University student-led public engagement event: increasing audience diversity and impact in a non-science space.

There is a wealth of innovation in microbiology outreach events globally, including in the setting where the public engagement is hosted. Previous data indicate an underrepresentation of marginalized ethnic groups attending UK science-based public engagement events. This project engaged our student cohort, encompassing a diverse range of ethnic groups, to create an integrated art and science event within an existing series of adult education evenings. The study's objectives were to increase the proportion of visitors from marginalized ethnic groups and to gain a greater understanding of the impact of the event on the visitors' reported science capital. The participants' demographics, links to our students and University, and detailed impact on participants' science capital of the event were determined through analysis of exit questionnaires. There was an increase in the proportion of marginalized ethnic group visitors compared to similar previous events. A higher proportion of visitors from marginalized ethnic groups had links with our students and University compared to white/white British visitors. Elements of the exit questionnaire were mapped to the science capital framework and participants' science capital was determined. Both ethnically marginalized participants and white/white British visitors showed an increase in science capital, specifically dimensions of science-related social capital and science-related cultural capital, after the event. In conclusion, our study suggests that a student-led blended art and science public engagement can increase the ethnic diversity of those attending and can contribute towards creating more inclusive public engagement events.

Solving the woolly mammoth conundrum: amino acid ¹5N-enrichment suggests a distinct forage or habitat.

Understanding woolly mammoth ecology is key to understanding Pleistocene community dynamics and evaluating the roles of human hunting and climate change in late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions. Previous isotopic studies of mammoths' diet and physiology have been hampered by the 'mammoth conundrum': woolly mammoths have anomalously high collagen δ(15)N values, which are more similar to coeval carnivores than herbivores, and which could imply a distinct diet and (or) habitat, or a physiological adaptation. We analyzed individual amino acids from collagen of adult woolly mammoths and coeval species, and discovered greater (15)N enrichment in source amino acids of woolly mammoths than in most other herbivores or carnivores. Woolly mammoths consumed an isotopically distinct food source, reflective of extreme aridity, dung fertilization, and (or) plant selection. This dietary signal suggests that woolly mammoths occupied a distinct habitat or forage niche relative to other Pleistocene herbivores.

Photochemical strategies for the seed-mediated growth of gold and gold-silver nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) can be used as seeds for the synthesis of larger AuNP of controllable size with narrow size distribution by photochemical reduction of additional Au(III) using water-soluble benzoins or H(2)O(2) as sources of reducing radicals. Further, beyond simply enlarging the AuNP, it is possible to add a shell of another metal, such as silver, leading to Au/Ag core-shell structures with controllable dimensions for both core and shell. This strategy illustrates the fine spatial and temporal control achievable using clean photochemical techniques without the addition of hard surface ligands often necessary to control the size and structure of gold-silver nanostructures. The mild nature of the surface coverage makes these nanomaterials ideal for further surface modification.