Blog

Blog on the SBS seminar (25th March 2021) from Keith Hobson written by David Watt, student from the “Meet the scientists” course.

One of the marvels of the natural world is the incredible migratory routes animals, both large and small, embark on over the course of their lives or even generations,…

The pandemic came with a lot of firsts and a lot of challenges:
First = lockdown, Challenge = getting enough toilet roll.
First = working from home, Challenge = sharing a workspace with your partner and their annoying habits.
First = wearing masks to supermarkets, shops and everywhere really, Challenge…

Blog on the SBS seminar (18^th March 2021) from Dr Anna Runemark written by Ellie Mason, student from the “Meet the scientists” course

Novel diversity is often overlooked with the threat of depleted biodiversity often taking the headline. Yet it deserves recognition for species’ ability to adapt and thrive in…

Blog on the SBS seminar (11^th March 2021) from Prof Javier Pérez-Tris written by Nancy Stewart, student from the “Meet the scientists” course

The naming and characterization of individual species is fundamental to biology in representing the principle taxonomic unit in grouping organisms. This is one of the first things…

Craigleith is an uninhabited island and important puffin colony in the Firth of Forth. The island first gained national attention thanks to a Channel 4 documentary highlighting the plight of the puffins due to the invasive plant Tree Mallow. Indeed, it is estimated that the population declined two-thirds from its…

Have you ever heard of ecofiction? Neither had I until about a year ago. Ecofiction is fiction where nature and/or our relationship with our physical environment plays a major role in the plot. Topics like climate change, conservation, illegal trade of endangered species, and environmental disaster are commonly represented (with…

Blog on the SBS seminar (4^th March 2021) from Dr Victoria Pritchard written by Max Vallarino, student from the “Meet the scientists” course

In an age where natural biodiversity is under greater threat than ever before, it is important to use every tool at our disposal when devising management plans…

Blog on the SBS seminar from Prof Marcel Jaspars written by Jessie Jungels, student from the “Meet the scientists” course 

In a world of growing antibiotic resistance and newly emerging diseases (not to mention, Covid-19), drug discovery and development have become more important than ever. Even though nature is one…

I model projections of bioenergy crop yield and energy, carbon capture, and environmental impacts, and in the last year myself and Astley Hastings have published three papers on Miscanthus x giganteus as a bioenergy crop. What I have discovered is that in England miscanthus is a robust bioenergy crop against…

As we approach the milestone of a year since the Covid-19 pandemic forced a seismic shift in the delivery of teaching in universities around the world, I reflect on our experience of blended learning here in the School of Biological Sciences.

At the beginning of 2020, the term “blended learning”…