Plant pathogens destroy around one-quarter of food production, significantly threatening our ability of achieving food security for an ever-growing global population. Septoria tritici Blotch (STB) is caused by the fungus Zymoseptoria tritici and is the most damaging disease of wheat Read More …
There is an urgent need to address the use of synthetic pesticides, and sustainably intensify agricultural practices to meet global food security demands. Naturally beneficial microorganisms have been successfully exploited to protect crops from attack from a diverse range of Read More …
CRISPR is an adaptive immune system used by bacteria to prevent infection by viruses. With CRISPR, bacteria use small pieces of virus DNA to target and destroy invaders, but the viruses can overcome it by mutation. This mutation allows them Read More …
Bacteria are constantly being infected by viruses, or phage. To combat this, many species have evolved a defense mechanism known as CRISPR. This allows a bacterial cell to remember which phages have infected it, so that the next time it Read More …
Abstract Hedgerows provide valuable habitats and corridors for many species in farmland, yet a lack of appropriate management may threaten their benefits to biodiversity. Although agri-environment scheme (AES) prescriptions on hedgerow management have the potential to reverse the detrimental effect of Read More …
The ‘Plant Power Station’ was a public engagement and scientific outreach project presented at the 2018 Green Man Festival. This followed on from a similarly successful project held the previous year, that attracted around 3000 participants over the four days. Read More …
Nicole Pacchiarini has just received a Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society of Neuroscience. These awards promote the advancement of career training for neuroscientists, and recognise young scientists who demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in their research. The award includes Read More …
Gareth Thomas has recently finished his UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Policy internship, which took place at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). The role of SPICe is to provide impartial information to the Scottish Parliament on a range of Read More …
35 BBSRC PhD students from across the UK enjoyed a four-day intensive Skills School earlier this month. The BBSRC-funded Grand Challenges for Technologies and Methods for Drug Discovery Skills School took place at the Cosener’s House in Abingdon and ended with students pitching to a panel ‘Dragon’s Den’ style. This event was organised by the SWBio DTP in collaboration with Read More …
On the 15th and 16th May, Emily Nixon visited IBM Research in Almaden, California as an invited speaker at the Distinguished Speaker Forum, a bi-weekly series which is live-streamed globally across IBM. The aim of the forum is to bring Read More …
Last week I was lucky enough to be welcomed back to Sense about Science (SaS) to help run Evidence Week in Parliament. The first of its kind, Evidence Week brought together MPs, peers, parliamentary services and people from all walks Read More …
Puffy skin disease (PSD) is an emerging skin condition which affects rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). The transmission pattern of PSD suggests an infectious aetiology, however, the actual causative infectious agent(s) remain(s) unknown. In the present study, the rainbow trout epidermal immune Read More …
