Parasite puppetmasters

Rodents infected with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii are less fearful of cats, making it easier for the parasite to propagate. Victoria Jeffers considers what this might mean for the third of the world's human population thought to carry the parasite...

RSB and University of Gloucestershire spider citizen science project leads to publication

New research, fueled by thousands of sightings recorded by the public, has shed new light on UK house spider behaviour. New research, fueled by thousands of sightings recorded by the public, has shed new light on UK house spider behaviour. Despite not...

Animal Science Meeting 2018 Report

The annual Animal Science Meeting co-organised by the Royal Society of Biology and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) took place on 7 December 2018. The day was opened by the head of ASRU who reflected on the role of the regulator of the...

The mega mangrove

In one area of Thailand, the mangrove tree A.marina grows far larger than anywhere else on the planet. Ecologist Gordon Maxwell says granting this unique ecosystem World Heritage Site status could help highlight the importance of other mangroves around...

An Order of Magnitude

Diptera expert Erica McAlister talks to Tom Ireland about the awesome diversity and unappreciated beauty of flies The Biologist 66(2) p14-17 Erica McAlister is senior curator of Diptera at the Natural History Museum (NHM) and published her first book,...

Fantastic flies

Diptera expert Erica McAlister talks to Tom Ireland about the awesome diversity and unappreciated beauty of flies The Biologist 66(2) p14-17 Erica McAlister is senior curator of Diptera at the Natural History Museum (NHM) and published her first book,...

Rewilding (Ecological Reviews)

Nathalie Pettorelli, Sarah M. Durant, & Johan T. du Toit (Eds) Cambridge University Press / British Ecological Society, £37.99 There’s been an explosion of interest in the rapidly-developing ecological concept of rewilding – or restoring land to its...

"We we are calling for donors that never tested positive for SARS-CoV-2"

Immunoengineer Kaitlyn Sadtler is studying the immune response of those with little or no COVID-19 symptoms in the hope of understanding their role in the spread of the disease. Photo courtesy of NIH/NIBIB How has your role changed since the COVID-19...

Out of the woods

While the world concentrates on an altogether different disease, young trees in the UK are showing signs of resistance to ash dieback, writes Dr Emily Beardon 30th July 2020 As COVID-19 continues to dominate our headlines, it is easy to lose sight of...

Role of science in Government likely to increase following COVID-19, chief scientific advisor tells Parliamentary Links Day

The COVID-19 crisis has led to a renewed understanding that science is important across all areas of Government and will help boost science’s role in policy-making in future, the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said at this year's...

The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution and How We Can Fight Back

Gary Fuller Melville House UK, £20.00 If air pollution was a disease, distant acquaintances would send links to their JustGiving pages, telling you about the marathon they were running to raise money for research. Breast cancer kills around 630,000...

Royal Society of Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) publishes new research; develop, recognise and celebrate professional capabilities; bring people together; support teachers to inspire future generations of scientists, and they speak up to influence the people...

Biology Week 2013

Get outdoors!

The Sunday of Biology Week (13th October) is UK Fungus Day, and alongside this we hope lots of people will head outdoors and record some of what they see. Over UK Fungus Day you can log your fungal finds with iSpot using the descriptive tag...

Support for all students

Earlier this year, the Government announced that the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) will be ‘modernised’ to target the limited public funding available to those most in need. This effectively means a cut, where DSAs will only be available ‘for...

What's the UK's favourite mammal?

The hedgehog was voted the Favourite UK Mammal in our 2016 poll with a huge majority! Thank you to everyone who voted. See the full results and find out more about hedgehog preservation in our news story. Find out more about UK mammals and conservation...

Biology Week 2016: celebrating five years

Last week the Royal Society of Biology celebrated the fifth annual Biology Week with over 100 events held across the UK and beyond. Families, students and researchers engaged in a variety of activities including debates, quizzes, museum tours, nature...

Post 16 Biology Survey 2017-18

Initial findings from the post 16 biology survey The Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and its curriculum committee are interested in how changes to the biology curriculum in schools is affecting students’ experience of university. There are a number of...

Biology Week 2018: Jobs will not be replaced by AI and the world will not be overrun by robots, state experts at this year's Biology Week debate

Human jobs will not be replaced by AI and the world will not be overrun by killer-robots, an expert panel categorically told the audience at last night’s Biology Week debate at the Royal Institution. Human jobs will not be replaced by AI and the world...

Higher education institutes receive Accreditation for their outstanding bioscience degree programmes

Over 50 bioscience programmes at more than 20 higher education institutions were formally awarded degree accreditation by the Royal Society of Biology at the 2024 Accreditation Awards Ceremony in Westminster. This year’s event was held on Thursday 25...