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Ash dieback: research, funding and policy news - 28 May 2013
Chalara fraxinea (Chalara ash dieback) updated pest risk analysis As C. fraxinea represents a substantial threat to the UK’s forests, Forest Research prepared a risk assessment, which described the nature and extent of that threat and possible risk...
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AstraZeneca stretegic centre to be located at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Yesterday AstraZeneca announced that its new UK-based global research and development centre and corporate headquarters will be located at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. By 2016, approximately 2,000 employees will be working at the site. Yesterday...
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Shaping Ecology: The Life of Arthur Tansley
Peter Ayres Wiley-Blackwell, £19.99 Peter Ayres Wiley-Blackwell, £19.99 Walk through the ancient yew woodland of Kingley Vale nature reserve in West Sussex on to Box Hill, and you will come across a monument to a remarkable botanist and ecologist: Sir...
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Making hay in Transylvania
The Society helped organise one of its more remote conferences in May thanks to senior science policy advisor Barbara Knowles FSB. The two day Mountain Hay Meadow Conference took place in Gyimesközéplok, Transylvania, in the Pogány-havas Region of...
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Flying ants appear early
The UK's black garden ants (Lasius niger) are currently taking to the air in spectacular style, earlier than usual. Records are coming in for the Society of Biology's flying ant survey, and more are needed. Last year's survey revealed not one but two...
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Reaction to the Agri-Tech Strategy
In July 2013 the Government announced its £160 million Agri-Tech strategy. The UK has some of the world's leading agricultural scientists, and we are pleased that the Government has chosen to invest in their work. In July 2013 the Government announced...
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Flying ants appear early
The UK's black garden ants (Lasius niger) are currently taking to the air in spectacular style The UK's black garden ants (Lasius niger) are currently taking to the air in spectacular style, with sightings coming in for the Society of Biology's flying...
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Ginkgo
Peter Crane Yale University Press, £25.00 Peter Crane Yale University Press, £25.00 Since studying botany and zoology as an undergraduate, so-called 'living fossils' have always held a fascination for me. These include ginkgo biloba, the oldest living...
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The Moral Molecule: The New Science of What Makes us Good or Evil
Paul J Zak Bantam Press, £16.99 Paul J Zak Bantam Press, £16.99 Paul Zak is often addressed under his moniker of 'Dr Love' and his TED talk on oxytocin has attracted more than 950,000 views. The Moral Molecule brings together Zak's work on oxytocin, in...
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House spider app launched
Each autumn the number of spiders seen indoors suddenly increases as males go on the hunt for a mate. The Society of Biology has launched a new recording scheme and is asking everyone who sees house spiders to report their sightings. The app 'Spider in...
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Government urged to recognise learned societies' role in A level reforms
The Council for Science and Technology has sent a letter to education secretary Michael Gove proposing learned societies should act as mediators in the Government's move to increase the influence of universities on science A levels. The Council for...
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Flying ant sightings continue into September
This year sightings of flying ants began early, but more are still being seen at the start of September, unexpectedly late. The Society of Biology's flying ant survey has seen sightings continuing for over 5 weeks around the UK. This year sightings of...
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Celebrating Success
The Royal Society of Biology offers members and non-members unique opportunities to engage with the life sciences and share their passion for biology. President's Medal - "incredibly proud" This prestigious Medal is awarded to individuals who have...
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Society announces new president
Professor Dame Jean Thomas Hon FSB will succeed Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell Hon FSB as the Society’s president. Professor Dame Jean Thomas Hon FSB will succeed Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell Hon FSB as the Society’s president. Dame Jean has been...
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Sex, Drugs and Sea Slime
Ellen Prager The University of Chicago Press, £9.50 Ellen Prager The University of Chicago Press, £9.50 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...
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The Compatibility Gene
Daniel M Davis Allen Lane, £20.00 Daniel M Davis Allen Lane, £20.00 In 1940, when Peter Medwar was 25, he watched a British bomber crash-land in a nearby garden. The pilot survived with severe burns, and the sight of this agony prompted Medwar to study...
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A Sting in the Tale
Dave Goulson Jonathan Cape, £16.99 Dave Goulson Jonathan Cape, £16.99 I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud when reading a book, but people did stare as I turned the pages of A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson – surprising, given the...
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Divided Brains
Lesley J Rogers, Giorgio Vallortigara and Richard J Andrew Cambridge University Press, £35.00 Lesley J Rogers, Giorgio Vallortigara and Richard J Andrew Cambridge University Press, £35.00 Most people have an innate curiosity about their brain – the way...
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Parliamentary reception for Biology Week
This Wednesday saw the Society of Biology, in partnership with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), hold the Parliamentary Reception to celebrate Biology Week. This Wednesday saw the Society of Biology, in partnership...
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Society of Biology responds to inaccurate animal research claims
The Society of Biology had a letter published in The Observer on 27th October highlighting the importance of animals in research, consigned by the Association of Medical Research Charities, the Academy of Medical Sciences and Parkinson’s UK. This was...
