Skip to content Accessibility statement

News archive: 2008 releases

23 December 2008

Researchers in the York JEOL Nanocentre at the University of York have developed a novel technique to ‘see’ how atoms work.

22 December 2008

The Training Gateway, a pioneering business network initiated and hosted by the University of York, has accepted the 1000th member.

18 December 2008

The University of York retains its top ten research ranking in the new Research Assessment Exercise published today (18 December).

12 December 2008

The oldest surviving human brain in Britain, dating back at least 2000 years to the Iron Age, has been unearthed during excavations on the site of the University of York’s campus expansion at Heslington East.

10 December 2008

The University of York has appointed David Duncan as its new Registrar and Secretary.

8 December 2008

The on-board entertainment and Internet access enjoyed by train passengers could soon be transformed by new technology developed at the University of York.

5 December 2008

A student-run project to provide activities and social opportunities for dementia sufferers in York has won a national award.

4 December 2008

Historians and archaeologists have joined forces to throw new light on six centuries of everyday life in York.

3 December 2008

HYMS student Helen Lawal has beaten 29 other competitors to take the title of Miss Black Britain.

1 December 2008

In a remote province of Afghanistan Juliana Stoyanova put the precious hours after her day’s work for a development consultancy firm, and before the generator was switched off, to good use.

27 November 2008

The University of York is hosting a major international conference this week examining the relationships between British artists and the Royal Academy in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

26 November 2008

Are you scared of spiders? Want to try and conquer your fear? Love them or loathe them, there is no doubting the fascination of arachnids.

24 November 2008

Plants will adjust to cope with climate change but this will not have a beneficial impact on global warming, according to important new research from the University of York.

21 November 2008

Funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support a project at the University of York to find exciting new ways of making academic research material available online.

19 November 2008

Biomass for heating is to be used to meet the University of York’s commitment to provide at least 10 per cent of its new campus expansion’s energy needs through renewable sources.

19 November 2008

Three emerging technologies have the potential to significantly improve supplies of drugs to combat malaria, according to a report published today.

18 November 2008

The University of York has been nominated in the Guardian Public Services Awards for its work with York Cares.

17 November 2008

The University of York is marking an international celebration of entrepreneurship by reaching across the world – both East and West.

14 November 2008

Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan is to give a public lecture on ‘Challenges for reconstruction and peace building in the Middle East’ at the University of York on Tuesday 18 November.

13 November 2008

Scientists at the University of York have developed new technology which could dramatically cut scanning times for important health tests and increase the accuracy of the results.

11 November 2008

The director of Tate Britain will consider the part public art galleries play in contemporary culture in a lecture at the University of York tonight.

6 November 2008

Economist Professor Sir Alan Budd will examine the future of gambling in Britain when he delivers the sixth Vice-Chancellor’s lecture at the University of York next week.

4 November 2008

New technology developed by scientists at the University of York could offer vital protection to astronauts on missions to Mars and beyond.

3 November 2008

Climate change is poised to have a major impact on one of the natural world’s most distinctive animal species.

29 October 2008

A celebrated work which challenged the accuracy of Western portrayals of the East and its people, reaches its 30th anniversary this year.

28 October 2008

The first UK recital by the Mexican natural male soprano Javier Medina is to take place at the University of York.

24 October 2008

The success of a pioneering web portal which connects every UK university to the international business community has been recognised with a major award.

23 October 2008

A wide-ranging review of the private rented sector by academics at the University of York calls on the Government to do more to grow the business of letting, and to introduce a ‘light touch’ licensing regime for landlords.

22 October 2008

An academic from the University of York is to lead a research programme into ways in which international agencies can work more effectively with provincial government in Afghanistan.

21 October 2008

Individual budgets can give people more choice, flexibility and control over their personal care, as well as a better quality of life, according to a new report.

21 October 2008

A University of York economist has warned that the UK is entering a recession and predicts a tough 12 months ahead for consumers and businesses.

20 October 2008

The Rt Rev Lord Richard Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford, is to give the 2008 Morrell Address on Toleration at the University of York this week.

17 October 2008

Findings from the long-awaited Review of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) will be unveiled at the University of York on Thursday 23 October 2008.

16 October 2008

Nearly 100 national and international employers are expected to take part in a series of three Careers Fairs at the University of York.

13 October 2008

Researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York are launching the first Foundation Course on Air Quality Management which aims to help to reduce air pollution in Asian cities.

10 October 2008

The editor-in-chief of The Lancet, Dr Richard Horton, will give the fifth Hull York Medical School (HYMS) Annual Lecture next week.

8 October 2008

Scientists, industry, charities and global health experts meet at the University of York this week to discuss how new technologies could improve supplies of the world’s most important anti-malaria drug.

6 October 2008

As new undergraduates start their courses at the University of York next week, a group of local students, many of whom have no formal qualifications, have already begun their university studies.

1 October 2008

Scholars studying human history can learn a lot from the humble house mouse, according to new research led by the University of York.

25 September 2008

The Training Gateway, a pioneering business brokerage initiated and hosted by the University of York, has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Employer Engagement Initiative category in this year’s Times Higher Education Awards.

23 September 2008

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a ‘Chemical Equator’ that divides the polluted air of the Northern Hemisphere from the largely uncontaminated atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere.

22 September 2008

The University of York has maintained its position in the top rank of UK academic institutions in the new Sunday Times University Guide.

22 September 2008

A group of local volunteers is helping to unearth the archaeological secrets of the site of the University of York’s £500 million campus expansions.

16 September 2008

The skeleton of a man discovered by archaeologists in a shallow grave on the site of the University of York’s campus expansion could be that of one of Britain’s earliest victims of tuberculosis.

15 September 2008

A new report written by a University of York academic and published by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) failed to find a single cardiac rehabilitation programme in the UK which is meeting minimum staffing levels.

10 September 2008

Full studio resolution surround audio will be transmitted via a fibre-optic network for the first time in the UK in an experiment involving the Universities of Edinburgh and York.

28 August 2008

Scholars at the University of York and the National Railway Museum (NRM) are to launch a major historical project to study the development of corporate culture on British railways.

27 August 2008

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a new role for a population of white blood cells, which may lead to improved treatments for chronic infections and cancer.

21 August 2008

Children had a whale of a time pond-dipping and getting to know mini-beasts at a Family Fun Day at Chapman’s Pond in Dringhouses, York, organised as part of a national environmental initiative.

20 August 2008

For more than four decades, the 22-acre lake that is the centrepiece of the University of York’s Heslington campus has been a magnet for wildfowl.

19 August 2008

The Department of Biology at the University of York has been recognised for the excellence of its graduate programmes in a new European ranking.

18 August 2008

Do jellyfish glow in the dark and how can I produce liquid crystals like those used in laptop computers and flat screen televisions?

15 August 2008

A new report published today by the Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, in collaboration with Help the Aged, calls on Government and public authorities to take action to better protect older people from the future effects of climate change.

6 August 2008

Independent research by the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of York and the Institute for Employment Studies in Brighton has shown that, with the right support, people with mental health problems can get back into work and for many being in employment brought social, emotional and health benefits that aided recovery.

5 August 2008

Scientists at the University of York have helped to reveal more about the way bacteria can attach to human tissues.

31 July 2008

The Deputy Chairman of the Bettys & Taylors Group, Lesley Wild, has been appointed as a Pro-Chancellor at the University of York.

27 July 2008

People in a Yorkshire community are using their recollections of the past to help researchers to understand the history of biodiversity in the area.

25 July 2008

The University of York has appointed York-based Shepherd Construction as preferred contractor for the new Goodricke College, the first building on its expanded campus at Heslington East.

23 July 2008

An innovative partnership between North Yorkshire County Council and the University of York is drawing up a major initiative to develop carers’ understanding of living with dementia.

22 July 2008

A new post in the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU) at the University of York will help to focus attention on the challenges of rebuilding Islamic societies in the aftermath of conflict.

18 July 2008

Many species must move to new areas to survive climate change. Often, this seems impossible. Species stranded on mountain tops in southern Europe that are becoming too hot for them, for instance, are unlikely to be able to reach northern Europe unaided. So should WE step in to help?

15 July 2008

Is it bad to die? Do dead people exist? How should we react to an immortality pill? Are some deaths worse than others?

14 July 2008

A pair of identical twins will be among the first doctors to be trained in North and East Yorkshire for nearly 140 years when they qualify next week.

11 July 2008

Dentistry for a day, working with the world’s largest companies, exploring the mysteries of the Universe....bright young students from across Yorkshire and Humber will have the chance to do all these things, thanks to Find Your Way — a new Government funded programme delivered by four of the region’s universities.

11 July 2008

A national business engagement network - The Training Gateway - led by the University of York is launched officially next week at Westminster, but it is already thriving.

10 July 2008

A new mass spectrometry facility at the University of York will help scientists to tackle some of their most testing analytical challenges, and provide a highly specialised technical service to industry.

9 July 2008

A collaboration between the Universities of York and Hull and Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust has developed a novel technique to improve pre-treatment planning of radiotherapy.

7 July 2008

The University of York is to award honorary degrees to the journalist who was the BBC’s ‘voice’ of India for two decades, an economist who conducted an influential Government review of the costs of climate change and to the UK’ Children’s Commissioner.

7 July 2008

Students from Yorkshire are packing their briefcases and preparing to develop business plans to pitch in the Dragon’s Den.

2 July 2008

Researchers have discovered that carbon dioxide emissions associated with UK consumption increased by 115 million tonnes (18 per cent), between 1992 and 2004.

30 June 2008

Scientists from the University of York are working to make vital malaria drugs cheaper and more accessible to patients in developing countries by improving yields of one of the world"s most important medicinal plants — the aromatic herb Artemisia. They will showcase their work this week at a major public exhibition at the Royal Society in London.

30 June 2008

Scientists in the UK and Canada have made a significant step forward in the search for new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

25 June 2008

Large amounts of ozone — around 50% more than predicted by the world’s state-of-the-art climate models — are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

20 June 2008

The University of York has been ranked ninth in the Times league table of 113 UK universities.

20 June 2008

Senior industrialists from Shanghai, China, are to visit York on Tuesday [24 June] to discuss a new international collaboration in green chemistry research — including areas such as bio-materials, renewable resources and clean chemical synthesis.

17 June 2008

Two York lecturers have won a national Oxfam prize for their research into AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on expertise in HIV education and mental health teaching.

13 June 2008

A senior University of York scholar is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Chicago.

9 June 2008

A new MA in Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management at the University of York will be the only one of its kind in the English-speaking world.

6 June 2008

Policymakers need to give greater priority to the housing needs of disabled children, according to a York expert whose assessment of the evidence is published in a major report today.

5 June 2008

Over 50s are ‘hopeful, motivated and positive’ about tackling climate change as World Environment Day calls on people to Kick the CO2 Habit.

4 June 2008

Scientists gather in York next week to discuss new approaches to one of science’s greatest challenges — predicting the earth’s chemical weather.

2 June 2008

Scientists at the University of York have been highlighted as being among the top bioscience groups contributing to the UK’s economic and social wellbeing.

27 May 2008

Faced with rapid growth in the size and complexity of modern computer systems, the University of York is offering a new kind of advanced research degree to train the technological experts of the future.

27 May 2008

Dr Evgeny Sklyanin of the Department of Mathematics at the University of York has been awarded one of the world’s top honours in science – a Fellowship of the Royal Society.

20 May 2008

A scientist at the University of York will become the first Briton to be awarded the Luigi Sacconi medal for inorganic chemistry.

19 May 2008

The University of York is harnessing the power of the internet to dispel myths about mental health nursing.

16 May 2008

Two buildings on the University of York’s Heslington campus have been honoured in the York Design Awards 2008.

14 May 2008

The University of York has welcomed the decision by the City of York Council to approve detailed plans for Goodricke College as the first building on its campus expansion at Heslington East

12 May 2008

Local residents will get the chance to experience first-hand the Roman and medieval history of the city’s newest archaeological dig in Heslington.

9 May 2008

Researchers at the University of York have helped to identify that seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities of inorganic iodine to the coastal atmosphere, where it can contribute to cloud formation thus influencing climate.

7 May 2008

University of York students edged to a narrow away victory over counterparts at Lancaster in the 44th annual Roses sporting competition.

6 May 2008

York pupils are running their own businesses, disadvantaged children enjoy the holiday of a lifetime, and people with dementia can socialise without fear of embarrassment - all thanks to student volunteers from the University of York.

28 April 2008

Enterprising University of York student Luke Walsh is a joint winner of the first HSBC Unipreneurs Award - designed to recognise Britain’s brightest young men and women who are combining their studies with running a successful business.

25 April 2008

Four little-known, but remarkable characters, whose vision transformed many aspects of the way we live, are the subject of a series of public lectures, Heads Above the Parapet, at the University of York this summer.

22 April 2008

A major conference at the University of York in September will share the findings of research conducted in England, Scotland, Wales and Canada into early labour.

18 April 2008

The York Trials Unit at the University of York is seeking volunteers to participate in a trial to help to understand the importance of diet to migraine sufferers.

15 April 2008

Staff at the Stockholm Environment Institute York Centre (SEI) at the University of York are taking part in the Resilience 2008 Conference in Sweden without even leaving York.

14 April 2008

Five researchers at the University of York have been appointed to the NHS College of Senior Investigators.

10 April 2008

A conservation biologist at the University of York is part of an international team of researchers that has developed a remarkable new road map for protecting thousands of rare species that live only in Madagascar.

10 April 2008

A new business engagement network, The Training Gateway, led by the University of York, will be launched at a reception in the House of Commons in July.

8 April 2008

Eighty students from 20 schools in Yorkshire and beyond will enjoy an interesting fun-filled day of chemistry at the Salters' Festival of Chemistry at the University of York tomorrow. Each school will be represented by a team of four 11-13 year olds.

4 April 2008

A York researcher has conducted new, in-depth research into the motivations behind Britain’s largest anti-capitalist organisation, the Socialist Workers Party.

3 April 2008

The Technology Strategy Board, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Department for Transport have contributed £3.1m towards funding project Freeflow.

1 April 2008

The University of York, in partnership with Nanjing University, will host a series of seminars focusing on nanoscience, social policy and how enterprise skills and knowledge are incorporated into academic programmes, to increase the employability of Chinese students at both universities.

27 March 2008

The University of York is to hold a graduation ceremony in Beijing this week.

19 March 2008

Students from the University of York’s Drama Society are performing Steven Berkoff’s Metamorphosis at the National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) this week.

18 March 2008

The footbridge from Langwith College to Alcuin College across University Road, which has been closed since January, is to be removed over the Easter weekend.

14 March 2008

A historian with a national reputation for the promotion of the history and heritage of Yorkshire is to be honoured by the University of York.

13 March 2008

A groundbreaking project at the University of York is to investigate how swarms of miniature robots can work and evolve together.

13 March 2008

Research by academics at the University of York suggests that giving up smoking during pregnancy can affect the behaviour of the child.

13 March 2008

From seedling to maturity, locally grown young trees nurtured in a special nursery will have a key role to play in the development of the University of York’s £500 million campus expansion.

11 March 2008

The first national event to address impact of climate change on an ageing population is to be staged in York later this month.

6 March 2008

The University of York is to play a leading role in a new partnership to provide research and guidance in the development of High Integrity and Safety Critical Software (HI&SCS).

6 March 2008

Ancient agriculture, prehistoric roundhouses and the remains of a Roman masonry building are just some of the archaeological treasures waiting to be uncovered on the edge of the University of York’s expanded campus.

3 March 2008

Conservation specialists from the University of York are assessing the impact of climate change on the world’s most diverse wildlife habitats in East Africa.

3 March 2008

More than 100 A-level students from schools across York and North Yorkshire will gather at the University of York this week to discuss how war has changed the world.

29 February 2008

The University of York will stage a series of events, including an appearance by poet Carol Ann Duffy, as part of the York Literature Festival next month.

28 February 2008

An initiative led by the University of York has won a major funding boost from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to assist UK universities to develop and deliver business focussed training programmes to support workforce development both nationally and internationally.

27 February 2008

The University of York Symphony Orchestra is to perform two classic works by Tchaikovsky and Mahler, thanks to sponsorship from York-based solicitors Harrowells.

25 February 2008

Language experts from the University of York have created the UK’s first digitised database of the Yorkshire dialect.

22 February 2008

A new research centre to provide vital intelligence and analysis on methods of regulating emerging technologies goes online at the University of York today.

21 February 2008

A prominent US historian will argue in York that the Middle Ages had a profound influence on the people who lived through the First World War – transforming not only the way the war was fought but also its influence on modern life.

19 February 2008

Scientists at the University of York have characterised an important new step in the mechanism used by bacteria to evade our immune system.

18 February 2008

Academics from the University of York and one of India’s leading research institutes are pooling their resources to address major scientific and technological challenges.

15 February 2008

The UK Film Council has named the Chancellor of the University of York, Greg Dyke, as the new Chair of the British Film Institute (BFI).

14 February 2008

Three academics from the University of York are speaking in Boston at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which starts today.

11 February 2008

Schoolchildren on African sugar plantations are recreating an insect’s-eye view of the world in art, thanks to a unique ‘Hidden Worlds’ project run by the University of York.

11 February 2008

The University of York is joining forces with a charity and a primary care trust to support 4000 people a year with mild to moderate mental health needs.

8 February 2008

The University of York’s Law School and Management School will be part of the first cluster of buildings on Heslington East - the land which extends the University’s campus.

7 February 2008

A team of students from the York Management School has reached the final of a prestigious national business competition.

1 February 2008

Reducing car use by staff and students is an important component of the University of York’s campus development plans.

25 January 2008

Female consultants working in the NHS are responsible for fewer patient episodes each year than their male counterparts, according to new research published in the current issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

18 January 2008

A new BBC documentary on the human voice will feature the choristers of York Minster, comedian Jeremy Hardy, tenor Alfie Boe and jazz singer Jackie Dankworth - and will be presented by a University of York professor.

14 January 2008

A University of York geochemist has been recognised for her ‘ground-breaking work’ in using amino acids as a dating tool for fossils up to two million years old.

10 January 2008

Where do people come from? Where do they live, shop and travel? What is the state of their health and their impact on the environment? These are just some of the questions that have a crucial spatial dimension that can be mapped and visualised.

8 January 2008

Spanning music of 900 years, the third album by John Potter’s Dowland Project is released on ECM later this month. It reinforces the strong links between the label and the University of York.

2 January 2008

A former member of the University of York’s Department of History, Professor Jim Walvin, was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List.