Monthly Archives: December 2015
Bovine TB – should we kill the badgers?
Opinion piece by Professor Nigel Brown FRSB, President of the Microbiology Society. The control of bovine TB (bTB) in farm animals is complex. We have heard a lot about the role of badgers as a reservoir of bTB, which is then transmitted to cattle. This is the argument for culling badgers and several trials have … Continue reading
Tackling the underrepresentation of women in science
By Dr Zenobia Lewis, Senior Lecturer and Co-Chair for University of Liverpool Institute of Learning and Teaching Athena SWAN Team As many in the Higher Education community are aware, the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) Athena Swan Charter has been a driving force supporting women in science in the UK for the past decade. The Charter … Continue reading
The evolution of Big Biology Day
By Ian Harvey FRSB and Amanda Burton, Cambridge biologists The seed In early 2012 the (then) Society of Biology announced the first Biology Week and invited us all to devise events to celebrate all things biological. For my colleague Amanda Burton and I it was an instant ‘light bulb’ moment! We’d both been heavily involved … Continue reading
Teaching: first resort or last resort?
By Ben Connor, Policy Officer, British Ecological Society Does the UK Government have a joined up strategy for teacher recruitment and training? According to Chris Waterman, speaking at the recent Education Policy Lunchbox, the simple answer is ‘no’. Waterman, the former Executive Director of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), whose educational experience … Continue reading