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news 4 Harry Harrington Mink control vital to save water voles Can water voles make a splash or will the mink sink their chances? Keeping water vole and mink populations apart is vital if efforts to reintroduce water voles, one of Britain’s most endangered mammals, are to be successful. The finding was one of many made by the University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (the WildCRU) reported in this year’s State of Britain’s Mammals report, co-authored by the WildCRU’s Professor David Macdonald and Dr Dawn Burnham. They also found that the quantity of streamside vegetation had a big impact on the survival and growth of reintroduced water vole populations. Water vole numbers have been in decline for over 20 years due to more intensive agricultural practices, infrastructure development and predation by the American mink. In April 2008 the water vole received additional legal protection to Counselling Supervision Experienced, qualified supervisor (Dip S. CPCAB MBACP) offering consultation, supervision or supplementary training to qualified or trainee counsellors and others in the therapeutic healing profession Low-cost supervision available for trainee counsellors Blueprint January 2009 Central Oxford Telephone: 01865 558482 boost its chances of survival. Elsewhere in the report WildCRU researchers examined the best way of controlling the American mink, which is having a significant impact on populations of native British birds and water voles. Their work suggests that only constant monitoring and targeted trapping of the animals and the creation of ‘mink-free zones’ will enable native species to recover. The WildCRU team also discussed in the report how feral cat populations could be managed to ensure that the 400-strong population of Scottish wildcats does not disappear and how the extinct Eurasian lynx might be reintroduced in Scotland and northern England. The State of Britain’s Mammals 2008 is published by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. ‘Tetris’ may help reduce traumatic flashbacks Playing the puzzle video game ‘Tetris’ after traumatic events could reduce the flashbacks experienced in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), preliminary research by Oxford psychologists suggests. The researchers report in PLoS ONE that for healthy volunteers, playing Tetris soon after viewing traumatic material in the laboratory can reduce the number of flashbacks to those scenes in the following week. The approach relies on three elements. First, the mind is considered to have two separate channels of thought: one is sensory while the other is conceptual and draws meaning from our experiences. Second, there appear to be limits to our abilities in each stream and third, there is a short time after an event in which it is possible to interfere with the way memories are retained in the brain. The Oxford team reasoned that moving the coloured building blocks around in Tetris soon after seeing traumatic events should compete with the visions of trauma to be retained in the sensory part of the brain. The narrative and meaning of the events should be unaffected. ‘We wanted to find a way to dampen down flashbacks – that is, the raw sensory images of trauma that are over-represented in the memories of those with PTSD,’ says Dr Holmes. ‘Tetris may work by competing for the brain’s resources for sensory information. We suggest it specifically interferes with the way sensory memories are laid down in the period after trauma and thus reduces the number of flashbacks that are experienced afterwards.’ Factfile On the tourist trail ▸▸Some nine million tourists visit Oxford each year, making it the seventh most visited city in the UK by overseas visitors, ahead of Cambridge, Bath and York. Many of Oxford’s top tourist attractions belong to the collegiate University, including the Bodleian Library, the four University museums and the Botanic Garden. ▸▸The University is responsible for the greatest concentration of grade I listed buildings in the country. The city contains 1,551 listed buildings and has more than twice the national average of grade I (‘of exceptional interest’) and II* (‘particularly important buildings of more than special interest’) buildings. ▸▸One such listed building, Christ Church Cathedral, is the only church in the world to be both a college chapel (for Christ Church) and a cathedral (for the Diocese of Oxford). Illustration: David Mostyn iStockphoto/Osuleo
RAE results reflect Oxford’s breadth and depth Oxford was judged to have the largest submission of worldleading research (4* rated) in the UK in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the results of which were released in December by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The University also had the largest submission of world-leading or internationally excellent research (4* or 3* rated) in the UK. ‘This is a reflection of the breadth and depth of Oxford’s research activity and is testament to the enormous talent The University has won funding for two new centres to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has announced. Two existing centres have been renewed. The initiative will create a new Industrial Doctorate Centre and a new Oxford Centre for Doctoral Training in Biomedical Viewfinder found This firedog (p12) and its matching mate are on either side of the firebasket in the dining room fireplace at Christ Church. They bear a marked resemblance to Lewis Carroll’s original illustration for Alice in Wonderland (left), when Alice begins to elongate after nibbling the ‘EAT ME’ cake. The College Librarian would welcome information on whether the firedog inspired the author’s drawing or vice versa. and commitment of Oxford’s academics,’ said the Vice- Chancellor, Dr John Hood. ‘The RAE results reflect our strength in all subject areas and across all types of researcher, from those at early stages in their career to established professors.’ The RAE produces quality ratings for every research activity submitted by a higher education institution to its assessment panels. HEFCE will use these quality profiles to determine the level of research grants each institution receives from 2009–10. Doctoral training gets green light Engineering at the Translational Interface of Next Generation Healthcare. Oxford helped to pioneer the new approach to doctoral training with the original Life Sciences Interface Doctoral Training Centre and the Doctoral Training Centre in Systems Biology. Oxford’s four centres will represent a combined investment of around £25m–30m. Earthquake activity may trigger volcanoes There she blows – the Osorno volcano in Chile erupted in 1837 following a very large earthquake New evidence showing that very large earthquakes can trigger an increase in activity at nearby volcanoes has been uncovered by Oxford researchers. An analysis of records in southern Chile has shown that up to four times as many volcanic eruptions occur during the year following very large earthquakes than in other years. This ‘volcanic surge’ can affect volcanoes up to at least 500 km away from an earthquake’s epicentre, as described in work published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Scientists had previously identified a few cases where volcanic eruptions follow very large earthquakes, but it had been difficult to show statistically that this was not just coincidence. ‘The most unexpected part of this discovery was the considerable distance from the earthquake rupture where these eruptions took place, and the length of time for which we saw increased volcanic activity,’ says Sebastian Watt, a DPhil student in the Department of Earth Sciences, who analysed records covering 150 years. ‘This suggests that seismic waves, radiating from the earthquake rupture, may trigger an eruption by stirring or shaking the molten rock beneath volcanoes. The disturbances that result from this lead to eruption but, because of the time it takes for pressure to build up inside a volcano and for magma to move towards the surface, an eruption may not occur until some months after the earthquake.’ These findings could help governments and aid agencies in parts of the world affected by such phenomena by highlighting the need for increased awareness of volcanic activity after large earthquakes. Topham Picturepoint news o x f o r d i n t e g r at i v e c o u n s e l lo r s p r o b l e m s ? People seek help for a variety of reasons: Depression - Stress - Relationship difficulties - Anxiety - Loss of direction and creativity- Lack of fulfilment - Bereavement - Loneliness Sharing and exploring your situation with a trained counsellor can help you consider an alternative perspective and lead to deeper understanding Phone (01865) 558482 Low cost counselling available Blueprint January 2009 5
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