Featured Post from Aston University

Aston University makes experts available through COP26

Nov 1, 2021

2 min


  • The University’s website is highlighting its experts, projects and research, latest news and podcasts around sustainability
  • On 4 November the University’s Supergen Hub will co-host a ‘fishbowl’ conversation to develop and interrogate visions for a net zero energy future
  • Aston Originals has produced three shows around finance, energy and transport ahead of the summit.


Aston University has launched its COP26 campaign to highlight the work being done by its academics and researchers to support the United Nation’s biggest climate change targets.


The University’s website will highlight its experts, projects and research, latest news and podcasts around sustainability and climate change.


The COP26 summit will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a treaty that came into force in 1994. More than 190 world leaders will meet in Glasgow, between 31 October and 12 November, to discuss ways of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and keeping the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century.


High profile attendees are expected to include Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis and Sir David Attenborough. Representatives from Aston University will also be taking part at the global summit.


On 4 November during ‘Energy Day’, the six UK Research and Innovation Supergen Hubs, one of which involves academics from Aston University, are hosting a ‘fishbowl’ conversation with the public, to develop and interrogate visions for a net zero energy future.


It will be participant-driven, enabling multiple perspectives to be aired and offering an opportunity for a variety of participants to engage, and will be live-streamed for those who cannot attend in-person (tickets available for the live-stream here).


Also during Energy Day at COP26, the Aston University Supergen Bioenergy Hub will be hosting a ‘Build your own biorefinery’ game on the COP26 Universities Network exhibition stand within the Green Zone. Members of the public will be invited to create their own biorefinery (where multiple products are created from one feedstock to extract maximum value), demonstrating the many routes to producing bioenergy and bioproducts and the co-benefits that can be achieved through different choices.


The campaign will also look at the huge carbon footprint of asthma inhalers and a new project which aims to redesign the canisters, so they are more environmentally friendly.


The University’s new digital content brand, Aston Originals, has produced three videos showcasing its experts under the topics of finance, energy and transport.


Professor Simon Green, pro-vice chancellor research at Aston University, said:


"COP26 highlights how big a challenge the climate crisis is for everyone around the world.


“I am proud of the work being done at Aston University to combat the problems facing the planet – from the researchers in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences carrying out world-leading research into new and innovative ways of converting biomass into sources of sustainable energy to experts in the College of Business and Social Sciences who are helping small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) cut their carbon footprint.”

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Babies respond positively to smell of foods experienced in the womb according to study co-led at Aston University

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Mothers consumed either carrot or kale capsules every day for three consecutive weeks until birth. When the babies were about three weeks old, the research team tested newborns’ reactions to kale, carrot, and a control odour. Separate wet cotton swabs dipped in either carrot or kale powders, or water as the control, were held under each infant’s nose and their reaction to the different smells was captured on video. The babies did not taste the swabs. Scientists then analysed the footage to see how the newborns reacted and compared these reactions with those seen before the babies were born to understand the effects of repeated flavour exposure in the last trimester of pregnancy. The research team found that, from the foetal to newborn period, there was an increased frequency in “laughter-face” responses and a decreased frequency in “cry-face” responses to the smell the babies had experienced before birth. Humans experience flavour through a combination of taste and smell. In foetuses, this happens through inhaling and swallowing the amniotic fluid in the womb. Research co-lead author Dr Beyza Ustun-Elayan carried out the research while doing her PhD at Durham University. Dr Ustun-Elayan, who is now based at the University of Cambridge, said: “Our research showed that foetuses can not only sense and distinguish different flavours in the womb but also start learning and establish memory for certain flavours if exposed to them repeatedly. This shows that the process of developing food preferences begins much earlier than we thought, right from the womb. By introducing these flavours early on, we might be able to shape healthier eating habits in children from the start.” The researchers stress that their findings are a baseline study only. They say that longer follow-up studies are needed to understand long-term impacts on child eating behaviour. 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