News 2021

Nadanai Laohakunakorn, a Chancellor's Fellow in Biotechnology, is the recipient of a UK government fellowship that supports researchers and innovators with outstanding potential.

Commencing in October 2021, Turing Fellows will collaborate with the Alan Turing Institute, providing expertise in their chosen fields of research, contributing to new ideas and driving collaborative projects.

Scientists have developed an environmentally-friendly way of boosting the production and heat stability of a natural blue colouring.

A 3D model of a 400-million-year-old fossil has shed light on an enduring mystery about how some of Earth’s first plants evolved and helped make the planet livable.

Scientists have discovered that early childhood schistosomiasis, an infection caused by a parasitic worm that lives in fresh water in the tropics, impacts early child development and educational attainment .

Scientists have devised a novel way of tackling the mounting issue of plastic pollution… by using bacteria to transform plastic waste into vanilla flavouring.

We know alarmingly little about the biological tricks that make this coronavirus so deadly. But scientists are beginning to piece together how the virus works once it has invaded our cells. Understanding this process could reveal new ways to tackle the infection and give us a head start against future coronavirus strains.

Professor Loeske Kruuk, who will be joining the School of Biological Sciences later in 2021, has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant, to study evolution in wild animal populations.

Edinburgh Genome Foundry has invested in a cutting edge system, funded by a £2 million grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), that will speed advances in medicine and fast-track other areas of science.

A new method of breaking and fixing proteins could speed the development of sophisticated computer-like circuits in cells that will pave the way to new biotechnology and medical advances.

A new EU-funded project is set to provide accessible and reliable information about cell and gene-based therapies.

An £8.7 million, five-year research collaboration led by the University of Edinburgh and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies UK (FDB) will develop more cost-effective ways to make modern antibody-based medicines.

Global Health Professor to join the newest class of 20 global visionaries, sharing their big ideas throughout the events planned for 2021.

Scientists have discovered that tracking malaria as it develops in humans is a powerful way to detect how the malaria parasite causes a range of infection outcomes in its host.

Key insights on how malaria immunity develops after repeated infections could lead to new vaccine strategies and change the approach to tackling other infectious diseases, a study has found.

The understanding of many common cancers could be revolutionised by the discovery that in some cases the disease is partly triggered by large numbers of inherited genetic mutations, previously thought to have little impact on cancer risk.

A partnership with India’s first biotechnology university is set to spark new opportunities in research and innovation.

Dr Beatriz Orosa Puente and Dr Joanna Sadler have been awarded prestigious fellowships to develop their innovative work.

The horrible, twisted and cowardly racist and homophobic attack on a student-led Zoom meeting last Sunday shows how deep systemic racism and homophobia affect valuable members of our community without warning.

The discovery that in real-world conditions bacteria, similar to animals, cooperate and selflessly act for the greater good of the group, could help scientists to predict how helpful and harmful strains behave.

Professor Loeske Kruuk will return to the School of Biological Sciences after being awarded a Royal Society Research Professorship, the Royal Society’s premier research award.