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Trichomes on an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf (here shown using electron microscopy) are formed by a single cell adopting this spiked shape. Arabidopsis plants without a SCAR/WAVE gene cannot form properly shaped trichomes, because their inner cytoskeleton co

Plant cell sculptors: How key proteins take on different roles to shape development

Trichomes on an Arabidopsis thaliana leaf (here shown using electron microscopy) are formed by a single cell adopting this spiked shape (top images). Arabidopsis plants without a SCAR/WAVE gene cannot form properly shaped trichomes, because their inner cytoskeleton control is impaired (bottom images). Images by Sabine...

11 species of Hibiscus flowers showing variation in bullseye size.

How Hibiscus flowers lost their bullseyes

Cambridge scientists uncover the genetic pathways behind petal pattern evolution New research reveals how repeated genetic changes in Hibiscus flowers have led to the loss of visually striking bullseye patterns despite their advantage in attracting pollinators like bumblebees. Scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory at the...

Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus in Green Mother Machine. A freeze-frame of a timelapse movie. Cells are entrained in the chip. Image by Sasha Eremina.

How circadian clocks maintain robustness in changing environments

Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus in the Green Mother Machine. A freeze-frame of a timelapse movie. Cells are entrained in the chip upon exposure to 12 h darkness and then observed under free-running, continuous light conditions (medium LL, 20 μmol m−2 s −1 ). Phase contrast images are shown in the background in grey...

New study reveals how circadian clocks maintain robustness in changing environments

Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus in the Green Mother Machine. A freeze-frame of a timelapse movie. Cells are entrained in the chip upon exposure to 12 h darkness and then observed under free-running, continuous light conditions (medium LL, 20 μmol m−2 s −1 ). Phase contrast images are shown in the background in grey...

Department of Engineering Design and Technical Team members, From left, Kynan Wright, Thomas Glenday, Dan Boutell, and Barney Coles. Image by Charlotte Hester.

Cambridge Engineering brings mathematical beauty to life at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The Department of Engineering’s Design and Technical Services team will bring mathematical beauty to life with a Fibonacci spiral wall, designed and built for the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (20-24 May, 2025). We have been able to push the boundaries of traditional fabrication...

Illustration of the Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge Blooming Numbers exhibit for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. Illustration by Melanie Sadler.

The Pollinator Patch at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

Illustration of the planned Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge Blooming Numbers exhibit for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. Melanie Sadler designed The Pollinator Patch to showcase the incredible diversity of plants that can be grown in a small area to support bees, butterflies, and other important pollinator species ...

Root meristem of Vicia faba cells in anaphase and prophase stages of mitosis. Image from archive of Josef Reischig and licenced under CC BY SA 3.0 license as a part of Wikimedia Czech Republic's GLAM initiative.

New research reveals key mechanisms behind cell division

Root meristem of Vicia faba (broad bean) cells in anaphase and prophase stages of mitosis. Image from archive of Josef Reischig and licenced under CC BY SA 3.0 license as a part of Wikimedia Czech Republic 's GLAM initiative. New research reveals key mechanisms behind cell division A breakthrough in the study of cell...

Flowers like hibiscus use an invisible blueprint established very early in petal formation that dictates the size of their bullseyes – a crucial pre-pattern that can significantly impact their ability to attract pollinating bees. Image by Edwige Moyroud

Blooming Numbers: Unveiling the wonders of quantitative plant science at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

The Sainsbury Laboratory at the University of Cambridge is thrilled to announce its participation in the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where it will unveil an interactive plant science exhibit, Blooming Numbers , as part of the new GreenSTEM section highlighting research, innovation and technologies. The exhibit will take...

Marchantia polymorpha growing between pavement cracks. Image by Sebastian Schornack

Groundbreaking insights into the genetic toolkit underlying plant adaptation to land

Groundbreaking insights into the genetic toolkit underlying plant adaptation to land Sequencing the genomes of over a hundred liverworts has uncovered ancient plant adaptation mechanisms, with researchers pinpointing genes linked to temperature and rainfall changes. Researchers at the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of...

Seedlings salute the sun by coordinating multiple mechanical and chemical processes

Research into the mechanisms underlying the uncurling of the apical hook in illuminated Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings shows inner side hook cells show differential irreversible extensibility; auxin and pH gate growth but do not explain differential extension; subepidermal longitudinal force accelerates opening and CMT reorientation; and light-triggered depletion in auxin signaling is gated by wall properties.

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

TIGR2ESS

Plant cell sculptors: How key proteins take on different roles to shape development

How Hibiscus flowers lost their bullseyes

How circadian clocks maintain robustness in changing environments

New study reveals how circadian clocks maintain robustness in changing environments

Cambridge Engineering brings mathematical beauty to life at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

The Pollinator Patch at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

New research reveals key mechanisms behind cell division

Blooming Numbers: Unveiling the wonders of quantitative plant science at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025

Groundbreaking insights into the genetic toolkit underlying plant adaptation to land

Seedlings salute the sun by coordinating multiple mechanical and chemical processes

Plants in the spotlight

Feature articles and opinion pieces by SLCU scientists.

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