Articles about 'Department of Plant Sciences'

Advanced microscopes at the University’s Sainsbury Laboratory are revealing the potential of plants as green factories for new chemicals and materials - as well as their intricate beauty.

A report launched today by the British Ecological Society, with contributions from the University of Cambridge, offers the first complete assessment of the potential of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change and benefit biodiversity in the UK. 

As societies face the triple challenge of avoiding the worst effects of climate change, protecting remaining biodiversity and improving human wellbeing, there are calls to end siloed thinking and design solutions that address these problems simultaneously.

Cambridge plant scientists say circadian clock genes, which enable plants to measure daily and seasonal rhythms, should be targeted in agriculture and crop breeding for higher yields and more sustainable farming. 

A new mathematical model suggests that the easing of lockdown must be accompanied by wider and more effective use of control measures such as facemasks, even with vaccination, in order to suppress COVID-19 more quickly and reduce the likelihood of another lockdown.

Researchers have analysed decades’ worth of data on the impact of repeated fires on ecosystems across the world. Their results, published today in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, show that repeated fires are driving long-term changes to tree communities and reducing their population sizes.

Climate change is driving more frequent and intense wildfires, damaging ecosystems and causing major carbon emissions. A Cambridge researcher is figuring out how to give nature a helping hand.

For many people, COVID-19 has meant remote working, but some jobs just have to be done in person. We meet the the technicians, gardeners, porters and others who have been keeping the University and Colleges going during the uniquely challenging circumstances of a global pandemic. 

A new web portal to Cambridge University Botanic Garden's entire living collection, 14,000 plants, aims to open access and fast-track urgent global research.

A new Centre in Cambridge, designed to fast-track technologies to sustainably improve farmers’ yields worldwide, was launched today.