University of Essex

Ornithoptera euphorion male shows off his impressive wings, which Darwin saw as the driver of evolution, not natural selection

Biology

150-year-old conflict between Darwin and Wallace is resolved – by a machine

In the 1800s, a conflict between the founding fathers of evolution divided the community. Charles Darwin said sexual selection drove male butterfly looks, while rival Alfred Russel Wallace believed it was just natural selection. Now we have an answer.

The new robot is designed to ease labor shortages on British strawberry farms

Robotics

Brexit prompts push for robotic strawberry pickers

Britain is facing a strawberry labor shortage that only threatens to only get worse as Brexit approaches, so roboticists at the University of Essex are working in conjunction with jam makers Wilkin & Sons of Tiptree to develop robots to take up the slack.

An artificial blood substitute being developed at the University of Essex could help overcome the worldwide shortfall in blood donations (Photo: Shutterstock)

Medical

Artificial human blood substitute could help meet donor blood shortfall

Through the Haem02 project, scientists at the University of Essex are developing an artificial, universal blood substitute that will offer a non-refrigerated solution for blood shortages and disaster trauma management worldwide.

BioAid is a free app that allows the iPhone to work as a user-adjustable hearing aid

Good Thinking

BioAid app turns the iPhone into a hearing aid

BioAid is a free app that allows the iPhone to work as a user-adjustable hearing aid.

Future hearing aids could be tailor-made to each individual user's needs, through the use of virtual 'hearing dummies' (Image: University of Essex)

Wearables

'Hearing dummies' allow for tailor-made hearing aids

Future hearing aids could be tailor-made to each individual user's needs, through the use of virtual "hearing dummies."