2,771 search results
Can microplastics find their way onto your plate?
Nature & Environment

Can microplastics find their way onto your plate?

...studies show that water treatment plants are effectively removing microplastics from wastewater. However, the microplastics removed from water are concentrated in sludge, which is commonly used as fertiliser by farmers. Once microplastics are in soil they may be translocated and further degraded, they may leach into groundwater, and even be taken up by plants and...
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Article 10 mins
Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists
Nature & Environment

Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists

...study led by Dr Julie Jones, from the department of geography at the University of Sheffield, UK, says limited data on Antarctica’s climate is making it difficult for researchers to disentangle changes caused by human activity from natural climate fluctuations. It was only when regular satellite observations began in 1979 that measurement of surface climate over the...
View article Speed of Arctic changes defies scientists
Article 10 mins
How to start a course
Get Started

How to start a course

...study. OpenLearn courses cover a wide range of subjects taught across the OU curriculum. Many are based on Open University course materials while others are written specifically for OpenLearn. All of our courses enable you to earn a Statement of participation and some also allow you to earn a free digital badge. You can use your badge or Statement of participation to...
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Article 10 mins
Why are black and white cats black and white? And why are there piebald horses?
Science, Maths & Technology

Why are black and white cats black and white? And why are there piebald horses?

...study of a wide range of serious embryonic disorders in humans, including diseases affecting hearing, vision, digestion and the heart. Piebaldism usually manifests as white areas of fur, hair or skin due to the absence of pigment-producing cells in those regions. These areas usually arise on the front of an animal, commonly on the belly and the forehead. Piebald patterns...
View article Why are black and white cats black and white? And why are there piebald horses?
Article 5 mins
The Life of Socrates
History & The Arts

The Life of Socrates

...studied music, gymnastics, and grammar in his youth (the common subjects of study for a young Greek) and followed his father's profession as a sculptor. Tradition holds that he was an exceptional artist, and his statue of the Graces, on the road to the Acropolis, is said to have been admired into the 2nd century CE. Socrates served with distinction in the army and, at the...
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Article 5 mins
Why is destroying cultural sites for military purposes a war crime?
History & The Arts

Why is destroying cultural sites for military purposes a war crime?

...Helen Frowe (who directs the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace), been directing the UK Government funded project, Heritage in War to try to sort out some of these problems. It has been interesting applying our skills in philosophy to a very real-world problem, and these recent events only go to show how important a good dose of philosophy might prove to be....
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Article 10 mins
Jake Chapman On Using Systems Thinking In Practice
Society, Politics & Law

Jake Chapman On Using Systems Thinking In Practice

...skills. Jake comments: “After Thatcher came to power in 1979 the funding for energy research dried up. So with a friend I started a business to give people advice on how to save energy in their home. ... The business was extremely successful and led lead me to develop the first energy rating for homes based on a computer program I wrote. This now provides the basis of...
View audio Jake Chapman On Using Systems Thinking In Practice
Audio 15 mins
Hot forging (open die)
Science, Maths & Technology

Hot forging (open die)

...skill of the forgemaster. Larger workpieces are supported by chain slings or semi-automatic manipulators. Materials: A wide range of metals and alloys are forgeable at temperatures > 0.6Tm (where Tm is the melting point). Plain carbon steels (0.30—0.50 wt% C) and low alloy steels containing 1% Cr, 1.5—4.0% Ni, 0.30—0.50% Mo and 0.60% Mn are all readily hot forged in...
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Article 5 mins