Tony Prave at work in Namibia.

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have discovered what they think are the remains of our earliest known ancestor.

The scientists were part of an international team to have uncovered what they think is proof of the first animal to have existed on Earth.  The important find, made during geological research in the Namibian desert, could push the emergence of animal life back many tens of millions of years.

St Andrews’ geologists Dr Tony Prave, Donald Herd and Stuart Allison played a key role in the discovery and subsequent documentation of the sponge-like fossil found in the ancient Namibian rocks.   Known to be between at least 760 and 550 million years old, the fossils appear to be ‘hollow globs’, the remains of what could be classed as the stem group organism, the ancestor of all animals.

The discovery of the oldest animal fossil found to date was made by palaeoanthropologist Dr Bob Brain, from South Africa’s Ditsong Museum, along with Dr Prave and Mr Karl-Heinz Hoffmann of the Namibian Geological Survey.  They made the find in Namibia's Etosha National Park, a huge flat area of land known as ‘the place of dry water’.

The fossil Otavia.

Named Otavia antiqua, the submillimetre-sized fossilis a sponge-like organism that was preserved in ancient marine rocks.  It is thought to date to a time when the most extreme climatic changes in Earth’s history – the ‘snowball Earth’ glaciations – occurred, up to 700 million years ago.

Until the discovery, it was thought that the first animals emerged between 600 and 650 million years ago. The team’s findings echo the predictions of the key dates of early life forming by geneticists studying the ‘molecular clocks’ of other species.

Dr Prave, who has worked on ancient rocks around the world, commented, “The findings are a tribute to the labours of Bob Brain who has worked tirelessly for the better part of two decades hunting for such fossils. It was deeply satisfying to hold them in the palm of your hand and realise that these could mark the advent of animals.”

The findings, published this week in the South African Journal of Science, involved a team of ten scientists from Namibia, South Africa, Australia and the UK.

Dr Prave, a co-author of the paper, said that the tiny creatures were pierced by different-sized openings that were probably used to pass nutrients into their bodies.  They also found a ‘network of internal passageways’ thought to be a primitive gut.

He continued, “What is remarkable is that this organism appears to have evolved before, and survived through, the environmental extremes of snowball Earth. This implies that the causes and conditions for the evolutionary leap from bacteria to animals have to be searched for much deeper in time than previously thought.”

ENDS

Namibian rocks, similar to those where the fossil was uncovered.

Note to Editors

Dr Prave is available for interview on 07770 904 778.

Note to Picture Editors

Images are available from the Press Office - contacts below.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
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Ref: Fossil find 080212
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A young student with Asperger’s has written a self-help book for parents with children suffering from the condition.

Joshua Muggleton (22), a student at the University of St Andrews, wrote the book to help parents like his own better understand the minds of their children.

Joshua, who graduates from the University this summer (June 2012), hopes that his book will also offer valuable insights for mainstream school teachers like his own, who struggled to cope with limited resources.

The book, Raising Martians, is already on-sale at US book giants Barnes & Noble as well as in the UK.

Taking its title from the idea that raising a child with Asperger’s can feel like raising an alien, Joshua first thought about writing a book four years ago as he was preparing to leave his home in Guildford, near Surrey, to go to St Andrews. He says the self-help manual is his way of giving something back to those that have helped him overcome the condition.

The 4th year psychology student commented, “People with Asperger’s have a lot to contribute to society, but there is very little education out there for parents and teachers.  Education is something of a silver bullet when it comes to helping young people with the condition, and without it deep-set problems can develop at school age.

“I tend to think about how it is for other people with Asperger’s. Equally, I am very aware of the types of questions people ask about Asperger’s because I’ve been talking about my own experiences with it for so long.  My book offers a more personal insight because it’s been written by someone with the condition and not a clinical psychologist.”

It was while touring the country giving inspirational talks that first gave Joshua the idea of writing a book from a young person’s perspective.

He said, “People used to ask afterwards if I had anything they could take away with them, so with the encouragement of my parents, I eventually went to a publisher with the proposal and bounced some ideas around.

“I’m quite close to my parents but I’m also able to talk objectively to other parents about their children. I try to talk to them on behalf of their child, giving them answers to questions that they might feel unable to ask themselves.  Every child is different but I try to put the parents in the child’s shoes and facilitate some understanding.”

The resulting book is something of a family affair, with his mother Julia helping to edit it and fellow St Andrews student Stacey Martin providing the artwork.

Joshua, who is currently applying for postgraduate courses and hopes to work in either research or clinical psychology, is inspired by the work of his St Andrews lecturers in the fields of anxiety, depression and OCD.

First diagnosed with Asperger’s at the age of 15, Joshua commented, “Once a child is diagnosed with Asperger’s, parents might as well throw the baby books out of the window.

“When I was at primary school I thought the other children were telepathic. I didn’t understand what they were laughing at or how they understood how to play games. I had problems with non-verbal communication, so didn’t understand subtleties of body language and gestures, especially in imaginative play.  Even something as simple as pretending a stick was a sword I didn’t get.”

Instead, Joshua spent his time being introspective and observing the behaviour of others, how they interacted with eachother and how they viewed the world around them.  Secondary school became more difficult as Joshua struggled to develop relationships with fellow students.

“Once you get to secondary school, it’s more about forming social relationships based on shared interests and having an opinion on something,” he continued. “Most of it was completely beyond me and I had experience of being bullied, so completely lost interest.”

But a trip to St Andrews in 2008 inspired Joshua to follow the academic route, and a path that he hopes will lead him to further understand the subject so close to his own heart.

He explained, “I never thought I’d be able to go to University because I was bullied and emotionally fragile, so my grades weren’t great. But I fell in love with St Andrews and knew it was the place for me. I looked at the rankings which were really good for psychology, so I worked 18 hours a day to get the grades I needed.”

Attributing his ability to adapt in a strange place 500 miles from home to the close-knit community of St Andrews, Joshua credits his student friends and support staff at the University for getting him through his degree.

He said, “I felt I needed to break free, and St Andrews seemed like a tight knit community that was nice and quiet, away from the stresses of inner-city life.  It’s been a life-changing experience for me, I’ve made some great friends and learned about what I can get out of life and what I can do. 

“I needed the right type of environment to grow well, and St Andrews has been perfect for me. I have a very supportive group of friends - my first ever group of friends - who I will be very sad to leave, as they give me lots of support in every-day life.”

Already signed up to write a second book that aims to make research into Asperger’s more accessible to parents and teachers, Joshua hopes to go back to his old school to talk to teachers about the condition.

He said, “I would love teachers to have access to my book because it would make such a difference to their understanding.  Because Asperger’s isn’t classed as a mental health issue, there are no funds available to help teaching staff. Teachers are already underpaid and overworked so it would be great if I can help them in any way possible.  I felt like I was in a very dark place growing up, and although my teachers tried to help, the school didn’t do anything to help them deal with me. 

“The way I see it, I could either lash out or try to make a difference.  There are kids out there having a harder time than me, and adults too, and if I can help just one person, this is my chance to give something back.”

ENDS

Raising Martians - From Crash-Landing to Leaving Home: How to Help a Child with Asperger's Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism by Joshua Muggleton is published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Note to Editors

Joshua is available for interview on 07905 678 497 or email jm924@st-andrews.ac.uk

Note to Picture / Online Editors

Images are available from the Press Office - contacts below.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews

Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager on 01334 467227 / 462529, mobile 07900 050 103, or email gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk 
Ref:  Raising Martians 070212

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An internationally-renowned scientist, at the University of St Andrews, has been honoured for his fundamental chemical research that could transform the range of electric vehicles and make renewable energy more viable.

Professor Peter Bruce, FRS, Wardlaw Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews, today (Tuesday 7 February) will be presented with the inaugural UK Science Award by global coatings company AkzoNobel.

Professor Bruce was selected for the honour by an independent panel convened by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).

He will officially receive the award at a ceremony at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London.

The panel cited Professor Bruce’s outstanding contributions to research in the fields of solid state chemistry and electrochemistry.

His key work, which in the eyes of the judging panel raised him above the very high standard of entries, was his work to make lithium batteries last longer and deliver more power.

This work could transform electric motor vehicles,  enabling them to travel far farther and faster than current models before needing recharged, making them a more realistic option for drivers who wish to travel greater distances.

Professor Bruce said: “New generations of rechargeable lithium batteries could extend the range of electric vehicles enabling them to travel further than current models before needing recharged, making them a more realistic option for drivers who wish to travel greater distances.

“They could also help to balance the intermittent supply of electricity from renewable sources - such as wind and wave power - with consumer demand, a key challenge in making renewable energy viable and which would provide enormous potential for Scotland which has an increasing emphasis on renewable energies.”

He added: “Research is a team effort and I want to pay tribute to my research colleagues past and present, as well as my fellow academics at St Andrews.”

UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, said: “It is important that we take every opportunity to recognise the wealth of science talent and expertise we have in the UK.

“Professor Bruce’s work on low-carbon vehicles is not only important for our world-leading research base, but also has the potential to drive growth and innovation in industry.”

Professor Lesley Yellowlees, President-Elect of the Royal Society of Chemistry and chair of the selection panel which chose Professor Bruce for the honour, described him as a “brilliant scientist”.

She said: “Professor Bruce is a highly motivated, creative and versatile scientist with a real feeling for science at the highest level and for finding innovative application of energy storage materials developed in his laboratory.

“He is an enterprising and brilliant scientist who gives inspiring leadership to innovative, cutting-edge scientific research with clear practical relevance.”

Professor Bruce’s work at the university focuses on making new materials with new properties which will transform their capabilities.

The material chemist is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He graduated from Aberdeen University where he also carried out postgraduate research and received his PhD in 1981.

After a period as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford and then lecturer at Heriot-Watt University he moved to the University of St Andrews as a Professor in Chemistry in 1990 and has been Wardlaw Professor of Chemistry since 2007.

AkzoNobel who have sponsored the award, is the world’s largest paints and coatings company, a major producer of speciality chemicals, and owner of iconic brands including Dulux, Polycell and Cuprinol.

ENDS

Note to Editors

Professor Bruce is available today between noon and 4pm on Monday on 01334 463825.

Notes to Picture Editors

Images of Professor Bruce are available from the Press Office – contacts below.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews

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Ref: (akzonobel 06/02/12)

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A special software technique used by experts at the University of St Andrews will be able to survey thousands of documents which will vastly speed up information gathering.

Historians and computing experts will use the bespoke software to trawl thousands of historic documents for details of trade movements between Britain and the rest of the world in the 19^th century.

The project will detail the economic and environmental impact of shipping valuable commodities such as building materials, tea, fruit, and spices.

Researchers will use “text mining” to survey thousands of digitised documents. Sources will include British and Canadian government documents, newspapers from around the world, books and journals.

Text mining is faster than manual reading and can place information in context. It can, for example, distinguish between Washington as a place or surname. It can also differentiate references to materials as commodities, such as mahogany timber but not mahogany furniture. It also understands variations in records of weights, measures, dates and prices.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and York University, Canada.

Professor Aaron Quigley, from the University of St Andrews, said: “Our research here on exploratory visualisation allows historians to trace the flow of a wide range of natural resources around the globe.

“By working with world experts in text mining within the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance and domain experts in York University, Canada, we can bridge the research divide and answer historical questions on trading.”

The University of Edinburgh’s reference and archive centre, EDINA, will store information garnered in the study. The two-year project forms part of Digging for Data, a wider initiative by JISC, the UK’s digital information body.

Professor Ewan Klein, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, who is leading the project, said: “We think of globalisation as a particularly recent phenomenon, yet historians argue that transnational trade in the late 19^th century led to a golden age of global economic development. Our project will seek to define the extent of commodity trading during the growth of the Empire, and its impact on the economy and environment.”

The work is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

ENDS

Note to Editors

For more information please contact: For more information please contact:

Professor Aaron Quigley, School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews, 078 72421 777.

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Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227

Ref: (globalisation 06/02/12)

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A century after Captain Scott and his team perished on their polar expedition, the great explorer’s spirit of adventure is inspiring a team of students from the University of St Andrews to set off on an adventure of their own – aiming to cross the 20-mile Lairig Ghru pass in the Cairngorms.

Departing today (Thursday 2 February 2012) twelve members of the University’s Expedition Society (ExpAnd), led by Edward Morgan (3rd year, Geography), will undertake the two day trek to mark the centenary of Captain Scott's Antarctic voyage. The mission also aims to raise money to create an expedition scholarship to allow a young person from Fife to take part in a prestigious British Schools Exploring Society Expedition.

This is not the first time the spirit of Scott has been found in St Andrews.  It first travelled from the South Pole to North Fife carried in JM Barrie’s pocket when he came to deliver his famous rectorial address on ‘Courage’ at the University of St Andrews on 3 May 1922.

Ten years earlier, on 29 March 1912, Captain Scott, awaiting death by starvation and exposure in a tent in the Antarctic, wrote to Sir James M Barrie. In that final letter he asked Barrie to take care of his wife Kathleen and son Peter. Barrie was so proud of the letter that he carried it around for the rest of his life.

Addressed to “My Dear Barrie”, the moving message shows a man who was stoic until the last:

“We are showing that Englishmen can still die with a bold spirit fighting it out to the end… We have done everything possible, even to sacrificing ourselves in order to save sick companions. I think this makes an example for Englishmen of the future.”

Barrie was determined to share Scott’s heroic attitude with the students of the University of St Andrews, and in the full flow of his historic speech pulled the letter out from his pocket and revealed:

“I should like to read you some passages of a letter from a man of another calling, which I think will hearten you. I have the little filmy sheets here.”

And so he read from the letter, written by his close friend with only the faintest hope that it would ever be delivered:

“I am not at all afraid of the end, but sad to miss many a simple pleasure which I had planned for the future in our long marches. . . . We are in a desperate state--feet frozen, etc., no fuel, and a long way from food, but it would do your heart good to be in our tent, to hear our songs and our cheery conversation. . . . Later--(it is here that the words become difficult)--We are very near the end. . . . We did intend to finish ourselves when things proved like this, but we have decided to die naturally without.”

Barrie went on to reflect:

“How comely a thing is affliction borne cheerfully, which is not beyond the reach of the humblest of us. What is beauty? It is these hard-bitten men singing courage to you from their tent; it is the waves of their island home crooning of their deeds to you who are to follow them.”

So as the Expand team prepare to follow in those pioneering footsteps, the Courage of Scott and Barrie goes with them.

Professor Lorna Milne, Proctor of the University, said “I wish all the luck to our adventurous students raising money for a wonderful cause. I encourage the St Andrews community to support this generous team.”

To donate online visit: www.bmycharity.com/standrewsunisledgepull

Notes to News Editors

To view the full text of Scott’s letter go to: http://spad1.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/171/

The Sledge Pull challenge is part of a nationwide series of events organised by Inspire Youth Development, a non–profit youth development charity aiming to create inspirational opportunities for today’s young people.

For details of the Scott Centenary Sledge Pull go to: www.sss100.org/other-pulls-and-plans.html

Edward Morgan, Vice-President of ExpAnd and Team Leader, is available on 07867612215

A University of St Andrews astronomer has been named one of the best young voices of science in the world.

Dr Martin Dominik has been appointed to a prestigious body that aims to empower the best young scientists working around the globe.

Dr Dominik, a researcher at the University’s School of Physics & Astronomy, is the first Scottish-based academic to be made a member of The Global Young Academy.

Selected in his ‘creative prime’, Dr Dominik joins an elite group that includes just five other researchers from the rest of the UK.

Since arriving in St Andrews in 2003, Dr Dominik has been at the forefront of the search for new planets. He played a key role in the discovery of the most Earth-like planet found to date at the time of its announcement in 2006. The researcher was co-leader of the international team that first discovered the planet, named OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb.

Earlier this month, Dr Dominik’s role in an international study that carried out an ‘opinion survey’ of the skies was reported. The study suggests that there are hundreds of planets in the Milky Way alone that are yet to be discovered.

On hearing of his appointment, the Royal Society University Research Fellow commented, “We all share this wee blue planet, and the problems we are facing neither follow political nor disciplinary boundaries.

“I am much looking forward to exchanging thoughts within the diverse membership of the Global Young Academy and further developing a holistic approach to research and education.”

The Global Young Academy is part of the international Young Academy movement that pulls together a global network of more than 100 science academies around the world.

Launched in 2010, its primary aim is to unlock the potential of young scientists, by bringing them together to address topics of global importance. By uniting the best international talent, it is hoped that the elite group can provide new insights on the major challenges facing science in education, policy and international issues.

A strong advocate of the importance of science communication, Dr Dominik was selected for his excellence and commitment to his field of science. He joins 171 leading young scientists from 54 countries and six continents.

Welcoming the news, St Andrews Deputy Principal and Vice Principal (Research), Professor Chris Hawkesworth, commented, “We are extremely proud that one of our own scientists has been made the first Scottish-based researcher to join this elite group of leading thinkers around the globe.

“It is testament to the both Dr Dominik’s research strengths and his commitment to science communication that he has been selected to lead the field in this country.

“We wish him well in his new role in this important new network of the very best scientists in the world.”

For further information visit: http://www.globalyoungacademy.org/

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Young Global Academy was founded with the support of the Inter-Academy panel, a global network of 100 science academies including The Royal Society.

Dr Dominik is available for interview on 07777 6425 64 or email md35@st-andrews.ac.uk

Note to Picture Editors

Images of Dr Dominik are available from the Press Office - contacts below.

Issued by the Press Office

Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, 07900 050 103 gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk

View the latest University news at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news

A total of 13,696 prospective students have applied for a place at St Andrews in 2012 – equivalent to 10 applications for every available place. It is the largest number of applications ever received by St Andrews, and comes against a downturn in the UK HE sector as a whole.

Applications to St Andrews from students resident in the UK – Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland – have increased by 10%.

Applications from Scotland are up 11%, from Wales up 10%, from England down 3% and from Northern Ireland down 15%.

Applications to St Andrews from the rest of the EU are up 35% and from Overseas, up 22%.

St Andrews Vice-Principal External Relations, Stephen Magee, said:

“We are pleased that applications to St Andrews have again grown, particularly when the sector as a whole has seen a drop in applications and the funding of higher education is more challenged than ever, for students as well as institutions.

“What will be far more important than application figures however are the numbers of young people who actually decide to take up the offer of a place at university, given the considerable pressures facing families at present.”

ENDS

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Dr Elisabetta Girelli, Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of St Andrews, who is set to publish a book on Clift, believes the pairing of the two actors deeply affected both their careers.

In addition, their friendship had great repercussions in their private lives.

Dr Girelli said: “The films they made together are not usually available on the big screen, and I am absolutely delighted to see these two Hollywood gems shown at DCA, especially after the sad loss of Elizabeth Taylor last year.

“A Place in the Sun (1951) is the first screen pairing of Taylor and Clift: while it marked Elizabeth Taylor's entry into adult stardom, after a successful career as a child actress, it also consecrated Montgomery Clift as the hottest male star in 1950s America.

“Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) is one of the most scintillating Tennessee Williams adaptations, a tour de force of melodrama and witty dialogue, dealing with taboo subjects such as homosexuality, incest, and cannibalism.”

In her talk Dr Girelli will discuss the films' implications for the careers of both Taylor and Clift, and compare it to the third film they made together, Raintree County (1957).

Dates and times:

• A Place in the Sun Saturday 28 January, 1pm.
• Suddenly, Last Summer Sunday 29 January, 1pm.
• Dr Girelli’s talk will take place after Suddenly, Last Summer, at 3.30pm.

ENDS

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The Scottish Government is in danger of sabotaging the nation’s greatest export, according to a leading whisky expert.

Dr David Wishart, a researcher at the University of St Andrews, says that the whisky industry could be set for a serious downturn if the minimum pricing for alcohol bill is passed at Holyrood.

According to Dr Wishart, author of a new book on the national dram, whisky is one of the survivors of the recession, bucking the global trend, and its heritage should be protected. 

As whisky drinkers around the world prepare to toast the birthday of Robert Burns with a tipple tonight (Wednesday 25 January 2012), Dr Wishart claims that the new bill could adversely affect the booming Scotch whisky export industry.

Dr Wishart, who has researched the histories and profiled the whiskies of 100 distilleries throughout the UK, commented, “As we join hands to toast our national bard on Burns Night, it is perhaps worth recalling that, a year before his premature death from rheumatic fever aged 37, Robert Burns was an exciseman collecting duties for the Government.

“Burns might well reflect on the scale of excise duties on Scotch Drink today. The tax on alcoholic drinks is set to increase later this year, regardless of the Budget, if the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill is passed at Holyrood. It is estimated that a bottle of blended Scotch whisky will rise by £3.50 in Scotland from this summer. Aside from the impact on the domestic market, where Scottish retailers will be seriously disadvantaged, it will give immense succor to several export markets when they come to review their duties on Scotch whisky.”

According to the latest figures, exports of Scotch whisky increased by 22% last year to £3.5bn, with Singapore exports rising by 64%, Brazil by 56%, and Taiwan 45%. Dr Wishart says the Bill will encourage increased taxation in importing countries.

He explained, “The minimum pricing policy allows foreign markets to review their import tariffs on Scotch whisky. For example India, the world's largest whisky market, adds a surcharge of 150% on all Scotch whisky imports. At a time when the EU is trying to re-negotiate this tariff, the Indian line is, if your Government can surcharge your whisky, then so can we.

“It’s a massive shot in the foot for our most successful industry. Scotch whisky is our top export, with sales up 22% last year to £3.5bn, helping to meet the Scottish Government’s goal to increase Scottish exports by 50% by 2017.

“Business is booming abroad. But what does our Scottish Government do for Scotch whisky, our most successful exporting industry? Tax it at home, thus inviting swingeing taxes abroad.”

Dr Wishart published the first book to compare and classify single malt whiskies by flavour in 2002. Ten years on, his book ‘Whisky Classified’, is recognised as the definitive guide to tasting malt whisky. Already published in eight languages, including Portuguese for the booming Brazilian market, a new 2012 edition will be launched worldwide next month.

The St Andrews academic, who is also a Keeper of the Quaich for the Scotch Whisky Industry, warned, “Scotch whisky is the top export from Scotland, with distilleries being re-opened and newly built from Annan to Elgin to Lewis. Our industry, which currently employs 40,000 directly and many more indirectly, could be set for a serious downturn.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Dr Wishart is a Fellow of the School of Management at the University of St Andrews. He is available for interview on 01334 462800 or 0131 337 1448.

Email d.wishart@st-andrews.ac.uk

Note to Picture Editors

Images of Dr Wishart are available from the Press Office - contacts below.

Issued by the Press Office

Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, 07900 050 103 gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk

View the latest University news at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news

The event, Top of the Bench, is hosted this year by the School of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews in collaboration with the Tayside Local Section of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  The RSC established the national annual competition more than ten years ago, with the aim of sparking interest and excitement in the field of chemistry amongst 14 to 16 year olds.

Pupils from Perth High School, Perth Academy, Dunfermline’s Woodmill High School and Kirriemuir's Webster's High School will pit their chemical knowledge against each other in the quiz, which includes a 'guess the element' section and a video round.  The four teams, consisting of pupils from S2 to S4, have already successfully beaten twelve other teams, including previous winners, from across the Fife, Tayside and Perthshire regions to get through to the eight round final.

The contest, in which Professor Derek Woollins, Head of Chemistry at St Andrews, will take on the role of Quizmaster, is a successful outreach project for the School of Chemistry, having coordinated the regional event since its inception.

Professor Douglas Philp organised this year's competition with Chemistry colleagues Drs Sharon Ashbrook and Iain Smellie. Speaking before the final, Professor Philp said, "Given the standard of competition this year, we are looking forward to an exciting and keenly contested final and are sure the eventual winners will be excellent representatives for the region at the national final".

The winners of tonight's competition will go forward to the national final held in the Spring, where they will compete against up to thirty other teams from across the UK.

ENDS

Note to Editors / Photo Opportunity

The finalists will be available for a photo at the School of Chemistry, Purdie Building, North Haugh, St Andrews at 5.30pm tonight (Tuesday 24 January 2012) – ask for Professor Philp on arrival (contacts below).  The competition starts at 6pm and should finish by around 7.15/7.30pm. Professor Philp can provide details of winners directly afterwards - telephone 07769 312 253.

Students at the University of St Andrews are hitchhiking their way across Europe for charity.

The annual event, organised by the student-led Charities Campaign, aims to raise over £17,000 for charities including Cancer Research UK, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

The race event – named Race2 Barcelona – was launched this morning (Monday 23 January 2012) with 205 students setting off from mystery locations around Scotland… all headed for the same finishing line in Spain.

In teams of twos and threes, students race against eachother, and their progress and safety is monitored by new software RACEbook, which hitchhikers send text messages to every four hours. 

Marked out by bright yellow t-shirts, all students carry official Charities Campaign certificates and set out to raise £100 or more each in sponsorship. 

All money raised will go to the Campaign’s six nominated charities this year: Cancer Research UK, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Medecins Sans Frontiere, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and Macmillan’s Cancer Support.

The Charities Campaign, an all-student subcommittee of the St Andrews Students’ Association, has been running Race2 events for seven years. 

The event is supported by Vodafone's JustTextGiving and Ernst and Young.  Donations can be sent to students taking part in Race2Barcelona via Vodafone’s JustTextGiving free donation service - text RACE23 £amount to 70070.

ENDS

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The new educational project, spearheaded by St Andrews geologists, was launched at a Fife secondary school by science tv presenter Iain Stewart today (Wednesday 18 January 2012).

The initiative, which will involve a mobile science unit travelling to secondary schools throughout Scotland, was designed to support secondary school teachers (and the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland), and has the backing of Scottish Government, industry and scientific partners.

Named GeoBus, the innovative outreach project was developed by Dr Ruth Robinson of the Department of Earth Sciences at St Andrews and is based on the successful St Andrews ChemBus project that provides outreach to chemistry teachers and pupils in Fife and Tayside. The senior lecturer began raising money for the GeoBus project over two years ago after realising she could help plug a gap in the teaching of geology and Earth science in schools.

Speaking in advance of the launch, she said, “Earth science teaching is poorly supported in secondary schools in Scotland, Higher Geology will be removed from the curriculum by 2015, and future curriculum changes in Scotland mean that Earth science and geology teaching will be covered by science teachers.

“GeoBus will help to plug this gap by bringing educational resources to schools across Scotland and northern England, and will support the delivery of Earth science teaching for teachers that do not necessarily have an Earth science background. Earth science is the ultimate applied science, and a unique and innovative aspect of GeoBus is that the teaching resources are developed for science teachers by enthusiastic and inspiring young science researchers.”

Dr Robinson and her colleagues hope to engage young would-be scientists by introducing them to exciting research projects that are carried out by young researchers in Scotland. A further benefit to schools is that the initiative will provide a bridge between industry, HEIs, Research Councils, and schools. It is hoped that more young people will be encouraged to think about a career in geology or Earth sciences as a result.

Dr Robinson launched the mobile teaching unit at Buckhaven High School today (Wednesday) with Scots geologist and star of television science shows such as ‘Earth: The Power of the Planet’ and ‘Men of Rock’, Professor Iain Stewart.

Geobus is sponsored by the Research Councils (NERC and EPSRC), Scottish Government, Maersk Oil, Shell, Centrica, the Geological Society and the Mineralogical Society.

The current funding for GeoBus will support visits to schools throughout the school term time until June 2014.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

GeoBus is available to visit secondary schools in all educational authorities around Scotland, and in northern England later in the year. Teaching packages have been designed by staff at the University of St Andrews and cover broad areas of Earth science aimed at supporting STEM subject teaching generally, and highlighting career opportunities in Earth science and other STEM subjects.

Dr Ruth Robinson, a Senior Lecturer and geologist in the Department of Earth Sciences, developed the GeoBus outreach project. Ms Kathryn Roper is the dedicated coordinator of GeoBus and Kathryn will visit the schools and deliver the teaching packages with teachers. Kathryn is a graduate of the University of St Andrews (BSc Geoscience 2009) and a qualified secondary school teacher. Many other academics and students from St Andrews will contribute to GeoBus from the disciplines of Earth sciences, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics & Astronomy.

Teachers can book a GeoBus visit via www.geobus.org.uk

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Ref: Geobus 170112

View the latest University news at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news

Professor Burnside saw off competition from a heavyweight shortlist including Britain’s poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy and British writer Sean O’Brien to pick up the £15,000 prize at a ceremony in central London last night for his collection, “Black Cat Bone”.

He was presented with the cheque by Valerie Eliot, widow of the poet, who has funded the prize itself since it was launched 18 years ago.

The TS Eliot Prize was described by former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion as “the prize most poets want to win”, with previous winners including Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney.

Gillian Clarke, chair of the judging panel, called Burnside’s winning work a “haunting book of great beauty, powered by love, childhood memory, human longing and loneliness. In an exceptional year, it is an outstanding book, one which the judges felt grew with every reading.”

The prize is awarded annually by the Poetry Book Society to the best collection published in the UK and Ireland.

Professor John Burnside is a former winner of the Forward Prize, Geoffrey Faber Prize, Whitbread poetry prize, Saltire Book of the Year Prize and the Sundial/SAC non-fiction book of the year award.

Scotland’s oldest university is placed 71st in the Leiden Ranking 2012, published at www.leidenranking.com. The new ranking uses a sophisticated set of varied indicators to assess the quality and importance of scientific research at 500 of the world’s top universities.

The ranking found that St Andrews was among the world’s leading universities for international research collaboration. It was the top multi-faculty university in the UK and 25th in the world for research projects carried out with international partners. In the UK, only the London School of Tropical Medicine outperformed St Andrews on international research collaboration.

St Andrews was also commended for the number of times its research was cited or referred to by other scientists. It was judged to be 70th in the world for frequency of research citations.

Publication of the Leiden Ranking is the third time in 6 months that St Andrews has been named as one of the world’s top 100 universities. It was placed 85th in the Times Higher World Rankings 2012 and 97th in the QS World University Rankings 2012, both announced late last year.

St Andrews’ strong showing on international research collaborations – 25th in the world and top in the UK - reflects a drive to raise the profile of Scottish research overseas and help Scotland remain internationally competitive.

Last month, academics from the University’s Sea Mammal Research Unit co-led a study involving international colleagues from France, Norway, South Africa, USA, Canada, Sweden and Namibia to make a critically important finding about food stocks required by seabirds.

Astronomers from the University have this week collaborated with researchers using telescopes in Tasmania, Western Australia, South Africa and Chile to make an important breakthrough in the search for new planets.

And the Fife University was central to a recent global effort to encourage members of the public to help scientists understand the way whales communicate. The project – Whale FM – has seen thousands of “citizen scientists” sign up to a new US based website which allows the public to be centrally involved in deciphering whale calls, language and dialect.

Professor Louise Richardson, St Andrews Principal and Vice-Chancellor, said:

“St Andrews may be one of the world’s smaller research universities but demonstrably we have global reach as so many of our academics are producing internationally important research.

“To have been ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions by three separate league tables in just 6 months is a gratifying endorsement of the quality of our research and teaching and the dedication and commitment of those who work here.

“This is a good result for St Andrews, but it is also a good result for Scotland. Despite the financial challenges we all face, we are determined that our universities should remain a critical international force and a means of strengthening Scottish influence abroad.”

ENDS

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Ref: (leiden 12/01/12)

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An artist’s illustration of the possible planets ‘out there’. Credit ESO/M. Kornmesser.

Scientists undertaking a new ‘opinion survey’ of unknown planets say that the sky is filled with planets that we are not yet aware of.

The latest study, co-led by astronomers at the University of St Andrews, suggests that we are only aware of a ‘tiny’ fraction of planets out there.

In the study published by Nature today (Wednesday 11 January 2012), researchers found that there are at least half as many planets as there are stars in the sky.  However, the authors suggest that, even though we can’t see them, ‘wherever we look in the sky, there are planets’.

Dr Martin Dominik.

The underlying observations and analysis were carried out by an international team co-led by Dr Martin Dominik, a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, who describes the study as ‘an opinion survey’ of the skies.

Dr Dominik commented, "In the last 15 years, we have seen the count of known planets beyond the Solar system rising from none to about 700.  We also know that so far we have detected only a tiny fraction of planets out there.  We expect hundreds of billions exist in the Milky Way alone.”

The new findings collated six years’ worth of data collected by researchers monitoring Milky Way stars that undergo a transient brightening known as a  'gravitational microlensing event'.  They complement data obtained with NASA's ‘Kepler’ mission, which detects planets from dips in the light of stars they transit.  While Kepler is sensitive only to planets that are closer to their parent star than the Earth is to the Sun, gravitational microlensing covers the full separation range from Venus to Saturn.

Interestingly, massive gas-giant planets like Jupiter did not feature prominently in the findings despite their larger detectability. With the discovery of the small distant icy world OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb in 2006, this demonstrates that less massive planets are the more common. Despite the fact that only a small number of planets have been detected, the researchers can estimate their abundance from the sample obtained.

"It is like an opinion survey", Dr Dominik explained. "Rather than taking a complete count, we look at a representative sample.”

Using a network of telescopes distributed over the southern hemisphere, from Tasmania and Western Australia to South Africa and Chile, the team of researchers were able to observe the skies around the clock. 

Dr Dominik continued, “Probably ever since mankind existed, we have shared our fascination about the myriads of pinpoints of light in the night sky - making us wonder whether they hint at other worlds like ours or rather unlike ours.  The first count of other planets did not start until 1995 with the first detection of a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun, and we could subsequently start pointing telescopes to other stars known to host planets. But now we understand that there is more out there.

“We do not know yet where all the planets are, how big or small, dense or fluffy they are, or whether they are home to life or not, but our latest results tell us that while we may not see all the planets, wherever in the sky we look, they are there."

The work is now being followed up by the MiNDSTEp (Microlensing Network for the Detection of Small Terrestrial ExoPlanets) campaign, which pushes the search for new worlds into hitherto uncharted territory down to the mass of the Moon.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Dr Martin Dominik is available for interview on 01334 654898 or 07777 64 25 64, or email md35@st-andrews.ac.uk

The team used a network of 1m-class telescopes dubbed PLANET (Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork).

More than half of the total data was acquired with the Danish 1.54m telescope at ESO La Silla, which is now a core facility of the MiNDSTEp (Microlensing Network for the Detection of Small Terrestrial Exoplanets) campaign.

OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb was the most Earth-like and probably least massive planet at the time of the announcement of its discovery in January 2006, provided the first observational hint for Earth-like planets being common in the Universe, and is still listed as probably most distant planet known in "Guinness World Records" (2012 edition).

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Ref:Truth out there 110112

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A mobile phone app which can predict the likelihood of successful IVF has been created by academics at the University of St Andrews.

The application called IVF Predict asks users a series of questions such as what the cause of fertility problems is, if known, and what drugs will be used. It then gives a percentage chance of how successful a procedure will be.

It follows a similar questionnaire online previously created by the same team.

Dr Tom Kelsey of the School of Computer Science at St Andrews is an international expert in mathematical models for biomedicine.

He worked with Professor Scott Nelson, the Muirhead Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow who is an international expert in IVF, Professor Debbie Lawlor, the Profesor of Epidemiology at Bristol University, and Dr Chris Jefferson, a Researcher at St Andrews to create the questionnaire.

Dr Kelsey said: “People are making huge decisions both financially and emotionally and there are many people thinking they have a 90-100 per cent chance of successful conception with IVF, but it isn't like that.

“To achieve a spontaneous pregnancy in any given cycle, without fertility treatment, the chances are only around one in three.

“The main idea of the app is to give people who are making these decision, an indication of whether IVF will work or not.

“It is about informing decision; helping a couple decide whether to go ahead with this expensive treatment that probably isn’t going to work.”

The app costs £1.99 however all the money generated will go back into the Wallace-Kelsey Foundation, a charity which aims to improve the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.

Its main focus is how to quantify and mitigate the adverse effects on reproduction caused by chemo and radiotherapies.

ENDS

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For more information about Dr Kelsey visit http://www.wallacekelsey.org.uk/

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An international group of scientists co-led by the University of St Andrews has shown that many seabirds begin to suffer when the food available for them in the ocean declines below a critical level. This level is about one-third of the maximum amount of food available. They have shown that this critical level is about the same for seabirds wherever they happen to be in the world.

Their study – the most comprehensive ever undertaken - covers birds from the Arctic to the Antarctic and from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The research, to be published in the journal Science on 23 December 2011, involved scientists from around the world and was co-led by Professor Ian Boyd, Director of the Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews.

The study focussed upon seabirds that feed mainly on fish like sardines, anchovies and sandeels. These are often key species in marine ecosystems that are sometimes also exploited by fishers. In the Antarctic these fish species are replaced by krill which are like small shrimps. The researchers used data collected from 14 species including guillemots, gannets, skuas, terns, puffins, penguins and a species of gull.  Their success at producing chicks was measured over periods of 15 up to 47 years and the team related this to the abundance of their main fish food in the region around their breeding colonies.  The study gathered 438 years of observations, which constitutes one of the most comprehensive global databases ever assembled for a predator and its prey.

Wherever it occurred in the world the effect of low fish abundance was similar. When the amount of fish in the sea was greater than one-third of the maximum ever recorded the number of chicks produced was unaffected by changes in food availability. But if the fish abundance fell below this one-third threshold then the success at producing chicks declined.

The team was stimulated to undertake its study by concerns about the effects that fishing may be having upon some of these important species in marine ecosystems.

Professor Ian Boyd said:  “When combined with the effects of climate change, we need to develop better methods of setting the limits of exploitation of important marine species. This means being able to establish general guidelines that, if exceeded, will cause changes to other important components in the ecosystems. Seabirds are some of the best and most easily measured indicators we have of the health of these ecosystems and it seems sensible to use them in this context”.

Co-leader of the team, Dr Philippe Cury of the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), said: “We were amazed by the consistency of the relationship around the globe. This suggests that we have found an important benchmark that could be used as a guide to limit the amount of fish taken from the sea in order to maintain seabird populations in the long term.”

The team acknowledges that there is more to be done to understand whether what they have found applies more widely but they think that the rule-of-thumb “one-third for the birds” will be useful as part of wider approaches to making sure that we sustain our marine ecosystems.

The research team comprised scientists from universities and research institutes in the UK, France, Norway, South Africa, the USA, Canada, Sweden and Namibia.

Ends

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The full research paper is available to journalists from the Science Press Package team, tel 001 202-326-6440, email  scipak@aaas.org

A new study has found that whales and seals could suffer from the same sickness experienced by human divers.

The research, led by scientists at the University of St Andrews, compiled evidence showing that marine mammals displayed signs of suffering from the diving sickness known as ‘the bends’. 

Until now, it has been contentious as to whether cetaceans could suffer from the disorientating sickness that can cause everything from skin rashes to death in extreme cases in humans.

The new study published today (Wednesday 21 December) provides evidence of bubble formation in the bodies of beached whales and seals that suggests the potential for decompression sickness, caused by the pressure experienced during deep sea diving.

The research also suggests that excessive human noise, such as exposure to military sonar, might cause disorientation in marine mammals, leading to them losing their natural defences and to succumb to the bends rather than avoid them.

Lead researcher Dr Sascha Hooker of the University of St Andrews commented, “Decompression sickness, commonly known as 'the bends' is a serious problem for human divers, but the jury has been out as to whether marine mammals could get the bends or if it would be as serious for them. 

“Unfortunately the technology doesn’t yet exist to measure what is going on physiologically inside a free-living whale during its descent to depths of over 1000 metres.

“However, our review of recent work on marine mammal diving physiology leads us to the conclusion that there may be the potential for them to suffer from the bends in the same way that humans do.” 

The clue to ‘the bends’ taking hold is the appearance of bubbles in the bodies of marine mammals that are caused by an increase in levels of nitrogen in the blood and body tissue. 

The research involved a team of experts from diverse fields including human diving medics, veterinary pathologists and experts in comparative animal anatomy, physiology, ecology and behavior. 

Dr Hooker and fellow researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, reviewed both acute and chronic cases of bubble formation, including bubbles in the major organs of beaked whales that had beached following exposure to sonar; bubbles in the kidney and liver region of mass stranded dolphins, and bubbles in the tissue of bycaught dolphins and seals. 

Examining the mechanisms thought to prevent diving injury in marine mammals, Dr Hooker and her colleagues showed that these are likely to be much more changeable than previously thought. 

Dr Hooker concluded, “Our findings change the way we think about how marine mammals manage the problems of pressure when deep sea diving. The textbooks tell us that seals and whales can tolerate deep dives and rapid ascent without developing the nitrogen load that might lead to the bends.  We suggest that this is not the case for all species, and that they may balance their management of nitrogen against other physiological requirements, such as the need for oxygen or the need for circulation to keep warm. 

“One concern is that these naturally evolving mechanisms may be stretched by human pressures.  An apparent threat to these animals, such as sudden high-levels of noise, could cause them to react; altering their dive trajectory or eliciting a fight-or-flight response – that causes them to exceed their normal coping mechanisms for the prevention of the bends.

“While the bends is rare under normal circumstances, excessive human noise or disturbance may cause a marine mammal to change its diving behaviour in ways that result in serious illness or injury.”

The research is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The researchers are available for interview:

Sascha Hooker: email s.hooker@st-andrews.ac.uk or 01334 467201 or 07544 261342.

Peter Tyack: email plt@st-andrews.ac.uk, 01781 738 8001.

Note to Picture Editors

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Two of the newest student residences at the University of St Andrews have been rewarded for their green credentials. 

For the third year running, the University’s New Hall and David Russell Apartments (DRA) have been awarded Gold Awards from the Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS). The halls of residence scored 89% and 90% respectively putting both in the running for the GTBS annual Best Performer Award.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is a national sustainable tourism certificate that is a Visit Scotland venture; it recognises exemplary environmental management, infrastructure, energy and water consumption, engagement and attention to natural and cultural heritage.

The Gold Awards for New Hall and DRA also recognises campus wide measures that are being taken to decrease environmental impact. Both halls of residence scored particularly high on energy saving through a combination of behaviour change projects such as the Inter-Hall Energy Competition, solar panels at both location to heat water, and the planned large scale projects of a six-turbine wind farm at Kenly and energy centre at the old Guardbridge paper mill.

Speaking after the announcement, Roger Smith, Director of Residential Business Services said: “At a time of increased pressure on financial and staffing resources this achievement is a credit to the wide range of staff who are committed to maintaining this gold standard of environmental performance.”

The Gold GTBS awards add to the growing list of prestigious environmental awards that the University of St Andrews has won this year: the 1^st Class People and Planet Green League 2011 award was presented in January, as well as funding from the Climate Challenge Fund for Transition University of St Andrews, (TUSA).

Transition University of St Andrews is part of the UK-based Transition initiative which was launched at the University in 2009 by a group of students. Both academic and non-academic staff are involved and work within the University at a grass roots level running reduction projects in response to the threats of climate change and peak oil. Through working on practical projects, the initiative helps communities minimise their impact on the planet, become more self-sustaining, and strengthens community ties.

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Ref (GTBS 21/12/11)

EXPERTS at the University of St Andrews are to be part of a Scottish Government scheme to boost economic growth in the nation’s cities.

Professor Duncan Maclennan, of the Centre for Housing Research at the University of St Andrews, will be advising the government on how to make the cities perform better.

The University of St Andrews is a leading expert in the issues which affect cities.

Professor Maclennan led the Review of Scotland’s cities in 2003 and currently advises the Prime Minister of Australia on future city planning.

He said: “Scotland’s cities are performing better than they did 20 years ago but there is still substantial scope for improvement in strategy and delivery within, around and between the cities.

“Better city performance will benefit all of Scotland, from Dumfries to Dunvegan and the Scottish Government has set out proposals that will help align local energies and national actions.

“St Andrews and Glasgow are two of the leading UK universities researching city related issues.

“From our extensive research collaborations with national and city governments in Europe, North America and Australia, colleagues here are keen to contribute knowledge of good practice and policy that they have observed elsewhere and we wholeheartedly welcome the Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre.”

He spoke as Nicola Sturgeon, Cabinet Minister for Cities Strategy, announced a £5m Cities Investment Fund to support a Scottish Cities Alliance.

The Fund is designed to accelerate the pace of investment in Scotland’s cities by developing programmes which lever in funding from private sources or European funding; inter-city large scale projects and those which encompass the region around a city.

Facilitated by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) it is hoped the Alliance will bring together local authority leaders and private sector experts to attract investment, create jobs and help cities compete internationally.

Ms Sturgeon said: “We want to see cities working together, building on their combined strengths to develop strong investment propositions at a scale which will be attractive to potential investors.

“That is why I am delighted that, as a key element of our Agenda for Cities, the leaders of city local authorities will be in the driving seat, collaborating through a new alliance, supported by the SCDI. The Alliance will help cities determine their shared priorities, backed by resources from our new £5m Cities Investment Fund.

“I am also delighted that St Andrews and Glasgow Universities are together establishing and funding a Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre to support the Alliance.

“This will pool together expertise on cities growth issues, draw on international experience and provide the Alliance with a solid evidence, research and evaluation base.”

Professor Iain Docherty, Professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Glasgow, said: “The University of Glasgow warmly welcomes the Scottish Government’s Agenda for Cities and in particular, is delighted to be working with St Andrews on the development of a new Scottish Cities Knowledge Centre that will harness the excellent knowledge and understanding of cities currently held among academics in Scotland.

“The University of Glasgow has a long and distinguished track record of involvement with policy debates in its home city and beyond. Close involvement in the Agenda for Cities is the latest example of this proud tradition of civic engagement."

The cities involved are Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and their regions.

The local authorities involved are Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Highland Council and Stirling Council.

ENDS

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Ref: (cities 16/12/11)

Dr Gavin Hopps, of the University of St Andrews, suggests that the singer’s “championing of the weak” and moral stance on animal cruelty can be likened to the vigilante tactics of the Dark Knight.

Dr Hopps, author of an academic study on the lyrics of Morrissey, compares the outspoken frontman to Frank Miller’s revisionist Batman in a new collection of comic strips based on the songs of The Smiths.

Writing in the introduction to Unite and Take Over: Comic Stories Inspired by the Smiths, Dr Hopps commented, “When Morrissey appeared in the 1980s, he was a reclusive, celibate, bookish teetotaler, who became an icon of ailing, melancholic introspection. There seems little danger of such a figure being mistaken for Superman. And yet, upon closer inspection, certain surprising analogies emerge.

“What we can see in comics and pop music in the 1980s is the analogous appearance of a ‘deconstructive’ vision – manifest in Morrissey’s ‘anti-pop-star’ persona and the fallen or fallible superhero.”

The new collection of 42 comic strips is the ­brainchild of Shawn Demumbrum, a Phoenix-based comic writer and Smiths fan. The anthology re-imagines songs such as “Girlfriend In A Coma” and “Meat Is Murder,” with thirteen writer/artist teams taking on a different Smiths classic in the 172 page illustrated volume.

The collection features cartoon images of Morrissey in various guises – with striking illustrations of the muscular singer bursting out of his clothes, Superman-style, as well as a depiction of the singer as a Vegetarian Vigilante, which resembles the more troubled and ‘humanised’ heroes such as The Dark Knight.

In the book, Dr Hopps, a Lecturer in Literature and Theology at St Andrews, compares the playfulness of Morrissey, once famous for his gladiola throwing, to the 1960s TV series of ‘Batman’ - which features a lycra-clad Adam West clutching a flower and singing Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘I’m Called Little Buttercup.’”

He remarks, “Morrissey now looks as if he’d fit the Dark Knight’s armour better than Christian Bale, though his work also has something in common with the cartoon campiness of the Golden Age heroes, whose elasticated antics take place in a cosmos where levity and gravity have yet to be separated.” Dr Hopps also outlines the darker elements of Morrissey’s work – such as the appearance of gothic adversaries and forces of darkness – which feature in this collection of comic strips.

In the opening essay, Dr Hopps notes that The Smiths appeared around the same time as the publication of Frank Miller’s Batman and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen.

He commented, “Morrissey is obviously an entertainer, not a law-enforcer, who prides himself on being on the outside of everything, whose public pronouncements on matters of ethics are shaped by very particular grievances as well as equally particular allegiances, such as his defence of animal rights.

“And yet isn’t the superhero – and in particular the ‘revisionary’ superhero – also, crucially, on the outside of everything, including the law?

“We should bear in mind too that the superhero – who has demons of his own and is a disturbing presence – only intervenes on very particular issues, and is a supplement to, rather than a reproduction of, the law.

“Seen in this light, Morrissey’s ‘vigilante’ defence of the underdog (the maladjusted, the unlovable, the voiceless or disempowered) may start to resemble the ‘eccentric,’ problematic logic of the superhero’s contribution to justice.”

Dr Hopps, Associate Director of the Institute for Theology and Imagination in the Arts (ITIA) concluded, “Turning Morrissey into a superhero and Smiths' songs into comics is more appropriate than the tweeifications of the John Lewis Christmas ad, which stitches a domestic happy ending onto a narrative of unterminated and outsideless longing.”

ITIA is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of St Andrews, which seeks to explore the relationship between theology, imagination and the arts. Previous work in the Institute includes research on J.R.R. Tolkien, Terrence Malick, Annie Dillard, James MacMillan, comic writer Neil Gaiman, and Scots artist Peter Howson.

‘Unite and Take Over: Comic Stories Inspired by the Smiths’ is available to buy on Amazon.com and will be available in limited numbers at Salford Lad’s Club in Manchester.

ENDS

NOTE TO EDITORS:

DR GAVIN HOPPS IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW TODAY ON 01334 462837, EMAIL gavin.hopps@st-andrews.ac.uk

IMAGES FROM THE COMIC SHOWING MORRISSEY AS A SUPERHERO FIGURE ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE PRESS OFFICE – CONTACTS BELOW

Issued by the Press Office Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager on 01334 467227, 07900 050 103, email gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk Ref: Morrissey superhero 161211

Ian Johnson (General Editor), Frances Andrews (Member of Editorial Board & Founding Director of SAIMS), Alex Woolf (Member of Editorial Board & Current Director of SAIMS), Margaret Connolly (General Editor).

A rare inscription on a strip of gold, found as part of the Staffordshire Hoard, is from the Bible, new research has discovered.

In the first issue of The Mediaeval Journal, published by the University of St Andrews, Elisabeth Okasha, Professor Emerita and Acting Director of the Language Centre at the University College Cork, Ireland, suggests the quotation may demonstrate religion was carried out by the people and not dominated by church leaders.

Although there are many religious inscriptions on the 250 Anglo-Saxon objects which have already been discovered, just 16 are accurate biblical quotations. And just two, before the Staffordshire strip, are from the Old Testament.

The preference for quotations from the New Testament, Psalms and paraphrased passages, indicates that the inscriptions may have been made by those taking part in religious ceremonies rather than church leaders.

Professor Okasha says: “Some interesting questions remain, probably the most striking being, why do so few Anglo-Saxon inscriptions contain a biblical text?

“The paucity of biblical quotation in the inscriptions seems particularly surprising in view of the involvement of the Anglo-Saxon church in literacy and learning, especially in Latin learning, and in the translation of at least some parts of the bible from Latin into Old English.

“Could it be that the influence of the church was concentrated more, or perhaps experienced by lay people more, in the liturgical rather than in the strictly biblical side of church teaching?”

The new international scholarly journal, The Mediaeval Journal, is based in the university’s Institute of Mediaeval Studies and published in partnership with leading European academic press, Brepols.

It is run by General Editors Dr Margaret Connolly and Dr Ian Johnson of the School of English and Dr James Palmer of the School of History.

The first issue also includes an article by Professor Tony Hunt, a former member of the French Department in St Andrews, recently retired from Oxford University.

Its aim is to be a cross-disciplinary journal.

Ian Johnson, General Editor, said: “The Mediaeval Journal is in the powerful position of being able to draw on an Editorial Board of over thirty specialists from within St Andrews and across the globe.

“Mediaeval Studies, in which St Andrews is an undisputed world leader, is a large, vibrant, and fast-growing field --in both research and teaching.

“But whereas contemporary mediaevalists are of necessity interdisciplinary, the journals available to them are, with too few exceptions, generally restricted to single disciplines, such as History, Art History, or Languages.

“Addressing this, The Mediaeval Journal (TMJ) will, as a European-based but inclusively international journal, bring the latest contributions together in the lingua franca of English, and publish (both online and in print) peer-reviewed articles, essays, studies, debates and editions from specialists in all areas of Mediaeval Studies. It will also provide a reviews service that is unusually fast, fair, and constructive.”

Note to editors

The Staffordshire hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure was discovered in the English county in July 2009.

The hoard of more than three thousand objects, from jewelled sword hilts to crosses, buckles and helmet fragments also contained several garnet-inlaid gold strips including one with an inscription.
 
Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews
Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.
Ref: (medieval 14/12/11)

Two Toms, who set out in an 8 metre row boat in a bid to be the second-youngest pair ever to make the journey from the Canary Islands to Barbados , have been rescued from a life-raft after their boat capsized eight days into their challenge.

St Andrews student Tom Sauer and his friend Tom Fancett, from London, were taking part in the 2011 Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race; departing (December 4, 2011) from the Spanish port of San Sebastian de la Gomera in the Canary Islands and following what’s known as the Columbus route, west-bound across the mid-Atlantic to Port St Charles.

They were picked up by a cruise ship nearly 500 miles south-west of the islands early on Wednesday (December 13, 2011), having been forced to abandon their boat which was struck by "an enormous wave" at approximately 8 pm.

Sauer told how the pair were changing places in the boat when disaster struck:

"The ocean was quite calm. We were in great spirits after the first eight days in the race. Suddenly our boat was rocked by an enormous wave, the size of which we've never seen before. Our boat was thrown over and capsized. The cabin flooded.

"We desperately tried to turn the boat back up again but to no avail. In fact our PS Vita/Team Tom boat started to sink. We managed to get the life raft and life jackets out during some very nervous and difficult moments. We entered the life raft and saw our dream literally sink in the ocean.”

Falmouth coastguard co-ordinated the rescue after the Team Tom’s emergency beacon was triggered at 7.54pm, 480 miles from the Canary islands. The nearest ship, the Bahamian-registered cruise ship Crystal Serenity was 120 miles away.

Mr Sauer and Mr Fancett spent the night on their emergency life raft, buffeted by waves up to 10ft high as they waited for rescue. They were recovered at six o'clock this morning after sending up another flare which was seen seven miles away by Crystal Serenity.

The boys’ most recent Facebook update says:

“We are both alive and well. After 10 hours in our life-raft we were picked up by a cruise liner heading for St. Maarten. We are both very grateful that events turned out this way and for all the messages of support we have received since the capsize and subsequent rescue.”

A spokesperson for the University of St Andrews said:

“We are very glad to hear that the two Toms are safe and well. Their endeavour was a perfect example of the St Andrews spirit of courage and ambition. Equally it is the St Andrews way never to see an unexpected outcome as a failure, but as an opportunity to ask ‘what have I discovered that I didn’t set out to discover?’. We hope the two Toms are undeterred from taking on future challenges and are sure their families will be glad that they are safe and dry for Christmas!”

The University of St Andrews is on the hunt for the curators of the future, thanks to a new initiative spear-headed by its own museum.

MUSA (Museum of the University of St Andrews) will allow locals youngsters special behind the scenes access to its treasures, as part of an initiative that aims to shed the ‘dull and dusty’ image of museums to teenagers.

As part of the Youth Curators Project, which kicks off in January next year, MUSA is inviting local teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 to join a team which will plan an exhibition using artefacts from the University’s nationally important collections.

The group of youngsters will be asked to come up with a subject for the exhibition and be given the opportunity to select items for display.  They will also be given special access to explore behind the scenes at the MUSA Collections Centre, where many of the University’s artefacts are kept when not on show.

While getting hands-on with some rare historic and scientific objects, the young participants will develop a range of new skills including design, problem solving, decision making, film production, marketing and communication. They will also be shown how to handle the artefacts safely in order to preserve the heritage of the University, which is currently celebrating its 600^th anniversary.

Matt Sheard, Audience Development Officer for the University’s Museum Collections Unit, said:

“Local teenagers often feel that the University isn’t really relevant to them and that museums are a bit dull and dusty. This programme changes that – it puts the young people in control, shows them that the University is about experimenting and encourages them to defy the traditional museum conventions. They will use these objects to create a display on the subject of their choice in any way they can. Last year was MUSA’s busiest summer to date and we expect the next one to be even more so; visitors from as far away as Australia, Japan and the United States will see the creative talent of the young folk of St Andrews.”

Participants will meet twelve times between January and June, when the exhibition will open with a special ceremony in time for the busy summer period.

The University of St Andrews cares for three Recognised Collections of National Significance, which include artefacts deemed to be of unique importance to Scotland. The Youth Curators scheme is part of a wider project to encourage greater engagement with the collections and has been made possible through funding from Museum Galleries Scotland.

Anyone interested in taking part in the project can find a sample application form and further details on MUSA’s website. Closing date for applications is 7 January 2012, enquiries can be made by contacting Matt Sheard on 01334 461699 or mjs42@st-andrews.ac.uk.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Image shows two participants at an event in the MUSA Collections Centre looking at a model eye from the Historic Scientific Instruments Collection.

Issued by the University of St Andrews Press Office

Contact Victoria Herd on 01334 462530 or victoria.herd@st-andrews.ac.uk

Reference: (musa071211)

View the latest University of St Andrews Press releases at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news

A multi-disciplinary research team, including Computer Science experts from the University of St Andrews, has found instead that Twitter was a force for good, helping to mobilise the post-riot clean up.

The study was led by Professor Rob Procter, of the University of Manchester, and funded by JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee).

Using St Andrews' world-leading expertise in cloud computing, Dr Alex Voss from the School of Computer Science was part of the team that has shed new light on the effect of social media on the English riots this August.

Cloud computing allows large-scale computing facilities to be accessed and shared by many different users over the Internet.  For this new study, Dr Voss and his colleagues were able to quickly set up dozens of computers to work on the millions of messages that were posted during and after the riots.

Dr Voss said, "The cloud computing environment at St Andrews meant that we could quickly set up a multi-computer environment that could analyse a large volume of information quickly and accurately. Without cloud computing, this would have been practically impossible."

The study is published today (8 December) in The Guardian newspaper as part of its Reading the Riots investigation.

Professor Procter, who is based at The University's Manchester e-Research Centre, said: “In August this year, social unrest spilled over onto the streets of English cities and the summer riots were the largest public disorder events in recent history.

“Politicians and commentators were quick to claim that social media played an important role in inciting and organising riots, calling for sites such as Twitter to be closed should events of this nature happen again.

“But our study found no evidence of significance in the available data that would justify such a course of action in respect to Twitter.

“In contrast, we do find strong evidence that Twitter was a valuable tool for mobilising support for the post-riot clean up and for organising specific clean up activities.”

Also according to the research team, rumours 'break' quickly in Twitter and the mainstream media lag behind citizen reports.

Examples include rumours the London Eye had been set on fire and animals had been released from the London Zoo - which both turned out to be untrue.

Other stories turned out to be true such as the burning down of a Miss Selfridge shop in Manchester.

Professor Procter added: “Only after a period of time does the influence of mainstream media organisations become critical for determining a rumour's credibility.

“But we do find the mainstream media is perfectly capable of picking up and publishing unverified information from social media without adhering to the usual standard of fact checking.

“Consequently, some stories of this nature, though never verified, go unchallenged.”

The research team of the Universities of Manchester, Leicester, St Andrews, Wolverhampton and UCL, draws on the expertise of a wide range of disciplines within the social sciences and computer science.

The analysis of messages exchanged on Twitter during the riots was undertaken through a larger, JISC funded project called NeISS: National e-Infrastructure for Social Science Simulation.

The NeISS project aims to introduce social scientists to new ways of thinking about social problems.

Dr Torsten Reimer, the JISC programme manager responsible for NeISS, said: “The influence of social media on society is growing rapidly so we need a much better understanding of their impact on people's lives.

“In the case of Twitter this means analysing gigantic amounts of data, constantly created by millions of people, - a task that requires new tools and methods, supported by a broader digital infrastructure for research.

“We are pleased that we had the chance to support the NeISS project team working in collaboration with the Guardian to demonstrate how this infrastructure can be used to understand what happened during the riots in August."

ENDS

Note to Editors

Dr Alex Voss is available for interview on 01334 46 3262.

For University of Manchester media enquires contact:

Mike Addelman
0161 275 0790
07717 881567
Michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk

For further information visit www.analysingsocialmedia.org

Issued by the University of St Andrews

Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager, on 01334 467227, email gec3@st-andrews.ac.uk

Ref: Twitter 081211

View the latest University news at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news

Recent graduates Dr Elliot Williams and Elizabeth Carson are congratulated by Dr Martin Campbell of the School of Psychology.

A Sunday School leader and a consultant psychiatrist were the first students to graduate in person with a Distance Learning Postgraduate Diploma from the University of St Andrews last week.

Elizabeth Carson, a support worker in Airdrie, Scotland, and Dr Elliot Williams, a consultant psychiatrist in mental health services in Cardiff, had their PGdip Adults with Learning Disabilities who have Significant and Complex Needs, conferred at the graduation ceremony last week.

The distance qualification is for professional staff working with people who have learning disabilities.

Students on the course come from a range of professional backgrounds and locations – currently there are students from all four UK nations, Ireland, Hong Kong and Australia.

Dr Martin Campbell, of the School of Psychology, said: “The flexibility of the distance learning format allows staff in demanding jobs to continue their professional development without lengthy absences from work.

“They are able to study at times that suit shift patterns and domestic arrangements, and employers have also been supportive of the programme.”

Dr Williams is employed by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in Wales. He originally qualified in medicine at the University of Lagos, Nigeria.

His hopes to use his experience and the qualification to help improve care for people with learning disabilities.

The graduation marks an eventful week for Miss Carson who was due to marry two days after receiving her diploma.

She originally graduated with a first class BSc in Psychology from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2008.

She has worked for Richard Fellowship Scotland, a voluntary sector organisation, for three years providing direct support to adults with learning disabilities and autism, allowing people to be independent and active in their community.

The Sunday school leader at the Airdrie Baptist Church is now considering going on to study for an MSc.

ENDS

Note to Editors

Please contact press office for image.

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews

Contact Fiona MacLeod on 01334 462108/ 0771 414 0559.

Ref: (grad 06/12/11)

View the University’s latest news at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/

The Students' Association are helping to expand the University of St Andrew's 600th Lecture Series with a programme of Union lectures, kicking off on with a talk on the English riots by the University's own leading light on crowd psychology, Prof Steve Reicher.

David Cameron blamed the 2011 riots on a "broken society" but what really happened? What caused such anger and violence? In his recent publication, "Mad Mobs and Englishmen?" Professor Steve Reicher, together with Dr Clifford Stott of the University of Liverpool, presented an evidence-based evaluation of the causes of the riots.

Come along to the first 600th Union Lecture to find out more about the complex factors that must be addressed if we are to prevent a similar situation again.

Professor Reicher will explain that there was much more to the riots than irrational mob mentality – busting the myths of the 2011 riots and putting them into their historical context.

Speaking ahead of the first ever academic lecture on the subject, Professor Reicher said:

"Riots always have a pattern that reveals the understandings and grievances of those involved. We will learn much about our society if we stop, listen and learn from what people did on those four nights in August."

"If we simply dismiss and condemn the riots, and if we fail to learn from them, then we are in danger of sleepwalking our way towards catastrophe."

Superintendent Roger Evans, former Deputy Commander of the Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group, is among those who agree we have a lot to learn from Professor Reicher. He says: "This reasoned and intelligent approach is in stark contrast to the moral panics apparent in Westminster and the media in the immediate aftermath of the riots."

This talk is the first of a Union Lecture Series which will continue next semester.

St Andrews student Tom Sauer and his friend Tom Fancett, from London, are taking part in the 2011 Atlantic Ocean Rowing Race; departing (December 4, 2011) from the Spanish port of San Sebastian de la Gomera in the Canary Islands and following what’s known as the Columbus route, west-bound across the mid-Atlantic to Port St Charles.

It is a journey of nearly 3,000 miles that is expected to take them until late January 2012, meaning the friends will be at sea together for two months and will spend Christmas with no toilet facilities and limited cooking equipment - giving up Christmas dinner for high calorie expedition food.

Tom Sauer is currently in his final year of studying for a joint honours degree in Modern History and Management, and hopes to be the youngest Dutchman to successfully navigate the Atlantic Ocean.

The pair expect to face sharks, 30 foot waves, extreme temperatures, painful salt sores and blisters to raise money for the Johan Cruijff Foundation which provides educational and sporting opportunities for impoverished children around the world.

Tom Sauer said:

"Since being a little kid I have always loved the Ocean and spent a considerable time on sailing boats, resulting in me sailing across the Atlantic with my dad. For me rowing the Ocean is the culmination of my love and respect of the sea."

"At the same time I am very conscious of how lucky I am; as a kid I was always able to pursue any sports I wanted, this is why I am very passionate about raising money for the Johan Cruyff Foundation. A charity that provides sport activities for children with disabilities and for children from less fortunate backgrounds."

Sir Steve Redgrave, Honorary graduate of the University of St Andrews, was among the first to give his support:

"Having watched my close friend James Craknell complete this race and what he went through I have only the upmost respect for Tom and Tom. Good luck guys and row safely."

Former British men’s tennis No.1 Tim Henman has also given his support. He said:

"I would like to give my support to Tom and Tom and wish them the best of luck for the great challenge that lies ahead. I admire their determination and the aim to raise money for such a great cause!"

You can follow the progress of Team Tom on their website

The Observatory will open its doors, free of charge, from 6 – 9 pm on Saturday 3 December, 2011; offering an intimate view of the night sky through the largest operational optical telescope in the UK. Visitors will be able to view objects up to 10,000 times further than can be seen with the unaided eye including (if the sky is clear) Uranus,  Jupiter's moons, and galaxies far, far away.

With the Moon rising around 6pm, it should be possible to look at the craters and mountains on the Moon later in the evening. The planet Saturn, with its dramatic ring system, will also be visible towards 9pm.

The Open Observatory evening comes at the conclusion of the University’s Open Minds programme; which aims to encourage participation in learning across the community by allowing free access to lectures.

It also forms part of the University’s 600th Anniversary celebrations, celebrating the University’s long history of questioning humanity’s place in the grand cosmic scheme of things. Most recently the University has discovered new planets, spotted the first star other than the Sun seen to flip its north and south magnetic poles, and found clues to climate change in the constellation of Pegasus.

Now the University is working to raise £4 million to fund the creation of an ‘Other Worlds’ Think Tank and Observatory. The new think tank and Observatory project will extend the University of St Andrews’ flagship work on extra-solar planets, and provide a creative environment for problem-focused research, education and continuing public engagement.

Saturday evening’s Open Observatory is a change to find out more about our extra-solar planet discoveries, watch computer simulations of stars forming and ask an astronomer about the cosmos.

The Observatory is located off the north side of Buchanan Gardens, St Andrews, just west of the mini- roundabout junction with Hepburn Gardens. Limited parking space is available. There is wheelchair access to the ground floor of the Gregory building, where most of the displays are mounted, but no wheelchair access to any of the telescope domes.

Attendees are advised to wrap up and hope for clear skies.

Charles Dickens is widely credited with the reinvention of Christmas as a family-oriented affair.

Christmas should be about politics and not presents, according to a new study into the meaning of Christmas.

The study, carried out by a researcher at the University of St Andrews,  suggests that the majority of Britons subscribe to the Victorian reinvention of Christmas as a family-friendly affair. 

However, author of a new report The Politics of Christmas, Dr Stephen Holmes, says that the season of goodwill should be just as much about challenging economic exploitation and political oppression.

He said, “Our modern view of Christmas is largely a Victorian invention, thanks to the imagery within Charles Dickens’ tale A Christmas Carol, and bears little resemblance to the story as told in the gospels.   The Christmas story is intensely political, with St Matthew and St Luke focusing their sights on firm questions of economic exploitation, imperial oppression, social stigma, and petty tyranny.

“Christmas is about challenging economic exploitation and political oppression just as much as it is about family and charity. The de-politicisation of Christmas in contemporary culture is therefore strange and inappropriate.”

In his study, Dr Holmes, a Senior Lecturer in Theology at St Andrews, examined data which asked people what they thought Christmas was about.  The overwhelming majority (83%) said they thought the festive season was "about spending time with family and friends".  Three in five (62%) said that it was "a time when we should be generous to people less fortunate than ourselves".

However, the researcher was surprised to find that only a third (34%) thought it was "a time when we should challenge poverty and economic injustice" and a mere fifth (19%) said it was "a time when we should challenge political oppression around the world".

Dr Holmes believes that the majority of British people fail to grasp the true meaning of Christmas and that the story of the birth of Jesus was ‘a political event, through and through’.

He explained, “The stories of the birth of Jesus offer a picture of the world in which politics affects the domestic life of ordinary families at every turn: Mary and Joseph are only in Bethlehem because of a census intended to regularise taxation records; they rapidly become asylum seekers in Egypt, fleeing oppression by the local political authority, King Herod.

“More than that, however, the biblical stories of the birth of Jesus are set at a time of political unrest. Palestine at the time has fairly recently been occupied by Rome, and resentment and talk of revolution are everywhere.  The birth of Jesus was a political event, through and through. Our celebration of Christmas should therefore be political also.”

The study was commissioned by religion and society think tank Theos, which offers research and commentary on issues of religion, ethics and society. Director Elizabeth Hunter, commented, "Christmas is undoubtedly a time for family and for generosity. But it should also be a moment when we hear and attend to the Bible’s message of justice and freedom for all.  The gospel writers repeatedly emphasise the political implications of the birth of Jesus, implications to which we have become deaf.  However, in this year above all, in which we have seen that Arab Spring and worldwide economic protests, we should listen carefully to the true political message of the Christmas story."

ENDS

Note to Editors

Dr Holmes is available for interview on: 01334 462838 or mobile 07966 295 923.

Former Rector Kevin Dunion was awarded an honorary degree during yesterday's St Andrew’s Day graduation ceremonies.

Kevin, the first and current Information Commissioner, served for three years as Lord Rector until October this year when his successor, the author and former TV executive Alistair Moffat, was elected.

Kevin was the 50th Rector in St Andrews' history, following in the footsteps of famous figures such as J.M. Barrie, John Cleese and Rudyard Kipling. Kevin joined many other former Rectors by being honoured by the University with an Hon LLD (Doctor of Laws).

Speaking on stage at the Younger Hall following the conferment, Kevin said: “I love graduation. This the last time I will be on this platform, so I’m going to take a long last look round this hall. I see the same things: proud students coming up to be our graduates, proud parents and friends clapping and from time to time a surreptitious dabbing of the eye hasn’t passed my gaze, especially when the choir sung Loch Lomond so beautifully.

“I have no recollection of my own graduation – I scurried across the stage without touching the sides.  But I do remember the first time I came into this wonderful Younger Hall. I was a schoolboy at an event for schools who didn’t normally send their pupils to university, far less St Andrews.

“In the course of the week we were brought here at the end, and asked if we would consider applying to St Andrews. The only thought I had was, could I work hard enough to win a place at St Andrews? I didn’t have to think could I afford to go to St Andrews or consider whether I would be able to achieve a career after a degree in history which would allow me to be able to repay debts. Unfortunately that’s no longer the case for those coming now and who will be coming in future.

“I worry about it, as does the University Court, as does every university in the land.  If we are to remain in the admirable Scottish idea of the aspiration of the democratic intellect, students must be able to come here because of their intelligence and not be here on their ability to pay.

“St Andrews opened up immense opportunity to me. It is a great honour to be asked to stand and to have won the election to be Rector. I’d like to say thank you very much for this honorary degree I humbly receive and thank you to the wonderful inspirational students and thank all of you for the honour you have done me by allowing me to be your Rector.”

ENDS

Pictured with the Principal, Professor Louise Richardson and Chancellor Sir Menzies Campbell  (who are seated centre) the new professors who were inducted are:

Standing left to right:

Professor John Burnside  - School of English
Professor Frank Gunn-Moore  - School of Biology
Professor Allan Findlay  - School of Geography & Geosciences
Professor Doug Benn - School of Geography & Geosciences
Professor Stewart Fotheringham  - School of Geography & Geosciences

Seated left to right:

Professor Robert Crawford  - Bishop Wardlaw Professor
Professor Clare Parnell  - School of Mathematics & Statistics
Professor Candace Currie - School of Medicine
Professor Richard English  - School of International Relations and Bishop Wardlaw Professor

Scientists at the University of St Andrews are asking the public to help them solve the mystery of the way whales communicate.

Researchers from the University’s Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) want curious 'citizen scientists' across the world to get involved in listening to and helping classify the calls of killer whales and the lesser known pilot whales.

Flash Player is required for the embedded audio player. Download: Whale sound extract from SMRU - Whale transients (MP3, 831 KB)

Flash Player is required for the embedded audio player.

It’s hoped that results of this worldwide crowdsourcing project will give important new insights into the call repertoires of whale populations and the way vocal traditions vary across different groups of whales.

St Andrews SMRU is one of the partners in the Whale Project – a global effort to harness the interest and brainpower of the general public to help sift and categorise whale calls.

Launched by Scientific American in partnership with The Zooniverse, the Whale Project displays calls from both Killer Whales and Pilot Whales.

Citizen scientists are presented with a whale call and shown where it was recorded on a map of the world's oceans and seas. After listening to the whale call, which is represented on screen as a spectrogram showing how the frequencies of the sound change with time, citizen scientists are then asked to listen to a number of potential matching calls from the project's database. If a match is found, the citizen scientist clicks on that sound's spectrogram and the results are stored.

“Only a few researchers have categorized whale calls,” says Professor Peter Tyack of the University of St Andrews. “By asking hundreds of people to make similar judgments, we will learn how reliable the categories are, and they get the fun of hearing these amazing sounds.”

The dataset generated by this project will enable scientists to address a number of questions about whale communication. For example, biologists studying killer whales report that each group of whales has its own distinctive dialect of calls, with related groups having dialects that are more similar. The Whale Project asks citizen scientists to test these results by making their own judgments of similarity between calls.

Much less is known about the calls of pilot whales than of killer whales. Researchers from St Andrews and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts want to know the size of the Pilot Whales' call repertoire and whether call repertoires vary between groups as in killer whales.

“Most mammals have a fixed species-specific repertoire of calls, but killer whales are thought to learn their calls from their group,” continued Professor Tyack.

“If so, the call repertoires are a vocal tradition that can be thought of as a form of animal culture. The Whale Project welcomes citizen scientists to help researchers to discover the call repertoires of pilot whales and to study how vocal traditions vary between different groups of whales.”

Citizen scientists can sign up to participate in the Whale Project using their existing Scientific American login and password. The project is free and participants can decide how much time they devote to the project.

People new to Scientific American or who have never taken part in such a project can join by visiting the Whale Project website.

“One doesn’t need a science degree to be a citizen scientist,” says Mariette DiChristina, Editor in Chief of Scientific American. “All you need is a curiosity about the world around you and an interest in observing, measuring and reporting what you hear and see. We are pleased to work with The Zooniverse on this scientifically interesting and enjoyable project.”

Scientific American has actively promoted citizen science projects, since May 2011 at www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science. The Whale Project is the first Scientific American has co-sponsored. Other Citizen Scientist projects hosted on Scientific American include The Dragonfly Swarm Project, Gulf Oil Spill Tracker, and The Great Sunflower Project.

Contact

Niall Scott, Director of Communication, niall.scott@st-andrews.ac.uk , tel 44 1334 462244, mobile 07711 223062

University Press Office, proffice@st-andrews.ac.uk , tel 44 1334 462530.

About Scientific American

Scientific American is at the heart of Nature Publishing Group's consumer media division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media. Together with scientificamerican.com and 14 local language editions around the world it reaches over 5 million consumers and scientists. Other titles include Scientific American Mind and Spektrum der Wissenschaft in Germany. Scientific American won a 2011 National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

About The Zooniverse

The Zooniverse began with a single project, Galaxy Zoo, which was launched in July 2007. The Zooniverse is now home to the internet's largest, most popular and most successful citizen science projects. The Zooniverse and the suite of projects it contains is produced, maintained and developed by the Citizen Science Alliance. The member institutions of the CSA work with many academic and other partners around the world to produce projects that use the efforts and ability of volunteers to help scientists and researchers deal with the flood of data that confronts them.

About the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St Andrews

The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) is based at the School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, and is Europe’s leading research centre in the field of marine mammal biology. SMRU carries out interdisciplinary research into the biology of marine mammals, trains marine mammal scientists through undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and provides impartial and independent advice to governments, non-governmental organizations and industry on conservation issues. SMRU’s current strategic science priorities include: evaluating the status of marine mammal populations; investigating the importance of marine mammals as components of marine ecosystems; determining the dynamics of marine mammal populations; studying marine mammal social structure and communication; providing the technological basis for observing free-ranging marine mammals and their environment.

About the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment. The WHOI Marine Mammal Center focuses on issues affecting conservation of marine mammals and various other marine animals such as turtles. Interdisciplinary teams are brought together to address these issues from a variety of scientific and engineering perspectives in order to gain a more comprehensive scientific understanding. Through the Center's collaborations with external parties and academic institutions, and its facilities such as the necropsy facility, it creates a unique environment to pursue new research opportunities.

About the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

TNO is an independent innovation organisation.  TNO connects people and knowledge to create innovations that sustainably boost the competitive strength of industry and the welfare of society. TNO’s more than 4000 professionals work on practicable knowledge and solutions for the problems of global scarcity. TNO focuses its efforts on seven themes: Healthy Living, Industrial Innovation, Energy/Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Mobility, Built Environment, Information Society, and Defence, Safety and Security. The TNO Sonar and Acoustics department has a long history in developing technologies for detecting marine mammals and other sources (ships, submarines etc.) using underwater sound. TNO is involved in studying the impact of human generated underwater noise on marine mammals and provides advice to governments and industry on how to mitigate the impact of underwater noise on marine life.