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Tagged With: research

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

Bumblebees’ gruesome parasites

Guest blog by Sive Finlay, a PhD student from Trinity College Dublin who recently won Best Biology Student at the 2012 SET awards for her undergraduate project Bee populations are in severe decline, an alarming and worrying trend when you consider their vital importance as commercial and ecological pollinators. Research and media attention often focuses … Continue reading »

Categories: Latest research, Nature | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bumblebees’ gruesome parasites

The many nests of the hairy wood ant

Guest blog from Samuel Ellis, a PhD student at the University of York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis There are an estimated 22,000 species of ants, and it is likely that the weight of ants on the planet is greater than the weight of humans. They are very important to ecosystems all over the world … Continue reading »

Categories: Latest research | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

How does an ant decide what to do?

We eat when we’re hungry, but social insects have to make decisions which will support the colony not just themselves. They typically divide labour as well as reproductive duties. Even in ant species such as Lasius niger where workers are not split into different physical ‘castes’, some workers stay in the nest while others leave … Continue reading »

Categories: Latest research, Royal Society of Biology | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment