Abstracts » Education

No flies on Sussex robotic scientists

Article Abstract:

Researchers at Sussex University, England, seek to advance robotics through finding parallels with the behavior of flies and other simple animals. The interdisciplinary research center has received funding to help establish a center for robotics and computational neuroscience. Michael O'Shea, director, seeks to use biology to inspire both hardware and software design. Biologists aim to increase their understanding of the function of nervous systems through computer modelling.

Analysis, Neurology, Robotics

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Cane may hold sweet fix for rice

Article Abstract:

A 10-year British/Indian research project, backed by the British Council and the World Bank, aims to help India's farmers to reduce their heavy reliance on nitrogenous fertilizers. The project, whose collaborators include the Indian Council for Agricultural Research and Nottingham University, is seeking a nitrogen-fixing bacteria, similar to that found in sugar-cane, that will flourish in non-legume crops, such as wheat, rice and sorghum.

India, Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, Nitrogen fertilizers

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Small molecules, big breakthrough

Article Abstract:

Edinburgh University, Scotland, is collaborating with pharmaceutical companies on research into small molecules and how they interact with proteins. The Edinburgh Centre for Protein Technology is involved in the research and has support from the UK government's Technology Foresight initiative. The work the center aims to carry out includes a study of protein prions involved in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Pharmaceutical industry, University of Edinburgh

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