News

Can we improve crop photosynthesis to feed the world sustainably? A lecture by Prof Steve Long as well as tours, talks and activities mark SLCU's involvement in the upcoming Festival of Plants on 20 May. SLCU is preparing for the annual Festival of Plants held in the Botanic Garden. Members of SLCU will give informal talks and tours, as well as ru…

A key regulator has been discovered to determine cell size in flowers through random fluctuations. Counterintuitively, this randomness can lead to patterns. This finding helps us to understand how biological patterns are initiated, how shape and size are determined during growth, and may lead to important discoveries improving crop yields.Scientist…

EMBO and FEBS announce SLCU Director Professor Ottoline Leyser as the recipient of the tenth FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award.The award recognizes outstanding achievements of female researchers in the life sciences in the past five years. Ottoline Leyser receives the honour for her work on the evolutionary, developmental and biochemical mechanism…

We are pleased to announce that Professor Ottoline Leyser, Director of SLCU, has been made a DBE in the New Year’s Honours list for services to Plant Science, Science in Society and Equality and Diversity in Science.Professor Leyser said, "This is a huge honour. It’s so uplifting that things I really care about can be celebrated in this extraordina…

Plant thermometer discovered that triggers springtime budding by measuring night-time heatA photoreceptor molecule in plant cells has been found to moonlight as a thermometer after dark – allowing plants to read seasonal temperature changes. Scientists say the discovery could help breed crops that are more resilient to the temperatures expected to …

We are pleased to announce that Dr Charles Melnyk has been awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. His research focuses on understanding how plants repair and connect their vasculature.  Unlike most animals, many plants can efficiently reattach and repair wounded or cut vascular strands even after complete severing. This mechanism w…

New research is inspiring the design of new biomaterialsIn 1665 Robert Hooke famously used early advances in microscopy to discover that plants are made up of tiny cells, each surrounded by a wall. Now, 350 years later, the latest microscopes have helped us to understand how the plant cell wall is made. It is well known that the wall is made of lon…

SLCU is pleased to announce that Group Leader Alexander Jones has been awarded the Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science. The New Phytologist Tansley Medal is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding contribution to research by an individual in the early stages of their career. As part of the award, Dr Jones has authored a review w…

Summer is a busy outreach season at SLCU, with pupils participating in workshops and tours designed to give them a better insight into modern plant science. Robinson College brought a group of 14-17 year olds to participate in a genetics and plant development workshop with Siobhan Braybrook. Associate Director Henrik Jönsson led a discussion on ima…

It was a busy weekend at SLCU, with several events associated with the Festival of Plants happening inside and outside the Laboratory.  On Friday, the Laboratory hosted a panel discussion on sustainable agriculture. Caroline Drummond, Chief Executive of Leaf UK, Jane Hill from the University of York and Charles Godfray from the University of Oxford…

SLCU is pleased to have been awarded an Athena Swan Bronze Award.  The awards recognise commitment to advancing women’s careers in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine in higher education and research. Attaining this award is part of SLCU’s wider determination to provide a diverse and inclusive research environment for its employees…

SLCU to offer a range of activities as part of the Festival of Plants on Saturday 16 MaySLCU is participating in a range of activities as part of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Festival of Plants.Researchers will be running a series of interactive exhibits in the Pop up Science tent, including magnetic games, computer modelling exercises…

Professor Ottoline Leyser awarded Genetics Society MedalProfessor Ottoline Leyser has been awarded the Genetics Society Medal for 2016. The award given annually by the Genetics society seeks to recognise outstanding research contributions to genetics.  Professor Leyser is the second scientist whose research focusses on plants to be awarded the meda…

The future of sustainable agriculture: Land sharing or land sparing?SLCU will host a panel discussion on evidence-based approaches to sustainability in agriculture.As part of the Festival of Plants, SLCU will host a panel discussion on evidence based approaches to agriculture. Given powerful arguments to conserve biodiversity but also increase food…

March was a busy month for SLCU researchers participating in a range of public engagement activities. As part of the Cambridge Science Festival, Alba Rodriguez, Claudia Martinho and Anna Brestovitsky participated in the Schools Roadshow. They visited Histon and Impington Junior School, where an eager group of KS2 pupils explored the relationship be…