Sue Hartley is Professor of Ecology at the University of York. Sue’s talk explored the inter-disciplinary approaches which may provide new sustainable methods to improve crop resistance to pests and diseases, and to increase the resilience of food production to climate change. This full length (60 minute lecture) was filmed at the 2018 Gatsby Plant Science Summer […]
Prof Martin Howard from the John Innes Centre, Norwich speaks about his work to understand epigenetics (changes to the physical structure of DNA which alter the way genes can function). Martin’s work uses an Arabidopsis thaliana gene to model this, with implications reaching far beyond plant science research. This full length (60 minute lecture) was filmed at […]
Philip Poole is a Professor of Plant Microbiology at the University of Oxford, where he studies how plants interact with microorganisms and how this alters plant growth. Philip’s talk focused on the interaction between rhizobia and legumes that result in N2-fixing nodules; a symbiosis that is essential to life on earth. This full length (60 minute […]
Dr Nicola Patron is a group leader at the Earlham Institute, Norwich. This lecture demonstrates Nicola’s research area in molecular and synthetic biology to tailor plants as biomanufacturing platforms for products used in health, industry and agriculture. This full length (60 minute lecture) was filmed at the 2018 Gatsby Plant Science Summer School.
Prof Dame Ottoline Leyser is the Director of the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge. In this lecture, Ottoline explains her research which uses the hormonal control of shoot branching to investigate plant decision-making mechanisms under the constraints of being rooted to the spot. This full length (60 minute lecture) was filmed at the 2018 Gatsby Plant Science […]
Prof Simon Blackmore of Harper Adams University, UK speaks about using new technologies in agriculture to minimize energy used to support crop development. This full length (60 minute lecture) was filmed at the 2017 Gatsby Plant Science Summer School.
How do we identify and conserve the world’s endangered species of plants? Prof John Grimshaw of the Yorkshire Arboretum explores his experience of finding new species, and then conserving them in Botanic Gardens.
Dr Cristobal Uauy of the John Innes Centre speaks about his work using the latest understanding of wheat genetics to increase the yield of wheat for the world’s poorest farmers. This full length (60 minute) lecture was filmed at the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School 2016
Find out how one scientist turned his student project into a career that’s allowed him to travel the world and play a role in saving the world’s forests. Find out more This starter video could be the basis of an investigation into the role of REDD+ in preventing deforestation across the world, on the potential […]
Dr Ed Mitchard of the University of Edinburgh speaks about his work developing new methods to map changes in forests, especially using radar and LiDAR data, with a view to supporting policy efforts to reduce and reverse deforestation. This full lecture was recorded at the 2016 Gatsby Summer School. View the video on the University […]
Dr Cristobal Uauy is passionate about helping the world’s poorest farmers increase the amount of crops they get from their fields. He’s moved from South America to Norfolk to use the new understanding of the wheat genome to create higher yielding wheat varieties. In this video, he explains how his group may be on the […]
How the species we introduce destroy fragile ecosystems – and what biologists can do about it. By Dan Wright Sarmiento, Galapagos Conservation Trust. The settlers brought their cats and dogs, their pigs and other livestock. They brought the seeds for the crops that would one day feed them. Arriving on the volcanic islands of the Galapagos, 1,000km off […]
We asked undergraduates studying biology at Universities around the country for the advice they’d share with A-level, IB and Highers students on how to choose a degree course. Here are their honest opinions and thoughts. They don’t all agree, so use this as a starting point to think about what’s right for you. Think about broadening your […]
The amazing way that collections of dried plants 100s of years old inspire modern science. By Christine Bartram, University of Cambridge Herbarium. In the hidden halls and secret passageways of more than 3000 herbaria world-wide, there are millions of pressed, dried, plant specimens, labelled and stuck on to sheets of paper. They preserve a 300 […]
In Paris, December 2015, world leaders agreed to limit climate change to 1.50c – the first ever universal, legally-binding global climate deal. Energy and fossil fuel use are the main culprits that we need to fix. The way to fix it is to use less energy and materials, and produce energy renewably. But even if […]
Think of a zoologist, and you probably think of someone studying the megafauna of Africa, or perhaps polar bears across the Arctic. But beneath your feet is an environment packed with animals you’ve never seen, but which shaped our planet. In this 5 minute talk, soil zoologist Dr Charlie Clutterbuck explains his passion for these […]