The University of Manchester
LightNews LightNews
banner
manchester.ac.uk
The University of Manchester
@manchester.ac.uk
2.5K followers 570 following 550 posts
A proud Manchester institution with teaching, research and social responsibility at the heart of everything we do.
Posts Replies Media Videos
manchester.ac.uk
While we can't condone smoking... this is really cool!

@liverpooluni.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social - what a coat of arms, eh?
hbsj.bsky.social Hugh Jones @hbsj.bsky.social · 7h
Here's a #HigherEducation cigarette card showing the arms of @manchester.ac.uk - then the Victoria University, reflecting the short-lived federal university with Liverpool and Leeds.

nb the symbols of the three cities and the divided Tudor rose

This is a spin-off from #HigherEducationPostcard
An old collectable cigarette card showing the arms of the Victoria University of Manchester Text on the reverse of the card reading: Owens College - founded under the provision of the will of John Owens, of Manchester, who died in 1845, leaving £96,654 for that purpose - was opened in 1851 at a house formerly the residence of Richard Cobden. It was incorporated by Acts of parliament in 1870 and 1871. The "Victoria University" was founded by Charter, April 20 1880, and Owens College became a College of that University; as did University College Liverpool, in 1884; and the Yorkshire College Leeds, 1887. But when Liverpool and Leeds soon after became separate universities, Owens College was reincorporated in1904 a the Victoria University of Manchester.
February 12, 2026 at 9:49 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Two UoM mathematicians, Dr @cesaregardito.eu and Dr Igor Chernyavsky, have joined nearly 1,000 expert contributors worldwide to create a multidisciplinary academic test called “Humanity’s Last Exam” (HLE), setting AI systems a fresh challenge.

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/u... #ai #turing
Text reads, 'UoM academics contribute to toughest AI benchmark'
February 11, 2026 at 2:27 PM
manchester.ac.uk
Get in! 🥳

Super proud to announce that we've regained our top spot as the UK's most targeted Uni by graduate employers!

The research was published in The Graduate Market's 2026 report: online.flippingbook.com/view/1057082...

#UOM#unirankings
TEXT READS, 'UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER TOPS UK RANKINGS FOR GRADUATE EMPLOYER INTEREST' - IMAGE IS UoM CAMPUS
February 10, 2026 at 11:43 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Study reveals that ‘due diligence’ laws are beginning to give a voice to some of the world’s most vulnerable workers.

The laws are designed to make multinational companies accountable for labour and environmental abuses.

@uomhums.bsky.social #workersrights

academic.oup.com/joeg/advance...
Text reads 'Manchester research reveals how global laws can give workers real power' - image is workers on a tractor
February 9, 2026 at 11:55 AM
manchester.ac.uk
A study examines a form of outdoor, ‘eco' therapy.

Participants said moments in nature helped them process the past: watching trees grow and decay, feeling the wind on their face, or sitting quietly in a forest.

@uomhums.bsky.social #ecotherapy

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Text reads 'Nature as therapy, research shows how the outdoors can help us to heal' - image of two men walking in woods
February 6, 2026 at 3:56 PM
manchester.ac.uk
'Grazer exclusion' – removing livestock entirely from upland grasslands – may actually reduce the most stable forms of soil carbon.

New research challenges a strategy previously believed to boost carbon storage and tackle #climatechange.

@erc.europa.eu #climatesolutions

doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Text reads, 'Removing livestock from grasslands could compromise long-term soil carbon storage, study finds' - background image is sheep in a field
February 5, 2026 at 9:34 AM
manchester.ac.uk
The Gorton and Denton byelection, set for 26th Feb, will be a crucial moment for Labour, after a comfortable 2024 victory.

The bookies are torn between Reform UK and the Greens - neither outcome suits Labour, writes UoM's @louisevthompson.bsky.social

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/g...
Text reads, 'Gorton and Denton: Reform could benefit from split vote on the left' - image is a polling station sign, with Polanski, Farage, and Starmer overlayed
February 4, 2026 at 9:37 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Thank you, Phillipa! 🌟

Professor Browning joined the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 1985 as a lecturer aged of 25, following a mathematics degree at the University of Cambridge and a PhD at the University of St Andrews.

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/t...
Text reads 'UoM's first female physics academics retires afters after four decades of research and learning - image is of Prof Phillipa Browning
February 3, 2026 at 9:40 AM
manchester.ac.uk
A study using fruit flies as a model can explain aspects of neurodegenerative diseases that have baffled scientists for decades.

@poppi62.bsky.social's research focuses on axons - which allow brains to control behaviour and movement.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Text reads, 'Fruit fly research could help solve neurodegenerative disorders', background is an image of a fruit fly
February 2, 2026 at 11:44 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Tin can strolls - our Picture of the Week!💡

📸@jobo_photos
A picture of a man walking by University Place on Oxford Road
January 31, 2026 at 10:00 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Stronger policies and accountability measures to safeguard women athletes online are being called for, as part of a new study on the issue focusing on the case of former footballer Joey Barton.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Text reads 'study calls for action to combat online abuse of sportswomen'
January 30, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by The University of Manchester
uomif.bsky.social
Congrats to spinouts KOKU Health (Prof Emma Stanmore) & Spotlight Pathology (Martin Fergie/Richard Byers) & Maria Giovanna Lizio (WILD Imaging Technologies) on being shortlisted for BioNow Awards!
January 29, 2026 at 12:32 PM
manchester.ac.uk
A inquiry led by our Chancellor, Nazir Afzal OBE, finds systemic barriers facing working-class creatives.

Barriers include class-based discrimination, low pay, lack of connections, and exploitative practices; the study made a number of recommendations.

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/r...
Text reads, 'Radical measures needed to close arts class gap in Greater Manchester, inquiry finds
January 29, 2026 at 10:09 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Universities across Manchester are uniting to drive nature recovery.

UoM, @manmetuni.bsky.social, and @salforduni.bsky.social, are hosting a special event exploring business and biodiversity, alongside DEFRA - bringing together academics, business, and policy makers. 🌱
Greater Manchester universities unite to drive nature recovery at IPBES-12 event
The 12th Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-12) will be hosted in Manchester this February, with almost a thousand delegates expecte...
www.manchester.ac.uk
January 28, 2026 at 10:50 AM
manchester.ac.uk
✨ Big news!

We have been recognised again in the @timeshighered.bsky.social World University Rankings by Subject 2026 with ten subjects in the global top 100 and four in the world’s top 50.

Huge thanks to our amazing community who make this possible 💜

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/t...
Top 100 in ten subject graphic
January 26, 2026 at 2:58 PM
manchester.ac.uk
Welcome to UoM @bankfieldbecky.bsky.social!

Professor Rebecca Willis will join as Chair of Energy and Climate Governance - enhancing our role as a leading contributor to UK and global #climatepolicy.

@uomhums.bsky.social

www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/u...
UK expert in energy and climate governance joins The University of Manchester
The University of Manchester has appointed Professor Rebecca Willis as Chair of Energy and Climate Governance – a role which bridges the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Science and Engineerin...
www.manchester.ac.uk
January 26, 2026 at 12:16 PM
manchester.ac.uk
The Whitworth Arch 👩‍🎨

Thanks to miasportf0lio on Instagram, for our fantastic picture of the week!
Drawing of the whitworth arch
January 25, 2026 at 10:25 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Blood test can tell doctors when to stop antibiotics in sepsis treatment, as concern over resistance grows. 💊

Procalcitonin meant antibiotics could stop about two days earlier, without increasing risk.

https://associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/anae.70109
Text reads, 'Test shows when safe to stop antibiotics in sepsis patients', image is Whitworth and antibiotics in a blister pack
January 24, 2026 at 10:35 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Fossil remains of giant prehistoric kangaroos show that animals weighing over 200kg could still hop!

Examining the strength and thickness of footbones and tendons, the research overturns assumptions about the limits of hopping 🦘

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Text reads, 'Jumping Giants: Fossils show giant prehistoric kangaroos could still hop', image is giant kangaroo skeleton overlayed on Whitworth arch
January 23, 2026 at 10:04 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Care for a game of campus scrabble, anyone? 😀

@fbmh-uom.bsky.social @uomhums.bsky.social
nspmartin.bsky.social Nicole Martin @nspmartin.bsky.social · 20d
Last September for some reason (I don’t know why, it’s not my department), these big letters appear on the floor below me, spelling out the name of a popular degree programme BA(Econ)
Purple letters spelling BAECON
January 23, 2026 at 9:50 AM
manchester.ac.uk
“If staff are happy and relaxed, the lessons they teach are better. You can feel the buzz in the building - it just feels different.”

A study of ten schools concludes that happier teachers mean happier pupils, as a new approach to wellbeing is adopted.

research.manchester.ac.uk/en/projects/...
Text reads, 'Study finds strong link between teacher wellbeing and pupil achievement' - background image of a classroom, with a teacher speaking to a student.
January 22, 2026 at 9:39 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Late-morning heart surgery 18% more dangerous than early-morning ❤️‍🩹

A study has found that the time of day can affect the outcome of the procedure, and raises questions about scheduling surgeries around body clocks.

associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Text reads 'Time of day link to heart surgery outcomes likely', image is of a doctor's hands with surgical scissors
January 21, 2026 at 2:43 PM
manchester.ac.uk
The Government is considering an Australia-style ban on social media for under-16s.

But research shows that time spent gaming or on social media is not to blame for rising mental health issues in young people. 👾

@qiqicheng.bsky.social

Read more below: www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/t...
Text reads, 'Time spent on gaming and social media not to blame for teen mental health issues', image is a person's hands holding a phone
January 20, 2026 at 9:35 AM
manchester.ac.uk
Move from awareness to action 🌍

Join leaders from UoM, @uomhums.bsky.social, and the RSPB to examine the reliance and impact of business on the natural environment.

How can we translate evidence to real change? How can business pioneer biodiversity commitments? 🍃

Secure your free slot below 💡
Business Impact: Driving biodiversity recovery through business action
Hosted by Alliance Manchester Business School and the RSPB.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by The University of Manchester
uomhums.bsky.social
🌿 Nature risk is now business risk.

As Manchester prepares to host @ipbes.net, we’re asking a simple question: Are UK businesses ready for the shift toward nature‑positive regulation and investment?

Let’s unpack what this means 👇

#IPBES12 #BizBiodiversity
January 14, 2026 at 4:53 PM