News

New insights into how bud-bud communication influences branching

New insights into how buds communicate with each other through the dynamic auxin transport network have been published by SLCU plant scientists.

Plant Science Educator selected for Antarctic expedition

Alex Jenkin, project manager at the Gatsby Plant Science Education Programme (GPSEP), a team administered by the Sainsbury Laboratory, has been selected to join an international group of 95 women in science on a three-week expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Noisy gene atlas to help reveal how plants ‘hedge their bets’ in race for survival

As parents of identical twins will tell you, they are never actually identical, even though they have the same genes. This is also true in the plant world. Now, new research by Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) is helping to explain why ‘twin’ plants, with identical genes, grown in identical environments continue to display unique characteristics all of their own.

How trees and turnips grow fatter – researchers unlock the secrets of radial growth

Plant science researchers from SLCU and the University of Helsinki have identified key regulatory networks controlling how plants grow ‘outwards’, which could help us to grow trees to be more efficient carbon sinks and increase vegetable crop yields.

SLCU helps reveal another layer in the strigolactone signalling pathway

An interdisciplinary collaboration between structural biologists and plant scientists has revealed another layer in the signalling pathway of strigolactone – a plant hormone that plays a key role in shoot branching and other plant development processes.

Circadian clock imparts continuous control over the timing of cell division

SLCU researchers have demonstrated that the circadian clock is more complex than a simple ‘on-off switch’ when it comes to controlling cell division.

Athena SWAN silver award

Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) was awarded a Silver Athena SWAN award its ongoing commitment to gender equality.

Current Biology Q&A with Giles Oldroyd

Current Biology recently interviewed Giles Oldroyd about his research and goals in science and life.

SecretSanta: A new tool for deciphering the secret language of cell-to-cell communication

Plant biomathematicians at the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University (SLCU) have developed a new tool that enables them to listen in on cell-to-environment conversations. The tool’s wide-ranging application means it could help speed-up the development of strategies to combat plant and animal pathogens.

Role of plants in farming future

SLCU's Director Ottoline Leyser & SLCU Group Leader Giles Oldroyd discuss opportunities plants will provide for the future of agriculture on BBC 4's Today programme.

Plant science at Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is home to one of the largest concentrations of plant research anywhere in the world. Visit the below organisations to find out about their work in sustainable agriculture, conservation and fundamental research.

Department of Plant Sciences

Crop Science Centre

Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Cambridge University Herbarium

Cambridge Global Food Security

Cambridge Centre for Physical Biology

Conservation Research Institute

Plants @ Cambridge Hub

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