Research

The School of Biological Sciences (SBS) is one of the larger Biology Schools in the UK with 60 permanent academic staff. We have benefited from substantial recent investment in research facilities and infrastructure, including the BioCentre for post-genomic research, the Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research (ICMR) and the newly completed Hopkins Building. Our research interests span the broad scope of modern biology, from individual molecules to global biodiversity and sustainability, and we emphasise cross-disciplinary and quantitative approaches. Our three research sections - Biomedical Sciences, Environmental Biology and Applied Statistics  - group together academic staff with similar research interests. Within each section there are key research themes that focus on our main strengths and SBS researchers obtain funding and attract high-quality postgraduate students from many sources in the UK and overseas.

Oak galls protect wasps from parasites

Gall wasps use plant tissues to protect themselves from other parasites says Professor James Cook.  His 12 year collaboration with Edinburgh University and CEH has shown complex interation between the genes of the gall wasp and the oak tree that result in the familiar but bizarre structures of the Oak Apple, Spangle and Knopper galls.  In the arms race between insects and their parasites, the structure of the gall acts to exclude some parasites, while others have overcome these defences. 

Full details are available in PLOS Biology - Bailey et al. 2009.

Live births help reptiles colonise the oceans

Long extinct sea reptiles not only had live births, but the sex of their offspring was genetically pre-determined, according to research published in collaborative work between Mark Pagel's group at Reading and researchers at Harvard University.  Most reptiles lay eggs but these cannot survive underwater, so live birth gave these newly-evolved reptiles the ability to invade the oceans and colonize this vast new habitat. Full details in Nature - Organ et al. 2009

1.2million species now in Catalogue of Life

Despite over 250 years of effort, there is still no complete catalogue of all presently known living organisms of the world. However, the global species recording project, Catalogue of Life, which has currently recorded 1.2 million species, has now received €3.3 million from the European Commission to significantly widen the accessibility of the global species catalogue. The 4D4Life Project will provide climate scientists, businesses, agencies, students or interested members of the public with a validated and integrated set of scientific names, synonyms and common names of the plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms of the entire world.