Research is important to every university. And what’s more - great research actually informs great course content for students! Not only that, but great research can also serve our everyday lives and help us all to live better, healthier, and safer!
Hypothermia has historically been considered the biggest threat to anyone finding themselves in cold water. But Portsmouth based research has shown that the main problem is ‘cold shock’ - a fight or flight response that tires out swimmers before they are able to escape the water they find themselves in.
Every day more than 1000 lives are lost by drowning. That’s why research like this is so important. Countless lives can and will be saved.
In fact, the RNLI’s Float to Live campaign, influenced by this research, will save lives by instructing people to float on your back until you get your breathing under control.
Mike Tipton, professor of human and applied physiology spearheaded the research that is now saving lives.
He conducted his research at Portsmouth’s extreme environments laboratory where he first discovered ‘cold shock’ - which peaks between 10-15 degrees C (the average temperature of UK waters!).
First discovered in Japan, a new PETase enzyme (genetically modified in Portsmouth) can break down hardy PET plastics in days and could be the beginning of a sustainable circular plastics economy!
Of the 1 million plastic bottles sold every minute globally, just 14% are recycled. And it takes hundreds of years to naturally break down PET (a common plastic used). We all know how waste plastics are a huge global pollutant found across land and sea.
Director of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation, Professor McGeehan and his team are working towards further manipulating the PETase enzyme for industrial use! Their research suggests that the enzyme is not yet fully optimized, meaning that further improvements in speed and scope of natural plastic recycling is on the horizon!
Did you know that the Diamond Light Source, near Oxford, where this PETase was examined, uses diamonds to produce x-rays 10 billion times brighter than the sun to reveal individual atoms?!
Grab every opportunity and always keep your eyes on the prize! Get clued up on what’s available for you - visit Portsmouth’s website here: