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Laura Bergner

Laura Bergner

Postdoctoral Research Assistant Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow
I am postdoctoral research assistant currently based at the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow, where I received my PhD in 2018. I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of wildlife and their pathogens, and the ways in which human activities alter these dynamics. My research makes use of primarily molecular tools, along with field studies, bioinformatics, and ecological/evolutionary analyses. During my PhD, I developed methods for studying microbial communities in wildlife using non-invasive sampling, and applied these to studying the demographic and environmental drivers of viral communities in common vampire bats. I am currently working on developing an epigenetic clock to age vampire bats in the field using minimally invasive samples.

Hepatitis D: how the virus made the jump from animals to humans

Jan 19, 2021 04:49 am UTC| Health

Pandemics past and present have been caused when pathogens germs that cause disease move between animals and humans, as SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) did when it made its way from bats to people. But not...

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Economy

Be wary of the ‘vibes’: positive investor sentiment doesn’t necessarily match the true value of stocks

Global stock prices dropped across the board late last year, by between 10% and 15% in a matter of weeks. Fears of a recession took hold after a series of interest rate increases, stubborn inflation and geopolitical...

Budget 2024: experts react to the UK government’s last roll of the economic dice ahead of a general election

The spring budget of 2024 was widely seen as a chance for UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to inject some economic optimism into British politics ahead of a general election. Would he or wouldnt he cut income tax? (He wouldnt.)...

From micro to macro, Andrew Leigh’s accessible history covers the economic essentials – and an epic rap battle

Andrew Leighs The Shortest History of Economics is the latest in a series of such histories, mostly focused on particular countries. It begins with a striking mini-history of household lighting, focusing on the amount...

Taxes aren’t just about money – they shape how we think about each other

Taxes raising them, cutting them, creating them are useful political tools in an election year (as Chancellor Jeremy Hunts decision to cut national insurance shows). But they are always pertinent, even if some people...

Interest rates are expected to drop but trying to out-think the market won’t guarantee getting a good deal

With most economists expecting interest rates to start falling later this year, prospective home buyers might be weighing up whether to buy now for fear of strong competition for stock, or waiting until repayments are...

Politics

3 things to watch for in Russia’s presidential election – other than Putin’s win, that is

Russians will vote in a presidential election from March 15-17, 2024, and are all but guaranteed to hand Vladimir Putin a comfortable victory, paving the way for him to remain in power until at least 2030. While the...

Ireland referendums: what went wrong for the government and why double defeat draws a line under a decade of constitutional reform

Ireland, more than any other EU country, has a long and colourful history of referendums. Another chapter in that history has played out in the form of resounding defeats for two government proposals aimed at modernising...

Artdocfest is a crucial outpost of free expression on Russia’s doorstep

On the day of the funeral of Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putins most prominent opponent, the biggest festival of documentary film in the former Soviet countries opened in Latvia with a minutes silence. Artdocfest Rigas...

A beginner’s guide to the taxes you’ll hear about this election season

National insurance, income tax, VAT, capital gains tax, inheritance tax… its easy to get confused about the many different ways we contribute to the cost of running the country. The budget announcement is the key...

Science

Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born

When we look out to the stars, it is typically not a yearning for the distant depths of outer space that drives us. When we are looking out there, we are truly looking back at ourselves. We try to understand our place in...

Archeoastronomy uses the rare times and places of previous total solar eclipses to help us measure history

Total solar eclipses have fascinated and terrified people for centuries. Today, we know that total solar eclipses like the upcoming eclipse on April 8 are caused by a cosmic coincidence when the moon comes between the...

Spacesuits need a major upgrade for the next phase of exploration

Humans have long dreamed of setting foot on the Moon and other planetary bodies such as Mars. Since the 1960s, space travellers have donned suits designed to protect them from the vacuum of space and stepped out into the...

The brightest object in the universe is a black hole that eats a star a day

Scientists have no reported evidence of the true conditions in Hell, perhaps because no one has ever returned to tell the tale. Hell has been imagined as a supremely uncomfortable place, hot and hostile to bodily forms of...

The brain is the most complicated object in the universe. This is the story of scientists’ quest to decode it – and read people’s minds

In the middle of 2023, a study conducted by the HuthLab at the University of Texas sent shockwaves through the realms of neuroscience and technology. For the first time, the thoughts and impressions of people unable to...

Technology

Nvidia and Chinese EV Makers Forge Ahead in Auto AI, as BYD Claims Global EV Crown

Nvidia deepens its collaboration with Chinese EV giant BYD, now the worlds largest EV manufacturer, leveraging Nvidias cutting-edge AI chips to push the boundaries of autonomous driving and digital automotive...

Nvidia's B200 AI Chip Unveiled: A Leap Towards Extending Market Dominance

At its annual developer conference, Nvidia unveiled the B200, a flagship AI chip 30 times faster than its predecessors, aiming to solidify its market dominance amid increasing competition. Nvidias Bold Move: Unveiling...

Nvidia to Power Humanoid Robots Using Generative AI

Nvidia Corporation said on Monday that it has created a hardware and software platform for building humanoid robots. The software firm also added generative artificial intelligence (AI) features to power the robots. The...

Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson MedTech Team Up to Develop AI-Powered Surgery

Johnson Johnson MedTech and Nvidia announced on Monday, March 18, that they are working together to develop and expand new artificial intelligence (AI) applications designed for surgery. Kimberly Powell, Nvidias vice...
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