As part of our Women in Science series, ScienceBlog meets Professor Tamsin Mather, a volcanologist in the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University. She discusses her professional journey to date, including recent work with the education initiative Votes for Schools, and why science is the best game around.
Although women in science continue to be underrepresented at the highest level, things are slowly changing. In a complex but changing culture, many have built highly successful, rewarding careers, carving out a niche for themselves as a role model to budding scientists, regardless of gender.
Many scientists may dream of receiving royal recognition for services to their field, but for Professor Paul Smith, director of Oxford University Museum of Natural History, it is reality. In early January he was awarded the prestigious Polar Medal by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of his “outstanding achievement” in the field of Arctic research.
Geochemical and biological research offers academics a window into earth history, enabling them to piece together events that occurred before records began. Much of our understanding of past climate change is based on geology, in particular the study of sedimentary rocks deposited in the oceans.
Since late 2015, an epidemic of yellow fever in the central African countries of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has affected more than 7,000 people, causing almost 400 deaths.
A new role has been discovered for a well-known piece of cellular machinery, which could revolutionise the way we understand how tissue is constructed and remodelled within the body.
Lysosomes are small, enzyme-filled sacks found within cells, which break down old cell components and unwanted molecules.
Researchers have charted the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and GDP, known to scientists as global 'emission intensity'.
In a guest blog, Professor Peter McCulloch from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, explains the importance of randomised trials in deciding whether subsequent trials are necessary.
For the first time specific antibodies have been found to be associated with the onset of schizophrenia. A study published in The Lancet Psychiatry, reveals that certain kinds of antibodies appear in the blood of a significant percentage of people presenting with a first episode of psychosis.