Life Sciences & Biology
Greener Pastures: Transforming Land Management Practices in the Cattle Industry
In the face of global climate change and challenges to sustainable use of renewable resources, farmers and ranchers are continually seeking best management practices that are economically viable and environmentally friendly. To meet this need, researchers at Auburn...
Professor Lan Xu – Turf Wars: The Impact of Invasive Grasses on Prairie Ecology
Grasslands are global biodiversity hotspots, but are severely threatened by agricultural expansion. In particular, invasive grass species can wreak havoc on wild grassland ecosystems. Professor Lan Xu of the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota...
Professor Gerald Reeck – The Molecular World of Aphid Feeding
Professor Gerald Reeck and his team at Kansas State University are investigating the molecular basis of aphid herbivory, including suppression of plant defences, using powerful methods of molecular genetics. This research is important for developing new aphid-pest...
Professor Bernd Schierwater – Mother of Animals: Introducing the Placozoa
Who are we? Why are we here? And where did we, as humans, come from? Each of these questions is fundamental to understanding our presence here on Earth, and have over time led to a split in opinion amongst scientists. One such example of this comes from theorising...
Professor Gert Bange | Dr Wieland Steinchen – Bridging the Gap Between Protein Structure and Dynamics
Proteins are present in all living organisms. The unique functions they perform in biochemical processes are dependent on their three-dimensional structure. Dr Wieland Steinchen and Professor Gert Bange, from the Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and...
Dr Te-Ming Paul Tseng – From Foes to Friends: Exploiting the Agricultural Potential of Weeds
Dr Te-Ming Paul Tseng and his research group at Mississippi State University are investigating the biology and ecology of agricultural weeds to limit their damage to crops. The team also hopes to improve crop productivity by incorporating competitive traits from weeds...
Dr David Livingston | Dr Michael Wisniewski – Sub-Zero Survival: Revealing How Plants Freeze
Watching plants return to life after a spell of cold winter weather can seem like a miracle. For over a century, biologists have understood that plant survival depends on a variety of co-dependent mechanisms, yet their methods for coping with temperatures far below...
SFB 1027 – Cell Physics: Understanding How Biological Matter Self-Organises
The Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1027 at the Saarland University in Saarbrücken and Homburg is an interdisciplinary research team that aims to achieve a quantitative understanding of the physical mechanisms at work when biological matter self-organises into...
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation
Located in Irvine, California, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports researchers and non-profit research institutions in making the next generation of breakthroughs in chemistry and the life sciences. Founded in 1978 by philanthropists Arnold and...
Professor Michael Schrader – Peroxisomes on the Rise
Professor Michael Schrader and his team at the University of Exeter are working to decipher how specialised compartments within cells called peroxisomes are formed and function to perform vital roles in processing the lipids that coat nerve cells and in defending the...
Dr Chris Meier – Enhancing the Efficacy of Anti-Viral & Anti-Cancer Drugs
Cancer and viral infections are two of the leading causes of death worldwide. It goes without saying that there is a need for more effective treatment options. Dr Chris Meier from the University of Hamburg’s Department of Chemistry has been working on exactly that....
Dr C. B. Rajashekar – More Reasons to Eat Your Greens: Boosting Phytochemicals in Vegetables
Many plants contain phytochemicals – unique chemicals that can prevent diseases such as heart disease, cancer and obesity. Dr C. B. Rajashekar and his colleagues at Kansas State University are investigating ways to increase the concentration of these constituents in...
Dr Albert Guskov – Metal Transport Unlocks Routes to New Antibiotics
Metals have been improving our lives since the bronze age, but they also play a key role in keeping us healthy. We rely on numerous metals, such as cobalt, zinc and magnesium (among others), to perform essential roles in our bodies. Many bacteria also require these...
Professor Paul Dyson | Dr Miranda Whitten – Controlling Insect Pests with RNA Interference
Professor Paul Dyson and Dr Miranda Whitten at Swansea University in the UK are developing insect pest control methods using endosymbiotic bacteria that target the insects ‘from within’ using RNA interference. The Insecta class of arthropods is the most diverse group...
Dr Eric Hallerman | Dr Jess Jones – Using Population Genetics to Inform Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation
Conservation can be difficult work on an ever-changing planet, where human activity often runs counter to the needs of endangered species. When budgets and resources are limited, it is critical that conservation plans are designed to be as effective as possible. Dr...
Dr Sangamesh (Sangu) Angadi – Circles of Hope: Circular Buffer Strip Schemes for Agriculture Dr Sangamesh
Agriculture in the semi-arid US Southern Great Plains depends on irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest in the country. With the aquifer in decline, new ideas will be needed to ensure the future of irrigated agriculture in the region. Dr Sangamesh...
Professor Rachel Mackelprang – Frozen in Time: The Permafrost Microbiome
Deep within the permafrost, viable microbial communities persist, buried for millennia. With the permafrost rapidly thawing due to global warming, these microbes are becoming more active, feeding on previously frozen organic matter and ‘breathing’ out greenhouse...
Dr Chad Dechow – The Dairy Cow: Beyond Mass Production
As dairy farmers struggle to make ends meet, economic efficiency often forces the health and wellbeing of cattle to take a back seat. Dr Chad Dechow and his team at Pennsylvania State University have set about tackling this problem, providing a means for producing...
The Consortium of Food Process Validation Experts: Surrogate Bacteria for Food Safety
In the wake of a terrible E. coli food poisoning outbreak, a group of food scientists decided to gear their research towards improving the safety of meat and poultry, whilst reaching out to food industry stakeholders and forming a collaboration known as the Consortium...
Cowpea – An Ancient Crop for Modern Challenges
Cowpea has been cultivated as a crop for thousands of years, and is well-placed to improve the sustainability of modern agricultural systems. As part of a NIFA-funded project, Dr Louis Jackai, Dr Beatrice Dingha and Dr Mulumebet Worku and their students at North...
Dr Macdonald Wick – Illuminating the Causes Behind Muscle Problems in Poultry
Muscle defects and non-infectious anomalies in commercial poultry are increasing in prevalence – with implications for bird welfare, meat quality and economic value. Dr Macdonald Wick and his team at Ohio State University are attempting to elucidate the biological...
Dr Philippe Rolshausen – Utilising the Plant Microbiome in Agriculture
Dr Philippe Rolshausen and his team at the University of California, Riverside, aim to understand the microbial communities that live on and in fruit trees, with implications for crop yield and plant disease. With backing from Californian tree crop industries and...
Dr Nina Bassuk – Trees – the True Urban Warriors
Trees benefit cities in many often-overlooked ways. They not only beautify concrete backdrops, but also improve the quality of our urban lives by providing shade, reducing storm runoff, filtering air and providing homes for birds and insects. Trees face big...
Dr. Erik Sontheimer – Innovation Is in Our RNA
DNA, as the molecular blueprint for life on earth, has long held a special place in scientific discourse and popular culture. DNA also has a lesser-known sister molecule, called RNA, which transfers specific instructions from DNA to produce proteins. RNA is now...
Dr Martha Giraldo – Solving the Problem of Apio (Arracacia xanthorrhiza) Corm Rot Disease
Essentially un-researched until now, corm rot disease has had detrimental effects on the Puerto Rican agricultural industry. Here, Dr Martha Giraldo and her research team at the University of Puerto Rico collaborate with local farmers to investigate the source of this...
Dr Dedrick D. Davis – Biochar and Soil Dynamics
Renewable biofuels are a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels, but they have their own complications. One problem is that growing and harvesting crops for biofuel depletes soil of valuable nutrients. To mitigate this, a byproduct of making biofuel – known as...
Dr Cheryl Van Buskirk – Sandman and the Worm – Cellular Insights into the World of Sleep
Why we sleep is a mystery. Dr Cheryl Van Buskirk of California State University Northridge is using the simple roundworm, C. elegans, to probe the cellular basis of sleep – with implications for sleep in more complex animals – including humans. Sleep – One of Life’s...
Aiken-Prasad-Schlegel
Professor Timothy Schowalter – Bugs are Friends: Taking an Ecosystem View on Forest Health
Humans commonly view insects as unwanted nuisances, and many modern land-management practices focus on reducing insect numbers using toxic pesticides and invasive biological controls. Professor Timothy Schowalter at Louisiana State University has been studying insect...
Dr Paul Slusarewicz – Fighting Endemic Parasites: New Technologies to Solve Old Challenges
Intestinal worms are among the most common types of parasitic infections worldwide. Despite technological advances in other areas of medical diagnostics, the procedure for identifying worm infection, the faecal egg count, has remained largely unchanged since its debut...
Dr Lisa Burden | Dr Daniel Burden – Monitoring and Controlling the Delivery of Single Molecules through Nanopores
Monitoring and controlling molecules as they are transported in and out of nanometre-sized compartments is no easy task. Dr Lisa Burden, Dr Daniel Burden and their colleagues at Wheaton College have made significant contributions to understanding these processes by...
The National Science Teachers Association
Founded in 1944, the Virginia-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) is the largest organisation in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. In this exclusive interview, we talk to Executive Director of...