News & articles

UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled his autumn budget as the nation wrestles with recovery at the tail end of the COVID pandemic, supply shortages and a mounting crisis in the cost of living. Our panel of experts react to what has been announced.

People’s sense of wellbeing took a dive in the first year of the pandemic, according to new data published by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Professor of Religious Studies, Graham Harvey has worked with intercultural theatre company Border Crossings to bring a totem pole from Mexico to the UK with a powerful message about climate change’s impact on Indigenous peoples.

The BepiColombo spacecraft – a joint project by the European and Japanese space agencies – swung by its destination planet Mercury in the early hours of October 2 2021. Passing within just 200km of the surface of Mercury, it sent back some spectacular pictures.

Open University researcher Dr Gemma Briggs has won an O²RB Excellence in Impact Award 2021, recognising her role in influencing a UK road safety campaign to warn drivers of the dangers of using hands-free ‘phones while on the road. 

OU researchers have received funding from UK Research and Innovation to explore the social and cultural values of urban trees to improve the management of urban forests.

An OU researcher has received funding to investigate how dust and water interact with one another on Mars.

OU researchers have been awarded funding to continue their research into global climate change.

The fate of Geronimo the alpaca was seemingly sealed in the UK’s high court recently when the appeal against an order to slaughter him was rejected.

An OU led project that researches positive practices to support student mental health has just received funding.