Latest news with #NewcastleUniversity
The Star
3 days ago
- Health
- The Star
Bridging global excellence with local relevance to shape future healthcare leaders
A prominent medical school in Malaysia and the international campus of Newcastle University in the UK, NUMed connects global expertise with local needs. As healthcare becomes increasingly globalised, there is a growing need for medical professionals who are both internationally competent and locally grounded. As a leading medical school in Malaysia and the international branch campus of the renowned Newcastle University, UK, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) is in a unique position. Rooted in the academic excellence of its parent campus, NUMed brings a globally acclaimed medical curriculum to the Asean region. The university is also currently the only one in Malaysia that integrates the UK Medical Licensing Assessment (UKMLA) in its MBBS curriculum, providing a seamless pathway for aspiring doctors to establish their careers in the UK and other countries where the UK's medical standards are highly favoured. 'Our Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme is aligned with both the UK's General Medical Council (GMC) and Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) standards. 'Importantly, students have plenty of opportunities to gain knowledge and hands-on experiences within local and international epidemiological landscapes, healthcare infrastructure and cultural realities, allowing them to develop clinical skills that are globally benchmarked yet locally applicable,' said clinical affairs dean Prof Dr Harinarayan Radhakrishna, From the outset, NUMed's medical students engage in immersive cross-cultural clinical experiences, working in local healthcare settings and community initiatives. These include annual health camps held in rural areas, volunteer initiatives in aid of various local issues, and workshops and talks to raise awareness of selected health issues. 'These events place our students in real-world settings where they get to interact with the public in different settings. 'By being on the ground, they develop a deeper understanding of health challenges faced by local communities, learn to ask more insightful questions and listen with greater empathy, and adapt their medical knowledge to serve diverse patient populations effectively,' added Prof Harinarayan. NUMed's medical students have many opportunities to interact with the public in diverse settings. In addition to that, students also have the option to pursue student exchange programmes, intercalations, electives and research opportunities abroad, enabling them to expand their perspectives and reinforce their adaptability across healthcare systems. As part of Newcastle University, UK, NUMed benefits from a robust network of academic and clinical partners worldwide. Collaborative research, faculty exchanges, joint symposia and other professional development opportunities further enrich students' educational experience. At the same time, NUMed works closely with local healthcare providers, ministries and non-governmental organisations to ensure its students are aligned to community needs. These partnerships translate knowledge into application and ensure students graduate with a sound understanding of various healthcare systems. 'We are committed to ensuring that our students are not only internationally prepared but also regionally impactful,' Prof Harinarayan shared. Graduates emerge well-prepared to thrive in a variety of healthcare settings. To date, nearly a thousand have taken their expertise to diverse locations around the world. In bridging international education standards with local healthcare delivery, NUMed is shaping a new kind of medical professional who is agile, globally minded and committed to service. Find out more about its programme offerings at email admissions@ call 07-555 3800, or WhatsApp 011-1231 5411/012-784 9456.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Swiss Village Devastated By Glacier Collapse
A massive landslide triggered by the collapse of a glacier buried much of the Alpine village of Blatten in Switzerland's Lötschental valley on Wednesday, destroying 90% of the town and leaving a 64-year-old man missing, authorities said. Search-and-rescue efforts were suspended Thursday due to unstable debris as the region grapples with the aftermath of what glaciologists describe as a climate-driven disaster. The collapse of a large chunk of the Birch Glacier, located above Blatten, sent ice, rock, and mud crashing down the mountainside, flattening homes and submerging buildings in brownish sludge, according to video footage and satellite images. The debris also blocked the Lonza River, causing whatever buildings were left standing to be flooded by the backup of the river. State Councilor Stéphane Ganzer told Radio Télévision Suisse that the disaster obliterated nearly the entire village. Bethan Davies, a glaciology professor at Newcastle University, described the event to ABC News as a 'cascading disaster.' The glacier had been destabilized since last week when millions of pounds of rock debris fell onto its surface. Warm temperatures on Monday exacerbated the instability, accelerating the collapse. 'This is a marked acceleration,' Davies said. 'Lots of cracks started to form, a sign of the tension in the ice.' Authorities evacuated about 300 residents and livestock earlier this month after observing increased glacier melt and debris flow, a precaution that likely saved lives. Mathieu Morlighem, a glaciologist at Dartmouth College, told ABC News the collapse was likely caused by thawing permafrost, which acts as 'glue' to stabilize mountain rock. 'What happened to Birch Glacier is what we would expect from rising temperatures in the Alps and elsewhere,' Morlighem said, comparing it to a 2023 landslide in Switzerland's Silvretta Alps but noting Birch Glacier's larger scale due to excessive ice and meltwater. One resident told Reuters she 'lost everything' in the mudslide, while another said, 'You can't tell that there was ever a settlement there.' Werner Bellwald, a resident of the nearby hamlet of Ried, said the landslide wiped out his 1654-built generational family home. The Cantonal Police of Valais halted search efforts for the missing man Thursday afternoon, citing falling debris. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is scheduled to visit the area on Friday. Glaciologists link the disaster to climate change, which has accelerated glacier retreat in Switzerland. The country, home to Europe's most glaciers, lost 4% of its glacier volume in 2023, following a record 6% in 2022, The Washington Post reported. Average temperatures in the Swiss Alps have risen 3 degrees Celsius since the 1970s, said Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, who warned in March, 'Switzerland's glaciers could vanish completely by 2100.' A 2024 International Cryosphere Climate Initiative report predicts one-third of European Alps glaciers will disappear by 2050, even without further warming. Davies noted that warming climates increase mountain landslides by melting permafrost and altering freeze-thaw cycles. Sridhar Anandakrishnan, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, told ABC News that glacial degradation can also form unstable lakes, as seen in the Himalayas and Andes. The Blatten disaster underscores the growing risks to Alpine communities. Glacierologists are urging further study of climate-driven glacier instability to prevent future catastrophes.
4 days ago
- Climate
Why glaciologists believe the Birch Glacier collapsed, burying a nearby Swiss town
A village in the Swiss Alps has been buried beneath ice, rock and mud after a massive piece of a nearby glacier collapsed. On Wednesday, a landslide from the mountain side of Birch Glacier -- located in the Lötschental valley in northern Switzerland -- flattened homes in the Alpine town of Blatten after a large chunk of the glacier broke off, Bethan Davies, a professor of glaciology at Newcastle University in the U.K., told ABC News. The collapse occurred as a result of a "cascading disaster," Davies said. There is also concern of flooding in the River Lonza due to the debris from the landslide. The mountain side of the glacier had been unstable since last week, when millions of pounds of rock debris fell onto the glacier surface, Davies said. The load, along with warm temperatures on Monday, accelerated the glacier's collapse, Swiss Radio and Television reported. "This is a marked acceleration," Davies said. "Lots of cracks started to form, a sign of the tension in the ice." Emergency managers had been observing increased glacier melt at Birch Glacier, ordering hundreds of villagers to evacuate after debris from the mountain behind the glacier crumbled days before the catastrophic collapse. The collapse likely occurred as a result of permafrost thawing underneath and along the sidewalls surrounding the glacier, Mathieu Morlighem, a glaciologist at Dartmouth College, told ABC News. The permanently frozen soil is the "glue" that keeps the mountain rock stable, but as temperatures warm, the permafrost melts and destabilizes the mountain, Morlighem said, adding that a similar event happened in the Silvretta Alps in Switzerland in 2023. The Birch Glacier was "much worse" due to the amount of ice and meltwater, which caused a deluge of ice, mud and rock to damage the picturesque village of Blatten. The dangers of glacial degradation range from a sudden catastrophic collapse to formation of lakes that burst through their natural dams and cause havoc, which has happened in the Himalayas and Andes mountain ranges, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, told ABC News. "I think we can expect more events like this in the future," Morlighem said. Video of the mudslide shows large mounds of debris racing down the mountain before burying the village of Batten. Satellite images above the town show where mud and debris cover areas where buildings once stood. Search-and-rescue teams were searching for a missing 64-year-old man, but the search was suspended on Thursday afternoon after authorities deemed the debris mounds too unstable, Reuters reported. One resident told Reuters that she "lost everything" in the mudslide. Another said, "You can't tell that there was ever a settlement there." While scientists are cautious about attributing single events to climate change, glaciologists have been concerned about the impact of climate change on glaciers in Switzerland in recent decades. Mountain landslides are more common in a warming climate, Davies said. In addition, increased rainfall in a warming climate can melt permafrost and change the number of freeze-thaw cycles, which can also exacerbate landslides, Davies said. Climate change is causing dramatic changes in mountain glaciers in Europe and all over the world, Davies pointed out. At least one-third of European Alps glacier loss will be gone by 2050, even without further warming, according to a 2024 report from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative. "What happened to Birch Glacier is what we would expect from rising temperatures in the Alps and elsewhere," Morlighem said. Glaciers in Switzerland have lost almost 40% of their volume since 2000, and the loss is accelerating, according to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Record-high summer temperatures in 2022 and 2023 caused a 10% glacial ice loss in the country. The average temperature in the Swiss Alps has risen by 3 degrees Celsius since the 1970s, Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, said during an interview in March. "Switzerland's glaciers could vanish completely by 2100," Farinotti said. The melting of Switzerland's glaciers could result in long-term reductions in the country's water supply, according to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Melting may also contribute to rising sea levels in the next century, climate scientists say. A quarter of Switzerland's glaciers could be saved if global warming is kept to under a 2-degree Celsius rise, the experts said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Why glaciologists believe the Birch Glacier collapsed, burying a nearby Swiss town
A village in the Swiss Alps has been buried beneath ice, rock and mud after a massive piece of a nearby glacier collapsed. On Wednesday, a landslide from the mountain side of Birch Glacier -- located in the Lötschental valley in northern Switzerland -- flattened homes in the Alpine town of Blatten after a large chunk of the glacier broke off, Bethan Davies, a professor of glaciology at Newcastle University in the U.K., told ABC News. MORE: How penguin poop can help to mitigate climate change The collapse occurred as a result of a "cascading disaster," Davies said. There is also concern of flooding in the River Lonza due to the debris from the landslide. The mountain side of the glacier had been unstable since last week, when millions of pounds of rock debris fell onto the glacier surface, Davies said. The load, along with warm temperatures on Monday, accelerated the glacier's collapse, Swiss Radio and Television reported. "This is a marked acceleration," Davies said. "Lots of cracks started to form, a sign of the tension in the ice." MORE: Disappearing glaciers will give way to emerging, 'novel' ecosystems, new research finds Emergency managers had been observing increased glacier melt at Birch Glacier, ordering hundreds of villagers to evacuate after debris from the mountain behind the glacier crumbled days before the catastrophic collapse. The collapse likely occurred as a result of permafrost thawing underneath and along the sidewalls surrounding the glacier, Mathieu Morlighem, a glaciologist at Dartmouth College, told ABC News. The permanently frozen soil is the "glue" that keeps the mountain rock stable, but as temperatures warm, the permafrost melts and destabilizes the mountain, Morlighem said, adding that a similar event happened in the Silvretta Alps in Switzerland in 2023. The Birch Glacier was "much worse" due to the amount of ice and meltwater, which caused a deluge of ice, mud and rock to damage the picturesque village of Blatten. MORE: Climate change is making climbing in the Himalayas more challenging, experts say The dangers of glacial degradation range from a sudden catastrophic collapse to formation of lakes that burst through their natural dams and cause havoc, which has happened in the Himalayas and Andes mountain ranges, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, told ABC News. "I think we can expect more events like this in the future," Morlighem said. Video of the mudslide shows large mounds of debris racing down the mountain before burying the village of Batten. Satellite images above the town show where mud and debris cover areas where buildings once stood. MORE: It may be too late to prevent significant melting on West Antarctic ice shelf that includes 'Doomsday Glacier': Study Search-and-rescue teams were searching for a missing 64-year-old man, but the search was suspended on Thursday afternoon after authorities deemed the debris mounds too unstable, Reuters reported. One resident told Reuters that she "lost everything" in the mudslide. Another said, "You can't tell that there was ever a settlement there." While scientists are cautious about attributing single events to climate change, glaciologists have been concerned about the impact of climate change on glaciers in Switzerland in recent decades. Mountain landslides are more common in a warming climate, Davies said. In addition, increased rainfall in a warming climate can melt permafrost and change the number of freeze-thaw cycles, which can also exacerbate landslides, Davies said. Climate change is causing dramatic changes in mountain glaciers in Europe and all over the world, Davies pointed out. At least one-third of European Alps glacier loss will be gone by 2050, even without further warming, according to a 2024 report from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative. "What happened to Birch Glacier is what we would expect from rising temperatures in the Alps and elsewhere," Morlighem said. MORE: Antarctic sea ice has reached a record low for the year, researchers say Glaciers in Switzerland have lost almost 40% of their volume since 2000, and the loss is accelerating, according to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Record-high summer temperatures in 2022 and 2023 caused a 10% glacial ice loss in the country. The average temperature in the Swiss Alps has risen by 3 degrees Celsius since the 1970s, Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, said during an interview in March. "Switzerland's glaciers could vanish completely by 2100," Farinotti said. The melting of Switzerland's glaciers could result in long-term reductions in the country's water supply, according to the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Melting may also contribute to rising sea levels in the next century, climate scientists say. A quarter of Switzerland's glaciers could be saved if global warming is kept to under a 2-degree Celsius rise, the experts said. Why glaciologists believe the Birch Glacier collapsed, burying a nearby Swiss town originally appeared on
LeMonde
5 days ago
- Science
- LeMonde
Shrinking to survive: Clownfish adapt to climate change by getting smaller
It is often said that size does not matter… but clownfish prove otherwise. In terms of hierarchy, for example, these fish form small clans – consisting of a breeding pair and a few subordinates – where size determines social rank. "The breeding female is the largest of them all, and she rules over the territory of the anemone [around which the group lives]," said Melissa Versteeg, a researcher at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Next comes the breeding male, who is slightly smaller, followed by the subordinates, juvenile fish who would be wise not to outgrow their superiors. "That could disrupt the established hierarchy," added Versteeg. "To minimize the risk of social conflict, a lower-ranking clownfish will therefore maintain a size that is about 80% of that of its immediate superior." The researcher, who focuses extensively on these questions of size, recently made a surprising discovery: Clownfish can shrink during marine heatwaves, which increases their short-term chances of survival. To obtain these results, published Thursday, May 22, in Science Advances, the researchers donned their wetsuits to observe breeding pairs of Pacific clownfish living in the coral reefs of Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. At that time, between February and August 2023, a severe global coral bleaching event was underway, during which sea temperatures in the study area exceeded 32°C.
