1,685 search results
Does the universe have a heartbeat? The science of cosmic connection
Science, Maths & Technology

Does the universe have a heartbeat? The science of cosmic connection

...systems. 2. Can a dead star have a heartbeat? [Artist's impression of a pulsar]Artist impression of a Pulsar. While the Heart Nebula gives us the image of love, Pulsars give us the rhythm. In 1967, a PhD student named Jocelyn Bell (who later became an Open University Professor) noticed a ‘bit of scruff’ on her radio telescope charts. It was a signal from deep space...
View article Does the universe have a heartbeat? The science of cosmic connection
Article 5 mins
Hidden soil allies – fungi that help plants face drought
Nature & Environment

Hidden soil allies – fungi that help plants face drought

...systemic acquired resistance (SAR). If fungi are so helpful, why isn’t every farm already using them? Here’s where it gets tricky. Modern agriculture, with its heavy ploughing, chemical fertilisers, and monocultures, often disrupts these delicate fungal networks and make plants less dependent of this symbiosis. Tillage, for example, breaks apart the fungal threads,...
View article Hidden soil allies – fungi that help plants face drought
Article 5 mins
Is your social media use impacting your future?
Health, Sports & Psychology

Is your social media use impacting your future?

...systems and ‘reviews’ can tell us how a service is performing from the user perspective or, alternatively, it can give us professional information about health and social care workers through organisational online profiles. However, if too much of our personal information is made to be public this could provide a negative view of the person; e.g. evidence of profane...
View activity Is your social media use impacting your future?
Activity 5 mins
How far was the Brexit vote "the will of the people" - and what does that mean?
Society, Politics & Law

How far was the Brexit vote "the will of the people" - and what does that mean?

...system, which is why the accusation of not doing so is so powerful. The predicament members of parliament are facing in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum is having to choose between the responsibilities of elected representatives in a parliamentary democracy, and the will of the people as expressed in a direct democracy referendum. The former was summed up very...
View article How far was the Brexit vote "the will of the people" - and what does that mean?
Article 5 mins
Nicole McLean (Mamet) – hospitality, gate line and train driver
Society, Politics & Law

Nicole McLean (Mamet) – hospitality, gate line and train driver

...systems to name a few integral parts. Being the only woman on the course, with very little engineering or maintenance experience, I was never made to feel unworthy of the job or incompetent. Of course, I had to work hard to keep up due to my lack of traction knowledge, and work hard I did. I spent many evenings studying our traction manuals, sectional appendix and rule...
View article Nicole McLean (Mamet) – hospitality, gate line and train driver
Article 5 mins
Sperm counts
Nature & Environment

Sperm counts

...system in this article and video...THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS FRANK DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE SCIENCE This content is associated with The Open University's Science courses and qualifications. [Zeron Gibson and Mike Leahy] Lab Rats Mike Leahy and Zeron Gibson Although I'm a biologist, I rarely think much about what the cloudy white stuff contains, but in fact semen...
View article Sperm counts
Article 15 mins
Supporting female performance in sport and fitness Badge icon
Health, Sports & Psychology

Supporting female performance in sport and fitness

...system. Females have a very different experience, as oestrogen causes them to lay down more body fat, their hips widen to facilitate childbearing, and they start getting periods that cause fluctuations in hormones, energy and mood. Interestingly, Dr Sims makes the point that as there slightly more females than males in the world it must be men who are the anomaly, but...
View course Supporting female performance in sport and fitness
Level 1: Introductory 24 hrs
Introducing consciousness
History & The Arts

Introducing consciousness

...system. Consider Cog. Cog is a robot that is being built by the Humanoid Robotics Group at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the direction of Rodney Brooks (Figure 1). Cog has a mechanical body (only the upper part so far), powered by electric motors and controlled by microprocessors similar to those found in personal computers. It also has a visual system,...
View course Introducing consciousness
Level 3: Advanced 20 hrs