Tom Shanks, Professor of Physics at the University of Durham, UK, thinks the experiment is a modern version of Sir Arthur Eddington's historic eclipse expedition.

BBC: Test for Einstein's gravity speed theory

The consortium of scientists from the Durham and Newcastle universities, and the UK government's Central Science Laboratory plan to identify these defence genes, enabling them to be used in wheat breeding programmes.

BBC: Broccoli (Image: BBC)

As if that wasn't enough, when I got back to the UK in January I moved up to Durham from Yorkshire, having signed for Gateshead in National League One.

BBC: Ready to rumble with Thunder

Two drivers working for a UK operator, TGM - which is based in County Durham - were also onboard.

BBC: UK

Prof Richard Davies, director of the Durham Energy Institute, says that this would also be the likely scenario in the UK if fracking becomes more widespread.

BBC: Fracking: Untangling fact from fiction

Oxford and Cambridge take the top two places, with four other UK universities also in the global top ten: the London School of Economics (LSE), Durham, University College London (UCL) and Manchester.

BBC: Oxbridge rated best in world for seven key subjects