Author Archives: Guest Blogger
Why do some lakes have a greater diversity of cichlid fish?
Guest blog from Andrew Helmstetter, Savolainen Lab, Imperial College London, who researches ecological adaptation and speciation in the Austrolebias genus of fish (see picture) One of the major questions that is driving research in speciation biology (the study of how new species evolve) is “why do some groups of species diversify faster than others?” The … Continue reading
Scanning a cockroach – What a way to spend a Saturday night!
An update from Katy Ordidge, from CABI, UCL, who is asking for wacky ideas of what to put in an MRI scanner It was 7pm on a Saturday night, and Holly and I were putting a cockroach into the scanner… Earlier in the week, we had taken delivery of a cockroach, and PhD students Tom … Continue reading
Debating Matters calls for new judges
Guest post from Jason Smith, Institute of Ideas Whatever your thoughts are on the various bio-medical controversies currently facing society – whether your particular interest is in GM crops and the future of agriculture, the ethics of animal experimentation, or the benefits or otherwise of giving IVF treatment to women in their fifties – the … Continue reading
Calling everyone with wacky ideas for the MRI scanner!
In honour of the Biology Week competition calling for ideas of objects to put in an MRI scanner, here is a guest blog from Katy Ordidge. Firstly, let me introduce myself… My name is Katy Ordidge and I am a second year PhD student working in UCL’s Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI). We are … Continue reading
Creating a bang!
Society of Biology volunteer Naomi Hartopp from the University of York describes her experience at the Big Bang Fair Even the most mature professionals couldn’t help showing their excitement at the spectacular exhibitions on show at the Big Bang Fair, and who can blame them? For a few days, the Birmingham NEC was transformed into … Continue reading
Whose Impact is it Anyway?
Guest post by Ceri Margerison, Policy Manager at the British Ecological Society ‘Whose Impact is it Anyway?’ was the question that the latest in the ‘Talk Science‘ series of events at the British Library tried to address on Tuesday evening. The event, a panel discussion chaired by William Cullerne Bown of Research Fortnight and in … Continue reading
How biology can save the world
From our Chief Executive Dr Mark Downs Belief in the ability of science to change things for the better is very often the motivation for choosing biology as a career. Jumping into the mysterious and far-reaching depths of any biological discipline will yield a bounty of treasures. Whether it is knowledge about a new disease … Continue reading