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TheBiologistTHE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE ■ ISSN 0006-3347 ■ SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG VOL 62 NO 1 ■ FEB/MAR 2015

HISTORY

ROLL CALLBlue plaques honour

eminent biologists

EPIDEMIOLOGY

DEADLY PURSUITPeter Piot on

discovering Ebola

INTERVIEW

STAND-UP SCIENCESophie Scott on the

study of laughter

URBAN LIVINGWhy the once rare peregrine is thriving in our towns and cities

Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach focuses on the conceptual basis of parasitology, with the goal of providing students with an expanded view of parasites and their biology.

Concentrating on concepts will enable readers to gain a broader perspective that will increase their ability to think critically about all kinds of parasitic associations.

The interfaces between the study of parasitism and prominent biological disciplines such as biodiversity, immunology, ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and disease control are highlighted.

Studying individual parasites is an essential part of parasitology so Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach contains an appendix (the Rogues’ Gallery) which provides a concise overview of the biology of important human and veterinary parasites.

PARASITOLOGYA Conceptual Approach

Eric S. Loker and Bruce V. Hofkin, both at the University of New Mexico, USA

February 2015 • 550pp • 350 i l lus • £60.00

978-0-8153-4473-5

For more information, please contact [email protected]

• Conceptual organization brings parasitology teaching in line with current thinking and research

• Rogues’ Gallery will make taxonomically oriented instructors comfortable using the book and provide an invaluable revision/review aid for students

• Text Boxes contain additional information to complement the narrative• End-of-chapter questions with answer guidance online• Instructor manual

FEATURES

www.garlandscience.com


The interfaces between the study of parasitism and prominent biological disciplines such as biodiversity, immunology, ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and disease control are

Studying individual parasites is an essential part of

Rogues’ Gallery) which provides a concise overview of the biology of important human and veterinary parasites.

PARASITOLOGYA Conceptual Approach

Bruce V. Hofkin,

For more information, please contact

Conceptual organization brings parasitology teaching in line with current

Rogues’ Gallery will make taxonomically oriented instructors comfortable

Text Boxes contain additional information to complement the narrativeEnd-of-chapter questions with answer guidance onlineInstructor manual


The interfaces between the study of parasitism and prominent biological disciplines such as biodiversity, immunology, ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and disease control are

Studying individual parasites is an essential part of

Rogues’ Gallery) which provides a concise overview of the biology of important human and veterinary parasites.

Bruce V. Hofkin,

For more information, please contact

Conceptual organization brings parasitology teaching in line with current

Rogues’ Gallery will make taxonomically oriented instructors comfortable

Text Boxes contain additional information to complement the narrativeEnd-of-chapter questions with answer guidance onlineInstructor manual

www.garlandscience.com

Contents8 Opinion: Going public

Professor Bruce Hood on how

.o.-u. events can take the strain

out of .ublic engagement.

9 Opinion: Let’s make it clearDr Kerstin Elbing on the urgent

need to define synthetic biology

to avoid a GM-style backlash.

12 Best of bioscienceHighlights from the Society’s

one-day Biology Now conference.

16 The disease detective Professor Peter Piot recalls the

efforts of his team in the 1970s to

identify and understand the Ebola

virus and sto. it s.reading.

20 City slickersEd Drewitt looks at why once rare

.eregrine falcons are thriving in

urban environments.

24 Badges of honourUnveiling the ‘Changing the

World’ .laques celebrating

great biologists of the .ast.

26 Interview: Professor Sophie ScottNeuroscientist and comedian

So.hie Scott ex.lains the biology

of laughter to Tom Ireland.

Regulars3 Nelson’s column10 Policy update 30 Spotlight32 Reviews38 BioPic46 Museum piece47 Crossword48 Final word

News4 Society news35 Members40 Branches

IN THIS ISSUEVolume 62 No 1 February/March 2015

20

Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 1

16

24

26

A WINDOWON THE LIFE SCIENCES

28 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 61 No 6


Concer is o devostoting diseose

thot results from numerous

foctors, including oge, lifestyle

ond the genetic mokeup of our fomily

tree. More thon 330,000 people in

the UK were diognosed with concer

in 2011 – equivolent to oround 910

people o doy1. There is some good

news, though: the number of

individuols surviving breost,

prostote ond skin concers is

improving, with five-yeor post-

diognosis survivol rotes of more

thon 80%. However, there is still

o stoggeringly low percentoge of

survivol omong the UK populotion

with lung, oesophogeol, broin,

poncreotic ond stomoch concers:

post-diognosis fewer thon 21% ore

olive five yeors loter2.

Currently, most concers ore

diognosed upon on individuol

noticing clinicol signs ond symptoms

resulting from the tumour. Tumours

of the poncreos, for exomple, usuolly

do not couse symptoms until they

grow lorge enough to press on

neorby nerves or orgons, whereupon

the individuol will develop bock ond/

MOLECULAR PROBES

CANCER RESEARCH

Molecblar protes that identify the

‘signatbre’ molecbles of cancer will

save lives, reports Gavin Metcalf

Early warnings

or obdomen discomfort, olong with

non-specific symptoms such os

tiredness.

Other tumours moy grow oround

the bile duct ond block the flow of

bile, resulting in joundice where the

eyes ond skin oppeor yellow. By the

time o poncreotic concer couses

signs or symptoms like these, it is

usuolly in on odvonced stoge, which

meons it hos grown ond most likely

metostosised beyond its storting

locotion vio the blood circulotory

system or lymphotic system.

Consequently, this meons the

survivol chonces ore severely

reduced becouse of the oppeoronce

of secondory tumours (metostoses)

thot moy olso present new resistonce

chorocteristics ogoinst theropeutic

drugs, moking successful treotment

o lot more difficult.

Finding cancer earlier

When it comes to detecting concers

ot on eorlier stoge, concer

biomorkers oppeor to provide o good

storting point. Biomorkers ore

described os “cellulor, biochemicol

BIOGRAPHY

Gavin A D Metcalf

is a PhD researcher

in the clinical

biosensors

laboratory,

department of

bioengineering,

Imperial College

London.

Sbrvival rates of five

years in England2

M: MALEF: FEMALE

LUNG19.7% M12.5% F

BREAST

85.0% F

BRAIN

17.8% M20.4% F

OESOPHAGEAL

13.5% M15.6% F

PROSTATE

81.7% M

PANCREAS

4.7% M5.4% F

STOMACH

18.4% M19.6% F

61 N

07/01/2015 09:38


RESEARCHEXPEDITIONS

A world of adventure

James Borrell and Craig Turner on how to get the most out of biological expeditions


We have worked on them since our original student days to the present, spanning some 20 years.Our purpose is not necessarily to convince you to go on an expedition – the only person who can do this is yourself – but to look at the options for any wannabe explorer.

You have two broad options: buy an expedition ‘off the shelf’ from a commercial provider, or organise (or join) an independent expedition. Despite people now travelling longer distances, independent biological expeditions have not increased significantly in number as the decades have passed. The converse, however, seems true for commercial expedition providers. In the early 1980s, there were a handful of companies offering expeditions. Thirty years later, and the companies and available options have proliferated. However, it is quality not quantity that counts.

Biological expeditions have a long and varied history. Charles Darwin was a 22 year old graduate when he joined HMS Beagle as the ship’s naturalist. The expedition – which he called “by far the most important event in my life” – lasted almost five years.

Expeditions essentially represent a journey with a purpose. The need to map and catalogue new territory was often the main objective of a scientific expedition. Today, perhaps to the dismay of aspiring modern day explorers, there is less and less unexplored land remaining. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left to explore: there’s much more to discover, albeit with a different focus.Darwin wasn’t the first graduate to take part in an expedition, and he certainly wasn’t the last. Universities provide a melting pot for ideas and networking, but expeditions are open to all ages and stages of career.

Off-the-shelf expeditionsThe commercial provider route does have its advantages, particularly if you’re a first timer. Usually it involves paying to volunteer as part of a research project in an interesting, and often beautiful, part of the world.This ‘voluntourism’ or citizen science model can be a fantastic way to mobilise people of all backgrounds and skill bases, helping to collect large data sets in remote areas while generating funds to support the research outputs of a particular organisation.

Yet commercial off-the-shelf expedition providers vary widely in the quality of projects and in their ultimate goal, and can be more profit than project orientated. The benefits can be weighted in favour of the organisation: it gets funded, completes its field work, realises its research goals, and achieves its

James Borrell in the desert of Oman’s Empty Quarter in 2012

20-23_BIO_61_6_Expeditions.indd 20-21

TheBiologist

The Biologist, ��i�h�d �i� �i�� a

covers the full richness and diversity of biology. Science is brought to life with stimulating and authoritative features, while topical pieces discuss science policy, new developments or controversial issues. Aimed at biologists everywhere, its straightforward style also makes it ideal for educators and students at all levels, as well as the interested amateur.

EDITORIAL STAFF

Director of Membership, Marketing and CommunicationsJon Kudlick MSB Editor Sue Nelson @ScienceNelsonManaging Editor Tom Ireland MSB [email protected] @Tom_J_IrelandCommunications and Events Officer Karen Patel MSB [email protected]

For membership enquiries call 01233 504804 [email protected]

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EDITORIAL BOARD

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Leslie Rose BSc CBiol FSB FICR

Th eBiologistTHE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE ■ ISSN 0006-3347 ■ SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG VOL 60 NO 2 ■ APR/

TV's Alice Roberts talks anatomy and archaeology

DIGGINGDEEP

INTERVIEW

Th eBiologistTHE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE ■ ISSN 0006-3347 ■ SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG VOL 61 NO 5 ■ OCT/NOV 2014

SPIN DOCTORSUsing spider silk’s incredible properties in medicine

Replacong experoments � e unlokely prey of

Society of BiologyCharles Darwin House,12 Roger Street,London WC1N 2JUTel: 020 7685 2550Fax: 020 3514 [email protected]

Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board or the Society of Biology.

© 2015 Society of Biology(Registered charity no. 277981)

The Society permits single copying of individual articles for private study or research, irrespective of where the copying is done. Multiple copying of individual articles for teaching purposes is also permitted without specific permission. For copying or reproduction for any other purpose, written permission must be sought from the Society. Exceptions to the above are those institutions and non-publishing organisations that have an agreement or licence with the UK Copyright Licensing Agency or the US Copyright Clearance Center. Access to the magazine is available online; please see the Society’s website for further details.

The Biologist is produced on behalf of the Society of Biology byThink Publishing Ltd.124-128 Barlby RoadLondon W10 6BLwww.thinkpublishing.co.uk020 8962 3020

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Th eBiologistTHE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY MAGAZINE ■ ISSN 0006-3347 ■ SOCIETYOFBIOLOGY.ORG VOL 61 NO 6 ■ DEC 2014/JAN 2015

HISTORY

REFUGEE RESEARCH� e great biologists

displaced by war

INTERVIEW

SIR PAUL NURSEOn building London’s

£650m ‘superlab’

CELL BIOLOGY

SOLID AS A ROCKHow do our teeth

make enamel?

CATCHING THE LIGHT� e best images from our annual photography competition

REFUGEE RESEARCH� e great biologists

displaced by war

INTERVIEW

SIR PAUL NURSEOn building London’s

£650m ‘superlab’

00_Bio_61_No6 NEW COVER-v2.indd 1

27/11/2014 15:14

Volume 62 No 1 February/March 2015


TWITTER @Society_Biology

FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/societyofbiology

BLOG societyofbiology blog.org

WEBSITE thebiologist.societyofbiology.org

Unbelievably, it has been

more than 20 years

since the film Jurassic

Park unleashed – to

those who hadn’t read

Michael Crichton’s book – .reviously

extinct dinosaurs into the modern

world. Since then, a.art from the

inevitable sequels, it has s.awned

countless articles on whether extinct

animals could be cloned from their

DNA. But for me there is one

.articularly memorable moment

that also ha..ens to sum u. Ed

Drewitt’s article (.age 20) on the

ada.tability of .eregrines.

It wasn’t the velocira.tor lea.ing

towards a child’s leg through a

ceiling tile or the roar of a T. rex,

although they both gave me

nightmares. It was a quiet line

delivered by the film’s enigmatic

black-clad, rock’n’roll style

mathematician, Dr Ian Malcolm

(.layed by Jeff Goldblum), on

realising that an unex.ected method

of survival had evolved for a newly

reborn s.ecies under threat: “Life

finds a way.”

This is exactly what has ha..ened

to the .eregrine falcon. Life has

found a way. Thirty years ago it was

on the brink of extinction. Today this

bird of .rey is a common sight in some

areas of Britain.

Webcams and night cameras have

revealed the reason why: urban

buildings, street lighting and

o..ortunism. The next stage will be

to discover what will ha..en to

.eregrine numbers when councils

switch to street lam.s that reduce

light .ollution. It’s an issue that has

meant some young .eo.le have

never glim.sed the s.iral wheel of

our own galaxy, the Milky Way, in

the night sky. But it could be an

ethical dilemma if it reduces

.eregrine numbers too.

In this edition of The Biologist,

we’re also featuring a re.ort from

the Society’s first Biology Now

conference, as well as an extract

from Professor Peter Piot’s book,

No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of

Deadly Viruses.

Piot co-discovered the Ebola virus

in 1976 and, on .age 16, he gives an

insight into Ebola’s origin and how,

together with his colleagues, he

determined how this deadly disease

was s.reading.

Finally, on .age 26, Tom Ireland

interviews Professor So.hie Scott on

her study of laughter. While the

research itself is nothing to laugh

about, it is an enjoyable insight into a

com.lex form of social behaviour,

communication and bonding – with

an evolutionary conundrum

attached. So, as ever, an edition that

will inform, educate and entertain. It

may even, like Scott, ins.ire one of

you to try stand-u. comedy. If so, do

let us know how it went and how you

dealt with any hecklers.

Nelson’s Column


Sue Nelson, Editor

Life finds a way. Thirty years ago the peregrine was on the brink of extinction. Today it is a common sight

Eight out of 10 s.iders re.orted

in UK homes were male,

according to data from the

Society’s house s.ider survey. The

finding will hel. researchers examine

whether males emerge at this time of

year to look for a mate.

The Society received more

than 10,000 sightings during the

survey in autumn 2013, re.orted

through the Society’s ‘S.ider in

da house’ a.. and website. Every

autumn the number of s.iders seen

indoors suddenly increases, and this

is thought to be because males (of

the Tegenaria genus) come out to

look for females over this .eriod.

The Society launched the survey in

collaboration with the University

of Gloucestershire to find out more

about UK s.iders and to hel. the

.ublic learn more about the s.iders

in their homes.

Professor Adam Hart, an

ecologist from the University

of Gloucestershire, said he was

sur.rised at how many .eo.le had

taken .art and that so many of the

s.iders identified were male (82%).

“I thought s.iders were a big

turnoff, but it turns out .eo.le are

really interested,” Professor Hart

said. “I’ve seen a few big females in

my house, but it’s great to know

that the .erceived wisdom, that

they are mostly males out looking

for love, is true.”

The sightings roughly correlated

with tem.erature variations

throughout the autumn s.ider

season, with more emerging during

mild .eriods. However, only

64% of the sightings were

confirmed as Tegenaria sp.,

with many re.orts of other

s.ecies. The second most

.o.ular s.ider (5%) was the

s.indly legged Pholicidae sp.,

often found building webs

on ceilings.

“It has been amazing to

see so many .eo.le getting

involved and interested in

animals that don’t always get

the best media attention,”

he said. “By eating flies and

other insects, s.iders are

not only .roviding us with a

.est control service, but are

im.ortant in ecosystems.”

A new version of the

‘S.ider in da house’ a.., focused

.urely on identification and

information, has been downloaded

nearly 50,000 times, and is still

available on iOS and Android.

For details visit www.

societyofbiology.org/s.ider

Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 54 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 62 No 1 www.societyofbiology.org/news www.societyofbiology.org/news

The Under-Secretary of State for

Life Sciences, George Freeman,

told a meeting of the Society

of Biology’s Member Organisations

that the current method of develo.ing

drugs was “unsustainable” and

“unaffordable” for industry and

the NHS. The life sciences minister

said his mission was to reform the

biomedical sector so that it focuses

on .ersonalised medicine.

“So many drugs fail in late-stage

trials as we try to get the dose right

so it works for everyone without side

effects,” said Freeman.

“The more we know about

genomics, the more we know that

is not what we need: we want drugs

designed for .articular .atients.

The new landsca.e is about using

dee. insights from informatics

and genomics to allow us to target

Society News

much better and build treatments

around .atients – and to .ut medical

science back into hos.itals, where

it was originally. In Government,

my main mission is to build a .olicy

framework which su..orts that

reorientation of the sector so that it is

genuinely .atient centred,” he said.

Freeman, who is also res.onsible

for NHS innovation, works in

the De.artment for Business

Innovation and Skills. His .revious

career saw him managing

investments in bioscience startu.s

and running a .redictive toxicology

software com.any.

“I’m the world’s first minister

for life sciences and my mission

is also not to be the last,” he said,

adding that all areas of Government

recognised the im.ortance of the

UK biosciences to generate growth

Freeman believes the biosciences are crucial to the UK’s economic recovery

£5.9bn boost welcome but Society calls for long term promisesLife sciences minister unveils

plans for biomedical reform

and meet im.ortant challenges.

“All our mainstream .arties are

taking this agenda seriously. This

sector needs cross-.arty consensus

and investment security, and I

think it is a sector where we have

carried the baton well and the

Punch and Judy of .olitics haven’t

got in the way.”

Freeman believes the biosciences

are crucial to the UK’s economic

recovery, to hel. geo.olitical

tensions around the world and to

su..ort emerging markets.

“When we are still carrying a

trillion .ounds in debt, and still

adding to it, facing a set of very

tight s.ending measures, we are not

reducing our su..ort for science.

The challenge is we’ve got to make

sure every .ound we s.end unlocks

investment and trade.”

House spider survey finds male majority

The Society has welcomed the Chancellor’s science-friendly

Autumn Statement and Science and Innovation Strategy, but urged the next Government to make a clearer long term commitment to science funding.

In his pre-budget Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne (below) said science was a “personal priority” and pledged £5.9bn of sustained investment in science. He also announced Government-backed student loans of up to £10,000 for postgraduate master’s degrees of all disciplines.

Later in December, the Science and Innovation Strategy set out the Government’s aim to make the UK the best place in the world for science and business, and provided further detail for the funding outlined in the Autumn Statement. Between 2016 and 2021, the Government will invest £3bn to support capital expenditure – for example, laboratory infrastructure – and give £2.9bn towards supporting ‘grand challenges’, involving investment in major research facilities of national significance.

“The breadth and signatories of the strategy demonstrates a cross-departmental recognition of the importance of science,” said Dr Mark Downs, chief executive of the Society, but he highlighted the need for continued investment in the future.

“It is recognised that long term commitments can be difficult to make in the runup to an election, but we urge the next government to make a clearer commitment to long term provision for funding of science and innovation, which are so essential to underpinning the UK’s economic growth.”

The public used the ‘Spider in da house’ app to record their sightings

George Freeman pledges to focus on personalised

medicine

House spider, Tegenaria

domestica

DR

TO

NY

BR

AIN

/SC

IEN

CE

PH

OTO

LIB

RA

RY

SOCIETY NEWSMURMURATION SURVEY/NEW TEACHERS’ REGISTER/NEW YEAR’S HONOURS


Asurvey calling for .eo.le to

re.ort sightings of starling

murmurations has already

revealed many sightings in areas

that are not associated with the

stunning grou. aerial dis.lays, such

as Galloway in Scotland.

The Society and the University

of Gloucestershire teamed u.

to find out more about starling

murmurations, in .articular why the

Starling survey pinpoints murmuration hot spots

behaviour occurs. Since its launch

on 17th October, the survey has

received re.orts of 1,400 sightings

around the UK.

Researchers ho.e a ma. of the

sightings could reveal im.ortant

information about where, and over

what habitat, large murmurations

occur. Brighton .ier, Black.ool

.ier, New.ort wetlands, Gretna

Green and Belfast city centre are

all well-known murmuration sites,

but many of the busiest sites are not

traditional hot s.ots. Around one

in five res.ondents so far have also

re.orted seeing .otential .redators

nearby, including s.arrowhawks,

.eregrine falcons, marsh harriers

and buzzards.

Murmuration sightings have

occurred in all weather conditions,

including clear skies and heavy rain,

and in a variety of tem.eratures

from 2-20°C.

Dr Anne Goodenough from the

University of Gloucestershire said

murmurations could be a way of

getting multi.le birds together in

one area before dro..ing down to a

suitable roosting s.ot for the night.

“As it is warmer roosting as .art of a

big grou., it is .ossible that there is

more stimulus for murmurations in

cold weather,” she said.

Goodenough also said that if

murmurations were found to be

linked to .redators, researchers

might be able to analyse whether

.redator .resence links to

the length or com.lexity of

murmuration dis.lays.

The survey will stay o.en

throughout the winter and will

close in March this year.

To view the ma., visit www.

societyofbiology.org/news/14-

news/1074-starling-survey-reveals-

new-murmuration-hots.ots

Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 7www.societyofbiology.org/news

Brighton pier is one of many murmuration sites in the UK

VACANCY ON COUNCILThis year’s AGM will take place at 11:30 on Wednesday 13th May at Charles Darwin House, London.

There is one vacancy on Council to be filled from the Society’s College of individual members. Members at MSB grade or above may nominate other members. The nomination must include a citation of no more than 200 words, the name and qualifications of the nominee, a description of any conflicts of interest and the names and signatures of five members supporting the application.

The position is currently held by Dr Kim Hardie, who is eligible to serve another four-year term and is willing to stand again.

All nominations must be received by the chief executive by 17:00 on Friday 6th March 2015.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AWARDS 2015If you are a bioscience researcher at a UK university or institute, and you are involved in science communication, you can enter this year’s Society’s Science Communication Awards. Submit applications to Karen Patel at [email protected] by 30th June. Further information about the awards is available at www.societyofbiology.org/scicomm

FUNDING FOR BIOLOGY ON THE MOVETen travel grants of £500 are available to Society members (or those who have applied for membership) this autumn. The grants aim to support members so they can travel overseas for study, teaching or research. The deadline for applications is 31st March. Find out more at www.societyofbiology.org/travel-grants

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Society’s director of parliamentary affairs, Dr Stephen Benn (far right), and Prime Minister David Cameron (centre) attended an annual luncheon of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee at the Houses of Parliament to celebrate the meeting’s 75th year. Benn was joined by chair Andrew Miller (far left), honorary secretary Stephen Mosley (second left) and president of the committee Lord Oxburgh (second right).

Three Fellows of the Society were honoured with OBEs in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list.

Professor Sharon Peacock FSB from the University of Cambridge (top) was given her honour for services to medical microbiology. Russell Foster FSB (right), professor of circadian neurosciences at the University of Oxford, received his OBE for services to science. Finally, Professor Peter Riven Braude FSB, from King's College London, was honoured for services to reproductive medicine.

Queen’s Honours list recognises Society Fellows

The Society is now able to offer members or Fellows who teach sciences in the

UK the opportunity to obtain Chartered Science Teacher status (CSciTeach) under licence from the Science Council.

The CSciTeach postnominals demonstrate excellence in science teaching, high standards

Register for teaching excellence

of competence, leadership and a commitment to continuing professional development.

Applications are open to those working in science education, and those teaching in primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, universities, museums, galleries, on outreach schemes or within other educational environments.

Science teachers can now apply for CSciTeach status

W ith a general election just a few months away, the Society is hosting a debate

between representatives of the main parties on issues relating to science.

Representatives of the science and engineering community will be able to table questions or submit a topical question for consideration on the day itself.

The event will take place on 11th March and is at present the only political debate of its kind being held in the House of Commons prior to the election. Further details will be announced on the Society’s events pages.

QUESTION TIME

BOARD MEMBERS REQUIREDThe Biologist is recruiting new members to its editorial board. Editorial board members review articles, contribute article ideas and attend quarterly editorial meetings. If you’re interested, email [email protected]

8 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 62 No 1 Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 9

Opinion

Science communication

is not for everyone. Not

all academics are good

communicators and even though

many of us are em.loyed as

lecturers, we are seldom selected

for our communication skills.

However, since most of us in

higher education are funded

by tax.ayers’ money, it is

understandable that research

councils are increasingly asking

grant a..licants to include strategies

to disseminate research findings –

known as ‘.athways to im.act’.

Public engagement activities

are also .art of the marketing

strategies of institutions that seek

to .romote their academics and

raise awareness of the work they do.

Plus, of course, .ublic engagement

is a measure of im.act that featured

.rominently in the latest Research

Excellence Framework exercise.

Not sur.risingly, we are constantly

being encouraged to engage the

.ublic more in order to be fully

rounded academics.

There are also more selfish reasons

why we should engage the .ublic, as

well as su..ort and encourage our

students to do the same.

The ty.ical .rofessional life of

an academic is one of intermittent

reinforcement that is often more

negative than .ositive. Pa.ers and

grants take time to write, review

and, more often than not, be

rejected. If we do give a seminar on

our research to colleagues, then the

ex.ectation is that it will be critically

evaluated, which, after all, is what

scientists do. No wonder most of us

find the ex.erience stressful.

In contrast, giving a .ublic

talk can be a delightful, .ositive

ex.erience where the a..reciative

crowd is genuinely interested in

what you have to say and, in general,

less critical of the .oints you would

Synthetic biology is one

of the most exciting and

ra.idly evolving fields of the

biosciences. It is moving so quickly,

in fact, that its exact definition has

yet to be decided.

Others, however, have started to

define it for us. This summer, an

alliance of German organisations

o..osing animal research as well

as gene technology informed

ministers, .oliticians and the

.ublic that so-called synthetic gene

technology would be bad news for

laboratory animals. According

to the alliance, existing gene

technology research “generally

may have negative consequences

for the animal” and has led to an

increasing number of laboratory

animals used in research. It also

said that synthetic gene technology

would enforce and accelerate the

use of animals even further.

The grou. demanded a

fundamental review of ethical

guidelines, claiming that the

genetic identity and integrity of

animals is com.romised by the new

technology of synthetic biology.

The Euro.ean Commission

has also initiated a discussion

on synthetic biology to establish

the EU’s .osition in this com.lex

field of research and its .ossible

a..lications. In June, three

different scientific committees

launched their own first

.reliminary o.inion on synthetic

biology, or synbio. According

to their re.ort: “Synbio is the

a..lication of science, technology

and engineering to facilitate and

accelerate the design, manufacture

and/or modification of genetic

materials in living organisms to

alter living or non-living materials.”

The German Life Sciences

Association (VBIO) has since .ointed

out that this definition is too broad

and lacks discrete, scientific criteria

to distinguish synthetic biology from

conventional gene technologies,

or even .lant breeding. Under this

definition, some research activities

might be mislabelled as synthetic

biology, although they are already

well regulated by EU or national

legislations. VBIO suggests the

definition could be im.roved by

greater dialogue with academic

and industrial researchers. It

should focus on the construction

of com.letely new .athways using

multi.le genes from different s.ecies

or de novo synthesis of living entities.

In case emerging genetic tools

challenge the existing regulations

of gene technology, the latter

ones might be ada.ted within a

se.arate rationale.

However, reading the EU

definition twice, one doubts whether

it is .ossible to find a suitable

descri.tion. On the one hand, there

is a strong need for a .racticable

and accurate definition; on the

other, synthetic biology is evolving

extremely quickly and, therefore,

any kind of definition has to remain

.reliminary. Synthetic biology may

influence medicine, agriculture,

renewable energy, economy and

other fields, hence requires a sensible

discussion with various stakeholders,

including economists and citizens.

This debate must be driven by

biologists. Scientists as well as

citizens should avoid running

into a similar dead end as we

have done in Germany with GM

.lant technologies. But how can

we ensure a fair dis.ute on this

com.lex and fast evolving issue

in a way that is suitable for both

scientists and the broader .ublic?

The .ublic is already struggling

to gain a good understanding

around biology. The situation

is not ex.ected to im.rove, at

least in Germany, since biology

has been dramatically diminished

throughout schools’ curricula. If

modern biosciences require critical

observation, a com.rehensive

education is a key element in

this .rocess.

Working on a smart definition

will be a .rocess rather than a

decision and it may take more

time than we might ex.ect.

But time to deliver an o.erable

definition is running out. Risk

assessment methodologies, safety

measurements and subsequent

regulations are already on their

way. They will be addressed in

a second consultation recently

announced by the EU Commission.

If defining synthetic biology is

already challenging, the discussion

around regulation will become even

more .roblematic – es.ecially if

inaccurate or out-of-date definitions

of synthetic biology are all we have.

Dr Kerstin Elbing is head of science and society at the German Life Sciences Association (VBIO).

Professor Bruce Hood FSB is an experimental psychologist who specialises in developmental cognitive neuroscience, based at the University of Bristol. He presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2011.

What do you think? Send your views to

[email protected]

Public engagement can take science into unconventional venues, like this ArtNeuro event in east London

Let’s make it clear…

To avoid the problems encountered with GM food, scientists need to define ‘synthetic biology’ clearly and quickly and ensure it is properly regulated, writes Dr Kerstin Elbing

Professor Bruce Hood says pop-up events can take the stress out of public engagement

Going public

never consider s.eculating on in a

.rofessional setting. The talks are

often given in informal settings such

as back rooms of .ubs, which makes

the atmos.here more relaxed.

Grassroots organisations

are a good .lace to start. In my

ex.erience, there are many

academics, es.ecially the young and

enthusiastic, who would be all too

willing to talk about their ex.ertise.

With that and the theme of .ub

settings in mind, the launch of

s.eakezee.org is a timely venture.

S.eakEzee is a nationwide

searchable database of academic

s.eakers that connects ex.erts

with audiences. It enables anyone

to organise a .o.-u. lecture as long

as they can find a reasonably sized

grou. of fellow enthusiasts and a

suitable venue.

Pubs are .otentially good, as

most are em.ty mid week. Student

societies and village halls can also

work well. Organisers can search by

to.ic, location and availability, and

then make a request with further

information that is either acce.ted

or declined by the s.eaker.

S.eakEzee is a voluntary scheme

where s.eakers give talks for free,

with reasonable travel ex.enses

covered by the organisers so that

no one is out of .ocket. If there are

enough s.eakers in the system, it

should be straightforward to find

local talent to .ut on an event, while

local academics reach audiences

they may not have ever dreamt of

talking to.

With 12 million .eo.le educated

to degree level in the UK, S.eakEzee

could stimulate the ex.ansion

of .o.-u. lectures for general

audiences. Café Scientifique

already does this, but a national

website database will enable grou.s

interested in science as well as the

arts and humanities to easily find

and invite available s.eakers.

Po.-u. events seem to be all the

rage at the moment, with theatre,

restaurants and other social events

attracting audiences. Why not

lectures for general audiences

given by local academics?

Synthetic biology could face a similar

public backlash to GM food research

AR

TN

EUR

O

These articles do not necessarily reflect the position of the Society of Biology

www.societyofbiology.org/policy www.societyofbiology.org/policy10 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 62 No 1 Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 11

Natural ca.ital – the conce.t

of valuing the ecosystem

services that the natural

world .rovides – is finally moving

from an awareness raising

exercise into a .hase where both

Government and .rivate businesses

are working towards integrating the

value of the ecosystem services into

their accounting frameworks.

So, could accountants save the

.lanet? That was the view of one

s.eaker at a Natural Ca.ital Initiative

summit held towards the end of last

year. Richard S.encer, head of

sustainability at the Institute of

Chartered Accountants in England

and Wales, suggested the .rofession

might “save the world” by ensuring

that broader issues than just finance

a..ear on balance sheets. S.eaking at

the Valuing our Life Su..ort Systems

summit in London, S.encer cited a

re.ort1 commissioned by the Natural

Ca.ital Coalition which estimates that

business currently gets a US$7.3

trillion “free lunch” on nature each

year by using resources they are not

.aying for – equating to 13% of global

economic out.ut in 2009.

Many com.anies are still unaware

of their de.endencies on the natural

world, des.ite several major studies

over the .ast decade showing that the

natural environment has a huge

economic value. However, individual

business leaders have started to

conduct Environmental Profit & Loss

accounts and there have even been

calls from .arts of the business

community for legislation to make

this com.ulsory. Natural ca.ital

valuation is also finding its way onto

the national balance sheets: GDP

is considered a .oor measure of

economic and social .rogress, and

the Office for National Statistics’

attem.ts to “measure what matters”

has started to include the im.act on

the environment in a systematic

consideration of our wellbeing.

We need to develo. and im.lement

valuation methodologies not only

based on accountancy’s needs but

sound science to ensure they are

widely acce.ted. Accounting,

es.ecially for renewable resources,

.rovides real challenges and will

require a collaborative effort. This

will be es.ecially true for resolving

issues around critical natural ca.ital

(the im.ortant ecosystem services

that cannot be substituted by human-

made or social ca.ital) and thresholds

(.oints at which a small im.act can

lead to significant, even irreversible,

changes in natural ca.ital).

Scientists .lay a key role in these

.rocesses, and we need to ensure

com.lexity is not lost when the

natural environment is labelled

with a £ sign. Many ethical questions

are still o.en to debate – as well as

develo.ing sound methodologies on

how to value nature, we also need to

discuss who should value it. Lastly, we

must not forget that natural ca.ital is

about many intangible values

resulting from the environment’s

quality, not quantity.

The Government’s Natural

Environment White Pa.er aims to

.ut “natural ca.ital at the heart of a

green economy” and committed us to

be “the first generation to leave the

natural environment of England in a

better state than it inherited”.

Scotland and Wales have made

similar commitments. The .olicies

are written, but if they are to become

more than a li. service, they need to

be im.lemented. Published at the end

of January, the third and final re.ort

of the Natural Ca.ital Committee

.rovides a 25 year .lan on how to

achieve this vision. The Government

will then need to commit resources to

delivery bodies to ensure the work on

the ground is done to achieve it. They

need to .ut their money where their

mouth is.

Policy update Get fascinatedBuilding on the success of .revious

years, the international Fascination

of Plants Day aims to get everyone

thinking about .lants on 18th May.

Across the globe, botanic gardens,

research labs, schools, museums and

farmers will o.en their doors to

families, and there will be events

across theatres, cafes, central

squares and .arks.

For more information, visit

.lantday.org/uk.htm

Sharing your researchThe Society is canvassing o.inion

on the way biologists disseminate

their research.

Changes to academic .ublishing

and the renewed focus on the

‘im.act’ of research is changing the

way biologists share their research

findings. The survey results will hel.

us identify .olicy and .ractical

issues, and inform how we can

su..ort the bioscience community.

To tell us about your ex.erience

with o.en access, social media and

more, .lease com.lete the Research

Dissemination Committee survey

before 2nd March 2015 at www.

surveymonkey.com/s/SurveyRDC

Evidence requestsThe Society .rovided witnesses at

two recent House of Commons

Science and Technology Committee

hearings. Professor Helen Sang FSB

gave evidence on GM food and the

o.eration of the .recautionary

.rinci.le in Euro.e, and Professor

Mary Gibby gave evidence on the

status and current funding

environment for Royal Botanical

Gardens Kew on behalf of the UK

Plant Sciences Federation.

Devolved powersThe Society has submitted a letter to

the Smith Commission, which was

established under Lord Smith of

Kelvin to investigate further

devolution of .owers to the Scottish

In the balanceDaija Angeli adds up the benefits of putting the natural environment on balance sheets

POLICY NEWS ROUNDUP

�e Society provided expert evidence on Kew Gardens funding

Parliament .ost-referendum. We

urged that the current scientific

funding structure be maintained

and overall funding for science

increased to maintain research

leadershi. and com.etitiveness for

the continued success of the life

sciences sector in Scotland.

Animal researchThe Society audited the .rogress

of the first months of the Concordat

on O.enness on Animal Research

and s.onsored the first O.enness

Awards, which celebrated the

achievements of the Medical

Research Council, Huntingdon

Life Sciences, Professor Sir Colin

Blakemore and Wendy Jarrett, CEO

of Understanding Animal Research.

Mapping the plant sciencesAt the fourth annual general

meeting of the UK Plant Sciences

Federation it was decided to

undertake a roadma. of UK

.lant science, focusing on future

‘grand challenges’ and the ca.acity

of the .lant science community

to address them, including a

risk register, and in.ut from

industry, academia, funding

agencies and NGOs.

Further details on all of these stories can be found on the policy pages of the Society’s website.

�e Scottish Parliament

REFERENCES 1 ww.naturalcapital coalition.org/projects/natural-capital-at-risk.html

Daija Angeli, project officer, Natural Capital Initiative.

Best of bioscience

The Society recently launched

Biology Now, a one-day

conference which took .lace in

November, ex.loring three key

themes in the life sciences: tackling

human health challenges, genomic

and ‘big’ data, and ‘.eo.le and .lanet’.

The Society’s President, Dame Jean

Thomas FSB, o.ened the event by

.aying tribute to biochemist Fred

Sanger, who had ins.ired much of her

work on the intricate .ackaging

structure of chromosomes. She said

Sanger’s work on .rotein sequencing

revolutionised molecular biology and

was “as im.ortant to biology as

Charles Darwin” and biologists were

doing some of the “most exciting

things in science” in collaboration

with chemists and .hysicists.

Tackling human healthProfessor Michael Levin Imperial College London

Tuberculosis (TB) is

a notoriously

difficult disease to

diagnose. Between

60-80% of .eo.le

are thought to carry

X-ray tests for TB are not as accurate as gene-based screening

the bacteria in a dormant form and,

in u. to 80% of .eo.le treated for

sus.ected TB, clinicians are not

com.letely sure if they really have

the disease. This difficulty means

that many .eo.le are ex.osed to

toxic drugs for no reason, or not

diagnosed at all.

Levin is director of the Wellcome

Centre for Clinical Tro.ical Medicine

at Im.erial College London. His

work aims to develo. new diagnostic

tests for TB to re.lace existing ones,

which are mostly based on looking

for bacteria in s.utum sam.les.

By analysing RNA transcri.ts

ex.ressed in blood, Levin and his

team could study whether 50,000

genes were switched on or switched

off in .eo.le with and without TB.

“This told us what TB looks like, but

also what genes are switched on and

off in a lot of things that look like TB

too,” Levin told delegates.

The next ste. was to .in.oint the

best RNA transcri.ts to diagnose

TB using a statistical technique

known as the ‘elastic net’, thanks

to its ability to allow smaller, less

significant matches through.

“We found a set of 27 genes that

enabled us to diagnose TB and 44

that could distinguish it from other

diseases,” said Levin.

This work has also led to better

understanding of how TB works.

Many of the genes that are switched

off by TB have a key role in the body’s

immune res.onse. “TB switches off

multi.le .athways in the immune

systems that recognise .athogens,”

said Levin.

He added that the resulting test

was “infinitely better” than other

diagnostic tests for TB out there at

the moment. The next ste., he said,

is for a biotech com.any to develo. a

version of the test with a signal that

can be read with the naked eye.


Munir PirmohamedUniversity of Liverpool

The ability to

ra.idly determine

a .atient’s

genoty.e will

“redefine disease”,

according to Munir

Pirmohamed,

consultant .hysician and the David

Weatherall Chair of Medicine at

the University of Liver.ool.

Hy.ertension, for exam.le, could be

defined into thousands of genome-

s.ecific subty.es.

Just 0.1% of the human genome

differs between .eo.le; 99.9% is

identical. “That might not sound like a

lot of variation, but in a sequence of

three billion base .airs, that equates to

around three million different base

.air differences,” Pirmohamed told

Biology Now delegates. In .ersonalised

medicine, this variation is used to

develo. thera.ies tailor-made for

individuals with a .articular

combination of genes.

As .ersonalised medicine becomes

more so.histicated and easy to do, the

NHS will increasingly be able to

.redict how .atients will react to

medicines. At any one time 8,000

.atients are in NHS hos.itals because

of adverse reactions to drugs. “That

equates to ten 800-bed hos.itals, all

full,” said Pirmohamed.

His work with colleagues at

Liver.ool University is already

starting to make a difference.

Although a..roximately 1% of the

Professor Ian Bateman describes valuing the environment in economic terms

UK .o.ulation is on blood-thinning

treatment warfarin, the dose that will

be effective for each .atient varies

widely, from 0.5 to 20mg. It has been

discovered that two genes determine

how .atients will react: one

metabolises warfarin, the other

inhibits certain coagulation factors

that hel. clot blood.

In a .ioneering study, the activity

of these genes in .atients was

determined and an algorithm

identified what the dosage should

be. “The genoty.e-guided grou.

stayed within the thera.eutic range

and got there much quicker,”

ex.lained Pirmohamed.

Next-generation sequencing and

whole genome sequencing will

.rovide both o..ortunities and

challenges for the NHS, he added.

It currently only works with

.ersonalised medicines based on

one or two genes.

People and planet Professor Ian Bateman OBE FSB University of East Anglia

Ian Bateman, .rofessor of

environmental sciences at the

University of East Anglia, ex.lained

the recent trend for the natural world

to be valued in economic terms.

He said the .rice of a riverside

walk, for exam.le, was zero – yet it

had a value that should be factored

into decision making.

“Because of resource constraints,

every time we decide to do one thing,

we are in effect making a decision not

to do another,” said Bateman. “We

are im.licitly .lacing values on each

o.tion. Valuation is unavoidable – it

is the essence of decision making.”

Bateman argued that it would be

irres.onsible not to try to value the

natural world and be clear about

these values when making decisions

that affect it. He said although

money was not an ideal unit of value,

it was the “least worst” to use, as it

could be used to com.are in.uts with

all sorts of different units.

He showed how a..lying economic

values to various environmental

factors could im.rove decision

making. One exam.le involved

.lanning where to .lant new forests in

Britain: .lans that did not value factors

like recreation and greenhouse gas

emissions saw the .lanned forests

.laced in .eat bogs away from urban

conurbations. The .ro.osed forests

generated an estimated cost benefit of

£60m a year through material goods

such as timber.

When environmental factors

such as greenhouse gas emissions,

biodiversity, water quality

im.rovement, and leisure and

recreation were given a value and

factored into the decision, the

locations changed to nearer .eo.le’s

homes and generated a cost benefit

value of £546m a year.

If anyone was still not convinced

by Professor Bateman’s talk, he

ended on a .rovocative note. Beside

a series of gra.hs re.resenting

dramatic climate change,

biodiversity loss and changing land

use over the last century, he asked:

“How’s that ‘not valuing the

environment in economic terms’

been working out for you?”

Highlights from the Society’s Biology Now conference

LIFE SCIENCESCONFERENCE REPORT

Sequencing DNA will help produce

personalised treatments

Delegates enjoyed numerous talks at the

one-day event

LIFE SCIENCESCONFERENCE REPORT

�e increasing use of genomic data raises ethical questions

In a .anel discussion to close the

conference, s.eakers were joined

by Richard Ashcroft FSB,

.rofessor of bioethics at

Queen Mary University

of London, and Melanie

Welham FSB (.ictured,

right), executive director

of science at the

Biotechnology and Biological

Sciences Research Council.

The .anel discussed the many

ethical questions that will arise

as genomic data become more

widely used in medicine and other

sciences. Each day in 2012, the

Euro.ean Bioinformatics Institute

received about 9 million online

requests to query its data, a 60%

increase from 2011. The amount of

genetic sequencing data stored by

the database doubles in size more

than once a year.

Ashcroft said the biggest concern

was not how to .rotect .eo.le’s

.rivacy, “but who has access to

genomic data”. He suggested that

with certain genomic information,

understanding exactly what it

means is not necessarily a good

thing if no treatment is available.

“You can discover clinically

significant but non-

actionable conditions,

where you know you

are at risk of danger,

but there is absolutely

nothing you can do. It’s

similar to the dilemma

about whether you would

want to know if you have an

ino.erable aneurism in your brain

that could burst at any moment.”

Professor Michael Levin (see .12)

talked about the dangers of giving

.eo.le genomic data that is easy to

misinter.ret. “In most gene

association studies, the .resence

of genes or multi.le genes raises

your risk of disease only marginally,”

said Levin. “Asking the .ublic

to understand that conce.t is

very different to educating .eo.le

about Mendelian diseases, where

if you have these genes, you will get

the disease.”

Dr Mikhail S.ivakov (below), from

the Babraham Institute, said the

data given to .atients could be

categorised on a scale from high risk

and actionable to low risk and

inactionable. He also said that a leak

of genomic data was “inevitable”, but

the consequences of such com.lex

and anonymised data being leaked

might not be as bad as we thought.

Ashcroft s.oke about the various

legal .roblems currently being

worked out by lawyers, such as

whether someone would be liable

if they did not disclose a known

genetic disease marker to a .artner

before having a child. He also

described the current thinking in

the insurance industry.

“We are in the middle of three

stages,” Ashcroft said. “The first

stage was when insurers didn’t know

anything about whether individuals

had serious diseases or not. The third

is where they know everything about

everyone. At the moment, no one

knows quite what we should do or are

allowed to do with all this data.”

And finally…Harriet Gliddon, a PhD student

from Im.erial College London, was

named as the winner of the Society’s

first infographic competition.

Panel debate: too much information?

Attendees at the event voted for

Gliddon’s analysis of tuberculosis

diagnostics (.ictured below) from a

shortlist of 10.

Delegates who stayed around

for .ost-conference drinks were

treated to the manic comic energy

of John Hinton (.ictured left), a

singer/songwriter who s.ecialises

in .erforming musical .lays about

science. He sang a series of songs

from his comedy about Charles

Darwin and his latest .lay about

Albert Einstein.

Left: Comedian John Hinton as Einstein

Right: �e Society’s chief executive Mark Downs shows off the winning infographic

Our thanks to partners the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and all the speakers, including: Professor Judith Buttriss, British Nutrition Foundation; Professor EJ Milner-Gulland, Imperial College London; Kathryn Mitchell, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF); and Dr Mikhail Spivakov, Babraham Institute.


EPIDEMIOLOGYVIRUS

As Ebola wreaks havoc once again in Africa, microbiologist Professor Peter Piot recalls how he and his team helped stop the spread of the disease when it first appeared in the 70s

The diseasedetective

HE

IDI L

AR

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DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS ARTICLE? CONTACT US AT [email protected] Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 19

one we must tackle to bring this

e.idemic to an end.

As a young microbiologist working

with colleagues on the first Ebola

outbreak in 1976, we had no clue at

first how the virus was transmitted.

The following account describes the

time in the Democratic Re.ublic of

Congo when we began to understand

how the virus was s.reading.

“Night by night, as we jotted down

data and sketched out a .icture

from our interviews and notes, it

a..eared that although .eo.le were

still dying (and dying horribly), the

.eak number of new infections

around the Yambuku mission might

be, at least .rovisionally, behind us.

This was a huge relief. But another

conclusion also began to take sha.e,

and it was a great deal more

uncomfortable to deal with. Two

elements linked almost every victim

of the mystery e.idemic. One factor

was funerals: many of the dead had

been .resent at the funeral of a sick


.erson or had close contact with

someone who had. The other factor

was a .resence at the Yambuku

Mission Hos.ital. Just about every

early victim of the virus had

attended the out.atient clinic a

few days before falling ill.

We develo.ed near-certitude

about the mode of transmission one

evening, when Joel [Breman] and I

were drawing curves showing the

number of cases by location, age and

gender. (Working with Joel was a

real education, like a terrific crash

course in e.idemiology.) It seemed

likely by this .oint that aerosol

contact was not enough to transmit

the disease. But .articularly in the

18 to 25 age grou., at least twice as

many women had died as men. We

knew that there was something

fishy about the hos.ital, and about

funerals, but this was the real clue.

What’s different in men and women

at that age?

Being a bunch of men, it took us a

little time to figure out the answer.

Women get .regnant. And indeed,

almost all of the women who had

died had been .regnant, .articularly

in that age grou., and they had

attended the antenatal clinic at the

Yambuku mission.

Masamba [Matondo] and [Jean-

Francois] Ru..ol were the first to

figure out the .icture. Vitamin shots.

They were usually com.letely

.ointless, but many African villagers

considered them vital: to them the act

of injection with a syringe was

emblematic of Western medicine.

Thus there were two words for

Western medicine in the region.

Anything ingested orally was ‘as.irin’,

and it was ho.elessly weak. An

injection was ‘dawa’, .ro.er medicine

– something strong and effective.

We needed to take another tour

of the Yambuku hos.ital. Knowing

what we now did, the em.ty rooms

and bare metal bed frames of the

mission hos.ital seemed more

disturbing – grim killers of the

joyful young mothers who had come

there to be cared for but left with

a lethal disease. When we reached

the stock room, we hunted through

the large multi-dose jars of

antibiotics and other medications.

Their rubber bungs had been

.erforated multi.le times by

syringes. In some cases the bung

had been removed and was stuck

down with a sim.le bandage.

Nearby were a few large glass

syringes, five or six.

We .olitely interviewed the nuns.

Sister Genoveva told us quite freely

that the few glass syringes were

reused for every .atient; every

morning, she told us, they were

quickly (and far too summarily)

boiled, like the obstetric instruments

em.loyed in the maternity room.

Then all day long they were em.loyed

and re-em.loyed; they were sim.ly

rinsed out with sterile water.

She confirmed that the nuns dosed

all the .regnant women in their care

with injections of vitamin B and

calcium gluconate. Calcium

gluconate is a salt of calcium and

gluconic acid; it has basically no

medical value in .regnancy, but it

delivers a shot of energy, and this

tem.orary ‘high’ made it very

.o.ular among .atients.

In other words, the nurses were

systematically injecting a useless

.roduct to every woman in antenatal

care, as well as to many of the other

.atients who came to them for hel..

To do so, they used unsterilised

syringes that freely .assed on

infection. Thus, almost certainly,

they had unwittingly killed large

numbers of .eo.le. It looked as

though the only obstacle to the

e.idemic had been the natural

intelligence of the villagers, who

saw that many of the sick came from

the hos.ital, and thus fled it; who

knew to set u. at least some barriers

to travel, thus creating a semblance

of quarantine.

The nuns were totally committed

women. They were brave. They faced

an incredibly difficult environment

and they dealt with it as best they

could. They meant well. We had

shared their table and their lives for

what seemed like far longer than

four days, and every evening, as they

si..ed their little tots of vermouth,

they had told us about the villages of

their childhoods. Every evening the

discussion had ended u. circling

around and around the same subject

– the e.idemic: who had fallen ill

first, when and how it had ha..ened;

the dread of infection; the horrible

deaths of .atients and colleagues.

They had been trying to ma. out the

frightening terrain until, I su..ose,

it would seem more manageable, less

horrific. It was a narrative in which

they had felt like heroes of a sort, and

certainly martyrs.

Now it a..eared that they were in

some sense villains as well. It was

very hard to formulate the words

that would inform the sisters that the

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Peter Piot is director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and former executive director of UNAIDS and Under Secretary-General of the UN. He co-discovered Ebola in 1976.

virus had in all likelihood been

am.lified and s.read by their own

.ractices and lack of .ro.er training.

In the end I think we were far too

.olite about it: I’m not certain at all

that it really sank in when we told

them our .reliminary conclusions.

Ada.ted from the book No Time to

Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly

Viruses by Peter Piot, with

.ermission of the author and

.ublisher, W W Norton & Co

J BR

EM

AN

The team arrive in Yambuku in October 1976 during the first outbreak of the Ebola virus

In 1976, Belgian microbiologist Professor Peter Piot received a thermos flask containing ice, vials

of blood and a note from a Belgian doctor based in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). The blood was from a Belgian nun, one of many people in a remote rural region of Zaire who had become seriously ill with a mysterious illness. The flask had been sent as hand luggage on a commercial flight and, because one of the vials had smashed en route, blood and melted ice sloshed around inside.

After examining the blood under a microscope, Piot saw it contained a distinct and unusual virus – large and worm like. After consulting experts from around the world, he realised that the haemorrhagic pathogen was entirely new to science. Within weeks, together with a team of international scientists, Piot travelled to the epicentre of the outbreak in the village of Yambuku. They named the virus after a nearby river: the Ebola.

Fast forward to 2015 and an Ebola outbreak is again causing death and suffering in West Africa, and on a much larger scale. Here, Professor Piot describes his latest thoughts on the epidemic and, in an extract from his book, describes how he and his colleagues began to build a picture of how the devastating disease was spreading.

As the Ebola outbreak in

West Africa continues to

claim thousands of lives, a

difficult .ath lies ahead of us.

Transmission in dense urban areas

has contributed to a ‘.erfect storm’

scenario that has characterised

the catastro.hic nature of this

outbreak with each individual factor

being worse than usual. It has

.resented us with challenges never

before seen, and the high .ro.ortion

of transmission occurring in the

community has been a defining

issue of this crisis.

Cases continue to surge in Sierra

Leone, but news of a .otential

decline in Liberia is encouraging.

While the reasons behind the decline

of cases in Liberia are unclear, it is

likely that changes in the behaviour

of local communities have .layed a

significant role in reducing

transmission. Im.roving .ublic

knowledge about caring for the sick

and changing burial .ractices to

.revent transmission through bodily

fluids is a com.lex challenge, but it is

EPIDEMIOLOGYVIRUS

■ Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.

■ Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are believed to be Ebola virus hosts. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

■ The virus is one of a small group of viruses known as filoviruses (Filoviridae), which form long string-like infectious particles.

■ The current outbreak in West Africa has killed more than all other Ebola outbreaks combined.

■ There is as yet no proven treatment available. A range of potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies and drugs are being evaluated.

■ At the time of going to press there had been nearly 22,000 cases and 8,600 deaths in West Africa since March 2014.

■ The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak in Nigeria, Mali and Senegal over, and the number of new cases is now falling in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

EBOLA: THE FACTS

Sister Genoveva told us quite freely that the few glass syringes were reused for every patient


If you work in a multi-storey office

building or laboratory, the

chances are you’ve looked out of a

window and seen a .eregrine flying

.ast at breakneck s.eed. Once

associated with cold, wet, remote

crags in Wales and Scotland, where

.eo.le could only view .eregrines

from miles away (even with a

licence), it is now .ossible to s.ot

these birds just 20 metres above a

city centre. Sometimes the fastest

fliers in the world even .erch long

enough to be .hotogra.hed.

Thirty years ago no one could have

.redicted that such a rare bird would

become wides.read. This large bird

of .rey, which feeds .rimarily on

other birds, has made a remarkable

recovery from near extinction across

the UK, caused by the effects of

illegal .ersecution and harmful,

now-banned .esticides once used in

the British countryside.

As the .eregrine has returned to

both former rural haunts – in

quarries and on remote cliffs – once

vacant nest sites are now occu.ied.

Their next ste. has been to move

into urban areas where they a..ear

to be just as at home. Many towns

and cities across southern, central

and northern Britain now have

resident breeding .eregrines, with

others beginning to cree. into the

eastern counties.

Peregrines love high rise buildings,

bridges, cooling towers, universities,

churches and cathedrals. Here, they

can safely roost, .luck .rey and find

somewhere to nest. In some cases, the

birds are given a hel.ing hand in the

form of a nest box to sto. their eggs

rolling into gutters, or as mitigation

when buildings are knocked down.

Web cameras enable .eo.le to

watch them from their living room;

since 2007, the cameras trained

on a .air of .eregrines on Derby

Cathedral have attracted 2.6 million

hits. This increasing .resence in

urban areas has .rovided excellent

o..ortunities to study the .eregrine

in ever greater detail, revealing

behaviours and habits never

.reviously recorded.

Dining in the dark Many .eo.le assume .eregrines

just eat .igeons in towns, yet the

ubiquitous urban birds make u.

only a third to half of their diet.

The rest consists of a huge variety of

birds from ducks to terns, gulls to

blackbirds, chaffinches to great

tits (Drewitt & Dixon, 2008).

ANIMAL BEHAVIOURPEREGRINES

Ed Drewitt explains how once rare peregrines are taking advantage of urban buildings and light pollution to dine out in Britain’s towns and cities

City slickers

As well as their famous death

defying, swoo.ing, high s.eed

dashes, .eregrines a..ear to have

evolved another trick, which allows

them to be a 24-hour .redator in

their new urban environment.

Peregrines are well aware of the

huge numbers of birds that we don’t

see migrating over our towns, cities

and countryside during the s.ring

and autumn (Drewitt & Dixon,

2008). These migrating birds are

often water birds and have .ale

bellies as .art of their counter-

shading .lumage that hide them

from fish and other animals lurking

under the water. They fly across our

urban landsca.es, moving in

res.onse to the seasons, food and

weather. With the .resence of street

lights .rojecting light u. into the

night skies, the light reflects off the

white feathers of the birds as they fly

overhead and they become flying

beacons showing .eregrines their

exact location in the night sky.

When most of us are aslee., these

su.er-.redators with large forward

facing eyes and shar. vision are wide

awake, scanning the skies for food

and looking to make a kill.

At night, in cities such as Bristol,

light .ollution means you can see

birds like city gulls flying overhead.

Rather than their usual tactic of

dro..ing out of the air in a fast, stee.

dive from above, .eregrines have

taken to sitting in the shadows.

Then, at the right moment, they dart

out a short distance to snatch these

unsus.ecting birds – a late night

takeaway for the urban .eregrine.

Rare treatsMany s.ecies of bird on which

.eregrines feed aren’t the ones you’ll

see on city centre .avements. These

ra.tors hunt shy, tiny teal ducks and

rural wading birds such as golden

.lovers and la.wings, which are

usually seen in .loughed fields and

along estuaries.

The story becomes really interesting

when the remains of little grebes,

woodcocks, water rails, moorhens and

corncrakes are found below city

roosts. These birds are all relatively

secretive and tend to fly at night rather

than during the day. They also have

short, rounded, fast, whirring wings,

but little manoeuvrability (Drewitt &

Dixon, 2008).

Normally, these birds would be

difficult for the .eregrine to catch

during the day, as they are hidden in

woodlands, reedbeds, other water


ANIMAL BEHAVIOURPEREGRINES

to as they fly to different

destinations. As they move around

the UK in res.onse to the seasons

and weather, humans don’t observe

their nocturnal overland movements

at night, but .eregrines do.

Many other wading bird s.ecies,

such as whimbrel, godwit and

dunlin, move overland during

migration and also a..ear in the

urban .eregrine’s diet. While some

of these latter s.ecies may also make

diurnal movements, they still hel. to

reveal exactly what is migrating over

cities such as Bath and Birmingham.

One fascinating .rey s.ecies is the

corncrake, a rare bird that s.ends

time in iris beds and long grasses on

Scottish islands in the Western Isles,

.arts of Ireland and in the

Cambridgeshire fens where it has

been reintroduced. However, it is

rarely seen or encountered on its

migration south to Africa. So it is

with sur.rise that remains of this

s.ecies are found annually in very

small numbers at some urban sites

in southern England, no doubt

interce.ted by .eregrines as they

migrate south at night. While we

know they move south, discovering

they are .assing over cities such as

Exeter and Derby hel.s make the

story and the science even more

fascinating and relevant.

Meanwhile, quail, a small game

bird, lives tucked away in grasses and

cereal fields. I have never seen one in

the wild, although I have heard their

distinctive ‘wet-my-li.s’ call. Des.ite

being almost im.ossible for us to see,

they do feature in urban .eregrines’

diet, .articularly in the autumn.

Again, this is a bird that may be

incredibly secretive by day, but it

migrates at night over countryside

and towns from the UK to .arts of

Africa south of the Sahara. And,

again, it is a bird that would

otherwise go undetected over our

urban conurbations if it wasn’t for

the .eregrine’s tastes.

Candid camerasTo hel. com.lement the clues

.rovided by feathers, skulls and

cor.ses from s.ecies that are likely

to be caught at night, infrared web

cameras such as the one on the

cathedral in Derby have recorded

.eregrines bringing back live birds

such as woodcocks in the middle

of the night. The birds were still

moving, which is .roof that the

.rey s.ecies had just been ca.tured.

Peregrine researchers in Britain,

across Euro.e and even in New York

have observed that the falcons are

doing this within a short reach of the

building they inhabit (Drewitt, 2014).

As .eregrines are large birds that

use their s.eed and stealth to catch

other large birds such as ducks,

.igeons and wading birds, it is

sur.rising that they manage to catch

tiny birds such as warblers, tits and

goldcrests, which usually stay hidden

in the trees.

One good exam.le is the dunnock.

These small, brown birds ho. around

bird tables and bushes, and are

ty.ically eaten by s.arrowhawks.

However, they frequently a..ear in

the diet of urban .eregrines,

es.ecially in the autumn.

So how do .eregrines catch and eat

these small birds? Like the larger,

secretive water birds, dunnocks also

fly at night, and des.ite their size are

.robably snatched out of the sky as

they fly overhead. Peregrines may be

large and fast, but they are also agile

and o..ortunistic.

It is worth noting that .eregrines

also take bats – often noctule bats at

dusk and smaller .i.istrelle-sized

bats. While small numbers are taken

in the UK, many are hunted across

BIOGRAPHY

Ed Drewitt MSB is a freelance naturalist and works in the Life Sciences teaching labs in the School of Biosciences, University of Bristol. His book, Urban Peregrines, was published last summer.

REFERENCES Balmer, D. et al. Bird Atlas 2007–11: The Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland (British Trust for Ornithology, 2013).

Drewitt, E. Urban Peregrines (Pelagic Publishing, 2014).

Drewitt, E. J. A. & Dixon, N. Diet and prey selection of urban-dwelling peregrine falcons in southwest England. British Birds 101, 58–67 (2008).

The Bird Atlas 2007-11 tracks changes in bird populations and

found a 184% range expansion in nesting peregrines in the UK since the 1960s and that the breeding population is at an all time high (Balmer et al.). The last survey by the British Trust for Ornithology in 2002 revealed 1,437 pairs of peregrines in the UK and we eagerly await the results of its latest survey, which was carried out in 2014.

Devon-based peregrine researcher Nick Dixon has been tracking their increase in urban areas. There are now more than 60 pairs of peregrines in towns and cities across the UK, with another 40 pairs in more industrial sites and on pylons.

However, this success does hide declines in their breeding abundance in parts of south west England, Wales, northern England and Northern

Ireland. In Scotland, peregrines have even disappeared altogether in some locations. This decline may be because of poor habitat, lack of food due to declining prey species, as well as persecution.

Peregrines are still at risk from persecution, and theft of their chicks and eggs. Therefore, they remain a protected species on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, making it an offence to cause any intentional or reckless disturbance to birds at or near their nest site.

We can and should celebrate and enjoy these birds at close quarters in our towns and cities, but we mustn’t get too close. Those who are more involved with peregrines and who visit the nests to record eggs and chicks, as well as mark the birds with coloured rings, do so under a special Schedule 1 licence.

Euro.e, where noctule bats migrate

in large numbers and bats are more

abundant (Drewitt, 2014).

Urban evolution Peregrines all over the world from

Australia to Argentina a..ear to

have develo.ed the ability to hunt at

night. So how did this nocturnal and

cre.uscular hunting behaviour

evolve? Some nocturnal migrating

.rey s.ecies do a..ear from time to

time in the nests of rural .eregrines,

so it could be .ossible that rural

.eregrines use this method of

hunting during moonlit nights and

develo. this skill in urban areas

where light .ollution reveals a whole

lot more flying food.

As .eregrines continue to move

into towns and cities across the UK,

there is both an o..ortunity for more

.eo.le to observe the s.ecies and to

discover further information about

the birds. Their nocturnal hunting

behaviour is not only revealing more

about one of our to. avian .redators,

but is also .roviding a valuable

insight into what their .rey s.ecies

are u. to.

To find a peregrine near you, look up high and check

churches, cathedrals and office blocks. Peregrines often perch on gargoyles, turrets, window ledges and gutters.

As well as looking up, you want to be looking down. On the ground, distinctive white falcon poo looks chalky and is often concentrated in certain places below a favourite perch. Look for feathers as well – not necessarily from the peregrines, but from their prey. Below their perches, you will find feathers, legs, heads, wings and whole birds killed and eaten by them.

HOW TO FIND A FALCON

Peregrines are thriving in the urban environment

bodies, wet grasslands and hay

meadows. In the case of the grebes,

they sim.ly dive under the water to

esca.e attack.

Many of these s.ecies are flying

from colder .arts of Euro.e to s.end

the winter here, while others may be

moving around the UK or heading

south or north from southern

Euro.e and .arts of Africa. Some,

such as woodcock, may even be

attracted to city lights, where they

become disorientated.

Finding these unex.ected s.ecies

of birds in the .eregrine’s diet

reveals a lot about what is .assing

over our cities and towns. City

.eregrines living in the middle of

the UK, such as in Coventry, often

return after a hunt with coastal

wading birds miles from the sea;

they also devour .elagic seabirds

such as .etrels that are swe.t inland

during storms.

The finding in the middle of Derby

of knot, a medium-size wader bird

normally associated with the

estuaries around the UK in winter,

hel.s fill in missing .arts of the

jigsaw about what these birds are u.

WEB CAMS: LIVE VIDEO FROM FALCON HOT SPOTS■ Derby derbyperegrines.blogspot.com■ Norwich upp.hawkandowl.org■ Nottingham ntu.ac.uk/falcons■ Worcester www.worcester.gov.uk/peregrine

PEREGRINE RECOVERY IN NUMBERSPeregrine eggs and chicks are still at risk from thieves


SOCIETY PROJECTSBIOLOGY: CHANGING THE WORLD


Badges of honourThe Society’s Biology: Changing the World project hopes to inspire future biologists by celebrating eminent biologists from the past. The project’s working group has shortlisted the people whose contributions to biology have made the biggest impact on the world. The resulting blue plaques are now being unveiled on various buildings across the UK, in the places where great ideas, techniques and minds were developed.

Plaque holders

Marjory Stephenson1885-1948

Stephenson was one of the first women to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. She discovered and isolated an adaptive enzyme (enzymes produced by a cell only in response to a certain substance). Her book Bacterial Metabolism became the standard textbook for generations of microbiologists. The plaque has been erected

at her childhood home in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.

Richard Owen1804-1892

Although now known for opposing Darwin’s theory of evolution, Richard Owen founded the Natural History Museum. A skilled comparative anatomist, Owen collected a vast array of extant and extinct specimens, and when huge ancient creatures were discovered in the UK, he named them ‘dinosaurs’, meaning ‘terrible lizards’. The plaque is to be placed at

his old school, Lancaster Royal Grammar.

Sir Anthony Carlisle1768-1840

Carlisle had a varied career, specialising in the bones of the inner ear, the structure of the spleen and thyroid gland, the effects of inbreeding, electrochemistry, the spread of cholera and evolution. He co-discovered electrolysis in 1800, and his lectures were so popular that police had to control the crowds hoping to attend. The plaque will be placed in Stillington, County Durham,

where he was born, and will take pride of place on the

village green.

Fred Sanger1918-2013

Fred Sanger was a British biochemist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry twice. His work – first sequencing the structure of proteins, then RNA, then DNA – truly revolutionised biology and medicine. The techniques he developed are still crucial to biologists today and are the basis for entire fields of bioscience, including proteomics

and genomics.

Dorothy Hodgkin1910-1994

Hodgkin used x-rays to learn more about the molecular structure of penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin. Her work on x-ray crystallography and her discoveries about important proteins have allowed us to better understand a range of illnesses, including diabetes, and in some cases to make synthetic versions of such molecules as treatments. The plaque will be placed at Sir John

Leman High School in Suffolk, where

she studied.

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Not strictly biologists…The Biology: Changing the World project also celebrated the contributions of people who aren’t really biologists in a modern sense – some would certainly struggle to qualify as full members of the Society of Biology today. The full list (which can be found at biologyheritage.societyofbiology.org) includes polymaths who worked across many fields, authors, self-taught naturalists and conservationists, nurses and surgeons, and great thinkers who worked before the field of biology had even been defined.

PETER SCOTT, for example, was an Olympic yachtsman, television presenter, gliding champion and painter who held the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry. He was also the first conservationist to be knighted, in 1973, and helped to establish a number of today’s environmental institutions.

MARY ANNING was a self-taught fossil collector and dealer in the 19th century whose discoveries helped to change the way that people thought about the world. She made some of the most significant geological finds of all time and provided evidence for developing ideas about the history of the Earth.

And not strictly human…

DOLLY THE SHEEP Dolly, a female domestic sheep, was the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell. Dolly demonstrated that even though the DNA from adult cells had specialised as one type of cell, it could still be used to create an entire organism. A plaque will be erected to honour Dolly and the entire team at the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh University.

�e Biology: Changing the World project was developed in partnership with the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council and received funding from the Heritage Lottery. An app, website and schools resources on nearly 50 of the UK’s greatest biologists can be found at biologyheritage.societyofbiology.org. Or to visit a blue plaque unveiling near you visit www.societyofbiology.org/blueplaques

Hodgkin and Huxley

A plaque will be erected at the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth to celebrate the work of Sir Alan Hodgkin (right) and Sir Andrew Huxley (left), who, working with the neurones of Atlantic squid, discovered how nerve cells

transmit signals. They shared the Nobel Prize (with John Eccles)

in 1963 for further developments in understanding nerve cell membranes.

Steptoe, Edwards and Purdy

A plaque at Bourn Hall Clinic, Cambridge, will honour Sir Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards

and Jean Purdy, who developed in vitro fertilisation. Their work at Dr

Kershaw’s Hospice, Oldham (then home to their lab),

led to the first ‘test-tube baby’, Louise Brown (pictured with Edwards). Edwards was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize

in Physiology or Medicine.

Dame Honor Fell1900-1986

Fell pioneered the study of living cells under the microscope and is best known for her work on the immune system and its role in rheumatoid arthritis. She also pioneered the ‘organ culture

method’ – growing living, differentiated cells that mimic

the behaviour of organs. The Society’s plaque has been placed outside Wychwood School

in Oxford, where she studied.


Professor So.hie Scott’s

research brings together

understanding from

s.eech sciences, .sychology and

neuroanatomy to understand how

the human brain .rocesses s.eech

and vocal ex.ressions. She is now

best known for her work on laughter

and has even recently made a foray

into stand-u. comedy.

Why are you studying laughter? I’m generally interested in human

communication and how our brains

su..ort that, .articularly the voice –

both how we .erceive the

information in voices and how we

control the act of s.eaking.

As a vocal behaviour, laughter is

sur.risingly under-researched

considering the frequency at which

you encounter it. Understanding

‘abnormalities’ of negative emotions

seems to be .articularly im.ortant in

western .sychology, but also .eo.le

think research on laughter is just

trivial or ridiculous, and that’s very

hard to get round.

Why is laughter important? Because it is a social behaviour and

we use it a great deal. Peo.le think

you are studying jokes, but it is in fact

a com.lex, nuanced and common

vocal ex.ression.

One of the best estimates I’ve

seen suggests in social sitiuations

.eo.le laugh around seven times

every 10 minutes, even in

ex.erimental settings, which are

not exactly hilarious. That’s quite

a lot, and certainly in that time

INTERVIEWPROFESSOR SOPHIE SCOTT

Tom Ireland talks to Professor Sophie Scott about studying laughter and why it’s not

just humans who get the giggles

.eo.le rarely scream or go “euurgh”

with disgust.

In mammals generally, it has

evolved as a social bonding

behaviour and a very im.ortant

one. In humans, it still is a social

behaviour: you laugh more when

you’re with other .eo.le and you

want them to like you; it establishes

that you like them, that you are .art

of the same grou. as them, and that

you agree or understand.

Is there a physiological difference between this social laughter and laughing uncontrollably at something funny? We still don’t know exactly, but

there seem to be two systems in

the human brain for vocalising.

One is more recent in terms of our

evolution and is based in the lateral

motor areas, which is what you use

for s.eaking.

Peo.le with severe damage in

those areas and .roblems with

their s.eech can still cry and laugh

and do all sorts of non-verbal or

automatic s.eech – they still swear

in .ain, for exam.le. That seems

to be because s.ontaneous

vocalising is .art of an older

evolutionary .athway, which seems

to be more like the basic system

you find that controls vocal

behaviour in other animals.

My sus.icion is that .osed

social laughter may be more

like s.eech, while really

uncontrollable laughter might

be .art of this more central,

older, midline .athway.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

Do you have to try to make people laugh as part of your research? Yes. For years I worked with .osed

stimuli, as there is no ethically

acce.table way of making someone

so frightened or angry that they

actually make a noise. So when we

started working with laughter, it was

great, as we realised no one was

going to bat an eyelid if we just tried

to make .eo.le laugh. That’s when

we started making the set of stimuli

for real and social laughing – we just

did whatever it took to make .eo.le

laugh and recorded it!

The .roblem is that you can find

something very funny, but you’re

much less likely to laugh if you’re

on your own. So to make me laugh,

we ended u. having me watch my

friend listening to something that

I knew she would find funny. I could

see her des.erately trying not to

laugh at it and it just made me laugh

like a drain.

I saw that you use that well-known Irish news clip where a man slips on an icy pavement, which I love – I send that to all my friends every year when it starts to get icy. Are there things that make people laugh across all cultures?

There are themes, such as

sla.stick, or what we call

schadenfreude, but even with

One of the best estimates suggests people laugh around seven times every 10 minutes


INTERVIEWPROFESSOR SOPHIE SCOTT

So animals laugh when they play and bond, but presumably they don’t laugh at humour or funny things? Well, it would be very difficult to

.rove if they did, but certainly their

laughter tends to be much more

.hysically centred: they are laughing

because it tickles or they are

laughing because they are .laying.

In humans, humour is like culture:

a tremendously com.lex construct

that changes wildly. Do you

remember when everyone thought

that “whatsuu...” thing was funny?

Ha, yes, and then anyone still saying it a few months later was a total idiot. Yes, it was about a week! Things that

seem funny then become just really

embarrassing. There’s a tremendous

link between humour and culture

and fashion, but the actual laughter

doesn’t change very much. My son is

currently obsessed with old Tony

Hancock recordings and lots of it is

very dated, but the audience laughter

is exactly the same – those rhythms

and ri..les of laughter, and bursts

when they really laugh hard.

Have you been able to look at someone laughing in real time using modern imaging techniques? In theory, but one of the .roblems

with functional imaging like

functional MRI is it’s very sensitive to

movement. Even talking .roduces

too much – and with laughter you can

get huge movements across the torso,

which makes everything move.

Someone has done a study where

they found differences in the brains

of .eo.le being tickled and laughing

socially, but I’d like to know a lot

more about that, because I sus.ect

you might be missing a lot in the

images because of the movement.

What is happening when we laugh uncontrollably?One of the things I’m very interested

in is why we can be overwhelmed by

laughter – if you laugh hard, you can’t

breathe .ro.erly, and there is

nothing you can do to sto. it. There

is even something called ‘giggle

incontinence’, and some .eo.le .ass

out when they laugh.

Being overwhelmed by laughter

suggests there are some really big

motor changes that occur when we

start laughing. You see a change in

muscular tone and almost a

weakness in humans when they

laugh, which I haven’t seen in other

s.ecies: you don’t get animals


rendered hel.less with laughter.

Think of that cli. of Brian Johnston

and Jonathan Agnew laughing on

the cricket commentary when

they’re both des.erately trying not to

because they know they’ll get into

trouble and they need to sto., but

they can’t do anything about it.

From an evolutionary .ers.ective,

there isn’t really much reason why

you want to be rendered hel.less like

that. It could be to do with the fact we

have very different motor control

over the muscles of the articulators

in the ribs and chest wall that allow

our s.eech to be com.lex, and maybe

that gives laughter a route to get in

and overwhelm us too.

I’d like to know more about the

control of voluntary and involuntary

vocalisations – crying is another one

where you can be overwhelmed for

20 minutes. That doesn’t ha..en if

you’re disgusted by something.

You’ve been doing stand-up as a way of telling people about your work. Has studying the science of laughter helped you become a better comedian? No, unfortunately not, but I do love it,

I think because I’m a huge show-off.

When someone first suggested it to

me, I couldn’t think of anything

worse, but then I did it and just had so

much fun. I would really recommend

it to other scientists as a way of telling

.eo.le about their work.

Do you think your research might have practical uses? I am funded by the Wellcome Trust

for basic biomedical science, so it’s

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Sophie Scott is Wellcome Trust senior Fellow at University College London (UCL) and group leader of the speech communication neuroscience group at the university’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She can be found by tweeting @sophiescott

fundamental research. However,

I think a better gras. of the

science of laughter could hel.

our understanding of disorders

that affect our ability to laugh,

such as de.ression. It’s also just

a really good index or measure of

how well .eo.le get on: cou.les who

laugh a lot tend to stay together

longer. I think that’s worth knowing

more about.

KO

KO

.OR

G/T

HE

GO

RIL

LA F

OU

ND

AT

ION

Professor Scott tried stand-up as a way to explain her research

something that’s really universally

funny, there is always the .ossibility

that one .erson just isn’t laughing.

For exam.le, some older .eo.le

shown that cli. of the guy falling

over on the ice will say: “That isn’t

funny at all – that ha..ens to me.”

Do many other animals other than humans laugh? Yes, but with the .roviso that we

haven’t been looking that widely.

In great a.es, laughter is .retty

easy to recognise because it sounds

very similar to our laughter. There’s

a video of actor Robin Williams

interacting with Koko the gorilla

and he starts to tickle her. When

she gets going, it’s really beautiful:

she has this great big o.en smile

and she’s shaking. There is good

evidence found by Dr Marina Davila-

Ross at Portsmouth University

that chim.anzees have different

ty.es of laughter.

In other s.ecies of animal, we

either haven’t looked for it or we

can’t hear it. Jaak Pankse.. in the

US transduces the calls that rats

make and noticed they .roduce a

very different sound when they .lay

with each other. Having tested it

further, they are .retty sure it is

laughter, as they make the sound

when they are tickled. It sounds like

a little chirru..

It doesn’t have to be sounds, of

course. For exam.le, dogs have a

.lay ‘face’ that they .ut on when

they are .laying, which, if there was

a noise associated with it, we would

call laughter.

Above: We laugh more when we are with other people

Right: Actor Robin Williams laughing with Koko the gorilla in 2001

damage the environment and reward producers fairly.

How do I get into this area? Agriculture degrees are available from UK universities, but there are various other routes into this field via related degrees such as crop, food or plant sciences, and ecology. Coventry University and Rothamsted Research are major centres for agricultural research in the UK, and many charities and US colleges run agroecology courses (see p31) that aim to help improve conditions in farming communities around the world.

Where can I find out more?■ The UK Plant Sciences Federation represents agricultural scientists and plant science policy-makers in the UK. www.plantsci.org.uk■ In the US, there are local sustainable farming associations, while Sustainable Agriculture Research and Organisation promotes sustainable agricultural innovation nationally.www.sare.org■ The World Resources Institute is a global research organisation that works in more than 50 countrieswww.wri.org


What do you do? I’m working for the Sustainable

Intensification Platform, a major

national .roject to .ull together the

community to increase .roductivity

and resilience without damaging the

environment and ho.efully even

making it better. It’s very .ractical,

using studies from individual farmers

and looking at how their stories fit in

with the global narrative.

My academic ex.ertise is in how

to monitor interactions between

biodiversity and agriculture.

My skills are really in ex.erimental

design – that is, seeing what skills

are required to solve a .articular

.roblem, and building a team from

various disci.lines, such as social

scientists, soil scientists, engineers

and even legal .rofessionals. I have

a short attention s.an, so I like to do

a lot of different things. I .reviously

led the Centre for Ecology and

Hydrology’s Farm Scale Evaluations

of GM Cro.s, the largest agro-

ecological ex.eriment of its kind.

I believe you won a gold medal at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show.Yes, that was fun. We were invited to

.ut an entry into the show out of the

blue. None of us were that fond of

gardening, but the idea of a garden

teaching .eo.le about ecosystem

services in an urban setting was

hard to resist. We found that Leeds

City Council’s head gardener wasn’t

submitting an entry that year so we

got him on board and he understood

the conce.t very quickly. We got

a lot into a very small indoor s.ace

– vegetable cro.s, wetland,

com.osting, .ollinators, rainfall

ca.ture, a .ermeable .ath – lots of

little things. We also didn’t know you

aren’t allowed to encourage .eo.le to

walk around the garden like we did.

Is a big part of sustainable agriculture about spreading the message about what works? Yes, lots of .eo.le .icked u. little

.ractical things from our garden that

they could take home and try. That’s

how a lot of these messages need to

come across. All farmers want to be

more efficient, environmentally

sound and .rofitable – you just need

to hel. them find ways to do it.

Trying to dictate an entirely new way

of working just doesn’t work and

would actually be quite arrogant of

the research community.

How did you come to be a professor of sustainable agriculture? I grew u. on a farm and went to

Im.erial College London to study

INTERVIEW

AT A GLANCE

Name Professor Les FirbankProfession Professor of sustainable agriculture, University of LeedsQualificationsBSc in zoology; PhD in plant population dynamicsInterestsSustainable land use, sustainable intensification

It’s a discipline you can’t do by yourself, as ideas change quickly and come from all over the place

biochemistry. I’m afraid I couldn’t stay

awake in the biochemistry lectures,

but I became hooked on the ecology

lectures and all the wonderful

environments you could visit as .art

of that. Each ste. of my career flowed

quite naturally after that.

What sort of people are attracted to sustainable agriculture?It’s a very sociable field. It isn’t like

lab grou.s where .eo.le work

individually or in very small teams:

it’s a disci.line that you can’t do by

yourself, as ideas change quickly and

come from all over the .lace. We

have a uni farm that’s being used by

us, our soil scientists and scientists

from York and Manchester. It makes

the science better and it’s more fun.

Sustainable agriculture is less of a

disci.line and more of a meeting

ground, I su..ose.

Where is the discipline heading and what areas will be exciting in the future?The thing that excites me most is

that it’s in demand. It’s increasingly

acce.ted that we need more

.roduction and that has to be done

more sustainably. I think growth

areas will be sensor technology, the

use of big data and engineering, and

there’ll be much greater engagement

with industry.

Sustainable agriculture uses the principles of ecology to make farming as efficient as possible with minimal or even positive environmental impact. It is the production of food or other plant or animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare.

Why is it important? As the population grows, it is predicted that the world will need to double food production by 2020 to sustain its growing population. At the same time, using more land to raise animals or grow crops only exacerbates global problems such as deforestation and climate change. Sustainable agriculture aims to balance the needs of society with the protection of the environment, while also ensuring that producers make fair profits.

Who is involved?Many people contribute to the ideas of sustainable agriculture, which in summary are that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. The

Sustainable agriculture aims to find ways of increasing global productivity without damaging the environment


science of sustainable agriculture is just one aspect of a complex issue involving politics, socio-economics, trade and the environment.

The drive to encourage populations to produce and trade products more sustainably goes beyond science. It often involves people working together across government, farming, the civil service, the retail sector, think tanks, charities and activist groups.

What careers are available? Government departments and agencies require scientists to help research and advise on specific aspects of sustainable farming, including water, soil, energy, air, crops, domestic animals, wildlife and ecosystems.

Sustainable agriculture involves complex and overlapping government policies concerning agriculture, environment, energy, business, conservation and transport. As a result, positions can be found in all areas of policy-making, from local authorities to international organisations such as the EU Commission and the UN.

Many environmental charities and green businesses employ consultants with knowledge of sustainable agriculture to ensure products do not

Sustainable agricultureSPOTLIGHT ON

Farmers need help to be environmentally

sound and productive

authors clearly have in mind a much

broader notion than that which

concerns most .ractical biologists.

They are not merely concerned with

interconnected webs of biological

mechanisms, but with how life is

ex.ressed in its fullest terms. Hence,

the book traverses organisms and

ecosystems and addresses global

ca.italism, the mind and s.irituality.

What constitutes a system,

however, might have been made

more s.ecific. One was left with the

im.ression that everything forms

.art of a single global, if not

universal, system. This may be the

very .oint that the authors were

seeking to make. However, if that is

the case, then the enter.rise is in

danger of being seen – rightly or

wrongly – as too com.rehensive and

even overextended. In turn, this may

undermine the .otential insights it

has to offer. This also means that

there will be areas that readers find

more interesting than others.

While it serves as a valuable

overview of the disci.line, this book

will .robably suit those who are

already very interested in the systems

a..roach, rather than act as a case

for ado.ting this way of thinking.

Stephen Lewis

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2014Edited by Deborah BlumMariner Books, £9.99Since 2000, this

annual anthology has highlighted

the best .o.ular science articles

from American magazines. This

year’s selection is chosen by Pulitzer-

.rize winning journalist and

.rofessor of science journalism

Deborah Blum, and includes .ieces

from The New York Times, National

Geographic, Scientific American and

The New Yorker, as well as content

from less well-known websites such

as Matter and Nautilus.

Initially it seems quite strange to

.ay for a book full of old magazine

articles, es.ecially if you are a

regular reader of some of the

.ublications and websites mentioned

above. Yet a few .ieces in and it

becomes clear why you would want

these articles in a collection on

your shelf: each is insightful and

fascinating, and the best are like

absorbing short stories. Moreover,

a decade ago, this would have been

unthinkable, and a decade before

that, kites in Britain were

vanishingly rare. In the last 20 years,

they have gone from being one of

the rarest of British birds to being

seen regularly. Such is the .romise

of conservation.

In the US, a similar success story is

being told. Its subject, the black-

footed ferret, features in a readable

new book by David Jachowski. This

endearing .olecat, Mustela nigripe,

went one ste. further than the kite,

for it was declared extinct in 1979. In

fact, a few did survive in Wyoming

and the .o.ulation is now more than

1,200 with about 20 colonies living

and thriving across South Dakota.

The reason for its decline was not

through the usual causes – loss of

habitat, .redation, hunting – but

because of one of the most dreaded

diseases we know: .lague. Yersinia

pestis, which caused the Black

Death, is the bacterium that almost

eliminated the black-footed ferret.

David Jachowski s.ent 20 years as

a field biologist with the US Fish and

Wildlife Service, and tells his story

with colloquial informality and his

tales of the fleas that s.read the

.lague bacteria (and the .rairie dogs

that serve as an alternative host)

weave a fascinating insight.

Annoyingly, the fleas that are a

.rinci.al .layer don’t feature in the

index, and the ferret is relegated to

the subtitle of the book. Nonetheless,

this is a good read and tells a fine

story, although it does give us a

worrying reminder that the .lague

remains much closer to home than

most of us realise.

Brian J Ford

The Systems View of Life: A Unifying VisionFritjof Capra and Pier Luigi LuisiCambridge University Press, £24.99Biology is

changing. Vast amounts of data are

now being .roduced by new

biological technologies. The old

mindsets are clearly insufficient and

new ways of understanding biological

.henomena are needed. One way is

via a ‘systems’ a..roach.

The Systems View of Life offers an

overview of what this entails. The

target audience includes biologists,

but not exclusively. By ‘life’, the

The Amoeba in the Room: Lives of the MicrobesNicholas P MoneyOxford University Press, £16.99As a .lant scientist, I

often com.lain

about TV

documentaries’ continued focus on

animals, es.ecially large ones. Plants

don’t get much of a look in. However,

it would a..ear that .lants have had

more coverage than microbes, des.ite

the fact that most life on our .lanet is

microbial. In The Amoeba in the

Room, Nicholas Money aims to .ut

the record straight by showing us how

abundant, diverse, amazing and just

.lain weird the world of microbes is.

We are taken on a journey of the

microbial world, starting off in the

author’s garden .ond, through sea,

air, soil and ourselves, with an early

detour into microsco.es and their

.ivotal role in the study of microbes.

It is a fascinating read, but beware –

covering the vast world of microbes

in a small book is no mean feat.

There is a lot to get to gri.s with,

from the classification of living

things (and not sim.ly animals,

.lants, fungi and .rotists) to the

sheer numbers of different ty.es of

microbe, not to mention their weird

and wonderful names.

The journey through this

mountain of information is made

easier by the clear and lucid writing

style of the author, for this is a

beautifully written book.

Nevertheless, I think it would have

benefited from a glossary, es.ecially

for those readers with little

background in microbiology.

I found this book immensely

enjoyable and I would encourage

anyone wanting to know more about

the huge swathe of life on the .lanet

that .asses us by unseen to seek out

a co.y. Indeed, I have recommended

it to my students and it will be

recommended reading for one of

my modules.

Professor Dale Walters CBiol FSB


Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-footed Ferret “It gives us a worrying reminder that the plague remains much closer to home than most of us realise”


In Search of Lost Frogs “The accounts of the research trips are full of personal difficulties and lifelong enthusiasms”

In Search of Lost FrogsRobin MooreBloomsbury, £25.00Robin Moore is more than qualified to

write a book about the conservation

of am.hibians, but it is his .assion for

this under-a..reciated class of

animals that shines through in this

com.elling book.

In Search of Lost Frogs gives the

history of am.hibian

extinctions over the .ast

century and how this led to

a cam.aign that focused on

searching for some of the

lost s.ecies. The stories of

the many research tri.s,

including several Moore was

.art of, are accom.anied by

stunning macro .hotogra.hs

of the am.hibians found

along the way.

The first .art of the book

seems a little disorganised,

jum.ing between different

scientists and areas where s.ecies

were going extinct. However, the

second .art, which describes the

research tri.s, is ca.tivating. The

accounts of the ex.editions, which

are better described as adventures,

are full of .ersonal difficulties and

lifelong enthusiasms, as well as

scientific background and

techniques used in the research.

Moore’s storytelling skills .aint

beautiful .ictures of the many .laces

he visits, giving the relevant

historical, environmental,

geogra.hical and even .olitical

background so readers are fully

immersed in each ex.edition.

In Search of Lost Frogs is a must-

have addition to any bookshelf. After

reading it, I fully ex.ect everyone to

visit the end of their gardens in

search of less rare, but no less

interesting, s.ecies of frogs due to

Moore’s contagious enthusiasm.

Fiona Evans AMSB

Amphibian adventure

ReviewsThe Carcinogenicity of Metals: Human Risk Through Occupational and Environmental ExposureAlan B G Lansdown

RSC Publishing, £159.99This book came along at just the right

time for me: I was in the middle of

writing a research .a.er on arsenic

in soil and needed an authoritative

reference on the subject, which is just

what I found in this book. In fact, I

could have been researching almost

any metal or metalloid and it would

have been useful.

The Carcinogenicity of Metals is a

com.rehensive and detailed overview

of metal/metalloid toxicity and the risks

of occu.ational or environmental

ex.osure to such substances. It is

written by an author who is clearly

extremely knowledgeable about the

subject matter.

Some of the metals, such as iron,

zinc and lead, have cha.ters to

themselves, others such as cadmium

and mercury, and cobalt and nickel,

are grou.ed together. In either case,

the book describes the most u.-to-

date research on the area in a clear

and accessible way.

Carcinogenicity is the linking

theme and the author does a good job

of summarising the many com.lex

ways metals may cause this effect in

living systems. For exam.le, some

elements may act on nucleic acids

and/or affect gene ex.ression, while

others may cause oxidative stress,

li.id .eroxidation or changes in

signal transduction.

The book may be a little too

s.ecialised for undergraduate

courses, but would be an excellent

text for anybody interested in metals

in toxicology and related

occu.ational health and/or medicine

at the graduate level and above.

Dr Oliver Jones CBiol MSB

Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-footed FerretDavid JachowskiUniversity of California Press, £24.95The other

afternoon a red kite swoo.ed across

our garden and then s.iralled

u.wards in a thermal current. Just

The bright orange golden

toad (Incilius periglenes),

from Costa Rica

they are long – .robably too long to

enjoy .ro.erly if you were to read

them online.

Blum has selected articles that

have intriguing human stories

running .arallel to im.ortant

scientific develo.ments – Virginia

Hughes’ .iece about DNA testing

kits, for exam.le, is neatly entwined

with one woman’s quest to unravel

her dramatic family history. Over

the course of two dozen articles, the

book covers a hugely diverse range

of to.ics, including genetics and

biotechnology, antimicrobial

resistance, human .sychology,

animal behaviour, climate change

and biodiversity loss.

Highlights include ‘The Great

Forgetting’ by Nicholas Carr, which

ex.lores how automated technology

may be eroding our ability to react to

events and de.loy our skills; and ‘A

Race to Save the Orange’ by Amy

Harmon, which follows one farmer’s

battle to create a disease-resistant

orange before his 2.5 million orange

trees, alongside Florida’s $9bn juice

industry, are all destroyed.

At under a tenner, this book is

excellent value. Rather than strain

my eyes online, ho.efully I can read

the best science stories of 2015 from

the next book in this series.

Tom Ireland MSB

The Eye: A Very Short IntroductionMichael F LandOxford University Press, £7.99For anyone who

would like to know

more about the

workings of the eye and how the

brain inter.rets images, this book

is an excellent introductory text. As

one of the latest of almost 400 books

in the A Very Short Introduction

series, this book covers the subject

in a concise and interesting manner.

A great deal of ground is covered

within its 105 .ages, from the very

first eyes to the evolution of better

eyes, the workings of human eyes

and a brief ex.lanation of how the

structures of eyes relates to vision

in some other s.ecies.

Photorece.tors and the other

structures .resent in the human eye

are described in some detail. The

.hysical reasons for the form and

function of structures in the eye and

how the brain receives and .rocesses

visual images are also ex.lained

clearly. There is a cha.ter devoted to

the .erce.tion of colour, with another

on seeing and the brain.

Ex.lanations are given in a ste.wise

manner, starting with an introduction

and building u. to more com.lex

information to .rovide a com.lete

understanding of the to.ic. This

makes the book a very informative

read for the non-s.ecialist wanting to

gain a better understanding of the eye.

Dr Amanda Hardy AMSB

Parasitism: The Diversity and Ecology of Animal ParasitesTimothy M Goater, Cameron P Goater and Gerald W EschCambridge

University Press, £95.00 hardback, £40.00 paperbackThe second edition of this classic

reference book on .arasitology is

well worth the 13 year wait. It is more

theoretical than seen .reviously and

offers a su.erbly .resented synthesis

of its twin central themes – the

diversity of .arasites and their

ecology. The interdisci.linary

a..roach considers the host-.arasite

relationshi. at all levels, from

molecular, via whole organism,

to entire communities.

An underlying conce.t is that the

com.lex interactions observed in

.arasitism are fundamentally

ecological and driven by co-evolution.

Hence, the authors take great .ains

to stress how natural selection has

sha.ed .arasite life cycles and life

histories. All the major grou.s of

animal .arasites are examined, and

what they are and how they live are

ex.lained. Also chronicled are their

biogeogra.hy, evolution and the way

they .rofoundly influence their host

.o.ulations in regard to .hysiological,

biochemical, immunological and

.athological manifestations.

Eight of the 17 cha.ters are

new since the first edition and the

remainder are significantly

rewritten. The new material reflects

the immense advances made in

systematics, bioinformatics,

genomics and biodiversity over the

last decade and so acknowledges

how today’s generation of biologists

.erceive the world.

Several textboxes containing

ex.lanations or anecdotal asides

and in excess of 300 illustrations

increase the book’s accessibility.

While the .rimary target audience

for Parasitism is advanced

undergraduate and .ostgraduate

students of biology, ecology,

conservation biology, and

biomedical and veterinary sciences,

established academics in these

disci.lines would also find this a

valuable resource.

Professor Andrew Taylor-Robinson CBiol CSci FSB


REVIEWS

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2014 “Blum has selected articles that have intriguing human stories running parallel to important scientific developments”

The Eye explains the

mechanics of how we see

MEMBER PROFILES

Academic ambition


Members

I wanted to be an academic from an

early age. Pharmacy was .articularly

attractive because it combines

.hysical sciences such as chemistry

with biological sciences.

After studying pharmacy, I went on

to do an MSc and PhD in

.harmaceutical toxicology at

Marmara University in Istanbul. For

a decade, I conducted research into

food, and environmental and

occu.ational toxicology, mostly using

genotoxicity assays. This is when I

learnt the academic tools of the trade:

teaching, and grant and ethics

a..lications, as well as .resenting

findings at both national and

international meetings.

I decided to join the

Hepatology Research Group

in Bern, Switzerland, which

was known for both clinical

and ex.erimental research

into the emerging field of

metabolomics. Using mass

s.ectrometry based

analyses combined with

chemometrics, it is

.ossible, for exam.le,

to uncover biological

Diren Beyoglu MSBmolecules that fluctuate as a result

of genetic alterations

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.atients with different

genoty.es); disease

(ty.ically, case-control

studies); or chemical

ex.osures (drug

administration).

Hopefully our findings can

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.athobiology of he.atobiliary

diseases and .roduce biomarkers

for early disease detection.

I wish to climb further up the

learning curve of biology,

which is why I have joined the

Society at this time. More

interactions with other

biologists will greatly hel.

with my research.

I enjoy travelling to

new places and

experiencing both

modern and ancient

cultures. In my s.are

time, I like to sing

and to listen

to music.

Mass spectrometry is an important tool in metabolomics

I aim to study natural sciences at

university, as I want to create

documentaries when I am older.

I am currently studying for my

GCSEs at Godol.hin and Latymer

School in West London, and .lan

to continue biology at higher level

in the international baccalaureate.

I love biology because it enables

us to understand the world that

many people take for granted.

With biology, we are able to

a..reciate the organisms around

us and understand how they

function. I would like to study

re.tiles and am.hibians, as I think

that animals such as the axolotl,

with its regenerative ca.abilities,

will be of great advantage to

medicinal research.

Owning a bearded dragon is my

dream, as they are so charismatic,

but I have not yet .ersuaded my

mother to let me have one. The

only .ets I’ve ever had were snails

when I was younger.

I joined Bionet because it gives

me access to a range of articles

on topics that we would never

have time to cover at school.

In my spare time, I enjoy going

camping. I love ex.loring and I am

also a cor.oral in the Royal Air

Force Cadets.

Lauren BorgersBIONET MEMBER

23 February 2015 Ireland Evening Reception An evening reception at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin, organised especially for Society members and non-members

based in the Republic of Ireland. The evening will include short presentations, refreshments and networking. The meeting is a first step towards setting up a

Republic of Ireland branch of the Society.

Begins at 18:30 Royal Irish Academy Academy House, 19 Dawson St, Dublin, Ireland

SOCIAL NOTICES


MEMBER PROFILES

I had a natural affinity for biology

at school, which I continued to

.ursue at university. During my

a..lied biology degree at

Northumbria University in

Newcastle I was introduced to

genetics and .lant biotechnology,

and decided that I would like to

learn more about them.

After graduating, I moved to

Norwich and com.leted a

master’s in .lant genetics and

cro. im.rovement, jointly

delivered by the University of East

Anglia and the John Innes Centre.

I am currently a third year PhD

student at the Sainsbury

Laboratory, Norwich. My

research focuses on

understanding more

about the genetic

mechanisms of disease

resistance in barley.

Molecular plant

microbe interactions

are fascinating, but

more generally, I am interested in

translating some of the more

fundamental discoveries in this area

into meaningful, agriculturally

beneficial a..lications, whether this

is through traditional or more

contem.orary a..roaches such as

GM technology.

Membership of the Society allows

me to formalise my interest in

biology while also being a vehicle for

me to learn more about areas such as

science .olicy, education and ethics.

It will allow me to continue doing this

whether I decide to stay in academia

or move into industry.

In my free time, I enjoy

being outdoors and

active. Football is

my real .assion, but

I have also recently

taken u. cycling.

I like to travel

and will be making

the most of a

tri. to Greece

this summer.

Andrew Dawson MSBAndrew’s PhD focuses on disease resistance in barley

I am currently a professor of medical

education and chair of the curriculum

develo.ment and research unit at King Saud

University, Saudi Arabia.

I am passionate about

discussing curricular changes

with academics and clinicians,

and resha.ing the curriculum

to fulfil students’ needs.

My ambition is to continue

helping the growth and

advancement of universities

and to establish better education

in underdevelo.ed countries.

I am fascinated by scientific research and

the discoveries in biology and genetics that

have made significant changes in our

understanding of medicine.

I am a gastroenterologist and hepatologist

by training. I began my biology education in

the early years of my medical training in the

1970s and also during my PhD, which studied

the u.take of bile salts by liver cells. I also have

a master’s in education from the University of

New South Wales, Australia. In 1998, I was

awarded a Fellowshi. of the American College

of Gastroenterology and com.leted a master’s

in .ublic health from the University of New

South Wales in 2005.

I was inspired by my postdoctoral

supervisor, Curtis D Klaassen,

.rofessor of .harmacology

and toxicology at Kansas

University Medical Centre,

and a renowned authority

on liver toxicology.

I would like to share my

experience for the benefit of

the Society and its educational

.rogrammes. I would also like to learn about

biology and recent advances in the field.

I have published three books and a

multimedia programme about the liver.

When I receive invitations from universities to

give keynote lectures, I feel ins.ired to

continue my journey in research.

Professor Samy Azer FSB


I am an MSc student in medical

biotechnology at the University

of Abertay in Dundee, Scotland,

and I have a bachelor’s degree

in biochemistry.

After working as a lab assistant

at a HIV testing and

counselling centre, I became

more interested in the HIV virus

and moulds that cause cancer.

I am particularly inspired by

the work of Dr Robert Gallo

and ho.e to one day work at the

Institute of Human Virology at

the University of Maryland,

Baltimore. I am .articularly

.leased with my involvement in

training community health

extension workers in northern

Nigeria on the use of sim.le lab

test kits and lab safety.

I hope to continue my

education, focusing my

research on chemokines and

aflatoxins, as this is a branch

of oncology that has always

interested me.

Joining the Society is an

opportunity for me to interact

with other researchers around

the world and to read about

their work.

I love to travel and read, and I

intend to travel round the UK in

my s.are time.

Affiliate Amal Abdulkadir, Fetien Abay Abera, Paul Adesoji, Amanda Agyekum, Zaki Ahmad, Karen Alexander, Wasim Ali, Mathew Aries, Aneeqa Arif, Katrin Augustin, Jack Bailey, Graihagh Ball, Emily Barker, Katherine Bason, Gagandeep Kaur Batth, Sarah Beacham, Elizabeth Beales, Adam Bell, Andrew Bell, Emma Betts, Helen Bevan, Laurence Bickerton, Mateusz Bieniek, Sarah Blackburn, Adela Boboc, James Boot, Trevor Boreham, Kerry Bose, Paulina Brajer, James Brandon, Steven Bratt, Connor Brown, Emma Brown, Joseph Brown, John Bubb, Josie Bunting, Rebecca Burden, David Burrows, Sabrina Caiafa, Yasmin Caine, Maria Capstick, Olivia Carr, Raphael Castellan, Lucia Cencia, Fergus Chadwick, Lisa Chalklen, Jared Charlton-Webb, Sophie Cherrington, Victor Cheung, Esther Christian, Craig Christie, Christodoulos Christodoulou, Matthew Clare, Gaby Clarke, Gwennan Clarke, Kyle Clow, William Clowes, Robyn Collins, Natalie Coulson, Helena Crellin, Hope Crichton, Megan Critchley, Billy Crouch, Charlotte Darvill, Partha Datta, James Day, Brian Degger, Ruth Dempsey, Chantal Dennis-Soto, Emily Dimond, Julie Discombe, Christopher Doig, Joseph Dott, Catherine Ducker, Christine Duffield, Calista Dufton-Kelly, Adil Dulal, Julien Dumortier, James Edwards, Holly Eggleston, Ghazala Ehsan, Rebeca Elliott, Willow Enis Race, Bridget Evans, Hanna Ewen, Albert Faulkner, Alexander Fedorec, Saduni Fernando, Kieran Fletcher, Thomas Foets, Hannah Forshaw, James Galloway, David Gatward, Laura Geary, Michelle Georgiou , John Gilman, Raflyn Gloria, Alex Goodridge, Hannah Goodwin, Christine Grant, Portia Grayson, Sophie Groenhof, Emily Groome, Nicole Gullan, Irene Gyamfi, Matt Hanson, William Hardy, Megan Hasoon, Michael Haycox, Amber Hayes, April Hayes, Adam Heath, Jack Hill, Ben Hinder, Jimmy Hobson, Natasha Holdforth, Nadja Howton- Cheney, Joseph Hubbard, Nicholas Huddleson, Rebecca Hughes, Matthew Hunt, Kendal Hunter, Olvia Iakovidou, Karl Ignacio, Duncan Ingram, Rebecca Irvine, Elysia James, Helen James, Lucy Jeffery, Fatoumatta Jobe, Ed Jones, Sebastian Jordan, Kamaluddeen Kabir, Martin Kadiev, Alexia Kalligeraki, Abbas Karim, Ebony Kelk, Colette Kelly, Sarah Kemp, Tiffany Kho, Jessica King, Reece Kitchen, Samuel Kitching, Michael Kneafsey, Dorottya Kovacs, Barbora Kriukelyte, Alysia Kwan, Savannah Kwok, Darius Kwong, Alaa Latif, Edward Lea, Samuel Leak, Marina Leal, Ka Yin Lee, Hayley Leeder, Megan Leversedge, Susanna Libby, Dong Liu, Joanna Low, Loren Lucas, William Luderman, Katherine Macdonald, Kirsty Mackay, Amy MacLatchy, Wendy Macmillan, Alasdair Macritchie, Jamie Manley, Amadu Mansaray, Amanda Marginson, Daniel Marsden, Sarah-Jane Mataciunas, Gabby Maxfield, Lorna McCall, Jessica McDermott, Ellen McEwen, Rebecca McFaull, Isabella McNally, Samantha McNaught, Kirsten McPhail, Mark Melvin, Harriet Miller, Lucie Mills, Emily Mitchell, Omar Mohammed, Ben Moody, Julia Morris, Jessica Moult, Sotiria Mouzouri, Dixita Naik, Jamie Naish, Sophie Nash, Charlotte Newall, Hannah Newman, Eleni Nikolaou, Premila O’Connor, Lori O’Keefe, Kyle Osborne, Livia Othen-Allen, Fleur Otridge, Rebecca Overthrow, Helen Owen, Daphne Pantou, Aysha Patel, Sital Patel, Rachel Peacock, Emma Pearce, Tasha Petterson, Iro Pierides, Bethany Pihama, Victoria Pike, Steve Pinchbeck, Ben Pinkney, Kishore Polireddy, Solange Ponce, Daniel Potter, Elen Price, Joanne Pritchard, Emily Quick, Tom Rawlings, Emily Read, Ashley Reaney, Jemma Rees, Emma Regan, Topaz Reid, Conor Reynolds, Thomas Ridgers, Mark

New, Transfer & Chartered MembersJANUARY 2015 ELECTION

Ridgway, Hattie Roberts, George Rockell, Callum Ross, Rebecca Sadler, Claudia Sanchez, Bianca Santarossa, Natasha Santos, Louis Sartorius, Jirattikal Sengtakdaed, Garsha Seyf, Abigail Shea, Paul Sheridan, Jamie Shorrock, Amy Simpson, Amritpal Singh, Patrick Skilleter, Samantha Small, Catherine Smith, Eleanor Smith, Lewis Smith, Ryan Snodgrass, David Snowdon, Jagjeet Sondh, Alex Spicer, Josh Stanford, Charles Stannard, Jonathon Stanway, Katherine Stephenson, Alex Stone, Courtney Story, Hannah Strachan, Eleanor Stroud, Josie Stuart, Flutura Stublla, Daniel Sulik, Cary Sumner, Supreet Sunner, Johnathan Swift, Jessica Sykes, Kamil Talar, Adam Tarring, Simon Thomson, Andriana Toutoudaki, Terrence Trinca, Iva Tzvetkova, William Underwood, Andra-Andrada Vaida, Mark Van-de-Velde, Elf Vekaria, Samantha Vicarage, Jamie Vuong, Jamilla Walcott, Amy Walker, Lucy Walker, Matthew Walker, Nathan Walters, Benjamin Walton, Rosie Warburton, Danny Ward, Robert Ward, Benjamin Watson, Catriona Watson, Shaamin Webber, Libby Whitehouse, Fern Wilkinson, Cosima Willi, Sophie Willis, Liam Williston, Robert Wilman, Cheung Wing See, Jed Winstanley, Katherine Wood, Vanessa Wood, Rosie Woodruff, Hannah Wragg, Hao Weng WU, Dannuo Yang, Erin Younger, Mina Yusuf, Maleeka Zainab.

Associate (AMSB) Fabrizio Alberti, James Ardrey, Stephanie Arnold, Martyn Balmont, Camilla Bathurst, Nicholas Berkley, Stephanie Birchall, Peter Bradshaw, Loredana Buchan, Fabian Byrne, Allan Cameron, Leela Chakravarti, Clare Collett, Daniel Cooke, Alexander Darlington, Joshua Denton, James Dolman, James Gardner, Zoe Gillespie, Thomas Gollins, Kimberley Goodship, Alexander Gough, Taras Gout, Hazel Hamilton, Jessica Harley, Matthew Henderson, Constance Higginson, Kirsty Hooper, Emily Horrocks, Robert Hutchinson, Michelle Inman, Jason Ioannidis, Christopher Jackson, Mozhgon Jeddi, Lucy King, Jessica Lea, Andrew Mason, Caley McIntosh, Jamie Moore, Amelia Mordas, Nadjeda Moreno, Sam Morris, Rory O’Callaghan, Sarah Oates, Idowu Olawoye, Ashen Oleander, Thomas Parker, Przemyslaw Puszkiewicz, May Rajab, Nikki Re, Nigel Reade, Deborah Robinson, Natalie Savage, Tamir Sharp, William Shaw, Devon Smith, Laurence Stipetic, Alexander Stoakes, Katharina Strege, Jessica Stuart-Smith, Doug Taylor, Jamie Tempest, Hannah Thompson, Sarah Thompson, Sergio Tomey Garcia, Victoria Wang, Kim Warren, Joshua West, Josie Williams, Matthew Worrallo, Kate Wright, Lilith Zecherle.

Member (MSB) Jalal Ahmed, Vijaya Bhaskar Alwarnaidu Vijayarajan, Graham Anderson, Silke Baasner, Alice Banks, Martin Blayney, Venita Bryant, Charlotte Burn, Sarah Burns, Gillian Burrows, Simon Burton, Neil Campbell, Adhiraj Chakrabarty, Anthony Chapman, Gary Chow, Karolina Chrabaszczewska, Andrew Christophi, Andrew Clarke, Bertrand Collet, Jasmijn de Boo, Sarah Dewhirst, Davide Dominoni, Annmarie Doyle, Eric Edmonds, Paul Faduola, Mark Ferguson, Selene Fernandez-Valverde, Simone Filosto, Adam Fisher, Marie Fisher, Paul Flanagan, Jasmine Foley, Andrew Fry, Thomas Fullick, Almas Gheyas, Emma Gibbin, Douglas Gibson, Laura Gosset, Donal Griffin, Krishnappa Haladasappa, Rachel Harland, Scott Hayward, Dominic Henri, Kerri Hicks, Yat Man Ho, Gill Holdsworth, Badr Ibrahim, Adam Jameson, Sarah Kelly, Sakhvinder Khalsa,

Jessica Kirk, Lindsey Knight, Rahul Kurup, Tanya Leslie, Maggy Linford, Neill Liptrott, Chi Kin Liu, Claire Longhurst, Sylvia Lui, Sarah Lyall, Stephen Mansbridge, Norbert Maroya, Supatra Marsh, Fay Martin-Evans, Nikki McArthur, Dave McCrave, Sean McIntyre, Alister McKenning, Christoph Meyer, Adelaide Millar, Beverley Minter, Andrea Molyneaux, Lynne Murdoch, Donal Murphy, Soshichiro Nagano, Nadir Nanji, Mihnea Nicolescu, Jeroen Nieuwland, Paulina Nieweglowska, Darlington Nwodo, Mark O’Mahony, Ashley Pearson, Daniel Philpott, Steve Portugal, Helen Price, Tom Price, Anne Pullen, Manisha Raichura, Maria Magdalena Razalan, Lucy Ricketts, Sophie Rocks, John Semple, Tahsin Shoala, Jennifer Snowball, Catherine Sorbara, Mikhail Spivakov, Victoria Stanley, Richard Tateson, Claire Taylor, James Taylor, Jemma Taylor, Elizabeth Thompson, Adrian Turner, Isaac Vizcaino Caston, Melisa Wallace, Caroline Weight, Stacy-Paul Wilshaw, Chit Shing Jackson Woo, Anastasia Wood, Richard Wright.

Fellow (FSB) Hind Al-Khayat, Steve Appleyard, Tom Balchin, Derek Ball, Phil Baynes, Wendy Bickmore, Janine Bottomley, Joanne Bowes, James Brewer, Paul Brooks, Jeremy Brown, Mark Brown, Lesley Butcher, Mei-Yin Chiu, Robert Conlan, Sarah Coupland, Christopher Creevey, D Davies, Francois de Villiers, Yusuf Deeni, Curtis Dobson, Sherif El Khamisy, Martin Evans, Gurudutta Gangenahalli, Mary Gibby, Sarah Goodchild, Alistair Griffiths, John Gurdon, Stuart Haslam, Matthew Ilori, Elisabeth Innes, William Jackson, Awadhesh Jha, Libby John, Rhys Jones, Robert Jones, Sellathurai Kasinathan, Daniel Lloyd, Andrew MacKenzie, David MacKintosh, Georgina Manning, Olga Mayans, Stephen McHanwell, Mojgan Moddaresi, Jonathan Mullard, Bhavani Narayanaswamy, Colin Prescott, Sally Puzey, Paul Ridd, Eleanor Riley, Gloria Rudenko, Philip Simister, Geoff Simm, Jonathan Smith, Christian Speck, Gyorgy Szabadkai, Pushpa Tandon, Kam Tang, Linda Thomas, Sue Welburn, Michael Wright.

PROFESSIONAL REGISTERS

Registered Science Technicians (RSciTech)

RSCiTech AMSBMartin Kadiev, Neil Thorp.RSci MSBClare Adams, Jane Todd.

Registered Scientists (RSci)

RSci AMSBWaqar Ahmed, Joshur Ang,Kimberly Carney.RSci MSBChristopher Claxton, Sarah Lyall, Manisha Raichura.

Chartered Scientists (CSci)

CSci MSBGemma Bray, Marcus Gould, Sakhvinder Singh Khalsa, Souvik Kusari, Nafees Naseer Malik, Gemma Marsden, Henry McLaughlin, Caroline Warren.

Chartered Biologists (CBiol)

CBiol MSB Meera Cush, Kwabena Obeng Duedu, Andrew Duggan, Andrea Greally, Sean McIntyre, Polina Prokopovich, Fraser Scott, Helen Shapland, Will Vincent, Christine Woodcock.CBiol FSB Michael Wright.

Support your local branchOur branches rely on your support. If you would like to give a careers talk at your local school or help with public engagement activities, then get in touch with them – contact details on page 44.

Irene Ovayenwu Amadu AMSB

Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 3938 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 62 No 1

PUTTING BIOLOGY IN THE PICTUREBioPic

t STUNNING AUTUMNAL COLOURSTaken by Kugan Kumaraswamy AMSB, who says the tree seemed to be a branched, flowering and angiosperm plant, but with fruits showing gymnosperm characteristics

VEGETATION HANGING ON TO THE BANKS OF THE THAMES AT CLIVEDEN By Robert Greenhill MSB

BioPic combines biology with the best of our readers’ photography skills. For consideration, simply email a high resolution image relating to biology or wildlife, whether taken at work or on holiday, in the lab or garden. Please accompany your

pictures with a 50 word caption explaining the shot, where it was taken, and information about yourself. Send your photos to [email protected]

ELEPHANT SEAL SBy Dr Lewis Halsey MSB, taken on the Crozet Islands, a Subantarctic archipelago in the Indian Ocean

A PARASITOID WASP (VENTURIA

CANESCENS) UNDER A MICROSCOPE By Seline Dilmec AMSB during lab research for her final year thesis at the University of Leeds in 2012-13

CUP FUNGI (PEZIZACEAE FAMILY) Taken by Seline Dilmec AMSB during a research trip in the Amazon, in the Pacaya-Samiria region

INSECT EGGS ON THE UNDERSIDE OF A ROWAN (SORBUS SP.) LEAFPhotographed in Edinburgh by James Iremonger

EVENTS CALENDARFor more details and to book a place on an event, see the branch contacts on page 44, or visit the events page of the Society website.

Kent, Surrey & Sussex

For all Kent, Surrey & Sussex event

bookings, email David Ware at

[email protected]

AGM AND LECTUREWednesday 11 March 2015Following the AGM, Professor John

Fazakerley, director of the Pirbright

Institute (Institute of Animal

Health), will give a lecture at the

University of Surrey, Guildford.

Please check the Society website

for more details.

PLANTS FOR BUGSWednesday 25 March 2015 13:30An insight into a four year

.roject to investigate

whether native or exotic

.lant s.ecies most

enhance our gardens as

habitats for wildlife. A site

tour of the ex.erimental

.lots will follow a

.resentation on .ollinating

insects by .roject managers Helen

Bostock and Dr Andrew Salisbury.

Meet in the coach .ark of RHS

Garden, Wisley, at 13:30.

Markstakes Common is home to 10 species of bat

VISIT TO MARKSTAKES COMMONSunday 19 April 2015 10:30Jacqui Hutson will lead a visit to

Markstakes Common, a remnant of a

once extensive ancient wood .asture.

Meet at the entrance to Markstakes

Common, Lewes, East Sussex, at

10:30. Ma. Reference TQ398180. See

ma. at www.chaileycommons.org.

uk/leafletFINAL..df

North Western

BLUE PLANET AQUARIUM VISITSaturday 21 February 2015This exciting new event is a visit to

the marine and freshwater aquarium

in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Full

details will be circulated to members

and are available online.

AGMSaturday 21 March 2015Full details of the branch’s AGM will

be circulated to members shortly and

can be found online.

Northern

AGM AND MICROBIOLOGY TALKSaturday 18 April 2015Join us at Grey College, Durham

University, South Road, Durham, for

our talk by Professor Olivier

S.aragano on the theme of Battles

and Microbiology. Full details can be

found online or can be obtained from

the branch secretary.

Thames Valley

FORENSIC SCIENCE JOINT LECTURETuesday 10 March 2015 19:00-21:00The annual Society of Biology and

Royal Society of Chemistry joint

lecture will be on Biological As.ects

of Forensic Science and will take

.lace in the Harborne Building at the

University of Reading’s Whiteknights

Cam.us. James Clery of Defence

Forensics Bath and an ex.ert in

forensic entomology will be s.eaking.

40 / THE BIOLOGIST / Vol 62 No 1 www.societyofbiology.org/events www.societyofbiology.org/events Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 41www.societyofbiology.org/events

Branches

Professor Richard James (second from right) is an expert in antibiotic resistance

�e Plants For Bugs tour looks at the roles of native and exotic species in making wildlife habitats

EVENT REPORTS

Beds, Essex & Herts

BADGER WATCHING AT TEWIN ORCHARD NATURE RESERVE 27 September 2014Our guide for the evening was Pete

Butchers, Royston area coordinator

for the Herts and Middlesex Badger

Grou.. A low mist cre.t in as Pete

escorted the grou. through the a..le

trees towards the wooded mammal

hide. The hide itself was unex.ectedly

s.acious, with chairs and a large

windowed front beyond which was a

.atch of illuminated scrub bordering

a meadow and woodland.

Pete introduced the grou. to the 30

hole badger set at Tewin and set the

scene for the evening. We were advised

the badgers arrive about an hour after

dusk and can remain for u. to two

hours to feed in front of the hide.

The word badger is said to derive

from the French bêcheur, meaning

‘digger’. A male badger is called a

bore, the female is a sow and the

young are called cubs. Interestingly,

the Welsh name for badger is moch

daear, which translates to ‘earth .ig’.

They actually belong to a family

called Mustelidae, the same family as

ferrets, weasels and otters.

We sat quietly as darkness fell and

we didn’t have to wait too long before

the first visitor, a brown rat, was

s.otted taking advantage of the dried

dog food and .eanuts. Five minutes

late, a voice whis.ered to look to the

left, and out of the darkness two white

streaks waddled u. through some

long grass. We counted 10 badgers

feeding within five feet of where we

were sitting. We noted one adult

a..eared to have a slightly wee.ing

eye. We enjoyed watching them

interact and giving occasional

squeals when they disagreed over a

.eanut. It was a wonderful evening

and great for families.

Theresa Huxley CBiol MSB

this would have to be introduced in

all antibiotic using countries, but not

disadvantage the .oor. Ra.id

molecular diagnostic tests are vital,

as is coordinated international

action. More education, ensuring

that no antibiotics are .rescribed

before microbiology results are

available and sto..ing the routine

use of antibiotics in agriculture are

all key .arts of the solution.

With record numbers in the

audience, Professor James fielded

many thought .rovoking questions,

but made it clear that there are no

easy answers.

Rosemary Hall MSB

Northern

NORTHUMBRIAN WATER VISIT22 November 2014Branch member Lisa Bamford

arranged for the Northern branch

to visit Northumbrian Water

Scientific Services’ dedicated

microbiology laboratory at

Horsley, in the Tyne Valley.

Although we take the

.rovision of safe drinking

water for granted, we can

only do so because of the

constant treatment and

monitoring of the water su..ly.

In addition to routine testing of

drinking water, the microbiology

laboratory tests .rivate water

su..lies, as well as bathing and

environmental waters.

After a welcome by laboratory

manager John Coo.er, Lisa and her

colleagues John Kain, Bob

Carrington, Gemma Calvert and

Rachel Brown gave a detailed

overview of the .rocesses involved in

.urifying su..lied water and in

testing sam.les. After donning

suitable .rotective gear,

we were then taken in grou.s around

the laboratories to see the actual

methods used.

Water is routinely tested for

indicators of faecal contamination –

coliforms, Enterococci faecalis and

Clostridium perfringens – using a

range of selective media to isolate

and confirm these organisms. The

laboratory also tests water from

.ublic and .rivate su..lies for

Legionella, the source of

Legionnaires’ disease and a major

cause of .neumonia.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a

.arasite commonly found in cow

faeces and can cause the disease

cry.tos.oridiosis with ingestion of as

few as 10 to 30 oocysts. The .arasite

is resistant to chlorine so infected

water must be boiled. High-risk sites

are monitored on a daily basis and

since cry.tos.oridium can’t be

grown on selective media, it has to be

isolated by filtration and identified

microsco.ically. We were shown the

labour intensive .rocess involved in

isolating the organism.

It would be difficult to imagine

a world without easily accessible

clean water and we are grateful to

Northumbrian Water for hosting

our visit and allowing us to see the

detailed .rofessional care and

technology used to ensure

our su..lies.

Dr Michael Rowell CBiol MSB

East Midlands

AGM AND LECTURE – A WORLD WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS11 November 2014Professor Richard James, of the

University of Nottingham, gave his

.ers.ective on the alarming scenario

that the world may be a..roaching a

time when antibiotics have little

value as thera.eutic agents. Over-

use, misuse and insufficient

incentives to develo. new .roducts

all contribute.

In his early career, James was

fascinated by the many different

mechanisms through which

antibiotics exert their effects, and

he soon realised that bacterial

resistance to antibiotics would be

an increasingly serious .roblem

worldwide. He cham.ioned the

call for additional research until,

in 2007, he launched the Centre

for Healthcare Associated Infections

at the University of Nottingham

amidst charges of being a

sensationalist and scaremonger.

Beta-lactamases are ra.idly making

the .enicillin based antibiotics

redundant and resistance is growing

even to the carba.enems, which are

known as the antibiotics of last resort

against some key gram-negative

.athogens. As more antibiotics are

used, the selection .ressure

intensifies and as .eo.le move, so

does resistance. Trans.osons,

together with the ease by which

.lasmids bearing resistance genes can

be transferred between .athogens,

mean that resistance develo.s far

quicker than we can res.ond.

Ho.es were raised between 1995

and 2001 when targeted gene-based

technologies were introduced.

Costing billions, but with no new

antibiotics on the market, the search

continues via the old method of

random screening.

Potential solutions include a tax on

every use of antibiotics. However,

Members enjoy a visit to Northumbrian Water Scientific Services’ microbiology lab


BRANCHES EVENT REPORTS

www.societyofbiology.org/events www.societyofbiology.org/events

Scotland with the o..ortunity

to be a world leader in this field.

Professor Jill Pell from the

University of Glasgow then described

the data routinely recorded by the

health sector and other sectors.

Using fascinating exam.les, she

demonstrated how this data can be

invaluable in understanding the

factors that im.act on health and

what can be done to im.rove it.

Professor Sean Grimmond, also

from the University of Glasgow,

ex.lained how ra.id sequencing

techniques have made it affordable to

use genomics to ma. out what drives

each cancer ty.e. Lung cancer, for

exam.le, could be hundreds of

distinct cancers, each defined by

s.ecific molecular characteristics

requiring different treatment

a..roaches. This makes research and

treatment more challenging, but the

.ayoff for .atients will be enormous.

Finally, David Sibbald, founder and

CEO of Aridhia Informatics, said

health systems would require a major

cultural change to facilitate the

sharing of data between the .ublic

and .rivate sectors. The sym.osium

agenda and s.eakers’ slides are

available online.

Jacqueline Nairn CBiol MSB

Thames Valley

GREYS COURT GARDENS VISIT14 September 2014 Some 30 members and guests

enjoyed a sunny afternoon at Greys

Court, a Tudor country house edged

by medieval .arkland with delightful

views over the surrounding

countryside near Henley-on-Thames.

We gathered on the lawn in front of

the mansion for an introduction to the

long history of the estate, which is

mentioned in the Domesday Book, by

volunteer guide Sue Dickenson. When

the last .rivate owners, the late Sir

Felix and Lady Elizabeth Brunner, took

u. residence in 1937, the gardens were

virtually derelict, but Lady Brunner

transformed them into a haven of

tranquillity for visitors to share.

Gardener-in-charge Rachel

Edwards then led a tour of the

gardens, where the self-contained

areas come into their own at different

times of the year. We .rogressed

through the a.tly named White

Garden, the still fragrant Rose Garden

(which traces the history of the rose)

and along the gnarled Wisteria Walk,

originally .lanted in the 1890s.

This led to the extensive walled

Kitchen Garden, which originated

during the Second World War’s Dig

for Victory cam.aign. It is cultivated

organically with com.anion

.lantings and many varieties of

brightly coloured flowers to enhance

.ollination by the resident bee

.o.ulation. A..les, .ears and

vegetables were being harvested for

sale at the .o.ular annual Big

Harvest Weekend, which regularly

attracts some 3,000 visitors.

After a final walk through the

Cherry Garden and an Italianate

area, we thanked our hosts warmly

for their generosity of time and left

with a reminder to return at other

times of the year.

Dr John Grainger CBiol FSB

Wessex

AGM AND LUNGS LECTURE12 November 2014As .ros.ective medics, we were

intrigued by Dr Karl J Sta.les’ lecture

on how the lungs defend themselves

from infection, held at the Science

Learning Centre at the University

of Southam.ton.

Vol 62 No 1 / THE BIOLOGIST / 43www.societyofbiology.org/events

Sta.les is senior research fellow

at the university and began his talk

with an introduction to the innate

defences in the lungs – such as the

macro.hages that eliminate

.athogens by releasing reactive

nitrogen and oxygen, which act like

bleach. It was interesting to find out

that the formation of surfactant is

triggered by a baby’s first breath. This

fluid is a combination of .hos.holi.ids

that bind to .athogens and serve as

markers for macro.hages.

We discovered that the lungs also

contain beneficial bacteria. We also

learned about researching res.iratory

diseases – for exam.le, the different

methods of collecting data for analysis.

As sixth form students, this was an

excellent o..ortunity to ex.and our

scientific knowledge beyond our

A level course. Sta.les ex.lained the

content in a concise manner which

made it easy for us to understand.

In summary: breathtaking!

Elisa Chen Yao and Genevieve Chan, St Swithun’s School and Bionet members

BROWNSEA ISLAND6 September 2014Our Brownsea Island field tri. was so

.o.ular that we had to turn away late

a..licants. In fine autumn weather,

many members took early ferries and

s.ent the morning ex.loring the island.

We assembled after lunch and were

introduced to our guides: the National

Trust’s .ro.erty manager Angela Cott

and warden John Lamming.

Half the grou. set off with Angela

as she gave an overview of the

environmental and social-economic

management challenges faced by the

trust. The charity has worked hard to

balance the conservation needs of

the island while enhancing the

.ublic’s ex.erience and now sees

120,000 visitors each year. Climate

Members and guests take a tour of �ames Valley’s Greys Court Gardens

Northern Ireland

METABOLOMICS LECTURE & AGM22 October 2014The branch AGM was followed

by a fascinating lecture on

the a..lications of

metabolomics by

former branch

secretary Dr Brian

Green (right), who is

based within the

Advanced ASSET

Technology Centre at

the Institute for Global

Food Security at Queen’s

University Belfast.

Green ex.lained that the

metabolome is the com.lete set of

metabolites in a biological system,

com.rised of an extremely diverse

range of chemical com.ounds. This

makes it .articularly challenging to

analyse in its entirety. With the right

techniques, the chemical finger.rint

in an organism at any one time can be

carefully inter.reted to tell us a great

deal about the health of that

organism. This exciting new a..roach

is being used to study human diseases,

with the goal of finding unique

.atterns of metabolites that could be

used to diagnose s.ecific diseases.

The characterisation of the

metabolome – metabolomics – is

now being taken very seriously as a

research tool and is viewed by

researchers as a ‘surrogate for

.hysiology’. Green outlined how his

research grou. had been using

metabolomics to .rofile human

dementia, including cases of

.rodromal Alzheimer’s disease. The

im.ressive .ower of the technology

was exem.lified by statistical models

that accurately .redicted cases of

dementia following the analysis of

either blood or brain s.ecimens.

The talk concluded with an

audience discussion about the many

.otential a..lications of

metabolomics to study different

areas of biology from

microorganisms to cancer.

Dr Richard Briggs CBiol FSB

Scotland

SCIENCE AND THE PARLIAMENT12 November 2014For several years the Royal Society of

Chemistry has organised a ‘Science

and the Parliament’ event, which

aims to .romote engagement

between members of the scientific

community, MSPs and other .olicy

makers in the Scottish Parliament

and Government. The 2014 event

focused on the contribution of

science and engineering to science

education in Scotland.

A warm welcome was extended

by Bristow Muldoon, Scottish

.arliamentary liaison officer for

the Royal Society of Chemistry

and head of .olicy advice for the

Royal Society of Edinburgh, and

Professor Lesley Yellowlees, .ast

.resident of the Royal Society of

Chemistry. This was followed by

an excellent, thought .rovoking

.resentation by Professor Dame

Jocelyn Bell Burnell, .resident of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh, on Why

Girls Don’t Choose Physics.

In recognition of excellent

academic .erformance, the Society

of Biology awarded .rizes to the to.

.erforming students in Higher

biology, Higher human biology,

Higher biotechnology and Advanced

Higher biology for 2014. The to.

biology student in Scotland also

received an award in recognition

of both academic excellence and

engaging the wider .ublic in biology.

Details of the awards for 2014 are

– to. biology student in Scotland:

Kirsty Hoo.er, Edinburgh Na.ier

University. Biology Higher: Thomas

Parker, Largs Academy; Matthew J

Henderson, George Watson’s College,

Edinburgh. Biology Advanced

Higher: Alice Burnett, High School of

Dundee; Alexander H Gough, James

Gilles.ie’s High School, Edinburgh.

Biotechnology Higher: Kyrie P

Grasekam., Dollar Academy;

Jennifer M Young, Marr College,

Troon; Benjamin Plant, St Ambrose

High School, Coatbridge; Lauren

Crossley, Notre Dame High School,

Glasgow; Kingshuk Ghosh, Aberdeen

Grammar School.

Jacqueline Nairn CBiol MSB

BIG DATA AND PRECISION MEDICINE 15 November 2014Each year, the Scottish branch

organises a .ublic event to highlight a

ra.idly develo.ing area of the life

sciences. This year’s talks on Big Data

and Precision Medicine, organised

and chaired by John Coggins FSB,

were held at the Science Show Theatre

at the Glasgow Science Centre, and

more than 50 .eo.le attended.

Recent advances in human

genetics, cou.led with the availability

of very detailed information about

individual .atients, is leading to

major changes in healthcare. In

future the focus will be on getting the

right treatment to the right .atient at

the right time through stratified or

.recision medicine. This involves

examining the genetic makeu. of

.atients and .redicting their

differing res.onses to drugs.

In a visionary .resentation, Anna

Dominiczak from the University of

Glasgow introduced the to.ic of

stratified/.recision medicine and

ex.lained how the Stratified

Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre

at the new South Glasgow University

Hos.ital Cam.us is .roviding

�e top biology students in Scotland show off their awards

Speakers at the Big Data and Precision Medicine talk in Glasgow


BRANCHES EVENT REPORTS

change may also threaten the island’s

coastal habitats in the future.

The highest .oint on the island

offers stunning views across Poole

Harbour to the Purbecks. At this

.oint, we swa..ed leaders and John

described the wildlife and habitats on

the island, s.ecifically the ecology of

the squirrels that scrambled u. and

down the trees around us. Red

squirrels have a mixed diet, but their

favourite is Scots .ine seeds or ‘.ine

nuts’, which they tediously extract by

biting the scales off .ine cones.

A squirrel requires 550kJ a day,

but a .ine seed .rovides only 0.18kJ,

and the 200 squirrels on the island

can demand u. to 219 million seeds a

year. Unfortunately, the trees are

ageing and are .roducing fewer

cones, with little sign of regeneration,

mainly because of uncontrolled

rhododendron. Chris Clegg, of

Salisbury, said: “Brownsea is a

fascinating .lace, but with the walks

and talks that the branch had

arranged, it was transformed into a

su.erb ex.erience.”

Dr Marja Aberson CBiol MSB

West Midlands

STUDENT POSTER COMPETITION AWARDS21 November 2014Students throughout the West

Midlands area have been working on

.osters addressing some im.ortant

scientific questions. The to.ics

include obesity, ageing and the

usefulness of bees.

There were more than 400 entries

from 35 schools and after a long

session with Dr James Brown, and

some of Aston University’s second

year students, winners were selected

in several age categories.

Winners received .rizes including

a certificate, a voucher, Bionet

membershi. to the Society and a

book. The students, along with their

.arents and teachers, were then

given a tour of the Life and Health

Sciences laboratories at

Birmingham’s Aston University.

Years 7-9 winner: Mollie-Anne

Bilboe, Plantsbrook School,

Birmingham. Runners-u.: Ellis

Clifford and So.hie Jones, both from

Alcester Grammar School.

Years 10-11 winner: Dainora

Sinceviciute, Moreton School,

Wolverham.ton. Runners-u.: Lucy

Ashby, Shrewsbury High School, and

Jaden Glendon, Great Barr School,

Birmingham.

Years 12-13 winner: Arjun

Venu-Go.al, Aston University

Engineering Academy. Runners-u.:

Casey Shaw, Great Barr School,

Birmingham, and Rachel Heald,

New.ort Girls High School.

Dr Steve Russell MSB

Warden John Lamming describes the ecology of red squirrels on Brownsea Island

BEDS, ESSEX & HERTS

Dr Theresa Huxley

[email protected]

DEVON & CORNWALL

Christine Fry

[email protected]

EAST ANGLIA

Amanda Burton

[email protected]

EAST MIDLANDS

Rosemary Hall

[email protected]

KENT, SURREY & SUSSEX

Dr David Ware

kentsurreysussex@

societyofbiology.org

LONDON

Vydeki Shanmuganathan

[email protected]

NORTH WALES

Dr Rosemary Solbé

[email protected]

NORTH WESTERN

Glenn Upton-Fletcher

[email protected]

NORTHERN

Dr Michael Rowell

[email protected]

NORTHERN IRELAND

Dr Brian Green

[email protected]

SCOTLAND

Dr Jacqueline Nairn

[email protected]

SOUTH WALES

Dr Rowena Jenkins

[email protected]

THAMES VALLEY

Dr Ray Gibson

[email protected]

WESSEX

Rachel Wilson

[email protected]

WEST MIDLANDS

Deirdre Marsh

[email protected]

WESTERN

Michael Graz

[email protected]

YORKSHIRE

Paul Bartlett

[email protected]

HONG KONG

Emily Wan Ting Tam

[email protected]

BRANCH CONTACTS

Poster prizes went to (from left to right): Dainora Sinceviciute, Ellis Clifford, Mollie-Anne Bilboe and Arjun Venu-Gopal

Could you recommend a member?

Existing members are uniquely placed to help grow our

membership - and to increase the influence we are able

to exert. A significant number of new members join as

a direct result of a recommendation from someone they

know and trust.

If you have a colleague, friend, or family member who

would benefit from Society membership, please email their

details to us - and let us know if you’d like us to mention

your nomination.

Email: [email protected]

www.societyofbiology.org/join

The Society of Biology represents, supports and engages with anyone who has an

interest in the life sciences, and offers membership grades to suit all levels of expertise.

JoinExisting members are uniquely placed to help grow our

membership - and to increase the influence we are able

to exert. A significant number of new members join as

a direct result of a recommendation from someone they

know and trust.

If you have a colleague, friend, or family member who

would benefit from Society membership, please email their

details to us - and let us know if you’d like us to mention

your nomination.

Email: [email protected]

www.societyofbiology.org/join

The Society of Biology represents, supports and engages with anyone who has an

interest in the life sciences, and offers membership grades to suit all levels of expertise.

Join

Could you recommend a member?

Most university and museum

collections have thousands

of microsco.e slides that are

rarely dis.layed. Understandably, the

s.ecimens contained within them are

difficult to see with the naked eye,

and other ways of viewing s.ecimens

have increasingly re.laced research

slides in teaching and research.

University College London (UCL),

however, has decided its microsco.ic

s.ecimens deserve to be seen. It has

converted an old storage room into a

backlit cave dis.laying more than

2,000 microsco.e slides and 252

lantern slides, mostly showing whole

organisms or slices of small organisms.

Before the Micrarium o.ened, not a

single one of the Grant Museum’s

20,000 slides had been on show.

The exhibition aims to rebalance

museums’ focus from the large to the

small. Des.ite the fact that the vast

majority of known animal s.ecies are

arthro.ods (as many as 80%) and

therefore small, museums usually

concentrate on the largest mammals

or invertebrates, birds and re.tiles.

“The intention isn’t for visitors

to get s.ecific insights into individual

s.ecimens or s.ecies, but to a..reciate

the sheer vastness of invertebrate

diversity,” wrote UCL’s Jack Ashby on

the museum’s o.ening. “There may be

30,000,000 s.ecies on the Earth,

nearly all of them invertebrates, so

obviously the number we dis.lay here

is miniscule, but it is a ste. in the right

direction for museums.”

The dis.lay contains the slides of

several influential zoologists,

including J P Hill, R B Freeman, G H

Fowler and D M S Watson. Sim.ly

scanning the selection gives you an

insight into how diverse, weird and

wonderful life on Earth really is.

The Grant Museum of Zoology is open 13:00-17:00, Monday to Saturday. It is open 10:00-13:00 for group and research visits on weekday mornings with advance booking. www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology


#012THE MICRARIUM

The Grant Museum, University College London

Museum PieceBIOLOGICAL EXHIBITS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

More than 2,000 microscope slides are displayed in the Micrarium


Across6 Resistance with elite roughly grabbing

power (7)

7 Needs to machine part (7)

9 Really clever individual? Not I (5)

10 Turn. Right away (9)

11 Memorised wrongly, leaving

one out (8)

13 Front of lower jaw goes around it (6)

14 Monitor a child at play (13)

19 Coinage includes head of king (6)

20 Ale flowing around pub attracts us (8)

23 I participate in a nomadic

meandering ... (5,4)

24 ... therefore need time (5)

26 Former partner can court without our

presence (7)

27 World leader, everyone’s champion (7)

Down1 Nothing to write – that’s candid (4)

2 Didn’t hit fog by the sound of it (6)

3 Here cars are deployed to conduct

exploration (8)

4 He also wrote out most of choral

arrangement (2-6)

5 Game I start off sitting on bench

perhaps (10)

6 Merge with one that can form

government (6)

7 Finish second best (4)

8 Honouring our having departed and

making it better (6)

12 They might study biology it’s involved

with insects (10)

15 Going eye to eye or could it be I to I?

(3-2-3)

of a definition su..orted by a cry.tic

indication.

How to enterTo be in with a chance of winning a

£25 book token, .lease send us your

com.leted .uzzles by Monday 16th

March 2015. Please include your

name, address and membershi.

number with your entry – an email

address would be handy too.

Post your entries to: Crossword,

The Biologist, Society of Biology,

Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger

Street, London, WC1N 2JU.

Last issue’s winners Well done to Mr W Toner CBiol MSB and Peter Bratby CBiol MSB. Book

tokens on the way.

WIN A £25

BOOK TOKEN

Last issue’s solutionVol 61 No 6

16 Definitely establish I own land

development (4,4)

17 Skewer, one formed with maple (6)

18 Sweetest concoction we left out for

bloodsucker (6)

21 Require couple of lenses and it will

have working eye (6)

22 Small truncated tail (4)

25 Start to grow cereal for domestic

animal (4)

This issueAll across answers are from the

world of biology and their clues lack

any further definition. Down clues

.rovide the normal combination

CrosswordA biology blockbuster to sizzle your synapses

Volume 62 No 1 compiled by Doug Stanford

Keep safe when working with chemicalsChemcap Clearview Ductless Fume CabinetsIncorporating industry leading carbon filtration.

• Touch button controls with service due indicator

• Audible low air flow alarm

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Literature on the website

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023 92 266400 · [email protected] · www.bigneat.com

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8

9 10

11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18

19 20 21

22

23 24 25

26 27

The Society’s .roactive

.olicy work is hel.ing to

change thinking, inform

.olicy directions and

raise the .rofile and

value of biology in all its forms. This

issue covers new work on natural

ca.ital, bioethics, .lant science and

the regulatory framework for the

use of animals in research. Cou.led

with our increasingly high .rofile

.arliamentary work, often for the

whole science sector, we are well

.laced to hel. ensure the value of

science, and es.ecially biology, is

well understood by all the .olitical

.arties – and their advisers – ahead

of the general election.

In March, for exam.le, we are

organising three science events

within the Houses of Parliament at

Westminster, including a science

.olicy debate among the main

.arties. All the major scientific

organisations will be involved as key

.artners to hel. ensure a joined-u.

message and we will .artner with

sister societies for work in the

devolved nations.

The wides.read relief at a ‘flat

cash settlement’ for science in the

last funding round has slowly turned

to concern that inflation has wi.ed

out more than £1bn for UK research.

At the time, the Society of Biology

was one of only a few organisations

to .ublicly voice concern.

We all recognise that there are

major economic challenges ahead,

but investment in science is key to

driving economic growth, not the

.roblem. The UK’s research base

is often criticised for failing to

translate research into business-led

.roducts and services. Although we

must aim for more, the reality is that

we have many great exam.les of

success, and our strength in science

is a beacon for overseas students and

researchers. This is our historic

record. However, if we don’t regain

lost investment quickly, that

strength may wane.

We will be cam.aigning hard to

make this .oint u. to and beyond the

general election as .olicy for science

and its funding evolves. A dedicated

web .age will be hosted on our main

site containing useful key facts and

messages for local events or meetings

with .arliamentary candidates: the

more local activity the better.

We also need your views, ideas and

su..ort for our longer term .lans

and the direction they should take.

As we celebrate our fifth birthday,

we are develo.ing a road ma. for the

next five years and beyond. What

would you like to see the Society

focus on and why?

Please feel free to email me directly

or, even better, talk to your local

branch about your ideas. The branch

network offers a great way to get

more value from your membershi.

and to meet new contacts. All

meetings and contact .oints can be

found on the Society’s website.

A s.ecial event is .lanned to

celebrate achievements since 2009

and it is a huge honour for us that the

nation’s best loved biologist, Sir David

Attenborough Hon FSB, has agreed

to recognise our birthday with a

major fundraising event in London on

Tuesday 26th May. Members will have

the o..ortunity to buy significantly

discounted tickets and we will be

announcing details shortly.

The UK has been blessed with

many talented biologists and the

Biology: Changing the World .roject

(see .age 24) celebrates both home-

grown success and our international

collaborators. We ho.e you will use

and .romote our a.. and microsite,

as these shine a deserved light on

their lives and it is exciting to see the

Society’s first blue .laques being

installed around the country: the first

of many to hel. highlight the UK’s

great strength across the life sciences.

FLYING THE FLAG FOR SCIENCE

DR MARK DOWNS FSB, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY

We know there are economic challenges ahead, but investment in science is key to driving economic growth, not the problem

Final Word


Journal of Biological Education is firmly established as the authoritative voice

ix the world of biological educatiox. The jourxal aims to bridge the gap betweex

research axd practice, providixg ixformatiox, ideas axd opixiox, ix additiox to critical

examixatioxs of advaxces ix biology research axd teachixg.

Through the coverage of policy axd curriculum developmexts, the latest results

of research ixto the teachixg, learxixg axd assessmext of biology are brought

to the fore.

Each volume of JBE coxtaixs four issues axd members of the Society of Biology cax

subscribe for just £40 a year. Coxtact [email protected] for more details.

www.tandfonline.com/rjbe

Published on behalf of the Society of Biology by Routledge

Jourxal of Biological Educatiox

ISSN 0021-9266

Volume 45 Number 3 September 2011

ERIDOB ISSUE

Volu

me 4

5 N

um

ber 2

June 2

011

ISSN 0021-9266

Volume 45 Number 2 June 2011

Journ

al o

f Bio

logic

al E

ducatio

n

RJBE 45-2 Outside Cover.qxp:Layout 1 5/2/11 3:37 PM Page 1

JBE.indd 1 30/08/2011 15:19

ISSN 0021-9266

Volume 48 Number 2 June 2014

RJBE 45-2 Outside Cover.qxp:Layout 1 5/2/11 3:37 PM Page 1

JBE.indd 1 30/08/2011 15:19

ISSN 0021-9266

Volume 48 Number 3 September 2014

SUPPORTING LIFE SCIENCES

As the leading professional body for the biosciences, the Society of Biology is committed to recognising professional excellence, through degree accreditation, professional registration and membership networks.

For more information (including a list of accredited degrees) visit www.societyofbiology.org

Degree accreditationOur Degree Accreditation Programme

has been designed to address the

skills gap between academic study

and employment in the biosciences.

Degrees accredited by the Society of

Biology can help employers to identify

research-ready graduates, with a known

profile of skills and knowledge.

Join todayIn addition to professional registers, members

can access a range of valuable membership

benefits including discounted training courses,

a free subscription to our award-winning

magazine The Biologist, and our credits-based

CPD programme. We offer several membership

categories to ensure that everyone has the

opportunity to get involved in our work.

Professional registersThrough a licence offered by the Science

Council, the Society of Biology runs three

professional registers. Registered Science

Technician, Registered Scientist and Chartered

Scientist, together with our own Chartered

Biologist register, are available to members

who are committed to the biological sciences

in academia, industry, education and research.

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