New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber

Published on November 21, 2024

A team led by the University of Oxford has solved a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries: how does the squirting cucumber squirt? The findings, achieved through a combination of experiments, high-speed videography, image analysis, and advanced mathematical modelling, have been published today in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
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Professor Anthony Harnden appointed as the new Chair of the MHRA

November 21, 2024
Professor Anthony Harnden, of Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, and former Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), has been appointed Chair of the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Ethiopian wolves reported to feed on nectar for the first time

November 21, 2024
New findings, published in the journal Ecology, describe a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). For the first time, these have been reported to feed on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa) – the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. In doing so, the wolves may act as pollinators, perhaps the first know