January eNews
Welcome to a New Year! We wish you happiness, health and success for 2022.
In this month's eNews we have out top 5 most read items from December 2021, our Editor's choice and our incredible image of the month.
All the best,
The News Team
Top 5 December 2021
1. IRD and MNHN publish the book Nature in Common - Beyond the Nagoya Protocol, published by Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France, on 9/12/21
French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and the French National Natural History Museum (MNHN) co-publish Nature in Common - Beyond the Nagoya Protocol, one of the first summary books on the implementation of this major international agreement for the global biodiversity governance.
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2. Impact of climate change on ticks and tick-borne infections addressed in new CABI book, published by CABI, UK, on 16/12/21
The impact of climate change on ticks and tick-borne infections is addressed in a new book published by CABI that includes expert opinions and predictions, global coverage of trends in ticks and disease as well as an in-depth examination of climate change and tick distribution links.
‘Climate, Ticks and Disease,’ edited by Professor Pat Nuttall, Emeritus Professor of Arbovirology at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, considers what is meant by 'climate change', how effective climate models are in relation to ecosystems, and provides predictions for changes in climate at global, regional and local scales relevant for ticks and tick-borne infections.
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3. New book explores Britain’s three-hundred year fight against corruption, published by the University of Warwick, UK, on 16/12/21
In his new book published this week Professor Mark Knights of the University of Warwick’s Department of History presents a history of corruption in Britain and its empire between 1600 and 1850, and explores its reform processes. Trust and Distrust: Corruption in Office in Britain and its Empire, 1600-1850 reveals a colourful history of scandals, dramatic trials, illicitly gained wealth and a campaigning press intent on exposing misconduct despite governmental attempts to stifle it.
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4. Ancient DNA reveals the world’s oldest family tree, published by Newcastle University, UK, on 20/12/21
Analysis of ancient DNA from one of the best-preserved Neolithic tombs in Britain has revealed that most of the people buried there were from five continuous generations of a single extended family. By analysing DNA extracted from the bones and teeth of 35 individuals entombed at Hazleton North long cairn in the Cotswolds-Severn region, an international research team was able to detect that 27 of them were close biological relatives. The group lived approximately 5700 years ago – around 3700-3600 BC - around 100 years after farming had been introduced to Britain. Published in Nature, it is the first study to reveal in such detail how prehistoric families were structured.
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5. New book delivers novel conceptual and empirical studies on land governance and gender, published by CABI, UK, on 3/12/21
CABI has published a new free open access book which delivers novel conceptual and empirical studies surrounding the design and evaluation of land governance from a gender-based perspective.
The book, ‘Land Governance and Gender: The Tenure-Gender Nexus in Land Management and Land Policy,’ edited by Professor Ucehendu Eugene Chigbu, includes a specific focus on land management approaches, land policy issues, advances in pro-poor land tenure and land-based gender concerns.
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Editor's choice
Developing the next generation of artificial vision aids published by Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK, on 21/12/2021
A new technology solution which will provide low-power systems for use in bionic eyes, has been jointly developed by academics from the Harbin Institute of Technology in China and Northumbria University. Northumbria’s Professor Richard Fu described their newly developed method for controlling the artificial synaptic devices used in bionic retinas, robots and visual protheses, as a “significant breakthrough”. The team discovered that injecting elements of the soft metal, indium, into a two-dimensional (2D) material called molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), could improve electrical conductivity and reduce power consumption of the optical synapses used in the development of bionic eyes. The technology was then tested within the structure of an electronic retina and found to produce the high-quality image sensing functions required.
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Image Caption: A new technology solution which will provide low-power systems for use in bionic eyes, has been developed by Professor PingAn Hu and Professor Richard Fu.
Image of the month
The swaying Matterhorn published by Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Switzerland, on 23/12/2021
Like bridges and tall buildings, large mountains are constantly vibrating, excited by seismic energy form the Earth. An international team of researchers has now been able to measure the resonant swaying of the Matterhorn and to make its motion visible using computer simulations.
The Matterhorn appears as an immovable, massive mountain that has towered over the landscape near Zermatt for thousands of years. A study just published in the journal “Earth and Planetary Science Letters” now shows that this impression is wrong. An international research team has proven that the Matterhorn is instead constantly in motion, swaying gently back and forth about once every two seconds. This subtle vibration with normally imperceptible amplitudes is stimulated by seismic energy in the Earth originating from the world’s oceans, earthquakes, as well as human activity.
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