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Gordon Chapman-Fox

Agriculture needs a champion

Research investment in the life sciences has focused too much on medicine and biomedicine at the expense of agriculture and biotechnology more generally, acknowledges Sir Paul Nurse, Chief Executive & Director of the Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research centre in London. “One has only to take a short trip in this country to see […]

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The illegal wild orchid trade

Large-scale commercial trade of wild orchids is a pressing, but little-recognised conservation problem, according to researchers. Orchids are one of the largest families of flower plants in the world, and – on paper – they are among the most well protected. From edible orchid cake in Tanzania and ornamental orchids in Thailand and Brazil, to […]

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Pesticide dust danger in Pakistan

Residents and workers in a major Pakistan city are exposed to harmful levels of pesticides, new research reveals. Scientists from Pakistan’s F Quaid-i-Azam University and Lancaster University have evaluated the organophosphate pesticide concentration in dust from farms and also from pesticide manufacturing plants in the megacity of Lahore.

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NIAB EMR appoints new research leader in technology development

UK horticultural crop research organisation NIAB EMR has appointed Dr Matt Clark to its technology development programme. Dr Clark brings a wealth of experience to his new role at NIAB EMR, including advancing the use of low-cost sequencing and genotyping in crop systems. He has also pioneered the use of nanopore sequencing technologies together with […]

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Royal accolade for ground-breaking environmental science

Half a century of ground-breaking environmental science at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has been recognised by the Queen today. The School of Environmental Sciences will be awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. This is the UK’s most prestigious higher education award, given to those who can demonstrate outstanding work at […]

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Thirteen years to go

Agriculture has just over a decade to adapt and evolve to new ways of working that will enable it to feed a growing global population without causing lasting damage to the environment, says Achim Dobermann, Director and Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research. In a vision statement that concludes the institute’s annual report, released online today, Dobermann […]

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Finding the fun in sustainability

The highest daily rainfall in 50 years didn’t stop members of the Lancaster Environment Centre’s new Sustainability Group putting their principles into practice The launch of the Group, which aims to support staff and students at the Lancaster Environment Centre to put sustainability into action, started indoors with presentations about the environmental and social impact […]

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Clean sweep for agriculture

Agricultural research and development features prominently under “Clean Growth”, one of the four Grand Challenges of the government’s new “Industrial Strategy: building a Britain fit for the future”, announced today. “We will put the UK at the forefront of the global move to high-efficiency agriculture,” says the 255-page white paper. “Over the coming years, we […]

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