an alternative in hot drinks and recipes.

The Conversation

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The Conversation

We dropped over 8,000 pieces of litter into a fake river to fight plastic pollution

Nobody really knows how much plastic is in the world’s rivers or where it accumulates.

The Conversation

Britain likely to generate more electricity from wind, solar and hydro than fossil fuels for the first year ever in 2023

There are many milestones to pass in the transition from a high to low-carbon sustainable energy system. There is the first hour without coal, or oil, or gas generation (or all of them together) and the point when the last coal, oil or gas power plant (or all of them…

The Conversation

Gaza war: how investigators would go about finding and verifying underground military complexes

Following the raid on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza by units of the Israel Defence Forces on October 15, the IDF claims to have uncovered evidence of tunnels underneath the hospital. A video released on November 19 showed a tunnel running under the al-Shifa medical complex at a depth of…

Zenger

Revolutionary Skin Patch Could Replace Needles For Drug Delivery

Scientists at the University of Bath develop microneedle patch for painless and controlled drug administration.

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The Conversation

How co-working spaces can boost local economies

The routine of commuting five days a week to and from an employer’s office now seems somewhat old fashioned. Flexible and remote working have become much more common – and popular.

The Conversation

15-minute cities: how to separate the reality from the conspiracy theory

Conspiracy theories aren’t a new thing, and for as long as they’ve been around they’ve ranged from the benign to the absurd. From the six moon landings being faked to the Earth being flat, or our ruling class being lizards, we’ve all probably come across them in one form or…

The Conversation

Britain is a net electricity exporter for first time in 44 years

Volatile prices in international energy markets sparked unrest throughout 2022, with governments seeking to reduce the impact of unprecedented price increases on their respective economies. As energy experts focused on how data can be used in the transition to a low-carbon economy, we have closely followed how this volatility has…

The Independent UK

Tiny microscope ‘could speed up breast cancer treatment and cut waiting lists’

The endo-microscope is designed to be inserted into the body to provide views of tissue and organs.

The Conversation

Fracking: if Liz Truss wants a major shale gas industry, she is 280 million years late

In some respects, the UK has been among the world’s most successful countries at taking action against climate change over the past few decades. Yet that progress could be reversed and thrown away for a few years of slightly cheaper gas for a few people, and a lot of profits…

The Conversation

Five ways the metaverse could be revolutionary for people with disabilities

The invention of the world wide web in 1989 eventually brought about life-changing tools for everyone who can access it. Some of these tools, such as online banking, shopping and communication, have vastly improved the accessibility of daily life for people with disabilities, as well as older people.

The Conversation

'Liberate the tractors': the right to repair movement that's regaining control of our devices

The software that runs John Deere tractors was successfully “jailbroken” at this year’s DEF CON hacker convention, enabling farmers to repair or retune their equipment without engaging with the company that sold them their vehicles.

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