Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS)

The Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division is one of the four academic divisions of the University of Oxford. We have over 6,000 students and research staff, and generate over half of our funding from external research grants. The MPLS Division's 10 departments and 3 interdisciplinary units span the full spectrum of the mathematical, computational, physical, engineering and life sciences, and undertake both fundamental research and cutting-edge applied work. Our research addresses major societal and technological challenges and is increasingly interdisciplinary in nature. We collaborate closely with colleagues in Oxford across the medical sciences, social sciences and humanities. Today's scientific research not only crosses traditional subject boundaries, but also transcends national boundaries: MPLS scientists collaborate with researchers from around the world, and play leading roles in many international projects.

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Enterprising Women: Lunch and Learn - Tara Sabre Collier	Tara Sabre Collier shares insights into her work as a Global Strategist and Social Entrepreneur	Tara Sabre Collier	25 February, 2020
Enterprising Women: Lunch and Learn – Dr Martine Abboud, Department of Chemistry	Dr Martine Abboud talks about her scientific journey as a first-generation graduate, how to maintain life-work balance and the various enterprise-related opportunities a science researcher can access in Oxford.	Martine Abboud	9 July, 2019
Enterprising Women: Lunch and Learn – Prof Angela Russell, Department of Organic Chemistry	Find out how Prof Angela Russell combines the worlds of business and research through Oxtem, a company she co-founded, and still find time for family life.	Angela Russell	9 July, 2019
Tales of Love and History - James Ivory in Conversation	Oscar-winning American film-maker James Ivory will talk about his experiences with the legendary Merchant Ivory productions, in partnership with producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.	James Ivory, Richard Parkinson, Katherine Harloe, Jennifer Ingleheart	18 December, 2018
How do you grow rice faster?	3 billion people depend on rice for survival & owing to predicted population increases, land that provided enough rice to feed 27 people in 2010 will need to support 43 by 2050. In this week's podcast episode we ask: how do you grow rice faster?	Jane Langdale	11 July, 2018
Is there a faster way to diagnose Tuberculosis?	Tuberculosis is still one of the top ten causes of death worldwide, with 1.4 million people dying from TB in 2015. If your doctor suspects you have the disease it can take up to 6 weeks to get a diagnosis!	Philip Fowler	26 June, 2018
How do you teach a robot social cues?	As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction we asked the Big Question: How do you teach a robot social cues? To find out we visited Shimon Whiteson, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science	Shimon Whiteson	19 June, 2018
Can you stop Alzheimer’s before it even starts?	Alzheimer's, is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time. In this podcast episode we ask: Can you stop Alzheimer's before it even starts?	Jennifer Lawson	31 May, 2018
What is antimatter?	What is antimatter? Antimatter was one of the most exciting physics discoveries of the 20th century, and has since been picked up by fiction writers such as Dan Brown. But what exactly is it?	Donal Hill	17 May, 2018
Can you cure HIV?	HIV isn’t a death sentence anymore. People can live long lives with the virus in their body, as long as they have the right combination of drugs. But some researchers want to take the fight against HIV and AIDS even further...	John Frater	2 May, 2018
What do water striders have in common with Game of Thrones?	On this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Question’s podcast we visited Dr Jennifer Perry, evolutionary biologist and entomologist to ask: What do water striders have in common with Game of Thrones? Listen here to find out….	Jennifer Perry	17 April, 2018
How does the brain identify voices?	In this episode of The Big Questions podcast we joined the experiment to ask: How does he brain identify voices? To find out we interviewed MRI Physicist Stuart Clare and Neuro Scientist Holly Bridge at the Wellcome Centre for Integrative for Neuroimaging	Stuart Clare, Holly Bridge	9 April, 2018
How do you mend a broken heart?	In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast we visited Cardiovascular Biologist, Nicola Smart, from the department of physiology, anatomy and genetics to ask: How do you mend a broken heart?	Nicola Smart	23 March, 2018
How do you become an astronaut?	Millions dream of being an astronaut, but how many of us have what it takes? In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Question's podcast, we visit Merritt Moore, quantum physicist from The University of Oxford, to ask: How do you become an astronaut?	Merritt Moore	13 March, 2018
How did Mary Somerville get on the Scottish 10 Pound note?	In this episode of the Big Questions podcast we are asking: How did Mary Somerville get on the Scottish 10 Pound note?	Brigitte Stenhouse	13 March, 2018
Does love have a scent?	Love is in the air - or is it? Companies are advertising that they can find you love through the power of scent! But are pheromones a chemical way to find your true love? Or is it just a myth?	Tristram Wyatt	6 February, 2018
How do you measure a Mars quake?	In this episode of the Big Questions podcast, we visited Dr Neil Bowles, Jane Hurley and Tristram Warren from the Atmospheric Oceanic & Planetary Physics Department to ask the question: how do you measure a Mars quake?	Neil Bowles, Jane Hurley, Tristram Warren	29 January, 2018
What happens after a storm?	In our latest episode of the Big Questions podcast we visited Dr Peter Walton, a geography teacher turned fellow of the Environmental Change Institute, at the University of Oxford, to ask: What happens after a storm?	Peter Walton	10 January, 2018
Is vaping better than smoking?	As many of you set your new year’s resolution to quit smoking and start vaping, we thought we’d ask the question: Is vaping better than smoking? And could it help you quit?	Jamie Hartmann-Boyce	9 January, 2018
How do you survive the office Christmas party?	‘Tis the season to be merry, so it’s time for the annual Christmas party. For some employers it can be more fraught than fun! In this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast we ask: how do you survive the office Christmas party?	Robin Dunbar	9 January, 2018
Research behind... Understanding Misunderstanding	A podcast about a song about the parallels of fake news today and satire in the 18th Century based on research by Prof Abigail Williams at the University of Oxford	Abigail Williams	9 January, 2018
Research Behind... The Great Vape Debate	A podcast about a song about vaping based on the latest evidence from research from Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce at the University of Oxford	Jamie Hartmann-Boyce	9 January, 2018
Research Behind... Stomach is the Monarch	The research behind a song about how Victorians saw the conversation between the gut and mood, featuring an interview with researcher Dr Emilie Taylor-Brown at the University of Oxford	Emilie Taylor-Brown	9 January, 2018
Research Behind... Use the Digital to Make the World you Want to See	The research behind a song about mapping the internet and how it links to our physical world, based on research by Prof Mark Graham at the University of Oxford.	Mark Graham	8 January, 2018
Research Behind... Mars Quakes	The research behind a song about the quest to hear Marsquakes based on research by Dr Neil Bowles at the University of Oxford.	Neil Bowles	8 January, 2018
Welcome to the Oxford Reproducibility School	Dorothy Bishop (University of Oxford) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School, held on Wednesday, September 27, 2017, in the Sherrington Lecture Theatre, University of Oxford.	Dorothy Bishop	12 December, 2017
Selfish reasons to work reproducibly	Florian Markowetz, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, gives a talk for the Oxford Autumn School in Cognitive Neuroscience, held in 28th-29th September 2017, Sherrington Lecture Theatre, University of Oxford.	Florian Markowetz	12 December, 2017
Practical tools for open and reproducible neuroimaging	Tom Nichols, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, gives a talk for the Oxford Autumn School in Cognitive Neuroscience, held in 28th-29th September 2017, Sherrington Lecture Theatre, University of Oxford.	Tom Nichols	12 December, 2017
Introduction to the morning: why and how of reproducible science	Dorothy Bishop, Dept of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, gives a talk for the Oxford Autumn School in Cognitive Neuroscience, held in 28th-29th September 2017, Sherrington Lecture Theatre, University of Oxford.	Dorothy Bishop	12 December, 2017
Dilemmas of an early career researcher	Ana Todorovic (University of Oxford) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Ana Todorovic	8 December, 2017
The QUEST Center in Berlin: A structured approach to improve the value of academic biomedicine	Ulrich Dirnagl ((Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Ulrich Dirnagl	8 December, 2017
Bayesian statistics without tears	EJ Wagenmakers (University of Amsterdam) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	EJ Wagenmakers	8 December, 2017
Registered reports as a solution to bias in research and publishing	Chris Chambers (Cardiff University) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Chris Chambers	8 December, 2017
Importance of statistical power for cumulative science	Richard Morey (Cardiff University) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Richard Morey	8 December, 2017
Making student projects meaningful through collaboration	Kate Button (University of Bath) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Kate Button	8 December, 2017
The pharmaceutical industry believes that a lot of academic literature is not reproducible. How should we respond?	Chas Bountra (University of Oxford) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Chas Bountra	8 December, 2017
An agenda for reproducible science	Marcus Munafo (University of Bristol) gives a talk for the Oxford Reproducibility School.	Marcus Munafo	8 December, 2017
Where have all the cicada’s gone?	In this episode for the Big Questions podcast we went to the New Forest and met up with Professor Alex Rogers, from the department of Computer Sciences from the University of Oxford, to ask: Where have all the cicada’s gone?	Alex Rogers	27 November, 2017
How do you run a marathon with two kids?	Last month Jessica attempted to break a world record for pushing a double buggy, with two children inside, while running a marathon!	Jessica Bruce	8 November, 2017
Marsquakes	A song about the quest to hear Marsquakes based on research by Dr Neil Bowles at the University of Oxford	Neil Bowles	16 October, 2017
Understanding Misunderstanding	A song about the parallels of fake news today and satire in the 18th Century based on research by Prof Abigail Williams at the University of Oxford	Abigail Williams	16 October, 2017
The Great Vape Debate	A song about vaping based on the latest evidence from research, from Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce at the University of Oxford	Jamie Hartmann-Boyce	16 October, 2017
Stomach is the Monarch	A song about how Victorians saw the conversation between the gut and mood, based on research by Dr Emilie Taylor-Brown at the University of Oxford	Emilie Taylor-Brown	16 October, 2017
Use the Digital to Make the World you Want to See	A song about mapping the internet and how it links to our physical world, based on research by Prof Mark Graham at the University of Oxford.	Mark Graham	16 October, 2017
How fast is Greenland moving?	Greenland has some many fascinating facts like it’s the world's largest island, it belongs to Denmark, it actually isn’t that green but mostly covered in ice. But did you know that Greenland is actually on the move?	Ian Hewitt	31 August, 2017
Should I take a selfie with a wild animal?	Travel companies around the world profit from some of the cruellest types of wildlife tourist attractions on earth.	Tom Moorhouse	2 June, 2017
What does Hollywood get right and wrong when science is in the storyline?	What does hollywood get right?	Neil Ashton, Colin Wilson, Eleanor Stride, Jason Nurse, Ingmar Posner	2 June, 2017
How open should open data be?	Open data impacts everybody. Through it we can access healthcare services, understand our governments better and, of course, travel to places more easily. But, how open should open data be?	Sir Nigel Shadbolt	2 June, 2017
What happened to the first soviet scientist to solve a fundamental problem in mathematics?	New episode for the Oxford Sparks Big questions series.	Christopher Hollings	8 May, 2017
How do you teach a machine to a drive a car?	Autonomous cars have been a staple of science fiction for years featuring in films like Minority Report and I Robot. But how far away are we really from enjoying a hassle-free driving journey? To find out the answer we visited Dr Ingmar Posner, Associate	Ingmar Posner	28 March, 2017
Will supersonic transport ever make a comeback?	The Concord is seen as an iconic aircraft and a technological breakthrough – so why can we only see them in museums? In our episode of The Big Questions podcast series we visited Dr Neil Ashton from the E-Research Centre at the University of Oxford to ask	Neil Ashton	13 March, 2017
How do you turn an orange into a grapefruit?	Flavouring. It’s a global industry and here in Oxford a group of scientists are getting a ‘taste’ of the action by making natural flavours by manipulating enzymes.	Alize Pennec	27 February, 2017
Earthquakes, can we make smarter buildings?	Major earthquakes across the world have damaged or destroyed numerous buildings, bridges, and other structures. But is there a way of monitoring the building structures to see if it is at risk of falling after an earthquake has struck?	Orfeas Kypris	9 February, 2017
What can a power ballad can teach us about the sex life of a fruit flies?	Music provides the soundtrack to our lives. The highs, the lows and the heartache. So why wouldn’t it be the same for a fruit fly? On this episode of the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast, we mix music with sex education of fruit flies!	Stuart Wigby, Sally Le Page, Eleanor Bath	27 January, 2017
How do we stop our social media obsession from making us a target for crime?	How vulnerable are we to crime by the statuses we post on our social accounts?	Jason Nurse	17 January, 2017
How do you make scientific equipment space proof?	Since the 1960’s man has been sending missions to Mars. Some successes, some failures. This hasn’t stopped scientists trying to explore this incredible red planet.	Colin Wilson	21 December, 2016
What would life be like if Parasitoid Wasps didn’t exist?	Our Festive episode of our Oxford Sparks podcast follows the traditional Christmas story of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.	Christopher Jeffs	14 December, 2016
Can bubbles help cure cancer?	On this episode, can bubbles cure cancer?	Eleanor Stride	2 December, 2016
Are exhausts causing dementia?	Many people are exposed to exhaust emissions every day in different ways. But what are the harmful effects of these fumes when we breathe them in? Could we see difficulties in other areas of our bodies? What is it doing to our brains?	Imad Ahmed	21 November, 2016
How do you make a reliable weather forecast?	Latest episode from Oxford Sparks, this episode on how to predict the weather.	Hannah Christensen	4 November, 2016
Is my bacon sandwich really going to kill me?	Statistician Dr Jennifer Rogers discusses the numbers linked to processed meat and bowel cancer.	Jennifer Rogers	25 October, 2016
The Canary in the Coal Mine: could seabirds be the warning signs for our oceans?	Dr Annette Fayet tells us about the Manx Shearwater; a little seabird that makes a huge journey.	Annette Fayet	28 September, 2016
'Light' Part 3 - How does sunlight damage DNA?	Once we've received our genetic make-up from our parents our genomes are stable, right? What causes mutations in our DNA as we live and grow, and how do our cells repair damage?	Catherine Green	3 August, 2016
'Light' Part 2 - Harnessing a single photon	What's the use of just one photon, the smallest bit of light? And what does it take to study it?	Joelle Boutari	27 July, 2016
'Light' Part 1 - Connecting to the internet through your lights	Can we receive information through our lighting?	Dominic O'Brien	25 July, 2016
'Senses' Part 3 - Seeing across the galaxy	How can you spot what's happening in space billions of light years away from right here on Earth?	Garret Cotter	8 July, 2016
'Senses' Part 2 - Getting a feel for surgery	How do you train surgeons to do complex surgeries? How do you measure a trainee's progress? How can you accurately simulate the look and feel of surgery?	Patrick Garfjeld Roberts	29 June, 2016
'Senses' Part 1 - When the senses collide	Can sounds change how things taste? How can we alter our experiences by taking advantage of how our senses mingle?	Charles Spence	27 June, 2016
'Land, Sea and Air' Part 3 - What happens when we fly	Oxygen levels are slightly lower when you fly on commercial airlines, so what effects does this have on people? Can it cause any problems?	Thomas Smith	17 June, 2016
'Land, Sea and Air' Part 2 - The state of the oceans	What's in the deep ocean? And how can we study these remote and extreme ecosystems? And how is climate change affecting ocean ecosystems?	Alex Rogers	10 June, 2016
'Land, Sea and Air' Part 1 - How mountains are made	How do we discover the origins of mountains?	Mike Searle	27 May, 2016
'Learning' part 3 - Learning from Nature	How can Chemistry take inspiration from nature to create cleaner and more efficient ways of producing and using Hydrogen as a source of clean energy?	Kylie Vincent	24 May, 2016
'Learning' part 2 - Stimulating learning	Can a little electrical stimulation help people learn quicker? And how would technology that does this be used? And why would you want to use this over medicines?	Roi Cohen Kadosh	13 May, 2016
'Learning' part 1 - Sleep for success	Sleep is really important. But do we realise how important it is, particularly for helping us think straight? Are teenagers lazy? Are their body clocks different?	Christopher-James Harvey	5 May, 2016
Power People: what are we doing with all that energy?	Did you know that you are in charge of a power station? It's true. Every time you flick a light switch, a power station somewhere in the UK will respond and generate that little bit of extra power you need for your light.	Phil Grunewald	5 May, 2016
'Relationships' part 3 - Networks: the science of connections	What is a network and how can you use mathematics to unravel the relationships between a variety of different things? How can this understanding then be applied to a range of different settings?	Mason Porter	29 April, 2016
'Relationships' part 2 - New fathers	How do new fathers form relationships with their children? What is the unique role of a father? What do they contribute to the development of their children? What is male post-natal depression?	Anna Machin	22 April, 2016
Run for Your Light	You may have heard the word “quantum” bandied around a lot. But what does it mean? In this animation we take a look at how the photon – the quantum particle of light – is being harnessed to help create new technologies like quantum computers.	Robert Taylor, Steven Kolthammer, Josh Nunn	12 April, 2016
What Makes You Tick?	How do you know when it's time to wake up or go to sleep? More powerful than any alarm are your circadian rhythms.	Christopher James-Harvey, Stuart Peirson, Russell Foster	12 April, 2016
Shedding Light on the Situation	Light is more than just light bulbs and sunshine! Researchers at the University of Oxford use different types of light to learn more about all sorts of interesting things.	Jena Meinecke, Chris Rennick, Brianna Heazlewood, Clarence Yapp, Matthew Friedman	12 April, 2016
'Relationships' part 1 - People and plants: balancing conservation and commerce	How can working with people to understand how they use their local plants be used to protect them when industry moves in? How do we find and conserve areas of high 'bioquality'?	William Hawthorne	12 April, 2016
A Great Unrecorded History. LGBT Heritage and World Cultures	Professor Parkinson discusses how to mobilise historical research into sexuality for maximum impact and the institutional, cultural and political issues that can be at stake, and suggests some of the possible uses of LGBTQ history.	Richard Parkinson	25 February, 2016
'Killers' part 3 - Mental illness and violence	Forensic psychiatry can help us understand the causes and best treatments for mentally disordered offenders inside and outside of the prison system	Seena Fazel	23 February, 2016
'Killers' part 2 - Keeping water flowing with smartphones	Water pumps are a lifeline for many communities in developing countries. But how can you monitor them all to know whether they're in working order? And can you collect data based on pump usage to provide useful insights into community health?	David Clifton	29 January, 2016
'Killers' part 1 - Mosquito genomes and malaria control	Can studying Mosquito population genomes help to stop the spread of Malaria?	Alistair Miles	15 December, 2015
Carrots, spiders and red salt – a fascination with light capture in biology	Using physics, chemistry and biology, the fascination with light capture in nature will be explained in a multi-coloured and animated well – prepare for six-eyed spiders, purple carrots and red salt.	Anthony Watts	15 December, 2015
The Chemistry Show 2015	Malcolm Stewart and Dr Fabrice Birembaut are back again with their highly entertaining flash bang lecture! Let Santa and his elf take you on a discovery journey from cold to hot chemistry!	Malcolm Stewart, Fabrice Birembaut	14 December, 2015
Social Media: The use of your online information for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!	Social media, everyone uses it, whether it is to connect with long lost friends on Facebook, or to share selfies on Instagram or Twitter! In this talk, I consider the positives & negatives, security & privacy and how it can be used supportively.	Jason Nurse	14 December, 2015
Radiotherapy: What is it? How does it work? And how will it change?	Radiotherapy has been going on since 1896, only months after the discovery of X-rays. We will explore what it is, how it works, and examine the change from X-ray beams to particle guns.	Martin Christlieb	11 December, 2015
Epigenetics: What Makes You "You"?	Have you ever wondered why identical twins aren’t, well, actually identical? Do you want to blame your parents for something about you that is different from everyone else in the family? Then you need to find out about Epigenetics.	Jane Mellor	11 December, 2015
'Clues' part 3 - Picking apart the genetics of speech and language disorders	How do you start to pick apart speech at the genetic level? Dr Dianne Newbury explains what Specific Language Impairment is and how her research is unravelling a pretty complicated picture.	Dianne Newbury	1 December, 2015
'Clues' part 2 - Watching penguins	How do you understand how large populations of penguins on Antarctica change? And how can you use this information to protect penguins?	Tom Hart	16 November, 2015
'Clues' part 1 - Predicting volcanic eruptions	From people on the the ground to satellites in the air - how do we monitor and understand volcanos in an attempt to understand when they might erupt?	David Pyle	22 October, 2015
'Artificial Intelligence' part 3 - Understanding how we learn language	Professor Kim Plunkett explains how neuroscientists use artificial intelligence as a tool to model processes in the brain – in particular to understand how infants acquire language.	Kim Plunkett	12 June, 2015
Love's Labour's Lost	Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Love's Labour's Lost.	Emma Smith	27 May, 2015
'Artificial Intelligence' part 2 - How to create machines that learn	Professor Nando de Freitas explains that understanding how our brains work has helped us create machines that learn, and how these learning machines can be put to completing different tasks.	Nando de Freitas	19 May, 2015
Give us a hand	Oxford Sparks explore what chirality is.	Jo Dunkley, Alain Goriely, Robert Llewellyn	18 May, 2015
'Artificial Intelligence' part 1 - Using artificial intelligence to spot patterns	Professor Stephen Roberts explains how machines, whose job it is simply to learn, can help researchers spot scientific needles in data haystacks, which will help us solve some grand challenges.	Stephen Roberts	15 April, 2015
'Explosions' part 3 - Health and Big Data	Professor Gil McVean explains what Big Data is and how it can be used to better understand and treat complex conditions, such as heart disease and dementia.	Gil McVean	30 March, 2015
'Explosions' part 2 - The origin of animal diversity	Dr Allison Daley describes what fossils can tell us about the Cambrian Explosion; a period of time 540 million years ago, where there was a vast increase in the different types of animals that existed.	Allison Daley	16 March, 2015

Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS)

Related

Series in this collection

Valentine's Day at Oxford

Enterprising Women

The Oxford Reproducibility School

Musical Abstracts

Big Questions - with Oxford Sparks

Study Skills

Oxford Sparks: bringing science to life

Christmas Science Lectures

Inside Oxford Science

Darwin 200

All episodes