Manchester University news

Six discoveries from UoM in July

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It’s that time of the month to take a look back at some of the fantastic research which has been carried out at the University. There’s so much work going on which you might have missed – why not take a look at some of the best discoveries our researchers have found this July?

University students accurately track time taken for new Premier League stars to find their feet

As the saying goes “a change is as good as a rest” but not necessarily for footballers! A group of Manchester students and researchers have worked out that it could take up to half a season for a footballer to adjust to a new team following a big money transfer. The team found that not only are there differences in transition times between the leagues, but the position of the player also heavily impacts on their initial form.

Domestic UK corruption is going unnoticed, say experts

A new report, with input from Manchester academics, has found that corruption in the UK is being overlooked, despite the risk of corruption being fueled by self-regulation, conflicts of interest and austerity. “To say the domestic picture is neglected and poorly understood would be an understatement,” the FAP said in the report, while highlighting a lack of available data on the subject.

Bird-like dinosaur is oldest unearthed in North America

A team of palaeontologists, with represenation from Manchester, have identified a one of a kind 150 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton. The specimen has been classified as a new species to science with the discovery also raising questions about the evolution of avian flight…

Red wine may hold the key to next-gen wearable technology

Another reason to drink red wine (well… maybe don’t drink it). A team of scientists from Manchester have developed much more durable and flexible wearable devices thanks to tannic acid extracted from red wine, coffee and black tea. Not only has this discovery resulted in better wearable devices, but it has also had a positive effect on the lifespan of these devices.

Helping robots to build new antibiotics

Slowly but surely robots are reversing negative perceptions created by I, Robot… A team from The University of Manchester have engineered a common gut bacterium to produce a new class of antibiotics by using robotics. This breakthrough could be vital for the ongoing combat against antimicrobial resistance, as recently developed automated robotics systems can now be used to create new antibiotics in a fast and efficient way.

Joy Division: 40 years on from ‘Unknown Pleasures’, astronomers revisit the pulsar from the iconic album cover

Yes, we understand this isn’t a discovery as such 🙄 but this is one of our favourite stories from the University this month.  To mark the anniversary of the famous album, UoM recorded a signal from the same pulsar with a radio telescope in Jodrell Bank Observatory, only 14 miles (23 km) away from Strawberry Studios where the album was recorded.

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