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Fixing the Fens

15 April 2023

Fixing the Fens Reconciling human activities with nature is never going to be easy, but a new group is using everything it’s got to try and protect a vital part of the UK. On the University’s doorstep lies a vast expanse of fertile land. The peaty soil is so carbon-rich, the first time researcher Tom Marquand saw it he was...

Mapping Hong Kong’s vegetation fire history

13 April 2023

Mapping Hong Kong’s vegetation fire history New ‘LTS fire pipeline’ reveals unprecedented detail A study by PhD student Aland Chan and colleagues at the Conservation Research Institute has developed a new way of mapping and representing fire occurrence in natural vegetation in Hong Kong, China, forging the basis for a new...

New grant to develop COVID vaccine-like technology to revolutionise the study of plant-parasites

6 April 2023

The Leverhulme Trust have awarded Crop Science Centre scientists a grant for developing technology capable of overcoming the resistance of crop-damaging nematode worms to genetic alteration. This technology will be similar to the COVID-19 vaccine, where a special molecule is wrapped in a fatty layer to protect it and make...

MycoRed featured on BBC TV

3 April 2023

Sebastian Schornack and the MycoRed research undertaken in collaboration between his and Sam Brockington's team in Plant Sciences was featured on prime-time BBC One TV on the programme Countryfile. Watch the episode * (Seb appears at 14:40-17:40) *You need a TV licence to watch the episode Read more about MycoRed

Cambridge Festival 2023

31 March 2023

Plants and their BFFs Members of the public joined scientists from the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) to explore a fascinating relationship between plants and their best fungi friends (BFFs) during the Cambridge Festival. Almost all crop plants form associations with a particular type of fungi – called...

The deceptive daisy which has remixed its genes to make fake female flies

23 March 2023

The deceptive daisy which has remixed its genes to make fake female flies Researchers, led by CUBG Director, Professor Beverley Glover, have discovered how a South African daisy makes fake female flies on its petals to trick male flies into pollinating it. A male fly approaches a flower, lands on top of what he thinks is a...

Moonflower flowering 2023 – timelapse

21 March 2023

Moonflower flowering 2023 – timelapse We were thrilled when our Moonflower cactus plant Strophocactus wittii looked set to flower again in March 2023. And, as with its predecessor in 2021, this flower also opened during the day! Thousands watched the flowering in real time on the Garden’s livestream, but we also took...

A roadmap towards self-fertilising cereal crops

20 March 2023

If crop science continues to advance at the pace it has over the last two decades, we hope secure, sustainable and affordable food could be only a further decade away. This is according to a research review by scientists at the Crop Science Centre, which has summarised the last ten years of dramatic advances on the topic...

Tip of the Apex: 100 important questions for future Plant Scientists

16 March 2023

Tip of the Apex: 100 important questions for future Plant Scientists Updated list shows striking prominence of climate change and its effects. The Department’s Dr Cerian Webb has contributed to a study to identify 100 important questions facing plant science research, published today in New Phyologist ( here and here ) The...

Members of the depatment do the international women's day embrace

Embracing Equity - celebrating International Womens Day 2023

8 March 2023

Embracing Equity - celebrating International Womens Day 2023 Head of Department Professor Julian Hibberd shares his thoughts on Embracing Equality #Embraceequity For International Women’s Day 2023 , I want to take the opportunity to celebrate and amplify the achievements of some of the remarkable women associated with the...

Fixing the Fens

Mapping Hong Kong’s vegetation fire history

New grant to develop COVID vaccine-like technology to revolutionise the study of plant-parasites

MycoRed featured on BBC TV

Cambridge Festival 2023

The deceptive daisy which has remixed its genes to make fake female flies

Moonflower flowering 2023 – timelapse

A roadmap towards self-fertilising cereal crops

Tip of the Apex: 100 important questions for future Plant Scientists

Embracing Equity - celebrating International Womens Day 2023

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