Photograph: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Photographs
• University of Southampton
Researchers have identified regions beneath the oceans in which huge volumes of carbon dioxide could be safely stored. They have identified 5 potential regions in offshore Australia, Japan, Siberia, South Africa and Bermuda. PhD student Chiara Marieni says: “We have found areas that have the likely to retailer decades to hundreds of many years of industrial carbon dioxide emissions despite the fact that the largest areas are far off shore. Nevertheless, more function is required in these regions to accurately measure nearby sediment circumstances and sample the basalt beneath just before this possible can be confirmed.” The study displays that prior scientific studies, which concentrated on the result of pressure to liquefy the CO2 but ignored temperature, have pointed to the incorrect places and therefore much more very likely to escape.
• University of Bristol / Bath / Sungkyunkwan, South Korea
A new peer assessment model would boost quality and veracity of scientific investigation, a study suggests. Researchers say that an enhanced model of the peer overview method, which is set up to make sure analysis is of the highest top quality, is essential to guarantee only best top quality research will get published. The review located that peer evaluation performs ideal when a degree of subjectivity (for illustration, their belief about regardless of whether the consequence is proper) is permitted, given that this assists far more details to be transmitted through the decision and protects against the chance of scientists converging on an incorrect answer. An improved peer review model consists of the chance for scientists to comment on and critique analysis soon after it has been published. This would provide scientists with far more opportunity to truthfully reveal their opinions, enhance the movement of info in science and avoid the risk of ‘herding’ – in which scientists’ behaviour may be influenced by their peers. Mike Peacey, one particular of the study’s researchers, says: “Scientists are increasingly concerned that a lot of published research findings may be false. Our findings demonstrate a novel way of how the peer evaluation method can be improved by way of a publish-publication peer overview.”
Photograph: Tristram Kenton
• University of Wolverhampton
Investigation displays that lack of sunlight can impair the efficiency of expert ballet dancers. The study looked at people who train indoors throughout the winter months and discovered minimal vitamin D amounts, by way of lack of sunlight exposure, hyperlinks to impaired muscle strength and increases danger of damage. Prof Matthew Wyon, head of dance science at the University of Wolverhampton, says: “Vitamin D is critical for bone growth and has a broad variety of functions. In a deficient state, dancers are at increased risk of bone injuries and this most current investigation signifies an increased chance of muscle damage, which can be detrimental to their well being and their careers. “In a population identified to be at danger of these deficiencies, this kind of as ballet dancers, health-related staff and teachers need to take into account supplying their dancers with acceptable amounts of vitamin D whilst training indoors to support them create on their core muscle strengths to keep away from injury. These findings could also be extrapolated to cover other sports and training activities that get location indoors.”
Photograph: Evan Schneider/AFP/Getty Images
• University of Oxford
Some of the world’s most uncommon and important biblical texts have been digitized and published online by the Bodleian and Vatican libraries, which will sooner or later generate an on the web archive of one.5m pages. Portions of the Bodleian and Vatican libraries’ collections of Hebrew manuscripts, Greek manuscripts, and early printed books have been chosen for digitization by a crew of scholars and curators from around the world. The new site features zoomable photographs which allow thorough scholarly analysis and examine and also characteristics posts on the conservation and digitized strategies used in the course of the project. Richard Ovenden, interim Bodley’s librarian, says: “We hope that by means of digitizing and making openly available some of the most significant books in our collections we will boost their likely for investigation and broader understanding of these ancient texts.”
Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Photographs
• University of Cambridge / East Anglia
Investigation shows a ban on multibuy promotions for alcohol implemented in Scotland in October 2011 failed to lessen the amount of alcohol purchased. The research discovered that Scottish buyers commenced buying fewer merchandise per shopping trip than they would have without having the ban, but went out to purchase beer and cider much more frequently, leaving the all round quantity purchased unchanged. Marc Suhrcke, from the University of East Anglia, says: “Far more encompassing policy will be required to accomplish the objective of minimizing extreme alcohol consumption and connected harms. Partially banning value promotions leaves the door open for industry to just switch to other kinds of price tag promotions, or indeed to decrease the total cost of alcohol.” He adds: “Imposing greater excise duties on alcohol and introducing minimum unit pricing have been proven to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. The government has just lately place on hold ideas to introduce minimum unit pricing.”
• Kingston University
An archaeology crew has uncovered a sink hole of material that may hold crucial data about the plant species thriving there 6,000 years ago. Dr Helen Wickstead, based at Kingston University’s faculty of artwork, design and architecture, says: “The website at Damerham is on chalk land, so we will not typically find components like this that capture and protect the plant stays – pollen or phytoliths – from a particular time period.” She adds: “The sink hole contained orange sand with a yellow and grey clay and we are very hopeful that, inside of this materials, there will be evidence of plant existence that will aid us carry on to piece collectively the puzzle of human habitation on this substantial website.”
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Research in brief – 05 December 2013
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