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Latest News

Black hole revival rewrites cosmic rulebook

An international team of astronomers, including researchers from our Department of Physics, has observed a seemingly dormant supermassive black hole reawaken.
AI generated impression of blackhole rebrightening in three stages with swirling blackhole getting brighter shade of orange and red through time

Durham researchers to probe the Universe’s earliest moments

Professor Ryan Cooke, from our Department of Physics, has been awarded a £5.6m Royal Society fellowship to investigate the first moments after the Big Bang.
Image showing galaxies in space credit NASA

Professor Pippa Petts awarded prestigious teaching fellowship

Professor Pippa Petts, from our Department of Physics, has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to teaching and learning.
Professor Pippa Petts photographed against a grey background, looking straight to camera

Confused about carbon capture? Experts explain why we need different types

Co-authored by Durham’s Professor Jon Gluyas, a leading expert in geoenergy and carbon capture and storage, this article explores the often-confusing landscape of carbon capture technologies and explains why different approaches are needed to tackle climate change.
Fossil fuel power stations showing smoke coming out of the chimneys.

UK’s first dedicated neurodiversity focused doctoral training programme

We are part of a pioneering new £5 million programme that aims to transform understanding of neurodiversity and human difference.
Grey background with different coloured ropes forming the outline of a human head and neck in profile

How our Milky Way once underwent a dramatic flip

The Milky Way may have undergone some cosmic gymnastics during its history with a dramatic disc flip, according to new research from our astronomers.
Artist’s impression of debris of the Gaia-Enceladus galaxy

Want to keep the peace? Try a little tenderness

Ever noticed how, in tense situations, people may use reassuring touches to try and calm things down? This could be an evolutionary social tool dating back millions of years.
Image of two juvenile bonobos from behind, one with comforting arm around the other

The abolition myth: how slavery survived by changing shape

Slavery did not end with abolitionism in the 19th century. Instead it was rebuilt, again and again, into new forms of unfree labour that still shape the world today
Remains of the Monte Alegre plantation, Barra do Piraí, Brazil

At the forefront of international energy and climate research

Our researchers are leading on international energy and climate research – from monitoring vulnerable ice sheets to shaping future energy policy.
A montage of three images, from left to right, showing offshore wind turbines, an ice sheet and a person's hands holding a globe of the world.

AI tool helps historians converse with the ancient world

Researchers at Durham University have collaborated with Google DeepMind on a new AI-powered research tool designed to analyse ancient Greek and Latin inscriptions.
A lead ancient plaque with an inscription from Dodona in Greece.

Understanding mental health difficulties in pupils with SEND

A major new study will provide the first national picture of how often pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are referred for, and diagnosed with, mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress-related disorders.
School pupils wearing red school uniform writing at desks in a classroom.

Durham physicists part of mission to chart space and time

Our physicists are part of one of the most ambitious studies of the Universe ever undertaken.
A field of stars set against a black background.