The Power of Poison

Botulinum toxins are among the most deadly substances known to man, yet have a remarkable range of therapeutic uses. David Feld, who has received injections of the toxins for 20 years, and his doctor, Richard Grünewald, explore this fascinating...

Algal biofuels

Regional Grant Scheme Events

Regional Grants of between £50 - £500 help members run an event or activity in their region that engages members and the local community with biology Currently in its fifth year, the grant scheme has funded over 100 events to take place across the UK...

A Meaty Mystery

Cases of a bizarre allergy to products made from mammals – including red meat, woollen clothes and some medicines – are on the rise. Maryn McKenna explains how researchers are piecing together the puzzle of its unlikely cause The Biologist 66(3) p18-21...

Conflicting ideas

Harmit Malik talks to The Biologist about his influential work on genetic conflict – and how reconstructing virus–host arms races from deep in our evolutionary history could help us design new antiviral proteins February 27th 2022 Earlier this year the...

Conflicting ideas

Harmit Malik talks to The Biologist about his influential work on genetic conflict – and how reconstructing virus–host arms races from deep in our evolutionary history could help us design new antiviral proteins February 27th 2022 Earlier this year the...

The future of genetic tech: animal innovation from lab to farm

Home Office regulation ensures the safety and welfare of gene-edited animals used in research, but brave policy making is required to help such innovations move into wider use in agriculture, writes Dr Simon Lillico of the Roslin Institute September...

Reports

Building a new woodland 27 April 2024 Members of the Northern Branch had an interesting, guided tour at Low Burnhall Woods, hosted by two volunteers from the Woodland Trust. Low Burnhall Woods is a patchwork of habitats comprising of ancient woodland,...

Eating gamma radiation for breakfast

Some fungal species appear to be able to use strong radiation as an energy source for growth. Tom Ireland explores the exciting potential of these understudied organisms In the late 1980s Ukrainian scientists studying the dark, dangerous interior of...

Sensing success at iGEM

A team of scientists from the University of Nottingham explain their competition project – a novel system to detect botulinum toxins in food The Biologist 66(6) p26-29 Every October thousands of students from around the world gather in Boston, USA, for...

The Genesis Quest: The Geniuses and Eccentrics on a Journey to Uncover the Origin of Life on Earth

Michael Marshall The University of Chicago Press, £20.00 This book explores multiple theories about the origin of life and the story of how these ideas have progressed over the last century. The book's distinctive style comes from well-researched...

British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy

The British Society for Cell and Gene Therapy aims to accelerate scientific progress and promote ethical and thorough transfer of gene- and cell-based technologies from the laboratory into the clinic, for treatment of a range of serious disorders,...

Zone 2: Fascinating and Informative Videos

Extracting DNA from cells | British Society for Gene and Cell Therapy Ever wondered what the genetic code made up of strings of As Ts Gs and Cs looks like? Or, what a genetic mutation look like? Follow through this experiment from beginning to end and...

The Matter of Life

‘Active matter’ is the term given to systems containing large numbers of self-propelling units or creatures – from motor proteins in a cell to flocks of birds. Physicist Sriram Ramaswamy tells Tom Ireland about his influential work on the properties of...

RSB announces the Photography Competition 2017 shortlist

The Royal Society of Biology is pleased to announce the shortlist for their 2017 Photographer of the Year and Young Photographer of the Year competitions. The Royal Society of Biology is pleased to announce the shortlist for their 2017 Photographer of...

Photography Competition Winners 2017

The theme for the photography competition in 2017 was The Hidden World. The Society would like to congratulate the winners and shortlisted photographers, who were celebrated at the Biology Week annual award ceremony. Photographer of the Year 2017:...

Bioscience Journals

Our Member Organisations produce a range of excellent specialist journals Biochemical Society British Ecological Society British Pharmacological Society British Society for Immunology Microbiology Society Society for Applied Microbiology Society for...

Caught in a trap

It's easy to forget that plants can catch prey too. Dan Rowson looks at the weird and wonderful ways different plants of the genus Nepenthes get their fill The Biologist 62(2) p12-14 Last year, a new species of carnivorous plant was discovered – not in...

Focus on: Gene editing

Everybody is talking about CRISPR-Cas9, the revolutionary system that makes it cheaper and easier to 'edit' genomes. But do you know how it works? The Biologist 63(1) p32-33 At the end of 2015, hundreds of scientists gathered in Washington to discuss...

Resistance fighters

Just like bacteria, agricultural pests evolve resistance to the chemicals we develop to control them. Anthony Flemming looks at what we can do about it The Biologist Vol 63(6) p16-19 For an increasingly urbanised population, the agricultural landscape...