Latest news with #SouthamptonUniversity
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Aspiring eye surgeon's career plan changed by scheme
A student said he was inspired by a charity's hospital volunteering scheme to change his intended career. Southampton University student Raahat Shah was studying pharmaceutical chemistry but accompanied his granddad to an eye hospital appointment and he became interested with ophthalmology, the study of eye conditions. A pilot Volunteer to Career programme in the NHS helped him secure medical training and he hopes to become an eye surgeon in the future. The scheme is run by charity Helpforce, which hopes it helps to tackle persistent recruitment problems in the health service. Across England, 48 different NHS organisations have taken part in Volunteer to Career. Mr Shah, from London, was studying at Queen Mary, University of London when he went with his granddad to the Moorfields Eye Hospital in the capital. "There was just something about the hospital environment and especially ophthalmology that really appealed to me," he said. "No one in my family had been a medic and it seemed like a closed world to me – I had no idea how someone from my background could get into it. But I saw an opportunity here and I grabbed it with both hands," Mr Shah said. Through Helpforce's scheme, Mr Shah volunteered at Moorfields once a week for a year, helping patients, doing admin work and watching staff work. "It was amazing. I knew there and then that I wanted to be an eye surgeon. Volunteering in a specialist eye hospital gave me a real insight into that field of medicine," he added. "It convinced me that a career in medicine was what I wanted. and ultimately a career in ophthalmology." After finishing his first degree, Raahat is now in his second year of accelerated graduate medical training in Southampton and is currently on a surgical placement at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital. Helpforce's chief executive, Amerjit Chohan, said its scheme has had a "significant" impact. "Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people like Raahat to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles," he added. "Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Helpforce Southampton University
Mint
23-04-2025
- Science
- Mint
Another win for geology's Theory of Everything
Plate tectonics is geology's Theory of Everything. The realisation in the 1960s that Earth's crust is made of fragments called plates—and that these plates can grow, shrink and move around—explained the origins of mountain ranges, ocean trenches, volcanoes and earthquakes. It also explained why continents drift over the planet's surface and thus, from time to time, come together to form an all-embracing supercontinent. Mountain ranges, ocean trenches, volcanoes and earthquakes are, however, things that happen mainly where plates abut. Plate tectonics is not as good at explaining events and features elsewhere, particularly in continental interiors. These are often dominated by extensive highlands called plateaux, which differ in form from mountain ranges and are frequently bounded by giant escarpments. But, as he told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, Tom Gernon of Southampton University thinks he can bring these puzzling geographical features into the ambit of plate tectonics as well. His team's calculations suggest they are caused by waves that ripple through Earth's mantle, the layer below the crust, when continents divide. They may even be responsible for some of the 'mini" mass extinctions which punctuate the fossil record. His work began with a different, more eye-catching question: explaining how diamonds are propelled to the surface. Diamonds are crystals of carbon compressed into that form by the high pressure found in the upper mantle. Those discovered at the surface have been carried there by unusual, explosive volcanoes called kimberlite pipes, which traverse the crust from bottom to top, erupting at ground level. Dr Gernon and his colleagues proposed that the rifting of continental plates sets in motion a slow-moving wave through the semi-liquid rock of the mantle. (Really slow-moving: they estimate it travels at about 15-20km per million years.) This wave of hot rock ablates the bottom of the crust, forming gas-charged magmas that erupt violently as kimberlite pipes. They then followed up this work by asking what other consequences their newly discovered waves might have. The answers, when they ran their model on a computer, were giant escarpments with plateaux behind them. These features were formed by a process known as isostatic rebound, in which the travelling wave removed the crust's underside, causing the rock above to rise, rather as a balloon rises when its crew jettison ballast. All this rapidly emerging highland will, though, be subject to immediate erosion. And that is where the extinctions come in. Really big extinctions, such as those at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous periods, have big, sudden causes (huge volcanic eruptions and collision with an asteroid respectively). But these are interspersed by numerous smaller catastrophes that particularly affect the oceans, and are associated with reduced levels of oxygen. This reduction of oxygen seems to happen because organic matter is being created in greater than normal quantities, and then decomposing, sucking that element out of the water. Dr Gernon thinks this is a result of pulses of erosion caused by plateau uplift fertilising the oceans with phosphorus. That causes life to bloom, increasing the amount of organic matter available for decomposition. He argues, in particular, that the pattern of these mini mass extinctions during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods supports his hypothesis. It all, then, fits very nicely together. Geology's Theory of Everything continues successfully to defend its title. © 2025, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Telegraph
British couple found dead in suspected murder-suicide in New Zealand
A British couple who emigrated to New Zealand have been found dead at their home in a suspected murder-suicide. The bodies of Ben and Claire Anderson were discovered by police at a residential property in a Wellington suburb on Monday. Officers forced their way into the home in Palliser Road around 10:25pm after a concerned family member raised the alarm. Neighbours in the suburb of Roseneath reported hearing a series of loud bangs that evening, but said they did not sound like gunshots. Post-mortem examinations on the couple were conducted on Wednesday and the case has been referred to the coroner's office. The couple, who have four children and are originally from Suffolk, are believed to have been boarding with their landlord, who described them as 'my British lodgers'. Lead researcher Mr Anderson is believed to have worked as a scientist for the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) since January this year and had previously been employed as a lead researcher for Southampton University. BRANZ said it was directing all inquiries to police. New Zealand media said Mrs Anderson was a teacher. The landlord of the property said the couple were 'passionate about being in New Zealand and giving their family the experience of living here'. In a statement to the New Zealand Herald newspaper, they said: 'He was a clever, caring, charming man. 'She was vibrant, kind, intelligent and both of them made friends wherever they went. They were both absolutely wonderful human beings. They were both such positive and incredible parents, friends, and members of many communities. 'We send our love and condolences to their whanau [a Maori term for extended family] and friends.' 'Dream neighbours' Emma Prestidge, a neighbour, described them to Radio New Zealand, the country's public broadcaster, as 'lovely people' and 'dream neighbours'. Paul Prestidge told the Herald that he met the occupants of the home a few months ago when he moved in, and the homeowner invited him and his wife over for dinner. The group had shared a welcome dinner and would see each other on the properties' shared walkway from time to time. He said the couple were 'very friendly people' giving an example of how they'd met a man on a flight and struck up a friendship to the point they invited him over for dinner. Police have issued an appeal for those with CCTV or dash cam footage to come forward to help with the investigation. 'No ongoing risk' Det Insp Haley Ryan, from New Zealand Police, said: 'I want to provide assurance that there is no ongoing risk to the Roseneath community.' The force said in a statement: 'Police are providing support to the family at the centre of this tragic event. 'The family have requested privacy as they grieve their loss.' A spokesman for the Foreign Office said:'We have not been approached for consular assistance in this case, but our staff stand ready to support British nationals overseas 24/7.'
