The bleak midwinter can be a punishing time, but there are plenty of small joys to be found in the natural activity of the season. From the dew on the leaves to birds on the riverbanks, Professor Tom Oliver guides you through 7 winter wonders to boost your mood! ❄️ 🔗 rdg.ac/49PNnBL

🌍 The Global Climate Highlights 2025 report is out now 🌍 Data from the #CopernicusClimate service show that 2025 was the third-warmest year on record. Explore key findings, charts and data from the report. Start here: climate.copernicus.eu/global-clima... @ecmwf.int

2025 adds another dark red stripe to the climate stripes New data confirms Earth’s third-warmest year on record, and 11th warmest year in a row. Created by Prof Ed Hawkins, the 2025 stripes reflect a century of climate science and provide a clear call for climate action. 👉 https://rdg.ac/4sGfjPX

Calling all UoR Researchers, local performers and community organisations. We’re putting together the programme for our special Centenary edition of our Community Festival which takes place on Saturday 16 May, and we’d love to hear from you! Apply to take part at: rdg.ac/CommunityFestival #UoR100

📣PhD closing 26 Jan🌳 If you're interested in sustainable farming and think trees are the 🐝s knees, then join us @uniofreading.bsky.social for a PhD co-designing agroforestry systems with farmers🚜 Our website: www.trees-in-fields-network.co.uk The PhD: research.reading.ac.uk/foodbiosyste...

“Many of 2025’s heat-related records are, of course, likely to be broken again soon.” We spoke to @edhawkins.org about 2025 being the UK’s warmest year on record, and about the causal chain for changes in climate. ncas.ac.uk/in-conversat...

Happy New Year! 💫 Today we have been researching this remarkable drawing of St Catherine, attributed to Flaminio (1624-84) or Francesco Allegrini (1587-1663). Catherine is the patron saint of scholars. Artists typically depict her with a spiked wheel, but here she is debating 50 philosophers!

Are you a PhD student interested in using museum collections in your research? Our next free doctoral training webinar takes place next Wednesday. Join us for guidance and examples of uncovering marginalised and minoritised stories in collections. collections.reading.ac.uk/whats-on/doc...

Turbulence is growing faster than our ability to predict it, as I explain to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation here... www.cbc.ca/radio/whaton...

We’re at our @nhm.org @uniofreading.bsky.social partnership day today and it’s bustling already! Over 150 people have come together to share progress on projects, explore future goals, and make valuable research connections 🔬

Published today: Importance of beginning industrial-era climate simulations in the eighteenth century Defining pre-industrial to be 1750, rather than 1850, produces different (simulated) historical climate changes after 1850. Pre-1850 volcanoes & land use matter. iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Congratulations to Professor Anna Horwood, who was appointed MBE in the New Year's Honours List for her research at @uniofreading.bsky.social & @royalberkshospital.bsky.social into developing novel treatments for eye conditions such as childhood squinting. Read our news story: rdg.ac/4pXkOI5

There's just over two weeks until the British Science Festival #BSF26 Open Call closes on 22 January! Got an idea for a talk, performance, installation or other activity for Southampton this September? Find out more and access the proposal form here: www.britishscienceassociation.org/open-call

As armoured bug-like creatures from the ocean depths, shrimp may seem strange to us. But perhaps we need to be more empathetic towards these surprisingly intelligent crustaceans, reflects #philosophy lecturer and author Dr. Walter Veit in our latest blog post 🦐 🔗 rdg.ac/49kDPxc

Welcome to the University of Reading's Centenary year. Over the next 12 months we'll be celebrating 100 years of UoR by connecting our community, our actions and our impact through a series of events, shared stories and much, much more. Visit https://rdg.ac/3MXzd8S to find out more.

Are you a local organisation, performer or University of Reading researcher? Then apply now to take part in our Centenary Community Festival on Saturday 16 May. Submit your application by Friday 30 January at: rdg.ac/CommunityFestival

And lastly, our most read The Conversation UK article of 2025! Published just 3 weeks ago, Prof. Adrian Bell's account of his interactive archive of thousands of medieval English soldiers has racked up over 100k reads ⚔️ Step through this fascinating gateway to the past rdg.ac/4441LDf

It was a great year for our The Conversation UK authors, and we’re buzzing to see what interesting stories come out of research in 2026! Want to read more? Head to rdg.ac/3Ky3ryt to browse all our articles! Follow us here for the latest in University of Reading research🔬

Our 2nd most read The Conversation UK article this year came from Dr Sam Agbamu who took a classicist’s eye to Elon Musk’s supposed ‘Roman’ salute to sift the fact from the fiction surrounding the gesture and its fascist connotations. 🔗 rdg.ac/4qc0S49

New research strengthens the case for Saturn’s moon Enceladus as a potentially habitable world, writes PhD candidate Flynn Ames for @theconversation.com: 🔗 rdg.ac/4b13GMY #Enceladus #Cassini #Astrobiology #SpaceResearch

In recent years, China has managed to clean up its air pollution. However, Prof. Laura Wilcox of Reading Meteorology explained in July how these local efforts have actually accelerated climate change on a global level. The Conversation UK 🔗 rdg.ac/3L39Q4L

Fast fashion vs festive intentions - our researchers explore the psychology behind seasonal shopping, Shein's rise and the ethical paradox at the heart of holiday retail. 👉 Read the full article: research.reading.ac.uk/research-blo... #Sustainability #ConsumerBehavior #FastFashion

Multilingualism has many cultural and social benefits, but research by Xinyi Liu and Dr Christos Pliatsikas of UoR School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences revealed for The Conversation UK that speaking more than one tongue may help people stay sharper for longer. 🧠 🔗 rdg.ac/3Kz2eGS

Ancient dinosaur bites, the neural benefits of walnuts and the dazzling aurorae of Neptune seen for the first time - just a few of our most discussed and talked about research outputs from 2025 as ranked by Altmetric Read about our top 10 most popular pieces! https://rdg.ac/48KedLb

Ever wonder what it’s like to be inside the mischievous mind of a crafty corvid like a raven or a crow? Philosophers Drs Dr Heather Browning (Veit) and Dr. Walter Veit have pondered this question of consciousness too. Get inside their mind in this piece for The Conversation UK 🔗 rdg.ac/3SRoEnk

When you pile up your plate at the buffet, you might also be ladling on heaps of harmful bacteria due to the way these meals are set up. For The Conversation UK Dr Kimon-Andreas Karatzas explains the risks and how to stay safe! 🍽️ #healthsky 🔗 rdg.ac/4pDXpeJ

You can read all about our top 12 most read @uk.theConversation articles of the year on our blog right now at rdg.ac/4oYkGH0 But we're not revealing which one was the most popular just yet! You'll have to keep following us right here for the countdown to our biggest hit of 2025.

Do check out Professor Paddy Bullard on Absolute Units to hear some fascinating insights about Austen and her connections to the area!

Early in 2025, the PM made said that the UK could provide troops to the war in Ukraine. In response, Dr Kenton White wrote for The Conversation UK about why this could dangerously further Russian narratives of NATO aggression. 🔗 rdg.ac/41fXuKu

Roman urban life may have come at a cost to health. New research reveals that people living in Roman towns experienced poorer health, while rural communities were largely unaffected. Rebecca Pitt’s study highlights how early life stress shaped health across generations. 👀: https://rdg.ac/4j12sUa

The Romans left footprints all across Britain, including some surprisingly large shoes outside Vindolanda. But back in July, historian Dr Tim Penn wrote for The Conversation UK about why this large footwear doesn’t mean giant owners! 🔗 rdg.ac/4lIeulE

Professor Suzanne Graham and Dr Anthony Zhang from the Institute of Education have won BERA's Public Engagement & Impact Award for for using digital tools to improve foreign language learning and teaching in UK primary schools. 🔗 https://rdg.ac/3KSMkHt

With the reality of a wealth tax proving difficult, Dr Miriam Marra explored some viable alternatives in the @uk.theconversation.com earlier this year. One thing is clear - any solution must be focused on the ultra-rich “giving back”, reinvesting in the economy for the good of society. #sciencesky

We’re proud to retain our place in the Top 5 of the People & Planet League This caps a standout year for Reading: 🏆 University of the Year for Scholarships & Bursaries 🌍 Top 30 globally in QS Sustainability Rankings 🔝 Now ranked 4th in the UK by People & Planet Full story: https://rdg.ac/48Nivjs

Congratulations to Dr Anna Molnár who won a prize from Central European History Congress! Dr Molnár's paper on the finances of late medieval convents delved through 1000s of records to uncover a story of women's financial agency at a time when this was very rare. #historysky 🔗 rdg.ac/4rPTw7V

Absolute Units returns this Thursday! This time we're chatting to the wonderful Professor Paddy Bullard (University of Reading) and Isabel Hughes (Associate Director, The MERL) about Jane Austen, ahead of the 250th anniversary of Austen's birth next Tuesday. merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/abso...

Vomiting isn’t the most pleasant thing about human existence; but for some, the fear of being sick can be all consuming. Psychology PhD candidate Molly Sheila Harbor shed light on what it’s like to live with emetophobia for @uk.theconversation.com back in November. #sciencesky 🔗 rdg.ac/4r7b27n

Climate Ambassador Scheme extended to 2027 with £1.9m in new DfE funding. Created at Reading, the programme has already linked 1,000+ volunteers with 10,000+ education settings to support climate action in schools, nurseries and colleges. Full story 👉 <https://rdg.ac/4pVgCbC #ClimateEducation

Exciting jobs & PhD studentship! 1) postdoc in historical windstorms: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... 2) postdoc in extreme event storylines: jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... 3) PhD in redeveloping the Central England Temperature series (led by Tim Osborn): www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

The Warming Stripes have been an iconic way to communicate temperature data. On the latest episode of the podcast, we got to speak to their creator, @edhawkins.org. As a fellow data viz nerd, this was a fun one. The latest episode of our podcast: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

🎉 The University of Reading's annual Community Festival returns on 16-17 May 2026 and you're invited to get involved! This year we're celebrating 100 years of innovation, community and global impact. Find out how you can participate and complete the application form. 👇

Long, dark nights and brief,cold days; we're feeling the effects of the Earth tilting on its axis right now. @unirdg-met.bsky.social's Dr Robin Smith contributed to BBC Radio 4's #CuriousCases on the way the world tilts and how it influences our weather. Listen now! 🔗 rdg.ac/3Ky3fPC

In 2025, our academics wrote 56 articles for the @uk.theconversation.com that drew the attention of a combined 1.2 million readers from around the world. So, to celebrate, we’re recapping our most read pieces over the next 12 days! #Academicsky

“This matters for farm economics and the environment” Reading's Professor Chris Reynolds has contributed to new research published in Science Magazine that shows that more diverse grasslands = higher crop yields + lower nitrogen use. Read the full story: https://rdg.ac/4a2kdjx

“Understanding bacterial warfare could open new doors for AMR treatment” New research by Connor Sharp, University of Reading & Kevin R. Foster, University of Oxford in Nature Communications reveals how superbugs use protein “weapons” to kill rivals. Read the full story: https://rdg.ac/4a3h6ry

£18m for playgrounds: A win for children’s right to play 🛝 Dr Naomi Lott @naomilott.bsky.social highlights this first major investment in play since 2008 and why play is essential to children’s development and wellbeing. @unirdg-law.bsky.social

Applications are OPEN for a #PhD project with @nhm-london.bsky.social's brilliant Adriana De Palma & Sara Contu from and Ferran Pujol of @uor-research.bsky.social: Autonomous Multi-Agent Systems for Warehousing Worldwide Biodiversity Data. www.findaphd.com/phds/project.... #deadline 19th January!

Want to get inside the head of an English soldier fighting in the Hundred Years War (1337-1453)? A new database of 290,000 soldiers opens up fascinating new insights into this world-changing conflict, and you can access it now! Professor Adrian Bell writes for The Conversation UK 🔗 rdg.ac/4441LDf

Speaking multiple languages keeps your brain younger! 🧠 In this article, PhD student Xinyu Liu & Professor Christos Pliatsikas @unirdg-psych.bsky.social explain how multilingualism can contribute to better memory and greater resistance to the effects of aging.

Fascinated by windstorms and their hidden history? Be part of the NCAS team at Reading, and get a chance to dig into the archives and shape the future of storm-risk science. @uor-research.bsky.social Apply by 4 January 2026: ncas.ac.uk/job-opportun...