News

SLCU is making some of its outreach materials available online after requests from teachers at the Big Biology DayFollowing requests from teachers, SLCU has created online versions of posters and microscopy images. Further outreach materials including games, practical experiments, videos and podcasts are planned.  This is an exciting new venture fo…

EMBO conference on interdisciplinary plant developmentThe Sainsbury Laboratory welcomed over 100 delegates from 19 countries to the EMBO Conference on Interdisciplinary Plant Development. Sessions focussed on:Physical forces, the cell wall and developmentSelf-organising tissue systemsSelf-organising cell systemsComparative approaches andNetwork beh…

Dozens of people enjoyed tours of the Sainsbury Laboratory as part of Open Cambridge. The tours were given by architects from Stanton Williams and included an exploration of the conceptual ideas behind the design of the building as well as explanations of how materials were chosen and the building constructed. Architecture was not the only focus of…

A-level students from across the UK were challenged to understand new scientific concepts and techniques, assess raw data from real experiments and formulate hypotheses during a visit to SLCU.  The workshop took the visitors through a two stage process: looking at some ways in which plant growth and temperature appear to be interrelated, and then g…

Ottoline Leyser elected to the Leopoldina, Germany's National Academy of SciencesProfessor Ottoline Leyser has been elected to the Leopoldina, Germany’s National Academy of Sciences. The Leopoldina is one of the world’s oldest scientific societies, founded in 1652. Leopoldina selects outstanding scientists to become members (over a quarter of whom …

We are pleased to announce that two new professorial posts have been filled at the Sainsbury Laboratory. The professorships were created as part of the Sainsbury Laboratory’s ongoing drive to recruit world class research leaders to the laboratory.  Professor Yrjo Helariutta will join the laboratory from the University of Helsinki in Finland.  His g…

Top UK Biology Teacher spends the day at SLCUThe winner of the Society of Biology’s ‘School Biology Teacher of the Year’ visited the Sainsbury Laboratory and University Herbarium as part of her prize.Biology teacher Catherine Russell, from Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School in Manchester, was nominated for the award by her pupils in recognition of he…

Spring outreach at SLCUResearchers at SLCU have had a busy spring participating in several public engagement events aimed at future plant scientists and the general public.SLCU’s researchers are developing an increasing range of activities for all ages. During the Science Festival and Festival of Plants, thousands of members of the public were chal…

M.S. Swaminathan will give a talk at SLCU on the critical role plant science plays in tackling the challenge of world hunger. A plant geneticist by training, Professor Swaminathan’s is widely celebrated for his leadership of India’s Green Revolution, especially over his tenure as Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (1972…

On Friday 16 May at 16:00, SLCU will host a debate in Cambridge on the potential of GM crops in agriculture in developing countries.Our understanding of plant biology is rapidly increasing. We have made significant progress in analysing important agronomic properties such as disease resistance and drought tolerance. This knowledge can be applied in…

SLCU aims to inspire the next generation of plant scientists.SLCU was pleased to host participants in the Admissions Office’s Realise programme for an afternoon of activities. Dressed in lab coats and using research equipment, children and their adult companions set up and ran an experiment using plant infiltration, a technique used by researchers …

Dr Sebastian Schornack will give a talk exploring the dynamic relationship between plants and microbes. As part of the Cambridge Science Festival, Dr Sebastian Schornack will give a talk exploring the dynamic relationship between plants and microbes.  Plants an microbes can be best friends or deadly enemies.  How did these relationships evolve, ho…

Branching out: From model plants to coppiced trees Researchers from the Sainsbury Laboratory and Rothamsted Research, funded by the BBSRC Crop Science Initiative, have discovered a gene that contributes to the coppicing response of willows.Willows (Salix spp.) are of commercial importance as they provide renewable and sustainable biomass for bioene…

Dr Siobhan Braybrook has written an entry for the GARNet community blog, explaining the value of pure science research.'You don’t need to know exactly where you are going in order to end up somewhere cool; you can explore things for the sake of knowledge which gives a lot of freedom; and sometimes you find out unexpected things that end up having m…

Please note this event is now fully booked.Any enquiries regarding tickets should be addressed to the Open Cambridge team:Email: opencambridge@admin.cam.ac.uk Call: 01223 766766The Sainsbury Laboratory is participating in Open Cambridge on Saturday 14 September. Free tours will be given of the award-winning Lab by architects from Stanton Williams a…