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TheBiologist
The society of biology magazine
■
ISSN 0006-3347
■
societyofbiology.org
Vol 61 No 1 ■ FEB/MAR 2014
the
future
of fuel
Could biofuel from algae
reduce our need for oil?
URBAN ENVIRONMENT
MICROBIOTA
INTERVIEW
DEEP ROOTS
Saving trees during
urban development
GUT INSTINCT
The body's bacteria and
its impact on our health
AGE OF SUCCESS
Linda Partridge on the
biology of ageing
New from Garland Science
EPIGENETICS
Lyle Armstrong
The concept of epigenetics has been about since the 1940s,
but it is only in the last 10 years that research has shown
just how wide-ranging its effects are. It is now a widely-used
term, but there is still confusion surrounding what it actually
is and does.
Epigenetics is a new textbook that brings together the
structure and machinery of epigenetic modification, how
epigenetic modification controls cellular functions, and
the evidence for the relationship between epigenetics and
disease. It is a valuable source of information about all
aspects of the subject for undergraduate students, graduate
students, and professionals.
Paperback • £45.00
2013 * 978-0-8153-6511-2
300pp • 150 illus
Contents:
Topics Include:
• The two forms of epigenetic modification, DNA methylation
and histone acetylation, and how they take place.
• How epigenetics controls cell function, including cellular
differentiation and the role of epigenetics in stem cells.
• The role of epigenetics in disease, including cancer and
mental health, where there is clear evidence of epigenetic
involvement.
Chapter 1. Introduction to the Study of Epigenetics Chapter 2. The Basis of the Transcription Process Chapter 3. DNA
Packaging and Chromatin Architecture Chapter 4. Modifying the Structure of Chromatin Chapter 5. DNA Methylation
Chapter 6. Post-Translational Modification of Histones Chapter 7. Histone Modification Machinery Chapter 8. LocusSpecific Control of Histone-Modifying Enzyme Action Chapter 9. Epigenetic Control of Cell-Specific Gene Expression
Chapter 10. Epigenetic Control of the Mitotic Cell Cycle Chapter 11. The Epigenetic Basis of Gene Imprinting
Chapter 12. Epigenetic Control of Cellular Differentiation Chapter 13. Reversibility of Epigenetic Modification Patterns
Chapter 14. Epigenetic Predisposition to Disease and Imprinting-Based Disorders Chapter 15. Epigenetics of Memory,
Neurodegeneration, and Mental Health Chapter 16. Epigenetics of Cancer
www.garlandscience.com/epigenetics
NEW EDITION NOW AVAILABLE
Essential Cell Biology, 4th Edition
Alberts, Bray, Hopkin, Johnson, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, Walter
978-0-8153-4454-4 • £105 • Hardback
978-0-8153-4455-1 • £53 • Paperback
865pp • 860 illus • November 2013
TheBiologist
the SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE
Volume 61 No 1 February/March 2014
Contents
20
24
28
12
16
In this issue
8 Opinion: Revolution
on the reserves
Brian Moss argues that a
more radical approach to
conservation could help halt
global warming.
12 Gut feeling
Lauren Hoskin looks at the
microbes living inside us.
16 The root of the problem
Chris Baines explains how large
tree roots are mapped and
protected during building work.
20 Algal biofuel – in bloom or dead in the water?
TheBiologist
THE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE
An expert panel discusses
if biofuels from algae could
eventually replace oil.
28Life goes on
Professor Dame Linda Partridge,
an expert on ageing, on staying
healthy for longer.
ISSN 0006-3347
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SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG
VOL 61 NO 1 ■ FEB/MAR 2014
THE
FUTURE
OF FUEL
24 Force of nature
Sue Nelson visits a centrifuge
to explore the physiological
effects of G-force.
■
MICROBIOTA
INTERVIEW
GUT INSTINCT
The body's bacteria and
its impact on our health
AGE OF SUCCESS
Linda Partridge on the
biology of ageing
00_BIO_61_1_COVER.indd 1
4Society news
37 Members
40Branches
Regulars
Could biofuel from algae
reduce our need for oil?
URBAN ENVIRONMENT
DEEP ROOTS
Saving trees during
urban development
Cover photo: Lawrence
Naylor/Science Photo
Library
News
30/01/2014 15:22
3Nelson’s column
10 Policy update
32Spotlight
34Reviews
46Museum piece
47Crossword
48Final word
Vol 61 No 1 / the biologist / 1
THE BIOLOGIST
Vol 61 no 1 February/March 2014
Contacts
Editorial STAFF
Editorial Board
Director of Membership, Marketing
and Communications
Jon Kudlick MSB
Editor
Sue Nelson
@ScienceNelson
Managing Editor
Tom Ireland MSB
tomireland@societyofbiology.org
@Tom_J_Ireland
Communications Assistant
Karen Patel AMSB
karenpatel@societyofbiology.org
Susan Alexander BSc PGCE CBiol CSci MSB MRSPH FRGS
J Ian Blenkharn MSB FRSPH
Phil Collier MSc PhD CBiol FSB FLS FHE
Cameron S Crook BSc MPhil CBiol MSB MIEEM FLS
Rajith Dissanayake MSc PhD FZS AMSB
Catherine Duigan BSc PhD FSB FLS
John Heritage BA DPhil CBiol FSB
Sue Howarth BSc PhD CBiol FSB
Allan Jamieson BSc PhD CBiol FSB
Catherine Jopling BSc PhD MSB
Leslie Rose BSc CBiol FSB FICR MAPM
For membership enquiries call 0844 858 9316
membership@societyofbiology.org
For subscription enquiries call 020 7685 2556
Facebook “f ” Logo
TWITTER
@Society_Biology
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iNteRVieW
PRofessoR JANe fRANCis
the new director
Tom Ireland meets
tic Survey,
of the British Antarc
Professor Jane Francis
warm. You can just
it’s actually quite
serene
Jane
n October Professor
sit and watch an amazingly
with the
as director
Francis took over
and tranquil landscape,
Survey,
off icebergs and the
of the British Antarctic
sunlight glinting
has led the
you don’t want to
an organisation which
odd bird call. Then
and research in
in the world.
UK’s exploration
be anywhere else
than 60 years.
the region for more
?
ist and geologist,
As a palaeobotan
Any hairy experiences
health and
research uses
take first aid and
Professor Francis’
We
not
to understand
very seriously so I’ve
fossilised vegetation
has changed safety
calls. The
how the Earth’s climate
really had any close
was when I
throughout history.
scariest experience
(Norway)
was working on Svalbard bear
academic work
a polar
A large part of your
a few years ago and
for fossils in
to our camp. In the
has involved looking
came quite close
Antarctic.
asleep in a gully for
fell
he
both the Arctic and
end
working in
of our camp
Presumably you enjoy
a few hours in front
ts?
you do have to
polar environmen
and then left, but
done about
I absolutely do. I’ve
be very careful.
and six
10 seasons in Antarcticaand they
polar-based
field trips to the Arctic,
How did you get into
to work. It’s
place?
are fantastic places
research in the first
that is so
working on
amazing to go somewherea leaf that
As a geologist I started and did a
find
PhD
remote and cold and
fossil plants for my
of the Jurassic
was once almost
shows the climate
project on the rocks
started working
tropical there.
coast in Dorset. I
up camp in the
leaves and
Whenever you set
there on fossil trees,
can
that
ing ancient
field – a huge operation always a
pollen and reconstruct
in
– there’s
Then, while working
take a day or two
or ship forests.
an invitation
helicopter
had
I
the
moment when
central Australia,
Geological
realise it’s very
leaves, when you
from the Canadian
just a small group
see these amazing
quiet, and you’re
Survey to go and
discovered
a very isolated
of people alone in
fossil forests they’d
They were
of months.
place for a couple
up in the high Arctic. – they
beautiful
It’s generally a very
spectacularly preserved turned
place –
and
and extremely humbling fierce
hadn’t been petrified
find.
pretty
usually
the climate can be
to stone like you’d
speck in this
the wood and
and you’re just a tiny
You could saw open
But I’ve been in
could pick the
awesome landscape.
it would burn; you
when the sun
trickle through
the Arctic peninsula
leaves up and they’d
the wind drops
is shining, and when
I
28 / the biologist
ThE TwIsTs
aND TurNs
of DNa
/ Vol 60 No 6
I
No 6
Vol 60 No 6 / the
The Biologist is produced on behalf
of the Society of Biology by
Think Publishing Ltd.
124-128 Barlby Road
London W10 6BL
www.thinkpublishing.co.uk
020 8962 3020
biologist / 29
Design
Alistair McGown
Production editor
Clare Harris
Sub editors
Sam Bartlett, Sian Campbell
Publisher
John Innes
john.innes@thinkpublishing.co.uk
The ability to look at
the
atomic level has been structure of DNA at the
key to understanding
miraculous molecu
this
le, as scientist and
David Goodsell discove illustrator
rs
n 1953, Watson and
Crick
presented their model
for the
DNA double helix,
revealing the
way genetic information
is held in
a cell. In the years
since, DNA has
proven to be a lively
molecule that is
looped, unwound,
copied, repaired,
edited, chemically
modified,
more recently, engineered. and
A closer
look at DNA’s atomic
structures
(and its related cellular
partners)
has since revealed
much more
about the complex
workings of this
amazing molecule.
Early work on DNA
structure used
DNA that had been
isolated from
cells. Fibres of this
natural DNA
diffract x-rays into
a characteristic
pattern – the classic
helical structure
proposed by Watson
and Crick,
known as a B-helix.
A truly
glimpse at DNA, however, atomic
wait for several decades. had to
for the chemical synthesisTechniques
of small
pieces of DNA, with
exact nucleotide
sequences, made
this possible.
These well-defined
pieces of DNA
can be coaxed to form
single crystals,
which provide much
more
x-ray diffraction patterns detailed
(as shown
in Fig. 2 overleaf),
which
analysed to determine can be
the
each atom in the molecule.location of
Since then protein
and
sequencing technology DNA
has
improved rapidly,
and the amount
of structural data
on DNA
other molecular machines and
has
grown enormously
2014 . The
VOL 60 NO 6 ■ DEC 2013/JAN
either on its own
Data Bank has become Protein
or complexed with
the primary
proteins or drugs.
archive of atomic
structures for
biological molecules
Here is just a little
of the
and now
structural biology
for95,000
contains almost
Shortlisted
of DNA
entries,
been discovered thanks that has
1,500 BUSINESS
of which include DNA,
BEST
to our ability
to view its atomic
structure.
& PROFESSIONAL
TheBiologist
DEPICTING DNa
based on information
gathered from x-ray
crystallography, Nmr
it is unwound from
spectroscopy and
nucleosomes, the
As well As his work
two
electron microscopy.
strands are separated,
as
and the enzyme DNa
biologist, David goodsell a molecular
The illustration shows
polymerase (large
employs various
complex in magenta
DNa in the nucleus
artistic techniques
stored as chromatin,
at the
centre) builds new
to visualise biological
a compact form with
strands (shown in white)
macromolecules. here
DNa (shown here in
to complement the
he uses watercolour
turquoise) wrapped
original strands.
■ ISSN 0006-3347 ■ SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG
to show the
around
OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE
SOCIETY
THE
shapes
histone proteins (blue)
David also develops
and sizes
of molecules,
graphics programmes
to form a long
chain of nucleosome
to visualise individual
s. When DNa replicates,
molecules, as seen
in
figures 2 and 4.
18 / the
biologist / Vol 60
MAGAZINE
Fig. 1. The DNA
polymerase from
the hot spring
bacterium
Thermus aquaticus
is widely used in
the lab for the
polymerase chain
reaction
Non-member rates: £120.00
the biologist /
TheBiologist
Th
WIeB
ioElogist
LDLIF
WARNING
19
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ISSN 0006-3347
ISSN 0006-3347
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SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.O RG
VOL 60 NO 5
SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.O RG
VOL 60 NO 2
■
OCT/NOV 2013
EVENTS
■
CALENDAR
APR/MAY
2013
INSIDE
INTERVIEW
DIGGING
DEEP
How disease from domestic
animals could wipe out iconic
endangered species
LIFE IN
FOCUS
2013
Stunning images from our
2013 photo competition
STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
EDUCATION
INTERVIEW
DNA DISCOVERIES
Moving beyond the
double helix
LABS ONLINE
Can practical science be
taught remotely?
POLAR PIONEER
Jane Francis on
Antarctic exploration
Advertising in The Biologist represents an
unparalleled opportunity to reach a large
community of professional biologists.
For advertising information contact
Tom Ireland
020 7685 2556
TV's Alice Roberts
talks anatomy
and archaeology
28/11/2013 10:23
2 / the biologist / Vol 61 No 1
The Society permits single copying
of individual articles for private study
or research, irrespective of where
the copying is done. Multiple copying
of individual articles for teaching
purposes is also permitted without
specific permission. For copying or
reproduction for any other purpose,
written permission must be sought from
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licence with the UK Copyright Licensing
Agency or the US Copyright Clearance
Center. Access to the magazine is
available online; please see the Society’s
website for further details.
BREAKING
THE ICE
Professor Francis
among emperor
penguins in the
Antarctic
molecular biology
DNa’s atomic structu
re
Submissions of interesting and
timely articles, short opinion pieces
and letters are welcome.
Articles should be aimed at a nonspecialist audience and convey your
enthusiasm and expertise.
Instructions for authors are available
on the Society’s website or on request
from the editorial office. Contact
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(Registered charity no. 277981)
BLOG
societyofbiologyblog.org
A Window
on the Life
Sciences
The Biologist is a bi-monthly magazine
(published six times a year) that covers the
full richness and diversity of biology.
Science is brought to life with stimulating
and authoritative features, while topical
pieces discuss science policy, new
developments or controversial issues.
Aimed at biologists everywhere, its
straightforward style also makes it ideal
for educators and students at all levels,
as well as the interested amateur.
Views expressed in this magazine are
not necessarily those of the Editorial
Board or the Society of Biology.
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MYCOLOGY
RICH PICKINGS
Exploring treasures
in the fungal kingdom
00_BIO_60_5_COVERS_V2.indd
1
GENETICS
CRACKING THE CODE
RESEARCH
FACT AND FISSION
Using neutrons to
study biomaterials
BIOPHYSICS
QUANTUM BIOLOGY
BIOGRAPHY
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE
The legacy of a great
Victorian scientist
RESEARCH
19/09/2013 10:28
A
Nelson’s
Column
few years ago I travelled
to the Outer Hebrides
to report on how an
introduced species –
hedgehogs – had
affected local wildlife. Driving
through the island of South Uist
admiring Arctic skuas and red-legged
oystercatchers along the coast,
something about the scenery began
to bother me. Something I couldn’t
quite figure out. Then it dawned on
me what was different about the
landscape: there were no trees.
It’s hard to imagine a world without
trees but South Uist comes pretty
close. In the same way as those who
live by the sea become uneasy when
landlocked, if you live among trees
their absence can be uncomfortable.
It’s not simply an aesthetic issue;
trees are often referred to as the
lungs of our planet, helping the
Earth breathe by converting carbon
dioxide into oxygen.
The benefits of trees in urban
areas are both environmental and
psychological. Seeing green leaves
amid concrete is uplifting, while
mature tree cover plays a role in
intercepting heavy rainfall and
reducing the risk of flash flooding.
But trees come with roots, and
protecting the root system can be
challenging for developers and
utility providers who also want to fix
water pipes, maintain sewers, and
install or repair cables. On page 16,
environmental campaigner Chris
Baines discusses problems and
solutions when building around the
living infrastructure of trees.
If the sight of trees lifts the heart, a
good night’s sleep is often key to
enjoying your day. However, Lauren
Hoskin’s revelation (page 12) that we
go to bed with 100 trillion microbes
inside our intestines was personally
unnerving. As someone with an ‘out of
sight out of mind’ approach to
If we all
live longer
it will put
even more
pressure on
the planet
microbes, I had to overcome a natural
reluctance to read further. Fortunately
I did since Lauren celebrates the
positive effects these tiny organisms
have on our health.
When it comes to prime specimens
of health, fitness and adventure,
astronauts are the whole package. But
during the early days of spaceflight,
no one knew what the body would
experience and so the physical and
mental tests were extensive and often
unnecessary. One of the most
enduring images is of an astronaut’s
contorted face in a centrifuge. These
tests continue today and are
extremely important for pilots and
astronauts. It has been a dream of
mine since childhood to go into space
– taking a spin on a centrifuge (page
24) to examine the effects on my body
was the next best thing.
Used by physiology students and
pilots as a way of experiencing
G-forces, the medical doctor at
QinetiQ’s centrifuge informed me on
my third spin that he knew what I
was going to look like in 15 years. He
shouldn’t count on it… The Biologist
interview features Professor Dame
Linda Partridge, a British geneticist
who studies the biology of ageing.
I’m not sure she’ll make me look any
younger, but her research examines
how a healthy lifespan can be
extended in model organisms.
If we all live longer that will put
even more pressure on the planet’s
finite resources. On page 20, Tom
Ireland reports on whether fuel
made from algae can reduce our
dependence on oil. Who knows?
Trees may help the planet breathe so
maybe seaweed will save it too…
Sue Nelson, Editor
Society News
New training courses for 2014
TalkBiology launch
The Society has launched a new
online forum for science teachers
and educators.
TalkBiology went live during
the Association for Science
Education (ASE) Conference in
Birmingham last month. Users can
browse forums covering primary,
secondary, and further education,
send messages to other teachers,
and create private groups to discuss
certain topics.
Members of the Society can
access the forum using their
existing login details and by visiting
talkbiology.societyofbiology.org
MBE for Society D
policy adviser
r Barbara Knowles FSB,
senior science policy adviser
at the Society of Biology,
has been awarded an MBE in the
2014 New Year honours list for
services to science communication
and the environment.
Barbara’s main professional
interest is communicating science
to non-specialists. As well as her
work for the Society, she supports
projects on meadow ecology,
rural development and traditional
agriculture in Transylvania,
where she lives.
“I’m delighted with this honour,”
said Barbara. “It is especially
welcome that the award recognises
both my professional work in
science policy and communications,
and also my voluntary work
As well as her work for the
Society, Barbara supports
projects in Transylvania
Dr Barbara
Knowles has been
recognised for her
professional and
voluntary work
NEWS IN BRIEF
to protect and learn about the
outstanding but threatened
environment in the eastern
Carpathians of Transylvania.”
Barbara, who was diagnosed with
motor neurone disease in 2008, is
now unable to move and will soon
lose the ability to speak. “I’m really
lucky to be able to do both jobs, with
fantastic colleagues in London and
Romania, despite being increasingly
disabled with motor neurone
disease,” she added. “A combination
of computer technology, an off-road
wheelchair and supportive friends
and careers makes it possible to enjoy
life, by doing interesting work which I
believe to be important and valuable.”
Dr Mark Downs, chief executive of
the Society, said: “Barbara has used
great skill and knowledge alongside
incredible drive and determination
to make a difference to sustainable
development, inspiring others to
take up the challenge.”
www.societyofbiology.org/news
SOCIETY PRESENTS
WITNESS TO PARLIAMENT
T
he Society has expanded
the range of training and
courses it offers members,
with innovative courses such as
microscopy art and drug discovery
set to be introduced later this year.
The Society’s training programme
aims to provide a range of skills
for all interests and competencies,
from enthusiastic amateurs to
high-level professionals. Seven of
the 12 courses scheduled for 2014
are new with planned courses
including science photography,
an introduction to science policy,
Wildlife artist Cath
Hodsman, whose
work is pictured
above, will run a
microscopy art
course in March
OUR SURVEY SAYS…
T
hank you to all the members
who completed The Biologist
readership survey at the end
of last year.
It’s great to see that again the
response to our survey has been
overwhelmingly positive. Results
show the magazine is still a crucial
way for us to communicate with
our members, with almost 90% of
members saying that they read the
magazine regularly, and the number
of people who read every issue rising
slightly to 81% from 80% in 2012.
Over 93% of readers think our
articles are good or excellent; over
91% think it is well written and easy
Results show
the magazine
is a crucial way
to communicate
with members
TheBiologist
■
ISSN 0006-3347
■
SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG
VOL 60 NO 6 ■ DEC 2013/JAN 2014
Shortlisted for
BEST BUSINESS
& PROFESSIONAL
MAGAZINE
LIFE IN
FOCUS
Stunning images from our
2013 photo competition
STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
EDUCATION
INTERVIEW
DNA DISCOVERIES
Moving beyond the
double helix
LABS ONLINE
Can practical science be
taught remotely?
POLAR PIONEER
Jane Francis on
Antarctic exploration
28/11/2013 10:23
professional development for school
teachers, and writing for a nontechnical audience. Members receive
a discount of up to 75% on the cost of
Society training courses.
The Society is also planning to
hold courses outside London. For
more information about our training
events see www.societyofbiology.
org/events
If you have ideas for new
courses, speakers or course
providers please email our
training officer at emmakelson@
to read and 87% think the design is
good or excellent. Readers have also
responded positively to our move
up to six issues a year – 85% said the
frequency is now about right.
When asked what they liked
least about the magazine, the top
answer was ‘no dislikes’. Second
after that were requests for more
articles on specific topics or fields.
We’ll be looking closely at all your
suggestions for how we can improve
and what to cover.
As always, if you have any
suggestions or comments about
the magazine, or wish to respond
to individual articles, please email
biologist@societyofbiology.org or
write to us at the address on page 2.
Tom Ireland MSB, managing editor
The Society’s honorary treasurer Pat
Goodwin has presented evidence to
the first session of a
Government inquiry
on antimicrobial
resistance.
The Society
was asked
to present a
witness to give
oral evidence
at the House of
Commons Science and Technology
Committee’s inquiry in December,
having responded to the
committee’s initial consultation
earlier in 2013.
Science Gophers
spread to WaleS
Gopher Science Labs, the hands-on
science events run by the Society for
young children, is to be developed in
Wales following a successful pilot in
England. The project, developed in
collaboration with the Biochemical
Haymeadows
inSociety,
Romania,sees primary school
children
above,
the visit
focusa Gopher Science Lab
ofhosted
Barbaraby a local secondary school
Knowles’
(below
and their
students.
centre) work
Study
abroad!
Ten £500 grants are available
for student affiliate, AMSB and
early career members to travel
overseas. Get your applications
to us by Monday 31st March
www.societyofbiology.org/
travelgrant
SOCIETY NEWS
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY/BRANCH DATABASE/John Leonard Cloudsley-Thompson/AGM 2014
Society heads abroad
to spread the word
OBITUARY
Desert specialist
Professor CloudsleyThompson, pictured in
Sudan in 1964, became
a prolific writer
A
ustralia, New Zealand, Hong
Kong and Mongolia are all
in our sights this year as the
Society expands its international
presence outside Europe.
A number of members from
Australia and New Zealand have
expressed an interest in forming
an international branch of the
Society that would help coordinate
activities and communicate our
work in the region. The Society
is asking that any more overseas
members who are interested should
contact our membership team with
their suggestions.
In March Society staff will travel
to Hong Kong to run workshops
and meet members at the Science
Alive festival. Organised by the
British Council and held at Hong
Kong Science Museum, the event
invites leading UK academics and
communicators to engage students,
teachers and the public in activities
that promote a wider understanding
of science.
Also that month the Society’s
chief executive, Dr Mark Downs,
will be travelling to Vancouver in
Canada to speak at the College of
Applied Biology’s AGM.
The Society will also continue to
help address conservation issues in
Mongolia after Dr Downs’ trip to the
country last year, where he met their
minister for the environment who
BRANCH
OUT!
T
he Society is calling for
members to let us know
their local branch affiliation
and update their contact details to
ensure they receive the latest on
news, activities and events taking
place in their area.
All members have the opportunity
Venue: Hong Kong
Science Museum,
and wolf cubs in
Mongolia, below
Any more
interested
overseas
members
should get
in touch
Make the most of
membership by
updating your
details
agreed to ban the use of live wolf
cubs as part of traditional hunting
festivals. Last year the Society
signed an agreement with
south-east Asian life sciences
association BioSingapore, again
bolstering ties with the region.
If any overseas members
are interested in helping to
promote the work of the Society
in their region please contact
markleach@societyofbiology.org
to be associated on our database
with one of the Society’s 16 regional
branches in the UK, and be
directly informed about
local branch events
and activities.
Members
can check their
details online
via our secure
mySociety portal
(mysociety.
societyofbiology.
org) and ensure that
Professor John
Leonard
CloudsleyThompson FSB
1921-2013
T
he Times described John as
an “adventurous and welltravelled zoologist” and “a
natural historian of the old school”.
AGM 2014: Save the date
their email address and branch
connection is current.
It is important that we have
up-to-date information about our
members so that the full breadth
of expertise and knowledge that
exists within our membership
is fully recognised and used.
Please therefore take the time
to fill in your profile with as
much information as you can and
get in touch with markleach@
societyofbiology.org if you have
any queries.
He made his name as a desert
specialist in the 1960s at the
University of Khartoum and as
keeper of the Sudan Natural History
Museum, which he supported with
little funding. Typically seen in khaki
shirt and trousers negotiating desert
tracks in a jeep, John was known
for getting on with his research or
writing even during sweltering heat.
Born in Murree in India (now part
of Pakistan), John was educated at
Marlborough College and his studies
at Cambridge were interrupted by
the war. During his service in North
Africa he collected camel spiders
and scorpions and tamed a desert
fox to barter for food, sparking his
life-long interest in desert animals.
When his tank was attacked, in
1942, he sustained a leg injury that
would trouble him for life but back in
England persuaded a medical board
to let him join the Normandy landings.
Nature published his observations
on the common centipede in 1945
and he began to write for the
journal of the British Naturalists’
Association. By 1950 he was lecturer
in zoology at King’s College London.
In 1972, after a decade in Sudan,
he became professor of zoology at
Birkbeck College, London (emeritus
1986). His 50 books and many papers
included work on bees, sea lions and
wasps, Sahara and Mesozoic reptiles
and a war memoir, Sharpshooter.
He published dozens of books and
papers on his observations and
wrote many letters on international
development budgets.
John was also chairman and vice
president of the British Naturalists’
Association
and president
of the British
Arachnological
Society, the
British Society for
Chronobiology
and the British
Herpetological
Society. A special
book devoted to
scorpions was
produced to mark his
90th birthday. He is
survived by three sons.
T
he Society of Biology’s AGM
will take place at Charles
Darwin House, London,
on Thursday 15th May 2014.
Refreshments will be available from
11:00. The AGM will start at 11:30
with the charter lecture at 12:45.
Members from all grades are
welcome to attend but only those
at member grade MSB and above
are entitled to vote. Up to two
representatives from each Member
Organisation of the Society can
attend the AGM but just one can
vote, and supporting Member
Organisations may not vote.
Information on voting and
current Council vacancies has
been circulated to all members and
Member Organisations. It is also
available online and by contacting
natashaneill@societyofbiology.org
To attend, please register
via mySociety (mysociety.
societyofbiology.org) or write to
Natasha Neill at the address
found on page 2.
www.societyofbiology.org/agm
Opinion
per year in restored biomes,
provided we also curb current
forest destruction.
Agricultural land is useless as
a carbon store but our remaining
natural land biomes store about
2.5GTC per year. Restoring one
third of the existing world farmland
to fully functioning forest or
wetland would meet the gap.
Farming is often
efficient, but food
waste, because
of commercial
interests, is high.
Its elimination,
and a healthy
change in diet,
could compensate
for the renovation of
farmland to functioning
biome. It’s not impossible, but
our political leadership is poorly
educated for the job (only one of 194
world leaders has any background
in environmental issues; 75% come
from finance, business, economics,
politics, law, the military or hard
engineering (Moss, 2012)).
In England, at least, our state
conservation organisation, Natural
England (NE), is no longer led
by ecologists, and appears to
be dominated operationally by
A revolution is
our only hope
Current conservation orthodoxies do little to
protect the Earth, says Professor Brian Moss
L
iving in Europe has cultural
pleasures, but natural
limitations. Our continent
is so dominated by people that
our concepts of how our planet
functions are seriously biased.
We live in a land where the
former connectedness of all
natural systems has largely
been obliterated. This blinds
our ability to plan for the future
and we promote mediocrity in
our landscapes through our
conservation legislation.
Starting with the National Parks
and Access to the Countryside Act
of 1949 and continuing with the
EU Habitats Directive of 1992, we
seek in the UK mostly to preserve
postage stamps of traditional
grassland agriculture. Instead
we should be thinking of a future
beset by climate change, where if
we start re-establishing forest and
wetland systems for carbon storage
and water conservation, things may
be a little less uncomfortable. We
need to think in terms of ecosystem
function first and individual species
conservation second.
Carbon sinks such as forests
are key to our future. The UK
may be small but we are influential
in world politics and need to show
Brian Moss is
emeritus professor
at the University of
Liverpool’s School
of Environmental
Sciences. He works
on lakes and climate
change, and has
published several
books on ecology.
agricultural land managers, whose
natural instincts are to emphasise
the conservation of artificial
grassland through stock grazing.
One example is NE’s support
for the English Lake District to be
designated a World Heritage
Site as a cultural agricultural
set of landscapes in their present
depauperate state (Monbiot,
2013), which would
fix its bleak and
bare fells for the
foreseeable future.
Others concern
policies for
maintaining
its own national
and local
nature reserves.
I live close to the
Ainsdale Sand Dunes
National Nature Reserve, which
for 20 years has been fenced to
graze sheep in winter in an attempt
to prevent natural succession
to woodland. Inspection of NE’s
monitoring data shows that
the sheep have had no effect;
statistical analysis of data from
enclosures on the reserve draws
the conclusion that rabbits alone
explain the grazing effects (Millett
& Edmondson, 2013). Nonetheless,
References
Le Quéré, C. et al. The
global carbon budget
1959–2011. Earth
System Science Data
5, 1107–1157 (2012).
Millett, J. &
Edmondson, S. The
impact of 36 years of
grazing management
on vegetation
dynamics in dune
slacks. Jnl. of Applied
Ecology 50, 1367-1376.
(2013).
Monbiot, G. The Lake
District is a wildlife
desert. Blame
Wordsworth.
The Guardian,
2 September 2013.
Moss, B. Liberation
Ecology: The
Reconciliation of
Natural and Human
Cultures (International
Ecology Institute,
Excellence in Ecology
Series, Germany,
2012).
The Lake District –
“an area of bleak
and bare fells in
a depauperate
state” – according
to Moss
a Higher Level Stewardship
agreement for the adjacent local
nature reserve is proposing to fence
this in too, though encouragement
of the rabbit population would avoid
an enclosure of the landscape that
local people abhor.
The worst aspect of the issue,
however, is Natural England’s
insistence that all this is necessary
to tick the box of a Habitats
Directive requirement to maintain
solely open grassland on fixed
dunes, when we need more forest
and we can have forest here for free.
This would happen if the owners
and the local authority, with the
peculiar collusion of the Forestry
Commission, were to stop cutting it,
reverting it to a scrub so disturbed
as never to acquire much diversity
or carbon storage.
We need independent, powerful
conservation organisations that
are infused by radical new
thinking. We need a regenerated
conservation movement to look at
our planetary requirements for the
future. We also need to question
thinking that might have been
appropriate half a century ago,
and may currently be shrouded in
well-meaning legislation, but is now
outdated and needs revision.
a willingness to do what we
assert that the rest of the world
should be doing, in preserving
natural biomes.
Each year now, the world’s
population releases about 9.3
gigatonnes of carbon (GTC) into
the atmosphere – 8.3GTC from
fossil fuel burning, and 1.0GTC
from destruction of forests.
Around 2.5GTC are taken up
in the ocean and 2.5GTC by the
remaining land biomes (Le Quéré
et al, 2012). This leaves a surplus
of 4.3GTC that accumulates in the
atmosphere and which we need to
remove in order to check global
warming. Temperatures will not
fall until storages are greater than
emissions. We have made no net
progress in reducing emissions
and little in developing alternative
energy sources.
There is much debate about
geoengineering to mitigate
climate change, using techniques
that are yet to be invented or with
unknown risks, yet we ignore the
natural storages that have been
tested over half a billion years.
We could store as much as 3GTC
HEARTLAND ARTS/SHUTTERSTOCK
Policy update
A healthy
dose of
nature
DIRIMA/SHUTTERSTOCK
The Scottish
Government has
recognised the
benefits of green
space in places
such as Glasgow
The relationship between nature and
good health is complex but medical
professionals and ecologists are starting
to find a common language
I
f you are male and born in Lenzie,
a small Scottish commuter
town with tree lined streets,
surrounded by fields, statistically you
can expect to live to 821 – 28 years
longer than a male born in Glasgow’s
densely populated inner city district
of Calton, just 13km away.
Male life expectancy in Calton is a
mere 54 years2 and the number of
trees in the neighbourhood cannot
entirely explain this inequality.
Health is the outcome of a complex
interaction between individual
characteristics and external factors;
and social, environmental and health
inequalities often go hand in hand3.
But this example does show that the
natural world does more than just
ensure our basic survival by providing
clean air and water and raw materials
for agriculture and industry.
Ecosystems contribute in three
ways to our health and wellbeing4.
They have direct positive effects on
both mental and physical health.
They also have indirect positive
effects, through providing a space
for nature-based activity and social
engagement, and facilitating
behavioural change with people
adopting healthier lifestyles.
Ecosystems also protect us from
threats from pollution and disease
vectors through functions such as
local climate regulation, noise
reduction and the removal of
pollutants in water and air.
Daija Angeli,
project officer,
Natural Capital
Initiative.
It’s one thing to say that nature is
good for you – the Victorians knew
that when they created public parks
and walks to improve conditions in
the newly industrialised urban areas
of cities like London, Manchester
and Birmingham. It is another thing
to establish robust evidence of the
benefits generated by different
ecosystems to inform policy. Yet our
understanding of how high quality
environments have the potential to
nurture our health has improved
greatly in recent years.
Research shows that observing
nature and ‘green exercise’ – physical
activity in the presence of nature –
positively influence our health. Clear
links have been established between
the amount of accessible green space
and psychological wellbeing. There is
even evidence of indirect effects such
as how green spaces help to bring
people together and strengthen
neighbourhood ties; this ‘social capital’
then has positive effects on health.
www.societyofbiology.org/policy
However, health outcomes do
not only depend on the types of
ecosystems and the services they
provide but also on the choices people
have and decisions they make. So only
if you choose to go bird watching in
your free time, or take a brisk walk in
your local park, for example, can you
derive the mental or physical health
benefits the natural environment
provides. The choice to engage with
nature is influenced by various
factors and access to nature very
much depends on socioeconomic
characteristics. The UK Natural
Ecosystem Assessment5 summarises
that “health benefits are, therefore, a
function of ecosystem type, ease of
access to nature and frequency of use
of green places”.
While there is a growing body of
research, establishing evidence
around ecosystems and health isn’t
straightforward. In many cases the
cause and effect relationships are not
definitive. For example, do green
spaces prompt people to be active or
do people who like to exercise move to
areas with easy access to nature? In
addition, the collaboration between
healthcare professionals and
ecologists brings a set of challenges.
To shed light on these challenges,
the Natural Capital Initiative, the
special interest group of the Society
that supports decision-making for
the sustainable management of
our natural capital, held a session
on health at INTECOL 20136, a
major international ecological
congress. The session revealed
that there is a huge disconnect
between the disciplines despite
working on similar topics. This is
partly because the medical
community and ecologists differ in
what they regard as evidence.
Medical professionals rely on clinical
understanding the environment
■ Ecosystem Services are defined
as the benefits obtained from an
ecosystem. These can be services
that provide goods and products like
food, fuel and water, regulating
services such as flood control,
supporting services such as nutrient
cycling, or cultural services that
provide recreational and spiritual
benefits to people.
www.societyofbiology.org/policy
■ Natural Capital is the stock and
flows of a natural system. It is
commonly used as one way to
describe the economic value of nature.
■ The UK National Ecosystem
Assessment is an overview of the
natural environment in the UK and its
value to society and the economy. The
first assessment was published in
2011 and it is now in its second phase.
trials and systematic reviews, while
ecologists use field based techniques
and empirical studies. A resulting
lack of common language is a barrier
to collaboration.
Despite these challenges and gaps
in the evidence base, public policy
has recently rediscovered the
importance of ecosystems for good
health. To tackle the stark health
inequalities in Scotland, the Scottish
Government’s Good Places, Better
Health7 initiative looked to shape
places that nurture health and wellbeing, with a prototype focusing on
health challenges faced by children
in Scotland.
Public Health England launched
the Healthy People, Healthy Places
programme in November last year to
support a place-based approach to
health and the Environment Strategy
for Wales8 links to the public health
agenda and other cross cutting issues
in Wales. In addition, the recent shift
of responsibility for public health
from the NHS to local authorities
also brings the chance for new ways
of collaboration with spatial
planners, guided by the research of
ecologists and health professionals.
There is still a long way to go before
our environmental and well-being
policies are truly aligned, but these
developments are a welcome
demonstration that governments are
beginning to value our natural
capital for all that it is worth.
references
1-2 WHO (World Health
Organization). Closing
the gap in a generation:
Health equity through
action on the social
determinants of health
(2008). Available at:
http://www.who.int/
social_determinants/
thecommission/
finalreport/en/index.
html
3 Barton, H. and Grant,
M. A health map for
the local human
habitat. Journal of the
Royal Society for the
Promotion of Public
Health, 126(6) 252-261
(2006).
4 Maantay, J. A.
The Collapse of
Place: Derelict Land,
Deprivation, and Health
Inequality in Glasgow,
Scotland. Cities and the
Environment (CATE):
6(1), Article 10 (2013).
Available at: http://
digitalcommons.lmu.
edu/cate/vol6/iss1/10
5 UK National
Ecosystem
Assessment. The UK
National Ecosystem
Assessment Technical
Report. UNEP-WCMC,
Cambridge (2011).
6 Natural Capital
Initiative. Workshop
on natural capital and
barriers to evidencing
impacts on human
health, Summary
Report (2013). Available
at: http://www.
naturalcapitalinitiative.
org.uk/past-events
7 Scottish Government.
Good Places, Better
Health (2008).
Available at: www.
scotland.gov.
uk/Resource/
Doc/254447/0075343.
pdf
8 Welsh Assembly
Government.
Environment Strategy
for Wales (2006).
Available at: www.wlga.
gov.uk/download.
php?id=3972&l=1
microbiology
GUT MICROBIOTA
I
t is widely known that humans
do not exist as single organisms.
In fact, we go to bed each night
with 100 trillion microbes tucked up
cosily inside our intestines. What we
are now beginning to discover is just
how important these tiny organisms
are in stimulating, training and
regulating our own bodies.
The gut microbiota is a diverse
community of microbes comprising
mainly of bacteria but also some
species of archaea and fungi. At
least 90% of the bacteria in our
digestive tract fall into the phyla
Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes1, yet
species diversity is astounding.
Estimates suggest there could
be between 500 and 1,000
species within the whole human
population2.
In its combined genome, the
microbiome contains more than 5
million genes3, putting the human
genome to shame at just 24,000.
This cooperative community
performs many functions,
including its primary role to
ferment otherwise indigestible
carbohydrates, extracting energy.
It also helps to absorb nutrients
and produce vitamins as well
as training and regulating our
immune systems. In fact, it is
so useful that the microbiota
is often considered an
organ in itself.
T
G
U
FE L NG
E I
BIOgraphy
Lauren Hoskin explores our
ever-increasing understanding
of how bacteria contribute to
our health
Lauren Hoskin
AMSB is a
microbiology
graduate currently
studying for a
master’s in science
communication at
Imperial College
London. She writes
for the blog Science
Says as well as the
Society’s blog.
Bacterial birth
Since unborn
children are
sterile, birth is
the first step
in the lifelong
companionship
between
human and
microbe.
How the baby
is delivered
is important. Many
studies have shown
that children born by
Caesarean section
start life with a
smaller and less
diverse microbial
community.
It has also been
shown that while vaginallydelivered infants harbour bacterial
communities similar to their
mother’s vaginal microbiota, infants
delivered by Caesarean tend to
adopt communities similar to their
mother’s skin surface4.
One study demonstrated that the
microbiota of a Caesarean-delivered
infant includes fewer Bacteroidetes,
one of the two major phyla in the
gut. The study was also interested
in the infants’ immune systems,
and so tested for the abundance of
a certain type of white blood cells
called Th1 cells. These cells release
signalling molecules to regulate
other white blood cells as part of
the body’s immune response, and
children delivered by Caesarean
were found to have decreased levels
of Th1 activity5.
These results are significant in
our understanding of microbial
activity since they suggest that gutspecific bacteria play an important
role in immune development, and
in particular Th1 development.
Th1 activity is vital for many
immunological processes including
the stimulation of antibodies,
release of signalling molecules
and the killing and digesting of
pathogenic bacteria. It is also
crucial in dampening the activity
of its colleague, Th2. As a result,
decreased Th1 activity can lead to
Th2 over-activity.
Th2 overactivity is thought to be
one of the major causes of allergic
disease development. This includes
hay fever, asthma and eczema.
These results are corroborated
by findings that children born by
Caesarean section have a higher
rate of allergy6.
Under attack
Another line of research has
investigated whether the
administration of antibiotics to
infants may have the same effect.
It is thought that while the
microbiota is in the early stages of
development, it is more susceptible
to damage from the effects of
antibiotics. Since many antibiotics
kill bacteria in an unspecific
manner, by taking these drugs
we are unintentionally eradicating
many of our ‘friendly’ microbes.
A compromised microbiota
could subsequently lead to Th2
overactivity and, in turn, the
development of an allergic disease
later in life. A number of studies
have shown a positive correlation
between antibiotic use in infancy
and the successive development of
allergic disease7.
Intense use of antibiotics is
also well known to alter microbial
composition to the point of causing
antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.
In extreme cases, the microbe
Clostridium difficile is allowed
to thrive – where normally the
microbiota repress its growth –
often with deadly consequences.
Foraging for carbohydrates
Immune development is, of course,
not the microbiota’s only job. As
well as training our immune system
to defend itself, these obliging
microbes also help us to digest much
of our food.
The fluid within many
bacterial cells contains numerous
carbohydrate-digesting enzymes,
which we ourselves do not possess.
Like ruminants, humans are
dependent on the microbiota to
supply many of our nutrients,
especially those from non-digestible
carbohydrates. One study has
demonstrated that germ-free
rodents, raised in a microbe-free
environment, require 30% more
calories to maintain their body mass
than normal mice8.
Some of our friendly microbes
boast the ability to modify their
carbohydrate-foraging behaviour to
suit availability. In times of plenty,
Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
metabolises dietary sugars found
in the intestines. When nutrition is
scarce, however, its gene expression
changes and it begins to digest
sugars within the host’s own mucus.
Through many of these
mechanisms, the human body
has become heavily reliant on the
microbiota, as has the microbiota
on the human. We have, it seems,
evolved together over many
millennia and will continue to do so
as the world around us changes. As
a result, the microbiota is greatly
affected by the food we eat.
Past studies have shown that
nutritional differences can have
huge impacts on the microbiota.
Likewise, the composition of the
microbiota also impacts on the
digestion of our food. One study
investigated the microbiota of
children from a rural village in
Burkina Faso and discovered that it
contained an exceptional abundance
of the bacteria Prevotella9, which
the European children lacked.
Prevotella was shown to be
particularly competent at digesting
cellulose, which suggests that the
microbiota of this community has
co-evolved with their diet, which is
rich in plant fibres.
Microbiota and obesity
Recent research revealed a
substantial difference between
the gut microbiota of twins when
one was obese and the other
slim10. When these twins’ faecal
microbiota was extracted and
transplanted into germ-free mice,
the mice were shown to develop the
body composition of their human
counterparts, with a high increase in
body mass and adiposity. In essence,
the mice with the microbes from the
obese twin became obese too.
Furthermore, when the obese
mice were cohoused with the lean
mice, they eventually established
a lean-like microbiota and were
prevented from developing
obesity. This coincided with the
transmission of bacteria of the order
Bacteroidales, which includes the
species Prevotella, from the lean to
the obese mice.
However, this change only
occurred in mice that were on a
diet representative of a healthy
human one – rich in fruit and
vegetables and low in saturated
fats – demonstrating that body
mass cannot be altered simply by a
microbiota transplant.
This research is an important
landmark since it suggests that the
diet and microbiota are in constant
communication and that interactions
between the two can greatly alter the
host body. It indicates that the gut
microbiota could be an important
contributor to diseases such as
obesity. In the future, mice could
prove a useful tool for screening
the impact of different nutrients
on both the gut microbiota and the
development of obesity.
From immune system development
and regulation to enzyme production,
the microbiota is an amazing part
of the human body. Without these
friendly microbes we could not be the
creatures we are today.
The microbiota
of children in
Burkina Faso is
rich in the
cellulosedigesting
Prevotella
There are
around 10
trillion bacterial
cells living in and
on a human
body
The
average
human body
houses 10x more
bacterial cells
than human
cells
Research
has linked
variations in
gut bacteria
with obesity
Do you have an opinion on this article? Contact us AT biologist@societyofbiology.org
The
combined
genome of the
microbiome could
contain up to
5 million genes,
compared to
24,000 in
humans
References
1 Robles Alonso, V.
& Guarner, F. Linking
the gut microbiota to
human health. British
Jnl. of Nutrition 109,
S21-S26 (2013).
2 Sears, C. L.
A dynamic partnership:
Celebrating our gut
flora. Anaerobe 11,
247-51 (2005).
3 Sommer, F. &
Baeckhed, F. The gut
microbiota - masters
of host development
and physiology. Nature
Reviews Microbiology
11, 227-38 (2013).
4 Dominguez-Bello, M.
G. et al. Delivery mode
shapes the acquisition
and structure of the
initial microbiota
across multiple body
habitats in newborns.
Proceedings of the
National Academy of
Sciences of the United
States of America 107,
11971-75 (2010).
5 Jakobsson, H. E. et
al. Decreased gut
microbiota diversity,
delayed Bacteroidetes
colonisation and
reduced Th1 responses
in infants delivered by
Caesarean section. Gut
(online) (2013).
6 Kero, J. et al. Mode of
delivery and asthma Is there a connection?
Pediatric Research 52,
6-11 (2002).
7 Droste, J. H. et al.
Does the use of
antibiotics in early
childhood increase
the risk of asthma
and allergic disease?
Clinical & Experimental
Allergy 30, 1547-53
(2000).
8 Wostmann, B. S.
et al. Dietary-intake,
energy-metabolism,
and excretory losses
of adult male germfree
wistar rats. Laboratory
Animal Science 33,
46-50 (1983).
9 De Filippo, C. et
al. Impact of diet
in shaping gut
microbiota revealed
by a comparative
study in children from
Europe and rural Africa.
Proceedings of the
National Academy of
Sciences of the United
States of America 107,
14691-96 (2010).
10 Ridaura, V. K. et al.
Gut microbiota from
twins discordant for
obesity modulate
metabolism in mice.
Science 341 (6150),
1241214 (2013).
Mice have been used
to demonstrate how
microbiota
‘transplants’ can
affect weight gain
ANYAIVANOVA/HECTOR CONESA/ZURIJETA/SHUTTERSTOCK
microbiology
GUT MICROBIOTA
FORESTRY
URBAN TREES
T
Trees make a
valuable
environmental
contribution to
inner city areas,
such as the
Heygate estate in
south London
he broad bean has a lot to
answer for. Thanks to that
primary school experiment
with a jam jar and blotting paper,
the idea that all roots grow vertically
downwards is firmly embedded in
the national psyche. Unfortunately
this is not helpful when it comes to
the care and protection of big trees
in towns and cities.
Even the most majestic of
specimens has a root system that
grows horizontally through the
uppermost half metre of the ground.
The roots generally extend far beyond
the tips of the branches and their
shallowness makes them vulnerable.
Trees and their green
infrastructure can provide
significant environmental benefits
in towns and cities. The capacity
of the leaf canopy – to filter
pollution, lower air temperatures,
intercept rainfall and offer shade
and shelter – is now highly valued
by more enlightened city planners.
Healthcare professionals are also
beginning to recognise the positive
role that accessible green space can
play in improving human health
and wellbeing (for more see page
10). All these benefits are greatest
where the urban landscape contains
large trees. This is reflected in the
enhanced property value in the
leafiest neighbourhoods.
In the case of London, and most
other long established cities around
the world, the legacy of big trees has
its origins in the visionary plantings
of more than a century ago. In the
1800s industrial entrepreneurs
and public benefactors pioneered
Britain’s urban parks movement and
property speculators planted tree
lined avenues. While the decision
to plant large-growing trees such
as limes, chestnuts and planes
may have been well planned and
executed, their long term success
has usually been achieved by chance.
London’s street trees were mostly
planted in the era of horse-drawn
transport, when the ground below
was almost entirely free of pipes
and cables, and the roots were
able to grow wherever conditions
suited them. The free passage of air
and water was originally relatively
unrestricted, and those long
established trees have continued to
survive by exploiting weaknesses
such as fractured drains and cracked
pavements. But as water companies
replace old jointed supply pipes,
they are inadvertently depriving the
mature urban forest of its unofficial
underground irrigation system.
Many of London’s famous plane
trees have the capacity to live for
another century or more. However,
where major disruption is planned
through redevelopment and
physical reconstruction, retaining
and protecting the mature tree
heritage becomes extremely
challenging. It is impossible to
assess the precise root pattern of
mature trees from observation
above the ground. The roots
ORLA/SHUTTERSTOCK
THE ROOT
OF THE
PROBLEM
Working round the sprawling feeding system of
precious city trees can be a crucial part of urban
regeneration projects, writes Chris Baines
FORESTRY
URBAN TREES
remove the ground while causing
very little physical damage to the
roots themselves. In this way it
is possible to excavate a service
trench through the root zone while
allowing the living roots to bridge
the trench for the duration of the
installation. Provided the roots are
kept moist by spraying with water or
wrapping with wet hessian, then the
trench can be backfilled following
construction with very little lasting
harm to the tree.
Remote-guided trenchless
tunnelling is another useful
technique. It is widely used for the
renewal of gas and water pipes, and
the technology makes it possible to
bore new service lines through clays,
sands, gravels and filled sites to a
depth of 1.5m. Trenchless technology
ROOT MAPPING
1
Radar equipment can
be used to detect
what is underground
BIOgraphy
Chris Baines FSB is
an environmentalist
and adviser to
government and
water, financial
management and
urban regeneration
companies. He is a
vice president of
the Royal Society of
Wildlife Trusts and
president of the
AECB sustainable
building association.
has also been used to install services
beneath the foundations of historic
buildings and is particularly useful
for tunnelling through vulnerable
landscapes. The same technology
lends itself to tunnelling under the
root network of tree-heavy urban
redevelopment sites.
Since renewal of drains and
water pipe systems poses a threat
to the unofficial water supply of
established roots, it is vital to make
provision for maintaining optimum
soil moisture. Good drainage is
important, and the design of paved
surfaces should allow for the free
passage of rainwater through the
underlying root zone.
Mature tree cover has an
important role to play in
intercepting heavy rainfall and
reducing the risk of flash flooding.
The tree root zone can also serve as
a natural reservoir for temporarily
retaining surplus rainwater. There
is a range of commercial products
available which provide structural
strength beneath the ground while
allowing an open soil structure with
enhanced water-holding capacity.
Protecting large and precious
trees as cities grow creates
considerable challenges. But there is
a determination across many groups
– developers, academic researchers,
utilities providers, councils and
other non-profit organisations – to
use regeneration projects, such
as on the Heygate estate (see case
study below) as an opportunity to
improve our understanding of big
trees in the inner city.
CASE STUDY
2
Compressed air
at twice the speed
of sound loosens
and removes
ground material
3
tend to grow into those areas of
substrate where conditions are most
suitable. They naturally seek out
root-penetrable mineral material,
optimum moisture and oxygen,
and they grow best where there is
an absence of toxic contamination.
This means that the root pattern
of an urban forest tree is very
unlikely to be radially symmetrical.
However, new technologies make
it possible to map the upper layer
of a development site ahead of any
physical disturbance.
Ground penetrating radar,
originally developed for military
use in locating buried explosives, is
now widely used in the construction
industry to find underground
services such as cables and pipes,
A trench excavated
using an air-spade
has left the tree
roots intact
as well as for archaeological
functions. A skilled operator can
use this technology to locate
tree roots in the upper 2m
of ground, both laterally and
vertically. The resulting 3D
image of the subterranean site
can then be used in planning
the route of proposed
services, determining the site for
the foundations for new buildings
and for other elements of excavation
and construction.
Understanding in advance the
existing root pattern enables service
engineers and utility companies to
sympathetically plan the service
layout. However, in an established
landscape that is heavily planted,
there will be few areas of existing
Accessible
green space
can improve
human
health and
wellbeing
open space that are root free.
For the introduction of very large
structures, such as major sewerage
pipes or district heating pipes,
there may be no alternative but
to sacrifice some trees in order to
create a pathway for wide and deep
open trenching. Fortunately, in
many cases the subsurface site plan
will reveal obvious preferred routes
for such major disturbance.
It is now possible to install and
maintain small-scale utilities
such as gas and water pipes,
and underground power and
telecommunication cables, beneath
the shallow root plate. An air-spade
is a tool which uses a narrow jet of
compressed air blowing at twice
the speed of sound to loosen and
Demolition and
redevelopment of
the Heygate estate
in London’s Elephant
and Castle district
T
he Heygate is a high-rise
housing neighbourhood of
more than 2,000 empty flats in
south London due for demolition
and redevelopment. The 1970s
tower blocks are set in a mature
but neglected landscape containing
more than 450 very large trees.
Most of them are London planes
(Platanus x acerifolia) and many
are more than five storeys tall. The
positive environmental contribution
that they make to this part of the
inner city is extraordinary, and the
trees are highly valued by many of the
local people.
The Australian developer Lend
Lease has acknowledged that the
trees are valuable growing assets
which need protecting. Exploratory
air-spade excavation of a typical
part of the site has confirmed that
most tree roots are growing within
the upper 500mm of the ground. The
substrate for much of the site is brick
and concrete rubble from demolished
The 1970s tower
blocks are set
among 450 large
trees, some
more than five
storeys tall
19th century buildings. This relatively
loose and nutrient-poor mixture
of crushed aggregates forms
an extremely free-draining layer
over relatively impervious London
clay, and this has created ideal
rooting conditions.
London plane is a hybrid between
Platanus orientalis and Platanus
occidentalis and in the wild both these
parent species are natural colonisers
of river gravels. As a consequence,
the London planes on the Heygate
estate and in many other parts of
post-war London have produced very
large specimens with very stable and
wide-spreading root systems.
The developer spent two years
assessing the established trees
and adjusting the proposed layout
on the estate footprint before
demolition to allow the most
significant of them more space.
The senior design team and key
consultants have also been involved
in a number of site visits and treeprotection seminars, with their
appreciation of the mature trees
greatly improved as a result.
The Heygate estate is one of a
small number of urban developments
in the Clinton Climate Initiative
and Lend Lease is now working in
partnership with academic research
bodies, major utility providers such as
Thames Water, and special interest
groups within the not-for-profit
sector to encourage research and
technical innovation throughout the
period of reconstruction and beyond.
DEBATE
ALGAL BIOFUELS
C
Algal
biofuel
in bloom
or dead in
the water?
Tom Ireland reports from the Society’s recent debate
on whether fuel made from algae could ever replace oil
ould algae save the planet?
That’s right, algae. The green
stuff that clogs up your pond
and rots in giant heaps on the beach
giving off a terrible pong. This
extremely diverse group of simple,
autotrophic organisms is the focus
of efforts to develop a green energy
source to replace oil.
Both microalgae (unicellular) and
macroalgae, such as seaweed, are
being used in a range of products
known as ‘advanced biofuels’ thanks
to their rich energy content and
minimal land use. It is hoped they
could eventually break our
dependence on oil and reduce global
carbon emissions.
As part of the Society of Biology’s
Policy Lates debate series, experts
from the world of biofuels gathered in
London to discuss the future of this
remarkable group of organisms in
energy production. Is fuel derived
from algae a viable alternative to oil,
or just a green dream?
Turning water into fuel
Algae are like any other
photoautotrophic organism: they
turn simple inorganic compounds
such as CO2 and water into complex,
energy rich hydrocarbons using light
as an energy source. The technology
and infrastructure to create fuel
from this sort of biomass have
existed for at least 60 years.
Dry plant matter (lignocellulose)
is the most abundant raw material in
the world for the production of
ethanol by fermentation, and many
biofuels are made using the oils from
crops such as corn or soya beans. Yet
the displacement effect of using land
crops for fuel production instead of
food arguably causes more carbon
emissions via deforestation and can
drive up food prices.
Oliver Chadwick, from the
Department for Transport, says some
models suggest that in terms of
8km
To provide biofuel for one
lane of cars requires a
strip of land the length of
that lane, 8km wide
emissions it can actually be worse than
using crude oil. “To provide biofuel for
one lane of cars requires a strip of land
the length of that lane, and 8km wide,”
he says. “Conventional biomass is just
not efficient in terms of land use.”
This is where algae come in. Some
species of microalgae can convert up
to 60% of their biomass to oils
(compared to 2-3% in soy beans).
Because they do not produce
complex differentiated tissues such
as stems and leaves, algae grow
faster than crops. Plus, marine
macroalgae do not even have to be
grown on land.
“You can do much better than
terrestrial plants using algae,” says
Professor Rod Scott from the
University of Bath. His research aims
to develop strains of microalgae
especially for biofuel production.
“To provide 50% of the USA’s fuel
requirements with corn oil, you’d need
846% of the available crop area in the
How does it work?
Algae can be turned into fuel via:
Anaerobic digestion by bacteria,
producing methane.
Transesterification, where algal lipids are
reacted with alcohols to produce biodiesel
and glycerol.
Pyrolysis and hydrothermal liquefaction,
which use heat and pressure to reduce algal
lipids to a range of fuel products. The advantage
of the latter is that whole algae or ‘wet biomass’
can be used.
US, which is clearly impossible. That
falls to just 2.5% with microalgae.”
Mixing algal biomass with a
solvent and catalyst produces a
diesel-like substance called
biodiesel, plus glycerol. Techniques
are emerging which mean products
are not limited to biodiesel. Pyrolysis
involves heating algae to very high
temperatures (500-700°C) in the
absence of oxygen to produce a biochar (charcoal) and a wider range of
fuel products. Hydrothermal
liquefaction puts whole, unprocessed
algal material under pressure, using
slightly lower high temperatures
(250-350°C), with water to produce
‘biocrude’ and hydrogen gas.
These processes essentially mimic
the natural production of oil. Crude
oil itself is formed from ancient
algae, as well as other marine
plankton. Algaenan, a tough
hydrocarbon polymer found in algal
cell walls, is turned to oil when layers
of plankton are buried under the
seabed and subjected to extreme
heat and pressure.
Unfortunately, producing oil this
way takes about 30 million years.
Replicating the process in real time,
at a scale vast enough to supply
global demand, is the challenge.
All in a day
Professor Scott says processes such
as pyrolysis can produce an oil
equivalent from algae in about a day.
But it is important to see “just how
much oil we use” before getting
excited about algal fuels, he says. “At
the moment we use 90 million barrels
of oil, over 14 billion litres – every
single day. You can fiddle around with
a flask of new fuel and think we’re
doing quite a good job, but we use a
staggering amount of oil.”
There are great costs involved in
growing and processing algae
compared to just piping stuff out of
the ground. Algal cells produce more
DEBATE
ALGAL BIOFUELS
biofuel it must show its green
credentials, says Dr Michele Stanley,
director of the NERC Algal
Bioenergy Special Interest Group.
“Seaweed beds on the ocean floor
have an important role in preventing
coastal erosion, and removing
beached kelp interferes with coastal
ecosystems,” she says, “so you can’t
just come along and take it all away.”
China is well ahead when it
comes to growing seaweed in shallow
waters, producing an estimated 10
million tonnes a year. Elsewhere,
production is still low, says Dr Stanley.
“It all falls to pieces when it comes
to economics,” she says. “Costs can
vary from €50 per tonne for
nearshore, floating kelp, to €400
for offshore kelp, to €2,500-plus for
experimental systems.”
global institute of sustainability, colorado state university, sapphire energy, pacific northwest national laboratory
Algal farming
for biofuels,
today (this
picture and
below) and in
the future
(images right)
hydrocarbons when they are starved
of nitrogen, so it is a two-step process,
where the cells that are to be starved
must be separated from the ones still
growing. Also, the more microalgae
you try to grow in one space, the less
light gets through to each cell,
meaning growth rate falls.
Dr Andrew Spicer is chief research
scientist of Algenuity, a UK company
that provides products and services to
the emerging algal biotech industry.
He says microalgal biofuel production
Stacking
up? Oil vs
Algae in
numbers
will need to be scalable up to “millions
of tonnes per year” if it is to replace
liquid fuels in any meaningful way.
Influential reports on biofuels1-2 say
it is biology, not industry, that will
help drive this through strain
selection and optimisation. Yet Dr
Spicer says significant challenges
remain in translating bioengineering
to the industrial agricultural scale
necessary for industry.
“To assume you can genetically
modify an algal cell to produce more
14bn
litres of oil
used per day
globally
1bn 1bn 1bn 1bn 1bn
1bn 1bn 1bn 1bn 1bn
1bn 1bn 1bn 1bn
Is fuel
derived
from algae
a viable
alternative
to oil, or
just a green
dream?
25%
The amount of
global carbon
emissions
accounted for
by transport
biofuel and then expect to grow it en
masse is perhaps naïve,” says Dr Spicer.
“It doesn’t adequately take into
account the regulatory requirements
and risk analyses that would need to be
satisfied prior to any significant trials.”
In the face of such challenges, Dr
Spicer describes how many companies
who initially branded themselves as
algal biofuel companies have shifted
toward the production of “higher
value, lower volume algal products as
opposed to fuels”.
98%
Proportion of
transport fuel
produced from oil
Macroalgae, such as seaweed,
already grows in vast quantities and
can be farmed from the sea, or
recovered from the beach, so may
seem like a more promising biofuel
feedstock. They can also provide
valuable environmental services. For
example, seaweed can remove excess
nitrogen from salmon farms, while
some species of algae can contribute
to waste water treatment, bioplastics,
food, and protein production.
Yet before anything can be called a
60%
The biomass
of certain
algae, such as
eustigmatophytes,
that can be turned
into lipid
References
1 Lundquist, T. J. et al.
A Realistic Technology
and Engineering
Assessment of Algae
Biofuel Production.
Energy Biosciences
Institute (2010).
http://works.bepress.
com/tlundqui/5
2 Shirvani, T. et al.
Life cycle energy
and greenhouse gas
analysis for algaederived biodiesel.
Energy Environ. Sci.
4, 3773-3778 (2011).
Part of the mix
Ultimately, algae are likely to be a
valuable part of a range of products
gradually replacing oil, says Dr
Stanley, not a miracle alternative.
“I’m of the view that one fuel won’t
solve the energy crisis. People are
fixated by the idea that there is one fuel
out there – and there won’t be.
Microalgae will not fuel the UK
because of the land mass required, but
it could provide a valuable contribution
and other services like removing
excess nutrients from waste water.”
It is up to governments around the
world to keep supporting research
and put the infrastructure in place to
support the production and use of
algae as fuel. The UK Government
will soon be calling for evidence on
advanced biofuels to inform its
energy strategy, including the
emerging algae technologies
mentioned in this article.
The EU is also considering changing
European renewable energy targets to
take into account land use
consequences, which could lead to
additional support or subtargets for
algal biofuels in transport.
But, for the time being, algal
biotechnologists will continue to
burn the midnight oil in the hope of
making a viable biofuel for the future.
0.2%
The forecasted
amount of road fuel
that will be produced
by algae by 2020
OUR PANEL
T
hanks to all the panellists who
contributed to the Policy Lates
debate in December. For more
information on the series contact
jackiecaine@societyofbiology.org
■ Dr Michele
Stanley FSB
(chair) is
director of the
NERC Algal
Bioenergy
Special Interest
Group and principal
investigator in microalgal
molecular phycology at the
Scottish Association for Marine
Science (SAMS).
■ Oliver Chadwick
is the head
of biofuels
regulation
at the Low
Carbon Fuels
department of
the Department for
Transport.
■ Duncan
Eggar is the
BBSRC’s
Bioenergy
Champion.
■ Rod Scott is
a professor of
plant molecular
biology at the
University of Bath.
■ Dr Andrew
Spicer is the
chief research
scientist of
Algenuity.
50
metres
The length to
which brown algae,
such as giant
kelp (Macrocystis
pyrifera), can grow
EXPERIENCE
CENTRIFUGE AT FARNBOROUGH
The QinetiQ
centrifuge will
allow Sue Nelson
(right) to get a
taste of the
G-Force effects
felt by jet pilots
Force of
nature
The Biologist editor Sue Nelson takes a spin
in a centrifuge to experience the effects of
G-force on the human body
SHUTTERSTOCK/Oleksandr Koretskyi
B
lame it on a love of science
– or a love of both Star Trek
and Star Wars – but I’ve
always wanted to be an astronaut.
So when someone offered to send
me to Jupiter, I was more than
ready. I was born ready.
The interplanetary trip was
in the form of the UK’s only
human centrifuge at QinetiQ in
Farnborough. The machine is a
horizontal metal gantry, pivoted in
the centre, housed in a large circular
room. At one end is a capsule, or
gondola, resembling a small cable car.
By being strapped into a chair
inside the gondola, and spun around
at controlled speeds, my body can
experience increasing amounts of
G-forces for periods of 15 seconds at
a time. On Earth, one G is the force
of the Earth’s gravity. At 2.6G my
body would feel more than double its
weight. If I could walk on the surface
of the largest planet in our solar
system, this would be what it felt like.
“At 2G you will experience some
of the first physiological symptoms,”
explains Dr Jon Scott, a senior
scientist from QinetiQ’s Human
Sciences Group. “As you get heavier
your muscles get heavier, your bones
get heavier and your blood also gets
heavier. Heavier blood has a much
harder job getting into your brain
and your heart has to work harder to
overcome this new weight. So the first
thing that will happen is that less blood
will start to travel into your brain and
you will experience a strange change
in your vision as the blood supply to
your eyes starts to slow down.”
The centrifuge
at Farnborough
is used to test
jet pilots and
teach physiology
students
The effects vary from less
peripheral vision to a dimming
of light across the whole visual
field. A medical officer, Dr Simon
Brown, will be monitoring my
responses. “I’ll be in the centre of
the centrifuge turning round like on
a child’s roundabout,” he says.
Physiologist Alex Stevenson
harnesses me in and it’s a tight
fit. There are windows at the sides
but not ahead, only small cameras
for monitoring test subjects, such
as physiology students and jet
pilots who use the facility for
training and testing.
“The major threat we have for
fast jet pilots is something called
G-LOC, which is G-induced loss of
consciousness,” says Scott. “When
they perform loop the loops and
sharp turns, the G-forces force
blood into their feet and we all know
that we need blood supply into our
brain to remain conscious.”
Scott will watch me on a screen
in the control room while Brown
monitors me from the centre of the
centrifuge and talks me through
the experience.
There is a loud metallic rumble.
The gantry starts spinning and
picks up speed surprisingly quickly.
Within seconds the gondola rotates
by 90˚ and I am Luke Skywalker in
the cockpit of an X-Wing fighter.
There is pressure on my cheeks, as
if my face is stretching. Then my
ears pop and my stomach lurches
as if I’ve gone over the summit of
a rollercoaster. A successful and
enjoyable first spin.
EXPERIENCE
CENTRIFUGE AT FARNBOROUGH
30G. “In 1955 we were at the dawn
of the space age. But we were also
trying to understand just how hard we
could push our fast jet pilots. There
may have been some thought of space
at the time because it’s difficult to
conceive that people thought fighter
pilots would be pulling 30G in the
future. Certainly some of the initial
space rockets, the Saturn Vs, used to
generate huge amounts of G because
of the thrust involved.”
The experience has given me
a newfound respect for both
astronauts and pilots. “It’s also
crop sprayers,” adds Brown, “where
they’re pulling up to 5, 6, 7G.”
Military and aerobatic pilots can
even train their bodies to withstand
higher G-forces by tensing
their muscles and training their
breathing. With the current rise in
the commercial spaceflight industry,
a centrifuge can also give potential
astronauts a taste of what it is like
before going into space.
“We know from the work that
NASA Ames’
5 degrees of
freedom motion
simulator became
operational in 1961
we do here that centrifuges and
G-forces can be quite stressful,”
admits Scott. “They’re not
necessarily for everybody. So the
challenge for the industry is to try
and identify who can and can’t fly,
and come up with a set of standards
that will allow the industry to
flourish but simultaneously protect
people who will be passengers.”
Potential space passengers could
then get a genuine experience of a
spaceflight G-force profile before
leaving the planet and spending
hundreds of thousands of pounds
on a ticket.
“As big and scary as a centrifuge
looks, it’s a very calm and controlled
way to experience G-forces,” says
Scott. “It is totally unique. It’s a
unique piece of machinery and a
unique branch of physiology which
the average physiology or sports
science student will not learn
anything about in their degree.”
For this would-be astronaut, it is
also the ride of a lifetime.
Centrifuges were
used to train Russian
cosmonauts, as
commemorated by
this 1981 stamp
I readily agree to go up to 3G as
Scott had mentioned that 2.6G is
like being on Jupiter. It is the chance
of a lifetime and I am not about to
turn it down: “Take me to Jupiter.”
This time Brown asks me to
touch my nose mid-spin and it is
as if there is an invisible weight on
my arms. I manage to touch my
nose but not without considerable
effort. Afterwards I am slightly light
headed, as if I’d stood up too quickly.
It is still thrilling.
“Would you like to up it to 3.4G?”
Absolutely. This time is definitely
not as pleasant. My hands are too
heavy to lift from my lap. The skin
on my face is being pulled harder.
“We now know what you’re going to
look like in 15 years,” laughs Brown.
Between 3 and 4G is when most
people start to experience some
of the profound symptoms of
increased acceleration. In jets these
G-forces would be generated for a
few seconds. In rockets, they are
generated for minutes.
Centrifuges were instrumental
in seeing what the human body
could tolerate and scientists
quickly discovered that people
could not experience 5 or 6G for
minutes on end, as they would lose
consciousness.
“One thing we learnt from
centrifuges was that if you
reorientate the person with
respect to the G direction,”
says Scott, “people can
tolerate a lot more G.”
In a fast jet, G-forces are
experienced through the
pilot’s head into their feet. But
by reorientating a person so that
G-forces go through their chest and
out through their back, using a 90˚
rotation, the blood is not forced into
their feet and the blood supply to the
brain continues. As a result pilots
can tolerate 10-15G without fainting.
Yet it can still prove fatal. In
2011 a Red Arrows pilot died while
performing aerobatics following a
manoeuvre involving up to 6.3G. The
effects of the G-forces were believed
to be a factor in the accident.
My hands
are too
heavy to lift
from my lap.
The skin on
my face is
being pulled
“All we did with astronauts was
reorientate them within the launch
vehicles,” says Scott. “So for launch
and re-entry, yes, they do experience
significant G-forces, but the G is now
acting in a different direction with
respect to their body so they can
tolerate them. It’s not pleasant but
you stay conscious and they stay safe.”
Afterwards, on the way to the
control room, I receive feedback.
“You adapted very well, and were
comfortable enough to give a
running commentary,” says Brown,
“so I’d have earmarked you for up to
a maximum for untrained volunteers,
up to 5G. A star.” I am delighted.
The control room is unexpectedly
kitsch. QinetiQ also runs a centrifuge
in Sweden, one of the most modern
in the world. But the Farnborough
centrifuge, completed in 1955, is pure
Flash Gordon, with vintage dials,
buttons and a manual G-force lever.
In the 1950s Britain had – as now –
a flourishing space programme. Scott
points out a G meter in an adjoining
room that goes up to a breathtaking
NASA
The Farnborough
centrifuge,
completed in
1955, is the only
one in the UK
INTERVIEW
Professor DAME LINDA PARTRIDGE
LIFE
GOES ON
Professor Dame Linda Partridge,
an expert in ageing, talks to Tom
Ireland about genetics, immortality
and staying healthier for longer
L
inda Partridge is a British
geneticist who studies the
biology and genetics of ageing.
Her research looks at how healthy
lifespans can be extended in model
organisms and the pharmacological
treatments that could keep us in
good health for longer as we age.
From helping to equip the lab in her
convent school, to discovering genes
that influence ageing, Partridge’s
long and successful contribution
to science led to her being made a
Dame Commander (DBE) in 2009.
She is director of UCL’s Institute
of Healthy Ageing and founding
director of the Max Planck Institute
for Biology of Ageing.
THE ROYAL SOCIETY
How did you come to work on
lifespan and ageing?
I was always interested in life
histories – the costs of reproduction
and how that can shorten life. As
an evolutionary biologist, I was
fascinated by those trade-offs.
But what really led me to drop
everything and focus on ageing
mechanisms was the discovery of
genes that could drastically alter the
lifespan of organisms. It struck me
as such a surprising result: that you
could make one lesion in a gene and
extend the life of an organism. That
seemed to be a large flag waving in
the wind to me.
How well did your convent school
prepare you for a career in science?
The set-up was very well meaning
– there was no hostility to science
or anything, and there was some
equipment. But there were no
technicians and if we were to
maintain the biology materials in
the time between when teachers
came in to teach us those things, we
had to do it ourselves.
You discovered that there are
universal genes found across
different species which, when
manipulated, can lead to increased
lifespan. What do these genes
normally do?
These genes produce the proteins
that make a signalling network,
which senses the nutrient intake
of the organism and some of
the stresses that it experiences.
The network tunes expression
of genes so that costly processes
such as growth, reproduction
and metabolism are matched to
nutritional status. If the organism is
short of nutrients or starving, then it
can go into a stress-resistant mode,
where costly activities are reduced.
My work owes much to a
systematic search by a very clever
scientist called Michael Klass. He
was the first person to discover that
mutation of certain genes could
extend lifespan and slow ageing,
working with nematode worms. In
those days people were performing
mutagenesis on worms (modifying
their DNA), looking at how to
change all kinds of traits – and Klass
was looking specifically at how you
could extend lifespan. His paper was
published in the 1980s but it was not
INTERVIEW
Professor DAME LINDA PARTRIDGE
Using nematode
worms, scientist
Michael Klass
discovered that
mutating certain
genes could
extend lifespan
until 1996 that the exact identity of
the genes was discovered.
Are these genes present in humans
too? What prevents us from
increasing the lifespan of humans?
Well, you can’t mutate humans. The
work being done on humans is not
experimental but correlational – there
are studies of people in advanced
age, especially where it appears to
be familial, with lots of siblings living
into their 80s and 90s and beyond.
They are compared to a control group
to look at whether humans have the
same genetic biomarkers of ageing.
A lot of the work is very promising
and suggests we do.
Drastically reducing the amount of
food an animal has available can
also restrict ageing. What is the
theory behind that effect?
Dietary restriction is one of the
oldest models, dating back to the
1930s. It is no small effect, either.
In mice you can extend lifespan
by about 50%. In experiments,
generally, the composition of diet
is exactly the same, but the control
group has unrestricted access
to food and the other group is
restricted – up to 40% of what
they’d normally eat. You get a
dose-response relationship, down
to a certain level of restriction. You
don’t want to starve your animals.
Eating less probably inhibits
the same signalling networks that
were discovered in the mutagenesis
experiments. When short of
food, the animals go into stressresponse mode and increase the
activity of processes responsible for
quality control in cells and tissues.
Essentially, the organism goes into
‘looking after the body mode’ not
‘making babies mode’.
What are the side effects of such
a diet?
There are surprisingly few in animal
studies. Wound healing is slower
and subjects are more vulnerable to
certain viral infections. There are
people who do dietary restriction
– strangely it’s almost all men –
and were they to suffer from a car
accident or trauma, they would
probably be less able to cope
with that. And, when they do get
something like the flu, they have to
eat up to shift it, so it is not without
its downsides.
So you’re working on drugs that
could reproduce the effect without
people having to follow a joyless
dietary regime?
The idea is that we develop a pill
BIOgraphy
Professor Dame
Linda Partridge
DBE is currently the
Weldon professor
of biometry at the
department of
genetics, evolution
and environment of
University College
London, director of
UCL’s Institute of
Healthy Ageing,
and founding
director of the Max
Planck Institute for
Biology of Ageing.
that has this effect without any of
the downsides and without people
actually having to restrict their diet
in that way, which realistically is off
limits to most people.
Do you consider it part of your
role to look at the social and
socio-economic consequences of
your research?
We are well aware of the
demographics and economics of
ageing but we are not trying to make
people live longer. We want people
to be healthier for longer, ideally
healthy right up until they die in their
sleep. Lifespan has been increasing
for 2.5 years per decade since the
1900s and that is set to continue.
Ageing is a risk factor in many of
the long-term chronic illnesses
that we are seeing more of, such as
Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
What does your role as a director
of the Max Planck Institute for
Biology of Ageing involve?
It is a new institute, part of many
Max Planck research institutes
across Germany. They decided
Professor
Partridge is
working on ways to
keep us healthier
for longer
ageing is a subject they wanted to
look into. I got a call about six years
ago from Munich and it has been
really interesting setting it up from
scratch. I’m one of several founding
directors. It’s quite basic science
at the moment. The aim is to use
animal and cell studies to better
understand the ageing process and
develop interventions to keep us
healthier for longer.
If one of the institutes you direct
found a way to stop ageing
altogether – an immortality pill,
say – what would you do with
that discovery?
Whatever our views about it
ethically, it is something some
people would pay a huge amount
of money for if it was discovered
so I don’t think – even if we wanted
to – we’d be able to keep that quiet
or control it. I suppose I just don’t
think it’s that realistic. In mammals
life seems to be limited to around
200 years at the very most, and so
perhaps that might be the upper
limit … evolution has had a long time
to work on it.
SPOTLIGHT ON
Epigenetics
At a glance
The epigenome,
operating above
the level of the
genome, can
change how DNA
is expressed
Epigenetics is the study of any
changes in gene activity not caused
by changes in the DNA sequence.
Why is it important?
Epigenetics explains almost any
change in DNA function that is not
caused by a mutation. The ‘epigenome’
at its simplest is the cellular machinery
that switches on or off certain genes,
allowing stem cells to differentiate into
all the cell types required to make a
human being.
Adding methyl groups to DNA (DNA
methylation) or modifying histones
(the proteins that package DNA) are
ways of changing how genes are
expressed without changing the
underlying DNA sequence. Although
exquisitely complex, with one
epigenetic change often causing a
cascade of further epigenetic changes,
researchers can now remodel the
epigenome of organisms using these
techniques and study the effects.
DNA was once thought to be
an inflexible code that set out our
phenotype from birth, but it is now
known that the epigenome, operating
above the level of the genome,
can change how DNA is expressed
throughout our lives, depending
on all sorts of factors, such as our
environment. As a result, epigenetics
is of huge relevance to the study
of both development and disease,
especially cancer.
variation on a genome-wide scale,
while smaller laboratories use this data
to answer more specific questions
about the mechanisms of disease.
There is a high demand for biologists
with computational, bioinformatical
or mathematical expertise to help
process the vast amounts of data
produced by epigenetic research.
Medical doctors are increasingly
moving into epigenetics research fields
related to their disease speciality.
What careers are available?
Its huge potential as a medical
treatment means that most epigenetics
work is focused on biomedical research.
Cancer epigenetics is probably
the largest field, with hundreds
of institutes worldwide looking to
identify biomarkers of the disease and
epigenetic drugs to treat it.
Huge sequencing programmes, such
as the National Institutes of Health’s
10 year Roadmap Epigenomics Project
in the USA, are surveying epigenetic
Where can I get more information?
■ The Epigenetics Society (es.
landesbioscience.com) is an
international scientific organisation
open to all those interested in the field.
The EU-wide network EpiGeneSys.eu
provides epigenetics news, research
and events for scientists and
interested members of the public.
■ The Human Epigenome Project
aims to map all the epigenetic variation
found on the entire human genome and
its website (epigenome.org) contains
most of the data and publications from
the project so far, as well as details of
the contributing organisations.
■ Johns Hopkins University (www.jhu.
edu) is a world leader in epigenetics
research, topping the list of citations
for institutions in the field. In the UK, the
Babraham Institute, Institute of Cancer
Research and Wellcome Trust Sanger
Institute join the many universities
actively researching in this area.
Name
Wolf Reik
Profession
Head of the
epigenetics
programme at
the Babraham
Institute in
Cambridge
Interests
‘Epigenetic
reprogramming’,
where epigenetic
instructions
are removed
from a cell to
revert it to an
undifferentiated,
or stem, cell.
What does
all this ‘dark
matter’ in
the genome
do in these
diseases?
Interview
reprogramme social behaviours by
changing the epigenome.
What does epigenetically
‘reprogramming’ cells involve?
We work mostly with lab mice and
all the cell types you can derive from
them – like stem cells, liver cells etc.
But the process actually happens
in vivo, which is how we first came
upon it. In normal development,
say in germ cells or embryogenesis,
there is an enormous removal of
epigenetic information in many
areas of the genome. In adults,
different cells have a different
epigenome which, for example,
makes liver cells act like liver cells
and brain cells act like brain cells.
When you form an embryo you need
to ‘wipe the slate clean’, meaning the
cells afterwards have the potential to
grow into any cell type needed.
What are some of the aims of
this work?
Our work has led to a better way
of making stem cells, and there
are already epigenetic drugs that
remodel the entire epigenome in
cancer patients. I think in future we
will have a more refined approach
where we can manipulate specific
parts of the genome epigenetically
at will, when you see something has
gone wrong with it.
What does the future hold for
epigenetics?
There are very many big questions
out there – quite basic biochemical
ones, but also ones surrounding all
the most common human diseases –
diabetes, cancer, heart disease. How
much is explained by genetics and
the environment, and how does the
epigenetic dark matter contribute in
these diseases?
How did you get into this research?
I’m a medical doctor, trained in
Germany. I did a PhD with one of the
pioneers in this area, Rudolf Jaenisch.
I became fascinated by thinking about
cell differentiation in an epigenetic
way, before the field was even called
epigenetics. I came to Cambridge
and established my own lab, then
started the epigenetics programme at
Is epigenetics ultimately about
answering the ‘nature vs. nurture’
debate?
That’s exactly how you can look
at it, as an integrator between the
genome and the environment. It’s a
good mental picture to use but it’s
important to know how much there
is in that mental picture we don’t
know yet.
What about the evidence that some
epigenetic information is passed on
to the next generation?
Large scale reprogramming
happens and most epigenetic
information is lost in the next
generation, but it is possible that
a small part of it survives. An
interesting recent example is the
study of mice and smell (Dias,
B.G, Nature Neuroscience, 2013)
where something that happened
in the previous generation appears
to have been passed on through
inherited epigenetic information.
It is controversial, but an
interesting possibility.
Babraham. Epigenetics is really quite
a large industry now, and it’s been
fantastic to see the subject grow.
Cancers – such as
this bladder
tumour – are
being studied
epigenetically
What other research does the lab do?
A lot of people are starting to look
at caste division in insects – at how
the difference between workers
and queens, who may be genetically
identical, can be explained by
epigenetic differences. We are
particularly interested in a form
of wasp that is ‘primitively social’
– that is, the caste is not fixed, is
determined quite late, and you
can’t distinguish the queen from
the workers just by looking at
them. A new queen can emerge
from the workers if you remove the
queen. If castes are epigenetically
determined, maybe you can
Reviews
SEEING THE LIGHT
The Optics of Life – A Biologist’s
Guide to Light in Nature
The Optics
of Life
“Up to date, in
an enticing
style, and
pruned of all
unnecessary
jargon”
Sönke Johnsen
Princeton University Press, £30.95
It is rare for a book to begin with the
author admitting to not being sure
why he wrote it. But that is how Sönke
Johnsen, associate professor of
biology at Duke University, opens his
splendid portrayal of the importance
of optics in vision, ecology, botany,
animal behaviour, neurobiology and
molecular biology. It’s also unusual
for a scientist, compiling a detailed
and comprehensive yet highly
accessible monograph, to assert that,
while not “conventionally religious”,
he is often “overcome by this world”
and wishes to share his amazement at
“what is all around us”.
While commendably up to date,
The Optics of Life is also composed in
an enticing style, pruned of all
unnecessary jargon. It will speak not
only to biological scientists, but also
to physicists interested in the
countless roles played by light in the
natural world.
Following introductory chapters on
light’s basic properties and the units
and geometry of its measurement,
Johnsen surveys topics such as
absorption, scattering, fluorescence
and polarisation. One commentator
said that the book would have saved
him “a lot of pain” if it had been
available when he began his career
in photoecology.
I recommend Johnsen’s account of
light in nature to one group of readers
in particular: those about to embark
on a textbook of their own. From the
first sentence (“Of all the remarkable
substances of our experience – rain,
leaves, baby toes – light is perhaps the
most miraculous”), this is a model of
how to infuse high-level scientific
information with colour, humanity
and even humour.
Dr Bernard Dixon OBE
Ellen Prager
University of Chicago
Press, £10.50
Many people may buy this book on
impulse having just read the title. It is
indeed a treasure trove of facts,
relating to the awe-inspiring but less
familiar monsters and creatures of
the deep. The prevalence of the use of
mucous, the intriguing variety of
reproduction mechanisms and
inspiring use of chemical defences
make this an entertaining read.
The book provides a rich
description of some fascinating
varieties of underwater life and
how they are essential within
ecosystems, as well as the range of
anthropocentric values and uses that
are attached to them.
Some surprising marine organisms
are the inspiration for drug
development and sources of
medicinally beneficial chemicals.
These include, among others,
antimicrobials from hagfish and
the green fluorescent protein in
Aequorea victoria.
The importance of seafood in our
diets is well known, yet the variety
consumed by different cultures may
raise an eyebrow – such as the slimy
hagfish eaten in parts of Asia, or
seahorses consumed in China. One
chapter warns of the dangers of
overexploitation within the last
remaining “commons” and highlights
the possible consequences.
The colour photographs illustrate
the beautiful magnificence of only
a small number of these creatures.
The omission of an index is one
minor criticism and although Prager
does state that it is not an academic
text, there is a substantial
bibliography. Sex, Drugs and Sea
Slime would be an ideal gift for
anyone considering or starting a
course in marine biology, but be
careful how you phrase that!
Alex Waller CBiol MSB
DWIGHT SMITH/SHUTTERSTOCK
NIKKYTOK/SHUTTERSTOCK
Sex, Drugs and
Sea Slime: The
Oceans’ Oddest
Creatures and
Why They Matter
The green
fluorescent protein
found in the crystal
jellyfish (Aequorea
victoria) has inspired
drug development,
as discussed in Sex,
Drugs and Sea Slime
Oxytocin,
Vasopressin
and Related
Peptides in the
Regulation of
Behaviour
Elena Choleris,
Donald W Pfaff
and Martin Kavaliers (Ed)
Cambridge University Press, £70.00
In 2005 Nature published a paper
that was scarcely believable. The
paper reported on experiments using
a trust game in which two people
were involved in money transfers.
Each person was given a certain
amount of money and the first one
was asked to send some of it to the
second. The experimenters then
tripled this transferred amount for
the second player, who could then
choose to send some of it back to the
first player. A surprising finding was
that a dose of oxytocin given
intranasally more than doubled the
number of people who sent all their
money to the second, who were under
no obligation to send any of it back.
Here we see a remarkable
demonstration of the impact of a
simple chemical on a complex human
behaviour. The book provides upperlevel undergraduates and beginning
graduates with a wide-ranging review
of the background material needed to
understand the functions of oxytocin
and related peptides. The clearly
written and well-referenced chapters
deal with molecular mechanisms,
phylogenetic considerations and
clinical applications, as well as effects
on human behaviour, and the final
chapter suggests potential lines of
future research. A well-organised and
presented book on a splendidly
interesting subject.
Malcolm Dando CBiol FSB
The Spark of
Life: Electricity
in the
Human Body
Frances Ashcroft
Allen Lane, £20.00
There are
some startling
revelations
scattered throughout this readable
but muddled book. The fact that the
founder of the Methodist movement,
John Wesley, was a devoted exponent
of electrical therapy is a story well
told, as is the existence of 6cm
sperm in Drosophila. Yet elsewhere
the book is confused.
Nerve impulses are introduced as
pitifully slow, at 0.07 miles per second,
but are later said to “race along” at
250mph (which is the same speed).
Ashcroft speaks of dangerous
electrical shocks being variously
rated at 30,000 volts, 500 volts, 350
volts, down to an electric ray at 50
volts. Although she nicely describes
arrhythmia, heart attacks and
cardiac arrest, she does not mention
cardiac failure. Worse, she
commends a description of the brain
as electrified clay. The pictures aren’t
too good, either. There is a neuron
without its axon hillock, muscle fibres
lacking striations and a wrongly
portrayed aorta.
The author’s theme is that the
electrical charges of ion channels
hold the secret to life. This is like
arguing that carburettors are the key
to supermarket shopping. Cells are
far more complex and diverting than
you’d suspect from this account.
On the jacket is a claim by Bill
Bryson that this is a wonderful book.
This is the same Mr Bryson who
stated that Leeuwenhoek’s brass
microscopes were made of wood. He
was wrong then, and he’s wrong now.
Brian J Ford
Advanced
Chemistry
(2nd Edition)
“Another of
its notable
and topical
examples is
the use of
polypropene
to make
Australian
banknotes”
Advanced
Chemistry
(2nd Edition)
Michael Clugston &
Rosalind Flemming
Oxford University
Press, £45.00
A broad and simple
summary, of the breadth of chemistry
covered up to GCSE level, reminds
students of what they learned before
starting their A level course.
Newland’s octaves and Mendeleev’s
periodic law are recapped and the
book progresses to atoms, with an
introduction to scanning tunnelling
microscopes featuring images of
platinum and nickel surfaces.
Each chapter starts from the
basics to help build on a student’s
earlier learning. Calculations are
illustrated with everyday examples
and applications of this knowledge.
Chapters finish with practical exam
questions and diagrams of subject
matter covered, such as the chemistry
of an airbag in a car. Other examples
of objects and everyday applications
include the percentage of recycled
steel used in the construction of the
ArcelorMittal Orbit in Stratford for
the London Olympics in 2012.
Another notable and topical example
is the use of polypropene to make
REVIEWS
How Your Body
Works
Ancient
Woodland:
History,
Industry
and Crafts
“A well-
written book
on a subject
that ought to
be close to all
our hearts”
Judy Hindley,
illustrated by
Colin King
Usborne Publishing,
£7.99
To celebrate 40
years of children’s publishing,
Usborne is releasing 40 of its most
loved books, including this colourful
and amusing introduction to biology
that is remembered fondly by
many adults.
The book explains how various
body parts work by illustrating them
as whacky manmade inventions, with
Colin King’s familiar little cartoon
people operating the madcap
machinery. The circulatory system,
for example, is a network of canals
full of men in boats exchanging gas
tanks, while the lungs are a huge pair
of spongy bellows with people
working various pulleys to inhale and
exhale. Simple diagrams and
experiments allow readers to find out
things about their body with little to
no equipment – “rub your thumb up
the blue line on your wrist to watch
your blood move” is a good example.
Critics will inevitably dismiss the
educational value and scientific
accuracy of How Your Body Works
– the biology is indeed crude and its
metaphors can be slightly dubious.
Yet to teach very young children the
basics about their body and show
them how interesting physiology can
be, I’ve not seen anything like it.
Nearly 20 years after I put the original
in my loft, and having studied biology
at university, I still think of my brain
as a little call centre with people
barking orders down the phone to my
arms and legs.
Tom Ireland MSB
Ancient
Woodland:
History, Industry
and Crafts
Ian D Rotherham
Shire Publications,
£6.99
This is a timely
publication in respect of the recent
survey of the number of remaining
ancient trees and woodlands in the
UK. Rotherham combines the
knowledge and training of an
ecologist and landscape historian,
presenting both the biological
importance of ancient trees
themselves plus their role in
biodiversity and shaping the British
Isles over time. He writes with a deep
reverence for ancient trees and
clearly appreciates the role they have
played, and continue to play, in the
landscape and social evolution of the
peoples of these isles.
His discourse covers the definition
of ancient wood; an understanding of
the terms; the number and diversity
of crafts that arose because of the
woodlands; archaeology and ecology
of woodlands; and their future. There
is no unnecessary rambling or hype,
just relevant, easily absorbed and
interesting text. There are goodquality black and white and coloured
photographs dotted throughout the
book, supplementing as well as
illustrating the text.
For a meagre £6.99 the reader gets
a well-written, informative book on a
subject that ought to be close to all
our hearts.
Dr Stephen R Hoskins CBiol FSB
Birds and Habitat:
Relationships in
Changing
Landscapes
Robert J Fuller (Ed)
Cambridge
University Press,
£40.00
Habitat loss and deterioration are
widely acknowledged to be the most
important causes of species decline
worldwide, and yet the relationship
between species and their habitats is
often very poorly understood. This
has important consequences when we
try to predict how species will respond
to changing landscapes or climates, or
when we attempt to interpret changes
we have observed, such as the
widespread decline in farmland birds.
Birds and their habitats have
probably received more than their
fair share of research, and Robert
Fuller has spent three decades
studying this in Britain and Europe.
In Birds and Habitat he draws on
much of this experience – plus that of
more than 30 contributors – to
explore the complexities of bird
habitat selection and use, mainly in
temperate, cultural landscapes.
The three parts of the book cover
theoretical concepts relating to
patterns and processes, case studies
of habitat relationships, and wider
perspectives, including studies in
Australia and Canada. Among the key
concepts addressed is the conundrum
of what is good habitat. How can we
identify it, or for that matter, how do
the birds? The answer varies with
species, time (breeding and nonbreeding, for example), and spatially
(in different parts of a species range
or at different stages of a migration).
This is a thorough and detailed
review which will clearly interest
ornithologists and conservation
practitioners but many of the early
chapters are of value beyond the
world of birds and would interest
ecologists generally.
Dr Ian Powell
ELLA HANOCHI/SHUTTERSTOCK
Australian banknotes. I particularly
liked the example of vanadium
chemistry (with suitable
photographs) to explain oxidation
states. The book finishes with a
number of chapters on biochemistry
including carbohydrates, proteins
and nucleic acids, making this a useful
introductory textbook for students
wanting to learn basic biochemistry.
Dr Amanda Hardy AMSB
Members
MEMBER PROFILES
make a living from watching
animals behave! I studied biology
(ethology) at Wageningen
Agricultural University in Holland
and did a PhD on improving the
welfare of laboratory mice. In
2000, I came to the UK to work on
improving the welfare of pigs.
For over 20 years I have been active
in applied animal welfare research
that is of direct relevance to
policy makers.
I am the co-owner of a research
and consultancy business called
Cerebrus Associates. My role is to
advise on animal welfare research,
information transfer and conduct
policy evaluation.
Biology is at the heart of so many
things – how we treat our animals,
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we do not destroy the planet. My
husband works for the Society
supporting degree accreditation;
he liaises with employers about the
benefits of the programme.
Best behaviour
Heleen
van de
Weerd FSB
Social
Notices
My eureka moment came when
my professor impersonated a
chicken and talked about the
importance of understanding
animal behaviour. I could not
believe my luck: you could actually
A couple of years ago I worked on
the evaluation of the EU’s policy
on animal welfare, which informed
the new EU Animal Welfare
Strategy. I am immensely proud that
our findings and recommendations
have influenced it.
My eureka
moment
came when
my professor
impersonated
a chicken
Chief executive Dr Mark Downs is
to hold informal sandwich lunches
with groups of 40-50 members,
or 10-15 Fellows.
Places are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. To book,
call 020 7685 2564 or email
jenniferlacey@societyofbiology.org
I am a lifelong learner. I went
back to university in 2007 to train
as a pet behaviour counsellor.
I was astounded about how little
we know about pet behaviour and
welfare in comparison to farm
animals. I also volunteer at a
wildlife hospital, where I can put
my love for animals into practice.
6 March
Fellows’ Lunch, London
12:30-14:00
Charles Darwin House
15 May
Society of Biology AGM
11:30
1 May
Members’ Lunch, London
12:30-14:00
20 May
Fellow’s Lunch, Cardiff
12:30-14:00
Venue TBC
MEMBER PROFILES
JANUARY 2014 ELECTION
With my own research group,
I largely focus on how limbs
develop from small buds into
functional extremities. By
combining molecular and cellular
approaches with mouse
developmental genetics, we have
fascinating insights into the selfregulatory nature of the feedback
systems that control development.
To grasp the underlying
complexity we now combine
experimental approaches with databased mathematical simulations – an
exciting emerging field.
Rolf Zeller FSB
As a boy, I was fascinated to see
tadpoles develop into little frogs in
ponds. How an egg develops into a
fully functional and independent
organism has kept me fascinated
ever since. My biology teacher
inspired me to study molecular
biology in the 1970s and after
completing my PhD studying frog
development – what else – I spent
almost 20 years abroad as a
researcher before returning to the
University of Basel in 2003.
As my research works with mice,
I realised long ago that open
communication is crucial to make
people aware of the importance of
animal and basic research for
medical progress. I do this as part of
the Basel Declaration Society, which
is an international grass roots
organisation. Researchers commit
to animal studies adhering to the
best and ethically most responsible
approaches.
I am convinced that such outreach
activities help to increase the trust
in scientists. For this reason I joined
the Society.
Rhona Kivlehan AMSB
environmental science at the
University of Paisley. I spent a
couple of years working for a
charity supporting people who
had an acquired brain injury. I
then moved into a customer
service role working for a global
biopharmaceutical company.
Reading about Louis Pasteur,
and discovering that personal
tragedy motivated him to find
cures for infectious diseases,
has been inspiring to me.
I am the healthcare specialist
for a software company called
Gael Ltd. Its product, Q-Pulse,
helps public and private
healthcare organisations manage
quality, safety and risk effectively.
Being able to combine science
and geography seemed like an
ideal fit so I did a BSc in
I like to keep up to date with
medical microbiology.
Neuroscience is a personal
interest having worked with
people affected by brain injuries.
Reading
about Louis
Pasteur
has been
inspiring
to me
I joined the Society as it is crucial
that I know the biomedical
landscape in terms of current
practices and developments.
I love spending time with my
family and friends, swimming
and running.
Dr Graham
Williams
CBiol MSB
I am a senior
lecturer in
forensic
science at the
University of
Huddersfield.
I carry out
research into
various aspects of forensic
genetics, including analysis of
messenger RNA, microRNA and
DNA mixtures. I am also a
forensic practitioner, conducting
forensic case work for defence
lawyers, and editor-in-chief of a
new crime scene science journal
called CS Eye.
My first interest in biological
sciences came through a love
of sports, which led to a degree
in physiology. I became
interested in the work of
Stanley Prusiner, who carried
out the first work related to
prion disorders, and I explored
this with an MSc at King’s
College London. I worked in
neuroimmunology at Oxford
University and then became a
forensic biologist with the
Forensic Science Service.
I have worked on forensic RNA
analysis for six years. It is now
capable of identifying body
fluids at much lower quantities
and with more confidence so I
am looking forward to seeing
this replace current tests in
case work.
Initially, I joined the Society
for professional recognition
and to become a chartered
biologist. But since joining I have
found the articles and events
thoroughly interesting.
I maintain an interest in the
neurosciences, particularly in
prion protein related disorders,
but a combination of scuba
diving activities and being a
black belt jitsu instructor means
I don’t get much chance to keep
on top of this research.
New, Transfer & Chartered Members
Affiliate
Virginia Abavana, Golboo Abbasian Amin,
Najah Abdigani, Sadia Abdullah, Nadhirah
Abdullah Mustafa, Jonathon Ackroyd, Lauren
Adams, Fatima Adan, Sarah Adefule, Taiwo
Ademola, Shekinah Adoasi, Roqia Agha,
Amandeep Ahuja, Mosufa Ajmal, Vinayak
Alagh, Hajer Albaghdady, Malang Aleer, Carl
Alexander, Huda Alfardus, Abdirizak Ali, Amy
Allen, Joe Allen, Hasnat Amin, Fabiha Anjum,
Daniel Annal, Michael Anthony, Lauren Anzani,
Rebecca Armstrong, Emily Ascroft, Munizeh
Asmat, Navin Asokumar, Elizabeth Aspinall,
Benjamin Atherton, Lydia Atkinson,
Jean-Nicolas Audet, Zoe Awadallah, Zaenab
Aziz, Roxanne Ba, Asal Babalou, Emily
Babbage, Jack Baddams, Iain Ballantine,
Penny Banham, Emma Banks, Reina Bannerji,
Imogen Barlow, Tizane Barron, Omer Baskan,
Nicola Bassett, Lauren Bastianelli, Heather
Bate, Adam Bates, Eunice Bediako, Shajida
Begum, Shahida Begum-Islam, Alexander
Bennett, Jerusalem Berihun, Robert Berkeley,
Jordan Bestwick, Simran Bhogal, Anjna
Bhudia, Michael Biddle, Thomas Bierton, Adam
Bilton, Joshua Birchall, Cameron Blair,
Alexander Bones, Zach Booth, Kathryn
Borrowdale, Ruth Bower, Hannah Boyes, Ali
Bozkina, Alexandra Bradford, Alice Breddy,
Joanne Brehaut, Hollie Brissenden, Katie
Bristow, Aaron Brown, Amy Brown, Georgie
Brown, Javan Brown, Jessica Brown, Rhiana
Brown, Nicholas Bryan, Benjamin Buckley,
Sarah Bunney, Emmalina Burd, Alice Burnett,
Geraldine Burns, Lindsay Burr, Luke Burrows,
Alexandra Bushby, David Busse, Amy Byrne,
Christopher Bywater, Alan Calder, Ailsa
Campbell, Aimee Camplin, Rebecca Carroll,
Rebecca Case, Kimberley Cathro, Viktorija
Cernisova, Alexander Chadwick, Amandeep
Chahal, Ngai Shing Chan, Zoe Chapman,
Waiman Cheung, Tasnia Chowdhury,
Christodoulos Christodoulou, Chinelo
Chukwuka, Natalie Clamp, Richard Clare,
Jennifer Clark, Adam Clarke, Emma Clayton,
Nissa Cleaver, Melissa Cleese, Martin Clemett,
Ashley Cochrane, Farisha Colbourne, Thomas
Cole, Alice Colligan, Zoe Connor, George Cook,
Oliver Cook, Victoria Cook, Michael Cooke,
James Cooper, Roxanne Cottey, Lydia
Cranstone, Katya Curran, Rachel Curran, Amy
Curtis, Hannah Curtis, Winnie D’Alva, Catherine
Dabrowska, Martin Dainton-Smith, Solina
Dangleben, Wendy Daniels, Gordon Darby,
Michelle Darby, Phylicia Dassardo-Joseph,
Farheen Daudvohra, Hannaneh Davatgar,
Jodie-anne Davies, Stevie Davies, Thomas
Davies, Hannah Davis, Bryony Davison,
Jennifer Dawson, Gino De Guzman, Matthew
Delaney, Harry Dennish, Sofia Dente, Marisa Di
Monaco, Stephanie Dibley, Emma Dixon,
Hannah Dixon, Abigail Docherty, Gulbahar
Donmez, Meghan Doyle, Katie Dripps,
Rebecca Dudley, Scott Dwyer, Bethany
Dybacz, Rachel Eastes, Ali Ebrahim, Alice
Edwards, Matilda Edwards, Sarah Element,
Kate Elliott, Christopher Ellis, Andrea Elser,
Emily Elwell, Hamila Elyasi, Sandra Emerum,
Dawn Evans, Lauren Evans, Luke Evans, Aine
Fairbrother-Browne, Stefan Fairburn,
Rebekah Fant, Shaunagh Faughnan, Maria
Ferreira Ramos, Sophie Feuer, Claire
Alexandra Fielding, Samuel Firminger, James
Fisher, James Fitzsimmons, Lewis
Fitzsimmons, Shane Flynn, Alan Foster,
Timothy Foster, Jamie Fryer, Jordan Fulcher,
Chin Fung, Karina Furie, Jack Galloway, Helen
Gavillet, William George, Ameera Ghulam,
Andrew Gilbertson, Balraj Gill, Jamie Gilman,
Alana Giuliani, Abigail Glading, Tom Glen, Anji
Gold, Molly Goodfellow, Shagana
Gopalakrishnan, Lauren Gordon, Kareem
Gosling, Rebecca Gosling, Izzy Gough, Jaime
Graham, Isabelle Grant, Heather Graz , Leah
Greenhalgh, Mark Greensill, Derenik Gregge,
Andris Grigorjevs, Hanna Grimsdale, Danielle
Grindley, Michael Gruet, Ayse Gungor, Ankit
Gupta, Yuwaraj Gurung, Mehendo Gyaba,
Rebecca Hafner, Daniel Haigh, Manal Halhoul,
Jessica Hall, Thomas Halsted, Honar Hama-Ali,
Jonathan Hamp, Jordan Handley, Grace Handy,
Oliver Handy, Maxine Hanson-Nortey, Jack
Harney, Jodie Harris, Zoe Harris, Laura Hart,
Francesca Hartley, Lawrence Hatfield, Ben
Hattrell, Katherine Hawkins, Hazal Hazar,
Callum Hedley, Vicki Heeley, Tajay Henry, Mary
Hesketh, Grace Highwood, Clive Hill, Jake Hill,
Kimberley Hillman, Siobhan Hillman, Rebecca
Hock, Matthew Holland, Elliot Hope,
Mohammed Hoque, Samantha Horton,
Josephine Howard, Sophie Howard, Thomas
Howells, Simon Hoyte, Sandra Hughes-Crean,
Muhammad Hussain, Laura Hutchinson, Ladan
Ibrahim, April Ignacio, Maria Inman, Gemma
Innes, Symone Irinoye, Stephen Ives, Mitchell
Jackson, Pamela Jackson, Sarita Jadavji, Muriel
Jager, Hamzah Jalib, Jennifer James, Lauren
James, Anam Jasrai, Marjan Jeddi, Vicki
Jefferson, Laura Jeffreys, Sara Jelassi, Ava
Jenkins, Imogen Jenkins, Anushka Jeyarajah,
Geerthana Jeyathas, Fabien Johnson, Mark
Johnson, Sarah Johnston, Carl Jones, Cassie
Jones, Christopher Jones, Hannah Jones, Jack
Jones, Jordan Jones, Rachael Jones, Jamie
Jordon, Yusuf Kabir, Aliki Kadi, Ammar Kahla,
Sabiha Karim, Jasmeen Kaur, Anwar Kazim,
Amy Keelty, Megan Kenny, Sidra Khalid,
Ayesha Khan, Faheem Khan, Henna Khan,
Shakil Khan, Matthew Kirby, George Kirke,
Jacob Kirwan, Lucy Knowles, Kevin Kombi,
Paulina Kowalewska, Juhi Kumar, Jessica Lake,
Natalie Lamb, Roxanne Langford, Faye
Latham, Megan Layton, Phuong-Thuy Le,
Nicki Le Page, Aston Leaver, Abigail Lee, Owen
Lee, Maanav Leekha, Anthony Lees, Daniella
Lefteri, Katrina Leslie, Emma Lester, Robert
Lever, Deborah Lewis, Rhiannon Lewis, Wincy
Liu, Casey Lloyd, Tomos Lloyd-Griffiths,
Costanza Lo Cascio, Stefanos Loizou,
Katherine Lowther, Boniface Lubowa, Calum
MacDonald, Felicity Maclachlan, Agnieszka
Magierecka, Damian Magill, Hanna Mahamed,
Elisabeth Mahase, Ruqaiya Maimoon, Hadia
Malakbaba, Hira Malik, Jessica Mallaby,
Akhilesh Manandhar, Eva Mannah,
Tanyaradzwa Mantiziba, Sophie MarcelinHorne, Alice Marshall, Joshua Marshall, Ashley
Martin, Michael Martyn, Maya Master, Anu
Mathew, Jack Maxfield, Conor McCarthy,
Lindsay McConville, Christopher McCusker,
Rebecca-Jane McElroy, Heather McFadyen,
Grant McKay, Alexander McKie, Eleanor
McRae, Graeme McWhinnie, Jack Medley,
Stephanie Menzies, Danniella Meyrick, Jade
Middlemiss, George Middleton, Helen
Middleton, Jehanara Mirzai, Jacob Mitchell,
Robby Mitchell, Yuria Miyabayashi, Ross
Montgomerie, Simon Moore, Sinead Moore,
Benjamin Morgan, Joseph Morgan, Jacob
Morley, Laura Morris, Joanna Moss, Mohamed
Moumene, Sannah Mubashir, Ayeh
Muntadhar, Nada Najafi, Thomas Nash, Ann
Naylor, Helen Neal, Sarah Nesbitt, James New,
Chloe Newton, Courtney Nicholls, Carina Nicu,
Jake Nightingale, Paul Norris, Vivek Noruthun,
Michael O’Connor, Abi O’Neill, Kimberley
O’Neill, Liam O’Reilly, Hannah O’Sullivan, Laura
Oakley, Umusalem Odawa, Taiwo Odeleye,
Monique Ohiaeri, Bisola Olotu, Said Omar,
Adetutu Omogbehin, Joo Phin Ooi, Daniella
Ord-Hume, David Osborne, Graeme Overton,
Matthew Owen, Catherine Page, Manreen
Pandhal, Sharon Panepinto, Laura Parker,
Andrew Parnell, Narissa Parry, Devika Parti,
Anish Patel, Chirag Patel, Jayna Patel, Shivani
Patel, Abhishek Pathak, Panayiotis Patsias,
Erin Patterson, Akeema Paul, Lucinda Pavitt,
Helena Pearse, Thomas Pearson, Joseph
Pennock, Rebekah Penrice-Randal, James
Pereira, Jade Perry, Zachary Pierrepont,
Charlotte Poole , Darren Archie Poole, Rahul
Popat, Lavinia Porter, Sepideh Poushpas,
Hannah Price, Tanisha Prince, Rebecca
Procter, Bartlomiej Przybyl, Sebastian Punter,
Elena Purlyte, Elizabeth Pursey, Ali Qatan,
Yasmin Raddie, Akidur Rahman, Muhammad
Ramzanali, Eleonore Rayner, Rebecca Rayson,
Rebecca Record, Roseanne Reddington, Laura
Reddish, Amy Redhead, Louise Relph, Rebecca
Revell, Italo Ribeiro Da Costa, Katie Richards,
Lee Richardson, Stuart Richardson, Eszter
Rimoczi, Danielle Ritchie, Daniel Roberts,
Meryon Roderick, Sophie Rogers, Danielle
Rogerson, Jennifer Roseblade, Zoe Ross,
Minesh Roy, Nicholas Rubio, Lauren Ruddock,
Matt Rumble, Beth Rutterford, Paul Ryan, Iram
Saddique, Tahir Saeed, Christian Sahakian,
Chanka Adheesha Samarauvickma
Ranatunga, Megan Sambrook, Filly-May
Sams, Csaba Sãrosi, Natalie Sartori, Ali Sarvari,
Anna Scapens, Kelly-Jo Scott, Marjorie Sebina,
Thomas Shallcross, Safiullah Sharifi, Lucy
Sherratt, Amy Sherwin, Rosie Shrimplin,
Marshall Sibley, Kemo Sidibeh, Sophie
Simmonds, Cassie Sims, Avinesh Singh,
Lasotha Sivagnanam, Siransika Sivasiri, Aurora
Skar, Hannah Skevington, Alana Skilbeck,
James Skinner, Thomas Smallwood, Ben
Smith, Beth Smith, Catherine Smith, Charlotte
Smith, Isaac Smith, Karl Smith, Lona Smith,
Nikki Smith, Lydia Snow, Amrick Soar, Michael
Soley, Isabelle Spall, Antonios Spanos, Tom
Speight, Callum Spencer, Francesca Spencer,
Xenia Spencer-Milnes, Victoria Sprigg,
Chrysovalantis Spyrou, Daniel Squair, Salil
Srivastava, Abigail Steeples, Monja Stein, Liam
Stephens, Dominic Stephenson, Nicola
Stephenson, Janey Stewart, Frances Storey,
Saqlain Suleman, Sami Sultan, Vishal Suri,
Eugene Sutton, Holly Swan, Charlene
Swanborough, Shannon Swinchatt, Sharifah
Nur Syamim Syed Mohd Sobri, Tiffany Tam,
Zoe Tarren, Nechama Tatz, Doug Taylor,
Rachel Taylor, Rosie Teasdale, Tegan Thomas,
Frederick Tirrell, Alexander Todd, Daniel
Tomlinson, Mayur Toory, Louise Topping,
Hayley Trestrail, Francesca Trewartha, James
Tribble, Zoe Trieu, Christopher Troth, Rebekah
Turner, Sarah Tytherleigh, Tanisha Unegbu,
Yeliz Onay Uzuner , Glory Valantaine,
Benjamin van Soldt, Anthony Varden, Alice
Vickers, Melina Videnova, Kajanan
Vigmeswaran, Haneelam Virdee, Marc Walton,
Chanelle Ward, Morna Watt, Emma Wayne,
Anna Westland, Kelly White, Lousie White,
Rachel White, Stephanie White, Anya
Wichmann, Harriet Wiggett, Laura Wilkiinson,
Alice Wilkinson, Alasdair Willett, Catherine
Williams, Ceri Williams, Glenn Williams, Hayley
Williams, Liam Williams, Jason WilliamsJames, Jun Jie Wong, Zoe Wood, Helen
Woolley, Anna Woolman, Zoe Worthington,
Efua Yamson, Ziqing Yang, Yanani Yasotharan,
Nadia Youssef, Anabel Zelceski.
Associate (AMSB)
Mohammed Ahmed, Mohanned Al-zahrani,
Irene Amadu, Jessica Andrews, Pravin Badhe,
Alex Baldwin, Debra Bellaries, Emma Bissett,
Lily Brinn, James Britton, Georgia Brown,
David Butler, Thane Campbell, Wai Yin Chan,
Carly Chandler, Victoria Clark, Thomas Clay,
Robert Compton, Gwen Cowley, Rory Craig,
Tony Dickson, Rachel Dolan, Daniel Duddy,
Josephine Duncombe-Moore, Stuart Elsom,
Iseabail Farquhar, Graham Fisher, Emma
Gaskell, Tobias Giles, Florence Gower, Kyle
Grant, Rhys Grinter, Suzanne Harris, Sophie
Hart, Cath Hodsman, Kathryn Hubbard, Sami
Idris, Alannah Jackson, Nevena Karapavlovic,
Anastasios Stylianos Karountzos, Emma
Kelson, Steven Kirby, Carlos Martinez Perez,
Coralie Martlew, Philip McCorquodale, Alice
McEnnerney-Whittle, David Mentlak, Jiale
Mi, Jo Middleton, Sybille Mittmann, Sophie
Monkman, Matthew Parslow, Victoria Pell,
Timothy Rae, Michelle Reeve, Michelle
Reston, Miriam Ries, Lauren Samet, Leo
Schlesinger, Antony Scimone, Jean-Francois
Selfslagh, Sarah Stiffel, Andrea Strakova,
Harriette Taylor, Abbey Thorpe, Gillian Ward,
Ruth Warren, William Watts, Laura Wells,
Thomas Wells, James Yeomans.
Member (MSB)
Matthew Abbott, Richard Ackon-Eghan,
Emmanuel Adukwu, Mary Apetorgbor,
Danen Appasamy, Nicholas Armstrong,
Sam Ballantyne, Helen Belfeild, Clare Bird,
Chelsea Brain, Robert Brand, James Brown,
Elizabeth Bryce, Caroline Buchanan, Anwen
Bullen, Rosalyn Chandler, Caroline Collins,
Stephen Cooper, Philip Copestake, Michael
Cowley, Clive DaCosta, Paul Dauny, Hewan
Degu, Raffaella Di Summa, Nicky Dodsworth,
Christopher Durrant, Temitayo Fakeye,
Rachel Gibbs, Marcus Gould, Elisabeth Green,
Sheena Haddow, Zuhair Haggar, Jennifer
Hare, Lara Harrup, Attia Hasnain, Niamh
Healy, Natasha Hill, Amy Holt, David Hope,
Belinda Hornby, Julia Hughes, Manisha Jalan,
Neil James, George Johnson, Hilal Khalil, Jon
Kudlick, Conor Larkin, Paul Laurance-Young,
Emma Lees, Richard Leighton, Laura Lim,
Katie Lloyd, Martyn Lowe, Nessie Luambano,
Nafees Malik, Delphina Mamiro, Daniel Martin,
Holly Matthews, Alexander McAuley, Jalal
Miah, Alistair Moore, Heather Moore, Michael
Morgan, Christopher Morris, Mark Mossop,
Pauline Mounjouenpou, Neil Murray, Sarah
Newstead, Beth O’Connell, Kathrin O’Hagan,
Przemyslaw Ociepa, Sarah Odoi, Ehigbai
Oikeh, Wing-hang Pang, Iraklis Papageorgiou,
Elizabeth Parfitt, Sujata Patel, Maria Penas
Redondo, Franck Péron, James Poulter,
Graham Purdie, Caroline Richardson, Leigh
Rickelton, Alan Roscoe, Johar Roy, Jesvin
Samuel, Abdul Seckam, Camilla Sewhdat,
Matthew Simmonte, James Sleigh, Julia
Smith, Stephanie Smith, Gareth Staton,
Cameron Stewart, Ilona Stezowska, Harley
Stoddart, Sangeeta Suman, Martin Taylor,
Michelle Taylor, Subathra Tharmaseelan,
Rachel Thurston, Cindy Underwood-Fowler,
Aidan Vey, Nina Wambiji, Victoria Waters,
Paul Weatherall, Andros Wishart, Christine
Woodcock, Claire Wordley, Ka Kei Wu,
Yuxin Wu.
Fellow (FSB)
Clementina Adenipekun, Paul Andrews,
Chike Anibeze, Richard Apps, Raymond
Ashton, Kyriacos Athanasiou, Maria Balda,
Ian Bateman, Nicholas Bexfield, Mervyn
Bibb, Jackie Campbell, Kwok Chan, Michael
Clark, Richard Cook, Jack Coughlan, Kim Dale,
Philip Damiani, Julian Dye, John Elvin, David
Garnett, John Gatehouse, Melvyn Goodale,
Sheila Graham, Joseph Gray, Mathew Griffiths,
Michael Hill, John Hines, Gordon Jamieson,
Gareth Jenkins, Pamela Johnstone, Lucy
Jones, Alistair Jump, Baljit Khakh, Gareth King,
Andrew Lamb, Susan Lanham-New, Andrew
Loudon, Troy Margrie, Jan Martin, Brian
Merrell, Arno Muller, Victor Nsereko, Mary
Oliver, Peter Openshaw, John Overington,
Meg Parkinson, Sarah Perfect, Jeremy
Pritchard, Richard Reece-Jones, Cedric
Richmond, Graham Scarr, Stephanie Schorge,
Richard Stafford.
Registered Scientist (RSci)
Theodoros Laftsoglou AMSB, Craig Mackay
MSB, Mittal Shah MSB, Semerab Tewolde
MSB, Nieky L.J.N. Van Veggel MSB, Shiraz
Ziya AMSB.
Registered Science Technician (RSciTech)
Carly Chandler AMSB, Victoria Clark AMSB,
Gillian Devereux MSB, Tony Dickson AMSB,
Steven Kirby AMSB, Martyn Lowe MSB,
Bernadette McIlwaine (Affiliate), Sangeeta
Suman MSB, Gillian Ward AMSB.
Chartered Biologist (CBiol)
Marja Aberson MSB, Lee Bollen MSB, Susie
Coyle MSB, Katharine Gammon MSB, Ines
Blanco MSB, Ross Graham MSB, James Green
MSB, Wai Lung Lai MSB, Jan Martin FSB,
Angela McDermott MSB, Philip Rogers MSB,
Michael Smyth FSB, Leo Lap Yan Wong MSB.
Chartered Scientist (CSci)
Simon James Benton MSB, Melvyn William
Cook MSB, Gimara Duncan MSB, Osahon
Osadolor MSB, Martyn Jonathan Stenning MSB.
Branches
EVENT
REPORTS
Beds, Essex & Herts
EVENTS
CALENDAR
Devon & Cornwall
IT’S A SMALL WORLD
Wednesday 12 March 2014 18:00
Following the AGM at 18:00,
Professor Richard Handy will lecture
on the wonders of nanotechnology –
its applications and the risks and
benefits of such technology. Meet at
Devonport Lecture Theatre,
Portland Square Building, Plymouth
Campus, University of Plymouth,
Drake Circus, Plymouth,
Devon, PL4 8AA.
Contact Chris Fry mail@
christinefry.plus.com or
01395 278556 to confirm
attendance.
For more details and to book a place
on an event, see the Branch Contacts
on page 45, or visit the Events page of
the Society website.
Beds, Essex & Herts
JORDANS MILL VISIT
Saturday 22 February 2014 11:30
A history of Jordans Mill and the
development of its famous breakfast
cereal and the Conservation Grade
food standard. Adults £5.50,
children £2.50. Maximum 12 places
so booking is essential. Contact Dr
Theresa Huxley on 07785 700 073 to
confirm attendance. Please note
there is limited access for narrow
wheelchairs in the mill.
East Midlands
REGIONAL SCHOOLS
BIOLOGY COMPETITION
GUIDED TOUR OF THE
NATIONAL STUD
Saturday 26 April 2014 11:00
The National Stud is located in
Newmarket, the home of the British
horse racing industry. The tour of the
working stud farm will include the
foaling unit, nursery paddocks, and
the stallion unit, where three
stallions currently stand. Places are
limited to 20 and will cost £10 for
adults, £8 for concessions. Further
information and booking details are
on the events website.
Take a tour of
the National Stud
to see some
Newmarket
runners
Saturday 22 March 2014 09:45-14:30
The University of Leicester is hosting
a Regional Schools Biology
Competition to celebrate National
Science & Engineering Week. This
year students will be encouraged to
think about the future. Juniors from
Years 8, 9 or 10 can present a poster
and seniors from Years 11, 12 or 13
can submit an essay or podcast.
The day will include a buffet lunch.
For further details contact Cas
Kramer (ck53@leicester.ac.uk) or
Rosemary Hall (rosemaryhall1969@
btinternet.com).
is free in the university after 16:30.
Family and friends are welcome to
attend but reserve places with David
at david.ware1@ntlworld.com
West Midlands
FAMILY DAY DAFFODIL
WALK AND LECTURE
Saturday 22 March 2014 10:45-16:30
Walk in Kempley,
Gloucestershire,
to view wild
daffodils, a site
of special
scientific
interest and
historic
churches,
followed by
a talk on
conservation
of wild daffodils.
Cost for members and
under-18s is £7, non-members £10.
This includes morning, lunchtime
and afternoon refreshments. Prior
booking essential; contact Lesley
Payne at sbwestmidsbooking@aol.co.
uk by 14th March. For queries contact
Pam Speed at pamela.speed@
btinternet.com or on 01384 296292.
TOXICOLOGY LECTURE
Late March/early April
Aston University, Birmingham.
For confirmation of date and
booking arrangements see the
Society website.
Kent, Surrey & Sussex Yorkshire
AGM AND PROSTATE
CANCER LECTURE
Thursday 27 March 2014 17:30
AGM at the Department of Chemical
Sciences, University of Surrey,
followed by a lecture entitled ‘Novel
diagnostic and therapeutic
approaches in prostate cancer’, by Dr
Richard Morgan. A free buffet is
available from 17:30 in room 3AX01
followed by the AGM at 18:30 in
lecture theatre 4AZ01. Dr Morgan’s
talk will commence at 19:00. Parking
RETIRED MEMBERS’ LUNCH
Thursday 3 March 2014 12:30
An opportunity for those no longer
talking biology at work to get
together and discuss the life sciences
and other topics of the day. Meet at
The Food Academy, Leeds City
College, Printworks Campus, 123
Hunslet Road, Leeds, LS10 1JY. The
cost will be around £10 depending on
numbers. Confirm attendance with
Barry Canham (barry.canham2@
talktalk.net) by 28th February.
www.societyofbiology.org/events
COMPUTATIONAL
BIOLOGY TALK
15 October 2013
Penny Coggill, a computational
biologist at Sanger Cambridge, joined
us at the University of Hertfordshire
for our AGM. Penny has also worked
to support women in their careers,
and she told us about the work of the
Association for Women in Science
and Engineering (AWiSE).
The network brings together
women with common interests and
acts as a source of support,
information and inspiration. Penny’s
takeaway message was that
networking is key to finding out how
to improve one’s chances.
Scent expert ‘Odette Toilette’ then
ran an unusual but fascinating
interactive session centred on the
senses. Using perfume strips and
material of different textures and
shapes, the audience explored the
human senses. We learned that
within the group we all had a
tendency to link heavy perfumes to
darker colours and lighter floral
perfumes to pastels.
Dr Theresa Huxley FSB
Devon and Cornwall
ponies are regarded as endangered
because of concerns about their
genetic diversity.
There are probably about 3,200
tigers left in the world, yet none of
our rare livestock breeds have that
number. They were developed for
narrow ecological niches and
predominantly local markets. Wool
has been replaced by man-made
fibres, most horses have lost their
jobs, and many breeds are at risk
from culling. There is no public
money to support rare breeds and the
UK Biodiversity Action plan gives no
provision for livestock. The survival
of our rare breed livestock remains in
the hands of individual farmers and
rare breed societies.
Mary Jenking
East Midlands
BLACK, WHITE AND PREGNANT
21 November 2013
Dr Anne Pullen and Dr Gareth
Starbuck delivered a lively AGM
lecture examining the management
practices for giant pandas.
Pregnancy – or the lack of – in captive
pandas has been the subject of much
attention and attracted an interested
and engaged audience at the
Brackenhurst campus of Nottingham
Trent University.
Anne and Gareth considered all
aspects of the giant panda’s
management, from issues with
habitat destruction, ongoing
conservation efforts, genetic issues
Devon and Cornwall chair Mary Jenking presented a
Society of Biology Long Service Certificate to former
chairman and treasurer Brian Petts. His many years
of work with the branch were celebrated with a buffet
and lecture on the human spine by consultant spinal
surgeon Mr Andrew Clark.
UMBERLEIGH FARM VISIT
5 October 2013
A tractor and trailer took us from
Umberleigh village hall to visit the
Pouncey family farm and learn about
rare livestock breeds. We saw pure
Devon cattle and others cross-bred
with Herefords. We learned about
traceable ear tags, animal passports
and the risks posed by badgers in
spreading TB and as a threat to
hedgehogs and ground-nesting birds.
After a superb lunch provided by
Atherington and Umberleigh WI,
Trevor Wilson, one of our members,
talked about the diversity of livestock
breeds in Devon. Some, such as Red
Devon cattle, have been exported all
over the world. Other breeds,
particularly sheep, remain local and
vulnerable, such as the grey-faced
Dartmoor, which was hit hard by foot
and mouth disease culls. Exmoor
The panda’s sex
life produced some
lively tweets at the
East Midlands’ AGM
BRANCHES
EVENT REPORTS
contraband, land mines and even
disease. A cheaper alternative could
be to use rats or even insects as they
have equally good senses of smell but
are quicker to train. Juliet concluded
the evening with an overview of
current genomics technology with
examples of its uses.
Dr David Ware CBiol FSB
PLANT FASCINATION
and the more obvious (and topical)
issues relating to reproductive efforts
in captivity.
Interestingly, the in situ giant panda
populations are currently doing well
in terms of numbers and reproductive
output, although they remain
susceptible to environmental changes
to their dietary staple of bamboo.
The hashtag ‘ntukungfupanda’
promoted some lively tweeting. One
tweet in particular summed up the
interpretation of captive panda
reproduction: “It seems a panda has
confusing and disappointing sex too!”
Dr Jacqueline Boyd MSB
Dr Juliet Dukes
presents her
genomics of
smell lecture
Jim Heath
shows Kent,
Surrey & Sussex
members around
Wakefield Place
represents the only sensory system
that projects directly into the brain.
She reported that sensitivity to
odours differs between males and
females and in many animals plays a
role in mating behaviour. However in
humans this role may be overridden
by learnt behaviour. Both went on to
conduct an experiment to measure
the sensitivity of some students to
different smells.
We are able to use animals like
dogs for their ability to detect
18 December 2013
Wakehurst Place has been described
as ‘Kew in the country’ and, with 465
acres of ornamental gardens and
temperate woodlands, it affords
some spectacular walks. It was made
even more interesting by the
knowledge and enthusiasm of our
guides, Beth Thorold and Jim Heath.
As expected, there were few
flowers to brighten the landscape in
December, yet the gardens still
boasted a range of architectural trees,
such as the scarlet oak (Quercus
coccinea) with its bright red autumn
foliage, and Farges’s holly (Ilex
fargesii) with its dark green leaves.
Laboratory manager Keith Manger
and Drs Louise Colville and Rosemary
Newton led tours of the millennium
seed bank. We were talked through
the process of collecting and
preserving seeds from some 154
countries and 24,000 different
species, including from virtually all the
UK’s native plants.
Much of the collecting is done by
local specialists who know the plants
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
GENOMICS OF SMELL
16 October 2013
The sense of smell in humans
involves a large family of around
1,000 olfactory receptor genes, yet
most humans are able to detect an
even greater number of odours,
thought to be more than 10,000.
Drs Natasha Hill and Juliet Dukes
from Kingston University gave a
lecture on the genomics of smell to
members and students at Sutton
High School for Girls. Natasha
explained the physiology of odour
detection, from the structure of the
membrane-bound receptors to the
initiation of an action potential as the
aroma molecule binds and stimulates
membrane depolarisation. This
process is exceptional in that it
in their area and can collect not only
seeds, but also vegetative specimens
including flowers in order to confirm
their identity.
The seed bank is not only a
collection of worldwide importance,
it is also a research facility, with 20
scientists confronting vital problems
such as the breaking of seed
dormancy, the storage of the most
delicate and recalcitrant seeds, and
the biochemical changes associated
with the death of seeds from
environmental stress.
Dr David Ware CBiol FSB
Northern
Animal Health Conference
27 November 2013
Twenty one final year animal science
and agriculture students from
Newcastle University hosted a
conference to discuss current issues
relating to animal health.
We managed to raise £605 in
donations, organise a strong and
diverse range of guest speakers, as
well as prepare our own
presentations on key topics
surrounding our conference title,
Animal Health Implications arising
from Modern Human Demands.
The topics covered in our group
presentations included mobility
problems and mastitis in dairy cattle,
the housing and welfare of poultry,
selective breeding in canines and the
health problems of exotic animals.
Leading race horse trainer Mark
Johnston spoke on the ailments
affecting the equine species and the
approach to these in a thoroughbred
stable. Nuffield scholar Paul
Robinson talked about his
experience in the dairy industry,
discussing the welfare and
productivity of cattle in ‘megadairies’. To conclude the conference,
local veterinary surgeon Sam
Prescott gave a thought provoking
talk on the care and concerns of
exotic animals.
The conference attracted a wide
variety of guests, including students
from colleges in the north east. We
would like to thank our donors: the
Society of Biology, the British Society
of Animal Science, Semex, Brooke
Research Ltd, and Dr Jonathan Guy
from Newcastle University, without
whose generous contributions the
conference could not have gone ahead.
Bethany Count, Charlotte Dolphin and
Matthew Sharp
Scotland
SCIENCE AND THE PARLIAMENT
13 November 2013
For the past several years the Royal
Society of Chemistry has organised a
‘Science and the Parliament’ event on
behalf of the scientific and
engineering community in Scotland.
This year’s theme was science in
health.
All scientific disciplines have an
essential role in tackling global
healthcare challenges, but the work
of policy-makers is equally
important. A presentation by the
Cabinet Secretary for Health and
Wellbeing was therefore particularly
interesting and relevant.
The scientific programme
included excellent presentations
relating to systems medicine, largescale food poisoning outbreaks,
water quality, advances in human
genome mapping, veterinary vaccine
development, advanced medical
imaging related to cardiovascular
disease, and social and behavioural
dimensions of sexual health.
Representatives from four political
parties in the Scottish Parliament
delivered presentations, and
inevitably questions were focused on
the practical implications for the
future of science funding in an
independent Scotland.
The day concluded with a prize
giving for school pupils achieving the
most outstanding examination
results. Congratulations to: Calum
MacDonald, Webster’s High School;
Katie Campbell, St Columba’s
School; Alice Burnett, High School of
Dundee; Donald Taylor, George
Watson’s College; Marc Walton,
Aberdeen Grammar School; Merike
Mikkov, Forth Valley College; Amy
Taylor, James Gillespie’s High
School; Emily L Miedzybrodzka,
George Heriot’s School; Daniel
Squair, Perth College UHI.
Emma Bissett, from the University
of Dundee, was also presented with
the Top Biology Student in Scotland
2013 award by Royal Society of
Chemistry president Professor
Lesley Yellowlees.
The event remains a useful forum
for the Society and other learned
societies in Scotland to project their
relevance to government, and to
encourage MSPs to consult us on
a wide range of issues affecting
the country.
Lindsay Murray CBiol CSci FSB
The gathered
recipients of
Scotland’s top
school prizes
and (second
from right)
Emma Bissett,
winner of the
Top Biology
Student in
Scotland 2013
ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM & AGM
16 November 2013
Mindful of ambitious renewable
energy targets, our annual
symposium focused on biologists’
role in emerging energy technologies.
While first generation biofuels –
such as diesel from plant oils and
ethanol from sugar crops – compete
with food production for land,
cellulose in plant waste as a potential
fuel resource does not.
Professor Claire Halpin, from the
University of Dundee, explained that
the efficiency of the production
process is restricted by lignin, the
waterproofing and the strengthening
component of cell walls.
Her research on barley
employs genetic
technologies to
identify genes
controlling lignin
biosynthesis, in a
first step
towards the
development of
new varieties of
plant with
modified lignin
content.
Aggressive tidal
flows in Orkney waters
have placed the islands at the
forefront of marine energy
development. Dr Jennifer Norris, the
research director at the European
Marine Energy Centre (which is
based in Orkney), addressed
concerns over the technology’s
ecological impact. Are installations’
moving parts hazardous to marine
mammals and diving birds? Does
noise and physical intrusion cause
species displacement? Evidence is
elusive as data collection from
remote and hostile undersea
locations is difficult, but EMEC’s
BRANCHES
EVENT REPORTS
Yorkshire
EXPLORE THE SHORE DAY
AT BOGGLE HOLE
integrated approach following
multiple and innovative data sources
should provide answers.
Finally, Dr James Pearce-Higgins,
principal ecologist with the British
Trust for Ornithology, asked ‘should
we get in a spin about wind farms
and birds?’
In the UK, where sensitive habitats
and favoured sites for wind farms
tend not to overlap, evidence does not
support serious concern over
collision mortality.
Nevertheless, James’s study of
upland birds at wind farms shows
reduced numbers from disturbance
at construction sites and in-place
turbines, with curlew and snipe
particularly vulnerable. Clearly,
planning consideration is needed for
any wind farm proposals in bird
sensitive areas.
Dr Russ Clare CBiol MSB
West Midlands
DR CHRIStopher SMITH
MEMORIAL LECTURE
16 October 2013
Dr Chris Smith FSB was a much loved
and inspirational scientist who
brought enthusiasm, vision and
warmth to his many years of service
on the West Midlands branch
committee. We were delighted that
his widow Jenny and his brother John
were able to join over 120 Society
members, friends and former
colleagues at Aston University for
this memorial lecture.
The event was held jointly with the
British Neuroscience Association,
represented by Dr Rhein Parri of
Aston. Our guest speaker, Professor
Eef Hogervorst of Loughborough
University, presented a scholarly and
engaging lecture on ‘Reducing
dementia risk through lifestyle
changes: when to do what?’
Professor Hogervorst explained
that many headline-grabbing
interventions such as oestrogenreplacement therapy and eating tofu
have positive effects in younger people,
but can be harmful for over 60s.
The evidence shows that
maintaining muscle mass is
important – three 20 minute
resistance band workouts a week and
five 30 minute aerobic exercise
sessions are a good guideline. Sudoku
and stretch yoga might be good for
other things, but cycling and dancing
are better for dementia prevention.
The big message emerging from
the research is, in Professor
Hogervorst’s words, “You already
know what to do!” The guidelines are
the same as for heart disease
prevention, with an emphasis on
aerobic exercise, a good balanced
diet and healthy relaxation.
Pamela Speed CBiol MSB
Over 120 West
Midlands
members
attended the
Dr Christopher
Smith Memorial
Lecture. Left
to right: Dr
Rhein Parri
of the British
Neuroscience
Association,
guest speaker
Professor Eef
Hogervorst,
Chris Smith’s
widow Jenny and
his brother John.
5 October 2013
Jane Pottas and Paula Lightfoot led a
successful ‘Explore the Shore’ day at
Boggle Hole. Boggle Hole Youth
Hostel (below) acted as our venue
and managers Andy and Peta Nugent
and their staff could not have been
more hospitable.
The hostel is conveniently situated
only a stone’s throw from a pristine
rocky shore. Fourteen members took
part, including individuals and
families and a couple of dogs. They
enthusiastically searched out species
to identify on the shore and back in
the classroom at the hostel.
Around 100 species were identified
including a stalked jellyfish, several
species of fish, snails, bryozoans and
more than 30 seaweeds. All records
for the day will be uploaded to the
National Biodiversity Network
database.
The weather was wonderfully
warm and sunny, everyone had a
good time and we all learned
something new about this fascinating
environment. More days on the shore
are on the cards.
Jane Pottas MSB
and there is likely to be food more
tailored to individuals.
Professor Tim Benton, UK
champion for global food security,
University of Leeds, said global food
security is not just about preventing
starvation but also about ensuring
peace as “Everyone is only nine
meals away from anarchy”.
The human population is
growing and much of
that population is
getting richer and
richer people eat
more. Increasing
urbanisation
and remoteness
from sources of
food is also a
problem, as are
waste and overconsumption: the
food waste generated by
Europe and North America is
equivalent to
the whole food production of subSaharan Africa, while
over-consumption and obesity
causes 20% of deaths globally. Action
is needed at international and
national level to minimise risks and
maintain food supplies.
Crop physiologist Dr Eric Ober
from the National Institute of
Agricultural Botany, Cambridge,
reported that yields of cereals are
increasing slowly, but over the last
few years there have been signs of
stagnation so breeding programmes
continue. Newer breeding
programmes use genes from wheat
ancestors to produce a ‘super-wheat’
to provide better resistance to
drought, heat and disease. There is a
considerable gap between
experimental and farm yields (the
‘yield gap’), so farming practice needs
to improve to realise that potential.
Dr Qasim Chaudhry, Food
and Environment
Research Agency, York,
spoke on how the use
of nano-technology
will lead to lighter
weight, more
hygienic and
‘smarter’
packaging that will
allow longer shelf-life
and less waste. When
the packaging includes
nano-particles it will be able
to detect spoilage, making the
‘use by’ date redundant.
Other applications could lead to
simpler diagnostics in veterinary
practice and pest control, but there
remain some concerns about nanoparticles in the environment.
Dr Martin Hemingway of
ALcontrol Laboratories, Rotherham,
reminded us how ‘horsegate’ earlier
this year shows just how difficult it is
to be sure of what we are eating. But
contaminants can be distinguished
and even traced to their origin by
techniques routinely used in analysis.
Michael Smith MSB
Branch
contactS
Beds, Essex & Herts
Dr Theresa Huxley
bedsessexherts@societyofbiology.org
Devon & Cornwall
Christine Fry
devoncornwall@societyofbiology.org
East Anglia
Amanda Burton
eastanglia@societyofbiology.org
East Midlands
Rosemary Hall
eastmidlands@societyofbiology.org
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
Dr David Ware
kentsurreysussex@
LONDON
Ken Allen
london@societyofbiology.org
North Wales
Dr Rosemary Solbé
northwales@societyofbiology.org
North Western
Glenn Upton-Fletcher
northwest@societyofbiology.org
Northern
Dr Michael Rowell
northern@societyofbiology.org
Northern Ireland
Dr David Roberts
ni@societyofbiology.org
SCOTLAND
Dr Jacqueline Nairn
scotland@societyofbiology.org
Boggle Hole
Youth Hostel
Food, Glorious Food
16 November 2013
Members enjoyed a summary of talks
from our Annual Symposium entitled
“Food, Glorious Food – what do we
need, how do we keep getting it and
how safe is it?”
Dr Wayne Martindale, research
fellow at Sheffield Hallam University,
predicted that as the world
population reaches 9 billion people
by 2050, dietary protein will have to
be acquired by other means than
from animals. Fungal protein
product ‘QUORN’ has a lower carbon
footprint than other protein sources.
According to Wayne, there will be
massively less food wastage in the
home, by retailers and processors,
Thames Valley
Dr Ray Gibson
thamesvalley@societyofbiology.org
Wessex
Rachel Wilson
wessex@societyofbiology.org
West Midlands
Deirdre Marsh
westmidlands@societyofbiology.org
Laura Wells was presented with the Society of Biology prize for the best academic
performance amongst biological sciences final year students at the University of Worcester.
Laura completed her first class degree last summer and is now training to teach biology. Laura
(right) was presented the prize by West Midlands committee member Dr Sue Howarth FSB.
WESTERN
Joan Ashley
western@societyofbiology.org
YORKSHIRE
Paul Bartlett
yorkshire@societyofbiology.org
Museum Piece
Biological exhibits from around the world
#006
Forensic
evidence
from 1830
The Museum
of the Royal
College of
Surgeons of
Edinburgh
S
ealed within three jars is
the physical evidence from a
brutal 19th century murder
involving a single stab wound to the
chest. The central jar contains a
shoemaker’s knife which matches
the puncture wound found in the
victim’s flesh, on the left, and heart,
on the right.
This evidence, and more besides,
can be found in the museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh. The oldest museum in
Scotland, it houses one of the largest
historic surgical pathology collections
in the UK. Developed as a teaching
museum for medics, it opened to the
general public in 1832.
Two years earlier, in an Edinburgh
house, cobbler James Gow stabbed his
wife. The forensic and post-mortem
evidence from the case were saved
and donated to the museum by
Alexander Watson, fellow of the Royal
College and surgeon at the Royal
Infirmary in Edinburgh.
He later published the details
of the post-mortem and that of
other murders he had investigated
in his book Homicide by External
Violence (1837).
Within the central jar is a
description of the murder weapon and
the case (below). Dated 18th July 1831,
it reads: “The knife to which this label
is affixed is the knife
which James Gow,
Shoemaker, stabbed
his wife with in 187
High Street about
halfpast 10 o’c, night
of the 16th, and found
by John Nicolson,
W.M. and Donald
Gordon, D.P., on the
Bartisan [balcony] of
his dwelling house.”
Surgeons’ Hall
Museum is open
12:00 to 16:00,
Monday to Friday,
www.museum.
rcsed.ac.uk
James Gow’s
murder weapon
and his wife’s
heart are among
the exhibits in the
Surgeons’ Hall
Museum
Apply for the Science Communication Awards
The competition rewards informative, enthusiastic and engaging public outreach work
carried out by bioscience researchers from UK universities and institutes. There are two
categories of award:
• New Researcher (£750)
• Established Researcher (£1,500)
For more information and an application form, visit
www.societyofbiology.org/scicomm
Closing date: Friday 30 May 2014
Crossword
Across
1 It has been duly arranged to ignore it (10)
6 Massacre with heads of corpses
and gore everywhere (4)
9 New or ancient one’s reappearance in a new form (10)
10 Presumed it includes what identifies family (4)
12 Be in accord with an ecofriendly person for the most part (5)
13 What might be additional beautification - nothing men have time for (5)
14 Relating to the body, this gives indication of state (3)
16 Absorbing nitrogen is not imagined - it is to do with a body organ (5)
18 Current producer alert to need
to change (7)
19 Reel breaks but it can be taken back (7)
22 Not even elements of boobs on
my chest (5)
24 Hint of oregano in my cheese sauce (3)
25 Some text elements superficial (5)
26 Ordered tapas – often eaten on
the Continent (5)
29 Even bits of meat jelly last forever (4)
30 Alarm notices not put out (10)
31 Sort of storm disruption (2-2)
32 Need to deploy safest club – that’s where you get iron out (10)
Down
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
Rent to rise? Is ruled out (4)
Ribald partying associated with
a wedding (6)
At home poor dog gets to suffer (5)
More desperate about the one
who hesitates (8)
It takes money and energy to create royal bodyguards (6)
Alternating current menu around shows shrewdness (6)
Like anteaters eat, need front of 1
2
3
4
5
9
New year and WIN A
£25
new format
BOOK
for this issue’s
TOKEN
brain teaser
6
7
8
10
11
12
14
13
15
16
17
18
19
20
the clues in italics being words or
phrases that have suffered the loss
of the same biological constituent.
In these clues definitions are
normal but subsidiary indications
and lengths refer to the truncated
version of the answer. For example,
if GENE were the constituent, then
GENERAL would be entered as RAL
and clued accordingly.
How to enter
21
22
23
25
24
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
11
15
17
18
19
20
21
23
24
27
28
tongue to be mobile (8)
Lot use mixture like salt in the sea (6)
A tool for everyone by the sound of it (3)
Arabs here possibly resistant
to change (6)
Disciple he belongs to a new trend (8)
Behind with applications? Results
in commotions (8)
Constellation partly visible overhead (3)
Wait on leaders in applied technology to exploit new developments (6)
Primarily sardines caught here or other little fish in large numbers (6)
Chap, one with a cold, he might need to be confined (6)
Lady left fellow and is now on this? (5)
Office opening before sun rises – that’s a burden (4)
This issue
A change to the usual puzzle format
this time with all the answers to
To be in with a chance of winning a
£25 book token please send us your
completed puzzles by Wednesday
12th March 2014. Please include
your name, address and membership
number with your entry – an email
address would be handy too. Post
your entries to: Crossword, The
Biologist, Society of Biology, Charles
Darwin House, 12 Roger Street,
London, WC1N 2JU.
Volume 61
no 1
compiled by
Doug Stanford Winners
Well done to last issue’s winners,
Dr Anjan Banerjee CBiol FSB and Dr
James Craig-Gray CBiol MSB. Book
tokens on the way.
➜
Last issue’s
solution
Vol 60 No 6
Dr MARK DOWNS FSB, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY
Final Word
A unified voice
for biology
H
enry Ford might have
been speaking of the
Society of Biology
when he said, “coming
together is a beginning,
keeping together is progress, but
working together is success”. As we
travel well into our fifth year it is
timely to review what progress we
have made towards being a unified
voice for biology and what the next
stage in our own evolution
might bring.
It is clear there has been a lot
of change. Both our individual
and organisational membership
has grown by over 20%, we have
relocated our head office, and staff
numbers have trebled. As a result
the Society now offers a much
wider variety of competitions,
grants, training, public engagement,
online services and policy work.
There is plenty more to develop but
it is clear that collaboration
has been a critical factor.
Both individual members and
representatives of our Member
Organisations (MOs) have helped
us respond effectively to policy
questions, ensuring our voice is not
only heard but is authoritative and
credible. This has made a significant
Policy
makers
regularly
turn to the
Society for a
formal view,
whether
on policy
or how to
tackle a
challenge
difference to policy makers who
now regularly turn to the Society
for a formal view, whether it is
education policy or how to tackle
the challenge of developing new
antimicrobials.
However, to realise Henry Ford’s
vision of success through ‘working
together’, there needs to be more to
collaboration than working parties
on shared interests.
Bringing diverse biology interests
together under one roof can
certainly help. Charles Darwin
House is now co-owned by us, the
Biochemical Society, the Society
for General Microbiology, the
Society for Experimental Biology
and the British Ecological Society.
A new joint property nearby will
increase our ability to share costs
and develop common outreach and
policy work. We expect the building
to be in use from July 2014 with
even more biology related tenants.
Of course these two buildings
can’t accommodate every
organisation and we also need to
continue to seek common goals with
our MOs located around the UK.
At a recent dinner hosted by
Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell
for the CEOs and presidents of
some of our larger MOs, the Society
proposed more integration and
higher contributions from MOs to
better reflect the significant work
the Society now undertakes on
pan-biology and pan-science issues.
Inevitably there was a lot of
debate, but the discussion helped set
out a broad plan over the
next 10 years involving much more
collaboration. Ideas range from,
at one extreme, a merger of
societies to, at the very least,
more sharing of experience and
pooling resources.
I am delighted to say that, as
a first step, the Biochemical Society
has agreed to permanently second
two full time members of staff
to the Society to make common
sector goals easier to achieve as
well as providing more funds to
support both general costs and
specific projects.
A number of other societies
have also committed to greater
support and, as a result, the cash
contribution MOs make to our
overall work will increase by 50%
this financial year. We are aiming
to announce more detail of this
exciting news, including the MOs
involved, at the AGM in May.
Regional Grant Scheme
Grants of up to £500 available to
run local events
Want to deliver an event in your area?
Small grants now available for all Society of Biology
individual members
Visit our website for more details and to download an
application form www.societyofbiology.org/get-involved
or contact davidurry@societyofbiology.org
Online shop coming soon...
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