Topic description and stories

Aeroplane schematics.

The first non-stop transatlantic flight - 100 years on

14 Jun 2019

Exhibiton and Vickers archive at Cambridge University Library celebrates aviation milestone.

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Small Owl from Ornithologia libri tres by Francis Willughby

The owl and the wind turbine: how stealth feathers could help reduce noise pollution

09 Sep 2015

The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, O is for Owl...

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Flying snowy owl

Silent flights: How owls could help make wind turbines and planes quieter

22 Jun 2015

A newly-designed material, which mimics the wing structure of owls, could help make wind turbines, computer fans and even planes much quieter. Early...

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PTO organ with hair cells labelled in green

Natural barometer in birds evolved from ancient fish sense organ

04 Sep 2012

New research indicates that a bird’s ability to detect changes in air pressure is the evolutionary remnant of an ancient sense organ found in sharks...

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