News 2020

A collaboration between scientists in Scotland and The Netherlands has found that a lack of ‘social distancing’ between sheep is almost exclusively responsible for the spread of the virus that causes the chronic viral disease maedi-visna.

Two research projects in the School of Biological Sciences have been named as the first winners of the inaugural Principal’s Innovation Awards.

The pioneering work carried out by the UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology has led to the creation of an exciting new biotech company.

The management of fungal infections in plants and humans could be transformed by a breakthrough in understanding how fungi develop resistance to drugs.

Edinburgh scientists have developed a new imaging technique that reveals the inner workings of living cells in stunning detail and could pave the way to a better understanding of many diseases.

Nylon manufacture could be revolutionised by the discovery that bacteria can make a key chemical involved in the process, without emitting harmful greenhouse gases.

The resilience and yields of food crops worldwide could be improved by a new technique that monitors the growth of plant roots, scientists say.

New insights into an elusive process that protects developing sperm cells from damage in growing embryos sheds light on how genetic information passes down, uninterrupted, through generations.

Professor Dónal O'Carroll has been awarded the lifetime honour of EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation) Membership.

Tributes have been paid to Professor Nick Read, an influential mycologist whose world-leading research advanced understanding of fungi.

The School of Biological Sciences is developing a BAME strategy to improve racial literacy, create an inclusive culture and ensure our practices celebrate diversity and enhance belonging for staff and students of all ethnicities and backgrounds.

Discovery of why timing matters to malaria parasites reveals a vulnerability that could be exploited for future treatment strategies.

Edinburgh Protein Production Facility (EPPF) have joined a national consortium to provide medically important proteins that will aid coronavirus research.

Easing the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown could begin by strengthening protection for the most vulnerable while relaxing restrictions for everyone else, experts at the School of Biological Sciences suggest.

A study has solved a long-standing debate about the transport of essential proteins, implicated in many human diseases, through one of the cell’s most complex and sophisticated structures.

Keith Matthews, Professor of Parasite Biology, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science.

Sir Adrian Bird, Buchanan Professor of Genetics based at the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology and member of the Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain, has been awarded the world’s most prestigious neuroscience prize for his work to understand a rare neurological disorder.

Sandy Hetherington, an evolutionary biologist, is the recipient of a UK government fellowship that supports early career researchers and innovators with outstanding potential.

They are famed for feasting on bird tables and coaxing cream from milk bottles ... now research reveals that the blue tit’s diet is nothing short of a woodland feast!

School of Biological Sciences Students from the Wellcome Trust PhD programme in Hosts, Pathogens and Global Health at the University of Edinburgh are taking on projects to help answer key questions in the Covid-19 pandemic.

David Tollervey, from the Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology and Sara Macias from the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research will take part in a twinning project with the Central European Institute of Technology and other partners, to share research expertise on RNA biology.

Researchers from across the University are rallying to support global efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Four Edinburgh researchers have joined a group providing expert advice to the Scottish Government on its response to Covid-19.

Edinburgh researchers are joining forces with commercial companies to quickly develop new technologies to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Professors Francisca Mutapi and Alexandra Rowe have been named as Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows within the 2020 cohort.

A team of academics at the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian are part of national consortium that will look for breakthroughs that help the UK respond to this and future pandemics, and save lives.

A new protein production technique could speed up vaccine development and lead to high-tech synthetic fabrics and materials.

It is a spectacular butterfly breed with an intriguing back story … now scientists have revealed how male-killing bacteria are helping to create a dazzling hybrid of the African monarch.

Scientists have solved a puzzle that has long baffled botanists – why some plants on high mountainsides are hairy while their low-lying cousins are bald.

Professor Ian Chambers, Group Leader and Professor of Pluripotent Stem Cell Biology at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, has won the 2020 Hooke Medal for his contribution to UK Cell Biology.