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HEARING THE ORANGUTANS ’ CALL TO SAVE THEIR LIVES
In an isolated pocket of Indonesia , 800 orangutans were at risk from a hydro dam development . Bearded and frizzy-haired , they looked different from their closest neighbours . The International Union for Conservation of Nature called in a team of scientists with diverse expertise , including Portsmouth ’ s Dr Marina Davila-Ross , to discover just how different these apes are .
An expert in the acoustic signals of animal communication , Dr Davila- Ross analysed the frequencies of other Indonesian orangutans ’ calls . Adult males can produce two sounds at the same time – a rare trait known as biphonation . Dr Davila-
20 Postgraduate at Portsmouth
Ross measured those sounds with a sonogram , revealing the distinctive ‘ shape ’ of the calls by mapping the audio frequencies .
Her findings were compared to calls of the isolated apes . Alongside studies by her fellow experts into genetics , morphology and behaviour , it became clear : this was a previously undiscovered species , with its own distinctive voices , and it was endangered by the proposed development . The dam project has been paused while further research explores ways to protect this unique ape population . Thanks to expert research , these orangutans ’ calls helped to save their lives .
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TRUTHS SHARED ALOUD , TO HEAL THE SCARS OF WAR
Some of the worst damage in war is done not to the body , but the mind . To help heal these wounds , Dr Erika Hughes , our Academic Lead for the Performance area , developed The Veterans Project . It ’ s a performance series where small groups of military people talk on stage , unscripted , about their experiences . By seeing veterans as they truly are , civilian audiences can rise above stereotypes and understand them better .
PUTTING LIFE-SAVING DATA IN A NURSE ’ S PALM
Director of our Centre for Healthcare Modelling and Informatics , Professor Jim Briggs and team , in collaboration with Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and The Learning Clinic , helped create a model that rapidly converts patients ’ vital signs data into a measure of health . This underpins a handheld system used at the bedside and flags up deterioration , so doctors can take life-saving action as it ’ s needed . It ’ s now used worldwide .
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UNLEASHING CITIZEN SCIENCE TO LEARN HOW GALAXIES EVOLVE
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey supplies so many detailed images of galaxies across the Universe , scientists can ’ t keep up . So a coalition of Portsmouth and Oxford University researchers created Galaxy Zoo . This online platform enabled citizen scientists to classify millions of images of different galaxy types in their free time , revealing clues about how galaxies form and evolve .
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ACCELERATING ENZYME ENGINEERING FOR A RECYCLING REVOLUTION
Researchers at our Centre for Enzyme Innovation have been experimenting with nature ’ s own solution to plastic pollution .
When a group in Japan discovered an enzyme that had evolved to ‘ eat ’ plastic , researchers from Portsmouth set to work characterising and understanding this novel enzyme , in order to engineer improved versions .
The goal : an enzyme that can be used in industry to break down the most polluting single-use plastic rapidly . It ’ s a key step in creating a circular plastics economy , with recycling at its heart .
In 2022 , the Centre gained stateof-the-art Polymer Analysis , Polymer Synthesis and Biorecycling laboratories , alongside an Innovation Space and expanded Postgraduate Suite . Researchers can now break , make and remake plastics over and over again , and develop industrial recycling processes and partnerships .
We are collaborating with some of the world ’ s biggest companies to recycle and reuse materials that are currently often incinerated , sent to landfill and leak into the environment - such as poor quality , dirty plastic or composite materials , which can be difficult to recycle at present .
Find out more at port . ac . uk / research
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