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Monthly Archives: May 2013

Weird and wonderful species adapted to their hostile habitats

By Amy Whetstone, Qualifications and Skills Officer at the Society of Biology The yeti crab and axolotl are two bizarre but brilliant species that are rarely in the limelight, but I believe deserve to be. So broaden your animal lexicon and spread the word about these peculiar aquatic species, who have adapted to cope in … Continue reading »

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A trachea grown from stem cells

by Dimitrios Beredimas, a blogger interested in stem cells Stem cells have the potential to help treat many serious medical conditions, including heart failure, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, retinitis pigmentosa, and debilitating spinal cord injuries.

Categories: Latest research | Comments Off on A trachea grown from stem cells

Wake up and smell the … curry?

Professor Roger Bick MMedEd MBS is a researcher in the department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas. Every time I walk past an Indian restaurant my nasal passages expand, my salivary glands produce more saliva and I look to see if I have enough time to scarf down some tandoori chicken. … Continue reading »

Categories: Animal research, Latest research | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

World Biodiversity Day

Caroline Bellingan, a student at Wimbledon High School, shares her thoughts on World Biodiversity Day Biodiversity is the term given to the degree of variation in life forms with in a given species or ecosystem and it is a hot topic that is being flagged up very frequently at the moment amongst those in the … Continue reading »

Categories: Conservation, Nature | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

Should science novels and films be introduced at schools?

By Vydeki Shanmuganathan, Senior Scientist (Microbiology) at Affinity Water Shared Services We all dissected Charles Dickens novels at school to great length and watched plays based on his novels. However, we were rarely introduced to science novels or films at schools. With the education system evolving, is now the time to introduce science novels and … Continue reading »

Categories: Education | Tags: , | 2 Comments

For better or worse: the dual use of biology

Guest post by Piers D Millett, Deputy Head of the Implementation Support Unit for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Unfortunately, biology has huge potential to be used as a weapon, most likely by deliberately instigating disease. As yet we have no sure fire way to maximise the benefits of biology whilst minimising any risks. I … Continue reading »

Categories: Policy | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Species of the week- The Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)

Lauren is a recent graduate in microbiology interning at the Society of Biology until June 2013. She is interested in a career in science communication and writes for her own blog, Science Says as well as for the Student Hubs blog. The long-awaited spring is finally here. And what better to bring with it than … Continue reading »

Categories: Education, Nature, Species of the week | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Action for Brain Injury Week

By Lauren Hoskin, intern at the Society of Biology This week, 13th-19th May, a campaign is being launched to highlight the hidden aspects of brain injury and help with the correct diagnosis of these potentially terminal conditions. The campaign is part of Action for Brain Injury (ABI) week, organised by Headway. Brain injury is an … Continue reading »

Categories: Animal research, Latest research | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Species of the week: the parasitic barnacle Sacculina

Krystal Deutsch describes a parasite which chemically castrates its host Sacculina is a parasitic barnacle that depends on crabs for its growth and reproduction. A female Sacculina larva finds a crab, sheds its hard outer layer and injects her soft inner body through a joint in the crab’s shell, entering the crustacean’s body and using … Continue reading »

Categories: Nature, Species of the week | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Shout louder

Karen Patel, communications assistant at the Society of Biology and organiser of the Science Communication Awards, blogs about the Science is Vital campaign For me growing up in London meant school holidays included a day out to museums and galleries. Hands on activities and enthusiastic explainers made the Science Museum a favourite. Taking part in … Continue reading »

Categories: Education, Policy | Tags: , | 1 Comment