logo
Harwell Campus to host Museum of the Moon display

Harwell Campus to host Museum of the Moon display

BBC News10-04-2025
A giant illuminated sculpture of the moon is set to go on display at one of the UK's leading science hubs.The lunar replica, which is 23ft (7m) wide, will go on display to members of the public at Harwell Campus, in Oxfordshire, on 21 May.It is part of a project marking the 80 years of world-leading research at the campus.Museum of the Moon, created by British artist Luke Jerram, has toured across 41 countries and been seen by more than 20 million visitors since first being displayed in 2016.
It uses NASA imagery to show the Moon's surface, with each centimetre of the internally-lit sphere representing three miles (5km) of lunar terrain.Mr Jerram previously created a glass sculpture of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to mark 10 million vaccinations being given to people in the UK. It went on display at the History of Science Museum in Oxford.
Rebecca Duvall, head of community at Harwell Campus, commented: "We're incredibly proud to launch our 80th anniversary celebrations with this remarkable installation.""The Museum of the Moon is a fitting tribute to the spirit of innovation that has defined Harwell since its beginnings."She said said the campus was "looking forward to sharing this unique experience" with the public.During the exhibition, which lasts until 6 June, yoga sessions, expert talks about space and the moon, and even a silent disco will take place at the display.Ms Duvall added that Museum of the Moon marked the start of a "two-year journey of celebration, innovation and discovery".In it's 79 year history, Harwell has been home to various scientific breakthroughs - including being the site for the most powerful nuclear fusion test ever.More than 200 organisations currently have bases at the site, including the European Space Agency and US pharmaceutical giant Moderna.
You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Research finds that Covid can age blood vessels, particularly in women
Research finds that Covid can age blood vessels, particularly in women

The Independent

time44 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Research finds that Covid can age blood vessels, particularly in women

A new study published in the European Heart Journal indicates that a Covid infection can accelerate the aging of blood vessels, potentially by around five years. This premature vascular aging, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, was found to be particularly pronounced in women. The research, involving nearly 2,500 participants, measured arterial stiffness and found that all groups who had contracted Covid exhibited stiffer arteries compared to those who had not. An increase in arterial stiffness of approximately 0.5 meters per second, equivalent to five years of aging, was deemed clinically relevant and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers suggest that women's more robust immune response to Covid, while protective against infection, might also contribute to increased damage to blood vessels post-infection.

Scientists invent ‘superfood' they hope will save honeybees and boost global food security
Scientists invent ‘superfood' they hope will save honeybees and boost global food security

The Independent

time2 hours ago

  • The Independent

Scientists invent ‘superfood' they hope will save honeybees and boost global food security

Scientists have devised a food supplement for bees that they say will have a wide-reaching effect on global food security. The experts say the yeast strain will help honeybees live longer as intensive farming and the climate crisis rob the insects of flowers and pollen. It is hoped the breakthrough will stem the decline in populations of wild bees, which are important pollinators. They help contribute to the production of at least 70 per cent of major global crops such as almonds, apples and cherries. But severe declines – caused by nutrient deficiencies, climate change, mite infestations, viral diseases and pesticides – pose a significant threat to food security and biodiversity. The scientists in Oxford genetically engineered a strain of yeast called Yarrowia lipolytica to produce vital nutrients called sterols that are absent in the artificial pollen substitutes that beekeepers use. Commercial supplements, made of protein flour, sugars and oils, lack the right sterol compounds. After a three-month trial, the scientists found the colonies fed with the sterol-enriched yeast had reared up to 15 times more larvae to the viable pupal stage, compared with colonies fed controlled diets, and reared brood for significantly longer. 'The use of this method to incorporate sterol supplements into pollen substitutes will enable honeybee colonies to produce brood in the absence of floral pollen,' they wrote in the journal Nature. 'Optimised diets created using this yeast strain could also reduce competition between bee species for access to natural floral resources and stem the decline in wild bee populations.' The yeast diet provides honeybees with all the nutrients, in six sterols, that they need to survive, the researchers concluded. Lead author Elynor Moore said: 'For bees, the difference between the sterol-enriched diet and conventional bee feeds would be comparable to the difference for humans between eating balanced, nutritionally complete meals and eating meals missing essential nutrients like essential fatty acids. 'Using precision fermentation, we are now able to provide bees with a tailor-made feed that is nutritionally complete at the molecular level.' Sterols are hard to reproduce, so the experts who spent 15 years developing them said the success of the trials was a huge accomplishment. They say further large-scale field trials are needed to assess long-term effects on colony health and pollination efficacy, but that potentially the supplement could be available to farmers within two years.

Nasa finds a whole new moon around Uranus
Nasa finds a whole new moon around Uranus

The Independent

time9 hours ago

  • The Independent

Nasa finds a whole new moon around Uranus

Nasa's Webb telescope has found a new moon around Uranus. The tiny object is only about 10 kilometres wide and is the 29th addition to the family of moons around the planet. Scientists think it was able to hide for so long not only because of its small size but also its relative faintness. That meant it could lay undiscovered during other observations, such as Voyager 2, which flew past the planet around 40 years ago. There could many other of the objects lying in wait around the planet, still undiscovered, researchers suggest. 'No other planet has as many small inner moons as Uranus, and their complex inter-relationships with the rings hint at a chaotic history that blurs the boundary between a ring system and a system of moons,' said Matthew Tiscareno of the SETI Institute, a member of the research team, in a statement. 'Moreover, the new moon is smaller and much fainter than the smallest of the previously known inner moons, making it likely that even more complexity remains to be discovered.' All of the moons around Uranus are named after characters from Shakespeare and Alexandra Pope. The new one is part of a system that orbits inside the largest moons Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, for instance. But the new one is yet to receive a name. It will get one when it is approved by the International Astronomical Union, which chooses names and designations for objects in space.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store