Policy
Is organic food better for you and for the environment?
By Professor Nigel Brown FRSB, President of the Microbiology Society. There is a considerable amount of concern about the use of pesticides and herbicides in the environment, and specifically their use on the food we eat. There is no doubt that we need to prevent insects and microbes from damaging our food crops and different … Continue reading
I don’t know what to believe
By Gabriele Butkute, science policy assistant at the Royal Society of Biology There is a huge appetite for science stories in the news, however, we cannot help but wonder whether everything we read is accurate or rather just a marketing ploy (some of the stories do sound too good to be true). We have all … Continue reading
Genetically Modified Organisms (Part 2) – Are they safe and is there a need for them?
By Professor Nigel Brown FRSB, President of the Society for General Microbiology. Part 1 of this series described what GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are. There has been a backlash against these in some EU countries, including the UK. Two issues of concern are safety of individuals and safety of the environment. However, the main concern … Continue reading
What do you mean ‘it’s unnatural’?
By Anna Wilkinson, Programme Officer, Nuffield Council on Bioethics Nature is important to us. Most people agree we need to take care of the natural environment and it is only the hardest of hearts that finds themselves unmoved by the beauty and complexity of the natural the world. Caring about naturalness might be different though. … Continue reading
Bees are a political issue
Dr Barbara Knowles MBE FRSB is senior science policy adviser at the Royal Society of Biology, and an active conservation volunteer working to protect biodiversity in farmed landscapes. These are her views, not necessarily those of the Society. Bees and neonic insecticides are in the news again as the Secretary of State for Defra decided … Continue reading
Research, industry and policy join forces to tackle antimicrobial resistance
By Gabriele Butkute, science policy assistant at the Society of Biology and the Biochemical Society If we fail to act on AMR then an additional 10 million lives would be lost each year to drug-resistant strains of malaria, HIV, TB, and certain bacterial infections by 2050, at a cost to the world economy of 100 … Continue reading
Science should not be a niche area for politicians… and vice versa!
by Zoe Self, postdoctoral researcher at the Royal Veterinary College While I was delighted to be invited by the Society for Experimental Biology (SEB) to attend the Society of Biology’s Parliamentary Links Day, I must admit I was a little nervous, not so much for the prestige of the occasion but for my ignorance regarding … Continue reading
Links Day 2015 Keynote Speakers
Parliamentary Links Day is an annual event organised in Parliament by the Society of Biology on behalf of the science community, which aims to strengthen dialogue between scientists and politicians. Watch the speeches by: Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science; Nicola Blackwood MP, chair of the House of Commons Science and … Continue reading
What role will science play in the new Parliament?
By James Borrell, NERC funded PhD student and science policy intern at the Society of Biology What role will science play in the new parliament? How will new research influence policy? Will science funding increase or continue to decline? The answers to these questions are elusive, but perhaps the clearest bellwether of the prevailing scientific … Continue reading
Why do students still need textbooks?
By Dan Rowson, education policy officer at the Society of Biology At the May Policy Lunchbox, we welcomed Tim Oates, Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment. Previously Tim was Head of Research at the Qualifications and Curriculum Agency and in 2010 he led the Government review on the National Curriculum. On … Continue reading