This preprint paper on a new method for spray-on gene editing has rocketed to the 98th percentile of popular work uploaded onto biorxiv within just a few days, and has been retweeted multiple times by many scientists! The Whitney/Galan/Edwards groups Read More …
PhD training across the biosciences has received a massive boost thanks to funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, part of UK Research and Innovation) to the South West Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership (SWBio DTP). The funding, Read More …
Greenbeard genes were proposed as a cartoonish thought experiment to explain why altruism can be a selfish strategy from the perspective of genes. The likelihood of finding a real greenbeard gene in nature was thought to be remote because they Read More …
This year the ‘Aggies’ took a break from the Green Man Festival and got together for two activities, a Coding Camp in rural Devon, and the SEB Conference in Seville. The Coding Camp was held at a beautiful farmhouse near Read More …
The SWBio DTP Careers Conference took place at the University of Bath this June. On day one we welcomed current first year students, most of whom are starting to think about their Professional Internships for PhD Students (PIPS) and/or CASE Read More …
Processing rewards (e.g. food/water/social interactions) is a complex mechanism performed by most organisms for survival. Three main mechanisms involved in this include, generating the motivation to attain a reward, cognitive processes that enable learning about rewarding stimuli in the environment, and hedonic Read More …
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 …
